The last bite

Over there

As Americans continue to fret about the cataclysmic possibilities of President Obama’s ‘socialised’ medicine, a company which owns ‘Small Smiles’ paediatric dental chain has just paid out $24m in a legal settlement for allegedly performing medically unnecessary or substandard treatment on children.

The dental clinics had been providing Medicaid, federal government assisted care, to children of low-income families but the allegations were that unnecessary extractions, radiographs and pulpotomies were being carried out ‘for profit’ to compensate for the scheme’s low reimbursement rates.

Described as a matter of ‘profit over compassion’ the settlement was paid by the parent company to the US Department of Justice. Given that we often regard US trends crossing the Atlantic in due course, let’s ensure that this isn’t one of them.

Plasma screens

Am I the only person on the planet who takes a sharp intake of breath and raises my eyebrows each time a headline or a television programme declares that the age of the dental drill is dead?