- Email: [email protected]
Responsibility and sugary drinks
COMMENTARIES
Today, I am much less enthusiastic because, to quote another economic saying relating to Dr. Vujicic’s findings, when considering financing a dental education, the old adage applies: “Let the buyer beware.” John A. McFadyen, DDS Canon City, CO
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adaj.2015.04.011 Copyright ª 2015 American Dental Association. All rights reserved.
RESPONSIBILITY AND SUGARY DRINKS
I write in response to Dr. Rob H. Beaglehole’s February JADA guest editorial, “Dentists and Sugary Drinks: A Call to Action” (JADA. 2015;145[2]:73-74). Dr. Beaglehole writes that “the United States is in the midst of an obesity epidemic” and that “it is the duty of all health professionals to act to reduce these frightening rates.” We, as dentists and as health care providers, have a responsibility to serve and educate our patients within the scope of our practices, but don’t people have the primary responsibility for the choices that affect their health and their girth? Dr. Beaglehole states, with reference to sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), that “these are products that we should prevent our children and youth from drinking.” How, exactly, should we as dentists go about preventing the children and teens of America from consuming SSBs? Isn’t that the proper role and responsibility of parents? Dr. Beaglehole calls for organized dentistry to push politicians to enact
legislation that would infringe on the rights of businesses to advertise their legal products and calls for legislative measures to limit availability of SSBs. As a general practice dentist, I share Dr. Beaglehole’s concern about the effects of SSBs on the dental health of my patients, and I don’t doubt that excessive consumption of SSBs contribute to obesity and to type II diabetes as well. The issue here is one of ownership. Dental caries is, for the most part, preventable. Although I strive to educate my patients, the daily behavior required for caries prevention doesn’t happen in my office; it happens at home. I can’t control my patients’ behavior outside my office; I do not “own” their cavities. Even if I could control their behavior, I would not. I respect the ideals of personal choice and personal responsibility too much to assume a parental role in their lives. With freedom comes responsibility. I hope our profession will respect and support individual freedom and responsibility rather than initiatives and measures that would erode them. Ronald Jarvis, DDS Kalispell, MT
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adaj.2015.04.012 Copyright ª 2015 American Dental Association. All rights reserved.
health of his patients, and I appreciate his point of view. However, I take issue with his attribution of ownership of the problem of oral health to families. In an ideal society, I would probably agree with him. But in a society in which there are failures of the market, education, information, and employment, it is hardly fair to expect families always to make the best decisions in the interests of their children’s health. It is difficult to make a healthy behavioral change when we live in such an unhealthy, obesogenic environment. Most societies, including that of the United States, expect the government to make healthier choices the easiest choices, whether they be for road safety or for child health more generally. Dentists individually and through their professional organizations can improve the oral health status of whole populations by advocating policies that promote the fluoridation of drinking water and the reduction in consumption of sugary drinks. There are plenty of precedents for governments to reduce the harm caused by lawful products—for example, tobacco control policies. Rob H. Beaglehole, BSc, BDS, MSc Dental Public Health (London) Principal Dental Officer Community Oral Health Service Nelson Marlborough District Health Board Nelson, New Zealand
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adaj.2015.04.013
Author’s response: I welcome Dr. Jarvis’s concern for the oral
Copyright ª 2015 American Dental Association. All rights reserved.
JADA 146(6) http://jada.ada.org
June 2015 361
Today, I am much less enthusiastic because, to quote another economic saying relating to Dr. Vujicic’s findings, when considering financing a dental education, the old adage applies: “Let the buyer beware.” John A. McFadyen, DDS Canon City, CO
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adaj.2015.04.011 Copyright ª 2015 American Dental Association. All rights reserved.
RESPONSIBILITY AND SUGARY DRINKS
I write in response to Dr. Rob H. Beaglehole’s February JADA guest editorial, “Dentists and Sugary Drinks: A Call to Action” (JADA. 2015;145[2]:73-74). Dr. Beaglehole writes that “the United States is in the midst of an obesity epidemic” and that “it is the duty of all health professionals to act to reduce these frightening rates.” We, as dentists and as health care providers, have a responsibility to serve and educate our patients within the scope of our practices, but don’t people have the primary responsibility for the choices that affect their health and their girth? Dr. Beaglehole states, with reference to sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), that “these are products that we should prevent our children and youth from drinking.” How, exactly, should we as dentists go about preventing the children and teens of America from consuming SSBs? Isn’t that the proper role and responsibility of parents? Dr. Beaglehole calls for organized dentistry to push politicians to enact
legislation that would infringe on the rights of businesses to advertise their legal products and calls for legislative measures to limit availability of SSBs. As a general practice dentist, I share Dr. Beaglehole’s concern about the effects of SSBs on the dental health of my patients, and I don’t doubt that excessive consumption of SSBs contribute to obesity and to type II diabetes as well. The issue here is one of ownership. Dental caries is, for the most part, preventable. Although I strive to educate my patients, the daily behavior required for caries prevention doesn’t happen in my office; it happens at home. I can’t control my patients’ behavior outside my office; I do not “own” their cavities. Even if I could control their behavior, I would not. I respect the ideals of personal choice and personal responsibility too much to assume a parental role in their lives. With freedom comes responsibility. I hope our profession will respect and support individual freedom and responsibility rather than initiatives and measures that would erode them. Ronald Jarvis, DDS Kalispell, MT
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adaj.2015.04.012 Copyright ª 2015 American Dental Association. All rights reserved.
health of his patients, and I appreciate his point of view. However, I take issue with his attribution of ownership of the problem of oral health to families. In an ideal society, I would probably agree with him. But in a society in which there are failures of the market, education, information, and employment, it is hardly fair to expect families always to make the best decisions in the interests of their children’s health. It is difficult to make a healthy behavioral change when we live in such an unhealthy, obesogenic environment. Most societies, including that of the United States, expect the government to make healthier choices the easiest choices, whether they be for road safety or for child health more generally. Dentists individually and through their professional organizations can improve the oral health status of whole populations by advocating policies that promote the fluoridation of drinking water and the reduction in consumption of sugary drinks. There are plenty of precedents for governments to reduce the harm caused by lawful products—for example, tobacco control policies. Rob H. Beaglehole, BSc, BDS, MSc Dental Public Health (London) Principal Dental Officer Community Oral Health Service Nelson Marlborough District Health Board Nelson, New Zealand
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adaj.2015.04.013
Author’s response: I welcome Dr. Jarvis’s concern for the oral
Copyright ª 2015 American Dental Association. All rights reserved.
JADA 146(6) http://jada.ada.org
June 2015 361