June 29, 2009
Mary Otto, of The Washington Post did a nice job writing the article, “Putting Teeth in Health-Care Reform” (link below). She quoted a number of dental professionals including American Dental Association’s executive director Kathleen T. O’Loughlin, quoting the dental healthcare needs of the American people. No doubt, we need a national healthcare emphasis on the connection of good oral health and its relationship to a healthy body, mind and spirit and it will take a team effort and this includes all professions involved with oral healthcare.
The American Dental Association, due to its greed, wastes so much time and money pushing other professions away from the table and preventing our professions from serving those that we have been trained and educated to serve. The American Dental Association uses money to fight Dental Hygienist from having independent practices, the American Dental Association fights and prevents Denturist from having independent practices and in most cases funnels money to state dental associations to prosecute Denturist so they can’t provide affordable denture care to people with disparities. The American Dental Associations waste money fighting Alaska to prevent Dental Health Aid Therapists from providing dental services to the Natives of Alaska living in remote areas.
Is the American Dental Association really concerned about the American people’s dental needs? Yes, I think they are, as long as they can charge what they do and as long as they can keep people waiting for a month or two while the American Dental Association keeps the competition suppressed. I’m licensed and educated to provide affordable denture care as a denturist. The American Dental Association’s money closed me down and keeps the Wyoming Legislature from regulating my profession. They used to call it a monopoly but the Federal Trade Commission turns their head as long as the American Dental Association claims I’m practicing dentistry without a license.
The money that the American Dental Association is spending on a campaign to polish up its public image; wouldn’t all this wasted time and money I’ve mentioned be better spent providing educational programs to the above mentioned professions the American Dental Association spends so much time and money fighting? Healthcare reform can not be about greed. Greed is what got us into this mess in the first place. I’m in agreement with ADA’s, President O’Loughlins statement on “bolstering the public health system for those with disparities.”
It could be a team effort so please let me serve. Thank you.
Gary W. Vollan L.D. 307-568-2047
State Coordinator, Wyoming State Denturist Association, www.wysda.org
Ref: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/22/AR2009062201658.html
Monday, June 29, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
June 23, 2009
Re: Affordable Healthcare Choices
Dear U.S. Senate Health Care Committee and U. S. House Committee on Ways and Means,
I request your support in regulating the denturist profession across our nation. In the five states that regulate the denturist profession, we continue to prove our effectiveness in providing quality denture service that is safe and affordable especially for people that are ineligible for Medicaid dentures or other programs showing a needs level and for those without dental coverage in their healthcare insurance. Please consider the service; a nationally regulated denturist profession is capable of providing with the present shortfall of accessible denture service by dentist, along with the shortage of dentist across our nation especially in rural America.
Please join me at the American Public Health Association 137th Annual Meeting and Exposition where I will be presenting my presentation titled, Denturists: Alternative Healthcare Providers for Oral Health Screenings and Referral, scheduled for session 2075.0, addressing Oral Health Workforce Issues on Sunday, November 8, 2009, at 4:30 PM.
The APHA Annual Meeting is the premier public health event taking place November 7-11 in Philadelphia, PA. With more than 1,000 cutting edge scientific sessions, 700 booths of information and state-of-the-art public health products and services, this is an extremely important meeting in the public health field.
You can view my session and get more information about my presentation, detailed abstract and learning objectives by clicking on the link below. http://apha.confex.com/apha/137am/webprogram/Session27637.html
For general information about the APHA Annual Meeting or to find out about other presentations visit the meetings home page at www.apha.org/meetings. Registration and Housing are now open. To take advantage of the early-bird discount, visit the registration page at www.apha.org/meetings/registration
I hope you can attend my presentation as I join APHA in exploring the latest public health practices and challenges.
Sincerely,
Gary W. Vollan L.D.
State Coordinator, Wyoming State Denturist Association
www.wysda.org
Re: Affordable Healthcare Choices
Dear U.S. Senate Health Care Committee and U. S. House Committee on Ways and Means,
I request your support in regulating the denturist profession across our nation. In the five states that regulate the denturist profession, we continue to prove our effectiveness in providing quality denture service that is safe and affordable especially for people that are ineligible for Medicaid dentures or other programs showing a needs level and for those without dental coverage in their healthcare insurance. Please consider the service; a nationally regulated denturist profession is capable of providing with the present shortfall of accessible denture service by dentist, along with the shortage of dentist across our nation especially in rural America.
