There is a conflict of interest when dentists advise on tooth care.

You say that "there are massive entry fees, intense regulation, organizational demands....and a strict prohibitition on anyone "untrained" offering medical services, the entire field can be seen as a state oligopoly at best, or a collusion saturated de-facto monopoly at worst. - In reality there are Scholorships available that will take a high-school graduate all the way to becoming a dentist for a very small amount of money. Not to mention Pell Grants, student loans, and other forms of financial aid. This is just in the US. In fully socialized countries college (including grad school) is practically free. The strict prohibitions imposed on practicing dentistry (as well as other medical services) are not in place to just to keep people that do not know what they are doing from making money. They are in place for public safety. If there were no regulations I could open "Halak's Tooth Repair" and attempt to provide dental services for a large amount of money. I would be successful for only a very short amount of time until I ruined enough people's teeth/mouths. Then word would begin to spread that instead of a dentist I was in fact a butcher (in-advertantly of course but the results would be the same). No one would come tp purchase their dental services from me because they would know of my "work". You say that the entire field is a state oligopoly at best, or a collusion saturated de-facto monopoly at worst - but it isn't. Let's take a hypothetical man, Sam. Sam is 18 and decides on his own that he wants to be a dentist. He goes to school and becomes a dentist, then returns to the town/city of his birth and opens a Dentist's office. This is not a "collusion saturated de-facto monopoly" - it is the essense of small business. You say that "The pressure to have your car repaired is nothing like the pressure to have your teeth repaired" - for huge amount of people that drive to work everyday to earn money/recieve benefits so that they may have their teeth repaired I assure you it is. Given the choice between losing one's job because one can not travel there or getting a toothache seen about the logical choice is to have the car repaired and spend the next paycheck on the tooth, or you will have no car and still have the tooth/mouth problem. If you are experiencing a medical emergency involving the mouth/teeth than there are provisions for that. You can go to the emergency room and get payments. You say that "...and finally, if nothing else I can attempt to repair my own car...". Yes, you could. You would most likely not be successful. Need spark plug = Over the counter toothache remedy purchaseable at Wal-Mart. Cracked manifold = Root Canal. Can you fix a cracked manifold. No, you cannot - not unless you are a mechanic. You say that "Though they may not have the latest equipment, it must be noted that we're talking about a field that still hasn't gotten past the drill, does the latest version really matter? Dental 'innovation' moves at a snail's pace when it moves at all". - there have been a myriad of technical innovations in the field of Dentristry. Take the applications of platelet rich plasma for examplehttp (www.cda-adc.ca/jadc/vol-69/issue-10/664.pdf) or how about Oral and maxillofacial surgury (http://en.wikipedia.org...). These things are light-years beyond "the drill" as you so ambiguously state. Mexican Dentistry may in some cases be on par with US Dentristry - but by and large it isn't as safe, because it isn't as highly regulated. You have no idea the quality or safety of the dentist that you are entrusting to provide you with dental services. In the US you know if the individual was incompetant eventually the government would take away his license or he/she would be sued for malpractice. Have you ever elected to go to a medical professional who has been successfully sued for malpractice? I know I haven't. Most of them lose their right to practice anyway. and when you say that "unless of course you are an elitist, a racist, or an ethnocentrist." - knowing that US dentristry is regulated and safe (more so than less fortunate countries) does not make me an elitist. The place that I am from would frighten you if you could see the dentristry there. In reponse to "a racist or an ethnocentrist" I had no idea that non-whites were barred from practicing dentristry in the US. I suppose I had better inform my good friend Dr. Mendoza that he can no longer practice podiatry here in the US because he is not white. (saracasm) this entire statement is just silly. To quote you:"All the work this dentist has done to my teeth has been of a satisfactory quality. Just because you are satisfied doesn't mean you haven't been taken advantage of, no successful parasite unduly harms it's host." - Here is how I explain this: I had a problem with my teeth. I went to a dentist. Now I no longer have the problem with my teeth. If dentists did not fix problems with teeth, there would not be any dentists for very long. You say that the "underlying causes of enamel decay are perhaps not well understood". The causes of enamel decay is so well understood and has been for so long that there is a very thourough article on it at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org...) If you take issue with this source simply google "tooth decay" and learn about it. In first world countries it is an irrevocable consequence of the diet we eat. Surely you will not suggest that dentristy is to blame for the types of food we eat? Dentists have been telling us for years not to eat so many sugars and not to drink so many sodas. According to your arguement dentists would not do this because it "would innovate them out of a job". You say that indiginous people do not experience it as much as others - this is true for only certain small populations. They do not partake of the same types of food that we do - and even in these populations are people that have genetically poor teeth. This arguement is only good for tooth decay. What about those born with sever oral problems like tremedous overbites that stop them from being able to speak properly - or cleft palates? They have to go their entire lives like this because in those societies there are no dentists. When you say that "We build social system regularly to rationally answer the question of who watches the watchers" - the answer is the Government (in First World Countries). The regulating parties at the highest level are not comprised of soley dentists. Finally when you say that "If you wish to prove the entire industry is on the up and up, and always will be, that is your burden. I simply have to show that such a conflict exists, and suggest reasons why it would be good to understand said conflict." Proving that the entire industry is on the up and up has nothing to do with this debate. You cannot attempt to re-define or widen the terms of the debate after you have posted them. Suggesting that I must prove that every single dentist is fair and honest is attempting to alter the scope of the debate. I simply have to prove that a conflict of interest does not exist when dentists as a professional body advise on tooth care.