Of lawyers, lattes, and dentists

Abstract

O ne of the most rewarding parts of my job is having the privilege of speaking with practicing dentists all over the United States. As a nonclinician, and someone who spends a lot of time looking at data, I find these conversations tremendously informative. Not only do they provide an intimate understanding of the frontline challenges facing the profession, but they also provide an opportunity to test whether the conclusions gleaned from the research done by the Health Policy Institute on the changing dental care system are consistent with the grassroots experience. Results from numerous Health Policy Institute studies show that dental spending has been sluggish for several years, that adults are going to the dentist less—a trend unrelated to the recent economic downturn—and that a substantial share of US adults report they delay getting dental care they need because it is too costly. When I ask dentists whether they are seeing these trends in their practices, most say yes. And then, with surprising frequency, the conversations spontaneously turn to lattes, tattoos, and cell phones— namely, dentists tell me time and again that it is not that dental care is becoming “too expensive” but rather that patient priorities are changing. Their patients are choosing to spend