Please join me at the American Public Health Association 137th Annual Meeting and Exposition where I will be presenting my presentation titled, Denturists: Alternative Healthcare Providers for Oral Health Screenings and Referral, scheduled for session 2075.0, addressing Oral Health Workforce Issues on Sunday, November 8, 2009, at 4:30 PM.
The APHA Annual Meeting is the premier public health event taking place November 7-11 in Philadelphia, PA. With more than 1,000 cutting edge scientific sessions, 700 booths of information and state-of-the-art public health products and services, this is an extremely important meeting in the public health field.
You can view my session and get more information about my presentation, detailed abstract and learning objectives by clicking on the link below. http://apha.confex.com/apha/137am/webprogram/Session27637.html
For general information about the APHA Annual Meeting or to find out about other presentations visit the meetings home page at www.apha.org/meetings. Registration and Housing are now open. To take advantage of the early-bird discount, visit the registration page at www.apha.org/meetings/registration
I hope you can attend my presentation as I join APHA in exploring the latest public health practices and challenges.
Sincerely,
Gary W. Vollan L.D.
State Coordinator, Wyoming State Denturist Association
www.wysda.org
Friday, January 4, 2008
Denturists and American People in Need vs. American Dental Association Policies
Denturists and American People in Need vs. American Dental Association Policies
The balance of the working relationship between the dentist and denture technician has always tipped more favorably on the side of the dentist than the denture technician.
A number of denture technicians moved forward in the profession by becoming denturist because of the expectations of being the dentist's counter-part but rarely with the denture technician receiving the deserved gratitude of those expectations.
Instead we worked long hours (not by choice), didn't get paid for those long hours which usually involved remakes due to error of the dentist or assistant doing procedures.
Our jobs as denture technicians were usually held over our heads for us to jump, reach, and grab at, while the dentist decided which dental lab they would use if and when we complained or insisted that things be done differently and maybe even getting paid for the 60 or 90 day past due lab invoice.
As a denturist I enjoy my work. I enjoy the working relationship of a chosen dentist or oral surgeon for referral services for my patients.
The good fight is not with any current or past dentist. I’ve worked with some good dentist as a denture lab technician and as a denturist. A good majority of the dentist would rather spend their chairtime in restorative and cosmetic dentistry not dentures.
So what's the problem? Corporate ADA. The American Dental Association’s big money politics, waste and not being able to relate to the dental needs of the people. It’s nothing different than what denture technicians and denturist have always dealt with as the counter-part of the dental profession.
Corporate ADA has no faith in its ability to provide for the dental needs of the American public. Even as denture technicians, we have always known we we're better at being able to meet the denture needs of the American public and the American Dental Association knows it. We are a thorn in ADA’s side and they want us gone.
The American Dental Association has in place, a number of build up and award programs for dental lab technicians for good reason and then it supports outsourcing of dental prostheses. Something’s not right with this picture.
It’s one thing to pay pennies to the dental lab technician for dental prostheses but yet another thing to outsource the work away from the mom and pop dental labs across America.
More and more people are doing without dental care because of ADA's policy making. They spend 10's of thousands of dollars for meetings to establish these policies that are leaving more and more people without dental care.
The policies discriminating against the economically disadvantaged Americans are those that are directed at stopping denturist, dental health aides and independent practices for dental hygienist. The American Dental Association sends money to state dental associations with expectation that the state associations will uphold ADA's policies but in turn it's a negative reflection on the state associations because their using the money for reasons other than meeting the dental needs of the people of the state.
The American Dental Association could better serve the dental needs of the American people by giving the dental hygienists the freedom of their own boards and independent practices so they can better serve the preventive needs of the American people by serving in the area of public health.
Corporate ADA can take the necessary steps to establish boards for independent practice of the denturist profession and the dental health aides across the Nation. This would free up dentist to use their eight or more years of schooling and experience in extensive restorative dentistry and specialty areas of dentistry.
It would direct the need for more money for education for all areas of the dental profession. This would create more qualified doctors and less of the unethically inclined dentists that are in practice today due to dental school programs one size fit all level of the DDS degree.
Dental health aides or therapist would serve the same level that a physician’s assistant serves today. The American Dental Association would organize and regulate dentistry and associated professions across America to better meet the dental care needs of all people.
