The Need for Dental Ethicists and the Promise of Universal Patient Acceptance: Response to Richard Masella's “Renewing Professionalism in Dental Education”

Abstract

Richard Masella's "Renewing Professionalism in Dental Education: Overcoming the Market Environment" reveals why professionalism is nearly dead in America; it also shows the good of commerce and the excesses of commercialism in the market. More importantly, it collects and summarizes most of the relevant forms of education currently available to teach professionalism and professional ethics in dentistry; it then briefly examines whether those forms of education are used and if they are effective. Masella also asks some key challenging questions. His select and limited references lead to deeper studies about the nature and definition of professionalism and how it might be learned and presented. His suggestions for renewing professionalism are minimal; this sets the stage for proposing and selecting other ideas that need attention and development. Some of those ideas and suggestions, such as competition and collaboration, four types of dentistry, understanding two conflicting meanings of desire and need, and universal patient acceptance were recently explored in a workshop, "Professional Promises: Hopes and Gaps in Access to Oral Health Care" (procedings published in the November 2006 Journal of Dental Education), and were not yet available to Masella when his article was authored. His article, though, stimulates good discussion and action. Its data and substance show why, for example, dentistry needs to develop a core cadre of full-time practicing professional dental ethicists. Currently, there is only a small but very dedicated group of volunteers trying to meet our society's need to bring new life to professionalism in dentistry and our market.