People need to get on the American Dental Association internet site and do a watch dog of the programs in place and see the money that’s wasted. It’s disgraceful, with the number of Americans doing without dental care. You’d think with all the money, power, and intellect the American Dental Association has it would do things differently.
Please consider this critique of corporate ADA.
Thank you---Gary W. Vollan L.D.
www.wysda.org 307-568-2047
The balance of the working relationship between the dentist and denture technician has always tipped more favorably on the side of the dentist than the denture technician.
A number of denture technicians moved forward in the profession by becoming denturist because of the expectations of being the dentist's counter-part but rarely with the denture technician receiving the deserved gratitude of those expectations.
Instead we worked long hours (not by choice), didn't get paid for those long hours which usually involved remakes due to error of the dentist or assistant doing procedures.
Our jobs as denture technicians were usually held over our heads for us to jump, reach, and grab at, while the dentist decided which dental lab they would use if and when we complained or insisted that things be done differently and maybe even getting paid for the 60 or 90 day past due lab invoice.
As a denturist I enjoy my work. I enjoy the working relationship of a chosen dentist or oral surgeon for referral services for my patients.
The good fight is not with any current or past dentist. I’ve worked with some good dentist as a denture lab technician and as a denturist. A good majority of the dentist would rather spend their chairtime in restorative and cosmetic dentistry not dentures.
So what's the problem? Corporate ADA. The American Dental Association’s big money politics, waste and not being able to relate to the dental needs of the people. It’s nothing different than what denture technicians and denturist have always dealt with as the counter-part of the dental profession.
Corporate ADA has no faith in its ability to provide for the dental needs of the American public. Even as denture technicians, we have always known we we're better at being able to meet the denture needs of the American public and the American Dental Association knows it. We are a thorn in ADA’s side and they want us gone.
The American Dental Association has in place, a number of build up and award programs for dental lab technicians for good reason and then it supports outsourcing of dental prostheses. Something’s not right with this picture.
It’s one thing to pay pennies to the dental lab technician for dental prostheses but yet another thing to outsource the work away from the mom and pop dental labs across America.
More and more people are doing without dental care because of ADA's policy making. They spend 10's of thousands of dollars for meetings to establish these policies that are leaving more and more people without dental care.
The policies discriminating against the economically disadvantaged Americans are those that are directed at stopping denturist, dental health aides and independent practices for dental hygienist. The American Dental Association sends money to state dental associations with expectation that the state associations will uphold ADA's policies but in turn it's a negative reflection on the state associations because their using the money for reasons other than meeting the dental needs of the people of the state.
The American Dental Association could better serve the dental needs of the American people by giving the dental hygienists the freedom of their own boards and independent practices so they can better serve the preventive needs of the American people by serving in the area of public health.
Corporate ADA can take the necessary steps to establish boards for independent practice of the denturist profession and the dental health aides across the Nation. This would free up dentist to use their eight or more years of schooling and experience in extensive restorative dentistry and specialty areas of dentistry.
It would direct the need for more money for education for all areas of the dental profession. This would create more qualified doctors and less of the unethically inclined dentists that are in practice today due to dental school programs one size fit all level of the DDS degree.
Dental health aides or therapist would serve the same level that a physician’s assistant serves today. The American Dental Association would organize and regulate dentistry and associated professions across America to better meet the dental care needs of all people.
People need to get on the American Dental Association internet site and do a watch dog of the programs in place and see the money that’s wasted. It’s disgraceful, with the number of Americans doing without dental care. You’d think with all the money, power, and intellect the American Dental Association has it would do things differently.
Please consider this critique of corporate ADA.
Thank you---Gary W. Vollan L.D.
www.wysda.org 307-568-2047
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Denturist Not giving Up On Providing Affordable Denture Care
Dr. Edward Clark, president of the Wyoming Dental Association knows the denturist profession has an accredited school in Washington State teaching a two year denturist program. I talked to Dr. Clark about the school's accreditation during our telephone conversation, regarding the use of retired volunteer dentist to start a low income dental clinic.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Best Short Film Ever
This is the best short film ever. I don't know if I'd rather watch this or the movie that followed it.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Denturist for Affordable Denture Care by Gary W. Vollan L.D. www.wysda.org
Having access to affordable and available denture care is a necessary need for the wellness of ones health. Ill-fitting dentures in need of repair due to breakage and missing denture teeth are all too common place for denture wearers."Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane. Martin Luther KIng Jr
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
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