Numbering Suggestion

— a group organized by and for the members o f the dental profession— is long overdue. The deprivation of our constitutionally guaranteed free­ doms is totally unfair. If I as a practicing dentist in State A am not qualified to practice den­ tistry in State B, what happens in the case o f a patient who should cross the border and somehow wind up in my office? Do I tell him I can’t work on him because I am not licensed in his state and that he must seek a den­ tist licensed in his state? If that sounds ridiculous, it is be­ cause it is. If I can work on a patient from State B because he has crossed an arbitrary, artificial, and imaginary line to State A, why in the name of reason can’t I cross that line and treat him in his state? Also, the sheer idiocy o f a panel o f four or five (in many cases local po­ litical hacks) dentists attempting to evaluate a dentist’s ability in a few days is almost so insane that the mere thought points out how improp­ er the whole situation is. They can determine in a few days after several tests of ability what it took an ADA accredited dental school four years to teach and evaluate. Impossible! A bit o f bad luck can keep a po­ tentially fine dentist from practicing in a given state. The original reasons for state board examinations were valid, but they— like many other things— have outlived their useful­ ness. Let’s end this indignity to the members o f our profession and this insult to all the dental educators and the schools across the country. WILLIAM J . MACCHIA, DDS EAST HAVEN, CONN

Smoking at health meetings

Recently I attended the Philadelphia County Dental Meeting for two days. I always have appreciated the ef­ forts o f the clinicians and invariably come away stimulated or with in­ creased knowledge, but I have be­ come progressively more irritated with each successive experience try­ ing to comprehend smoking at a pro­ fessional health meeting.

Considering that air pollution is a worldwide ecological problem with serious health consequences, it be­ comes ludicrous to sit in a smokefilled room searching for ways to cure dental ills. I know the smoking dentist at the meeting is as sincere and competent as the nonsmoker or he wouldn’t be there, and I realize that his addiction or psychological dependence makes it impossible for him to stop. How­ ever, at least at a professional meet­ ing, couldn’t we show the same con­ cern for our fdlowman’s eyes, respi­ ratory tree, and cardiovascular sys­ tem as we do for his gingiva? FRANCIS MILANO, DDS MERCHANTVILLE, N J

R eciprocity

I compliment you on publishing E. M. D ’Eramo’s article in the Febru­ ary issue O f THE JOURNAL. I highly support the Tufts’ students statement and would like to see the A D A move for the adoption o f their recommendation. DONALD R. MERRYFIELD, DDS

tion, 32 permanent teeth erupted. The above table applies when there has been little or no artificial interference in teething, but girls will generally lead boys in this develop­ ment and there will be individual variation. The nine stages, therefore, give the dental age which reflects the biologi­ cal age. I have developed an Index of Teething (IT), which consists o f put­ ting the number o f erupted perma­ nent teeth above a horizontal line and the number of primary teeth be­ low it. Thus, 12/12 would indicate the second interval o f teething. Applying the nine stages to epilep­ sy and acne showed, for example, a high incidence o f seizures and acne in stage eight, and a marked fall in incidence o f both seizures and acne in stage nine. Another interesting point is the re­ lationship o f the IT to the IQ (intelli­ gence quotient). At two coeducation­ al schools, it was found in the majori­ ty o f cases that girls had higher ITs and IQs than boys. This is natural since boys develop more slowly than girls, and this is reflected by the IT.

BOWIE, MD

F.

R. BERTRAND, BDS CAPE TOWN

REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

The dental age

In response to requests received, the N ine Stages o f Human Development are based on the four phases of teeth­ ing, and are as follows: — 1. Pre-teething stage, 0 to 5 months. — 2. First phase o f teething, 6 months to 2 years. — 3. First teething interval (20 pri­ mary teeth erupted), 3 to 5 years. —A. Second phase of teething, 6 to 8 years. — 5. Second teething interval (12 primary teeth and 12 permanent), 9 years. — 6. Third phase o f teething, 10 to 12 years. — 7. Third teething interval (28 permanent teeth erupted), 13 to 14 years. — 8. Fourth phase o f teething, 15 to 20 years. — 9. Post-teething stage o f matura­

N um bering suggestion

I was very pleased to learn about the new system o f tooth-numbering which the Federation Dentaire Inter­ nationale (FDI) recently adopted. It certainly will solve many problems which were inherent in the previous systems. Naturally, the real test will come with the actual usage o f the system. Before the system goes into wide­ spread usage, I would like to make A suggestion which— in my opinion— will make the numbering system more meaningful. I would like to suggest that the first digit be an odd digit for the upper teeth and an even digit for the lower teeth. In this man­ ner, the two digits will make it that much easier to differentiate the up­ per from the lower teeth. To tie in with the historical usage,

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

I JADA, Vol. 82,

May 1971 ■ 951

I w ould keep th e upper right qu ad ­ ran ts 11 to 18 and 51 to 55, and th e low er left quadrants 41 to 48 and 81 to 85. BENJAMIN MAGIER, DDS OAK PARK, MICH

C avit supporter T h e article by D octors W iderm an, Eam es, and Serene in th e F ebruary ja d a on the physical and biologic p roperties o f C avit was long overdue. C avit has becom e a standard in m ost dental offices, and w e users o f C av it com plim ent th e researchers for this excellent paper. I w ould like to p o in t o u t one area o f im portance th a t was overlooked. W e general practitioners o r special­ ists w ho prep are teeth for crow ns o r onlays will invariably p rotect the teeth before any tem porary cover­ age is placed. T his generally com es in th e form o f topical steroids and cavity liners. A ccording to m any lecturers, p ro ­ tective liners are an absolute m ust. T h e aspiration o f odontoblasts into th e dentinal tubules on a tooth th a t h as been lined w ith a varnish would be reduced to a m inim um , if not h alted com pletely. I w rite this letter only in defense o f C avit. I have found it to be an ex­ cellent dental m aterial to seat tre a t­ m en t crow ns. W hen com bined with co tto n fibers, it m ay also be placed in onlay o r inlay preparations. PETER A. MORABITO, DDS ARLINGTON, VA

Postgraduate program s I am in th e process, like so m any others, o f applying to dental postgrad­ u ate program s. D uring this process, I have noticed a condition existing w hich has caused m e concern and I am sure th a t it has affected others similarly. M ost postgraduate program s at the accredited dental schools throughout o u r nation annually receive an enor­

m ous num ber o f applications for lim ­ ited openings in any program . T his produces a com plicated situation for th e school’s adm issions com m ittee. W ith th e norm al am ount o f exist­ ing pressures o f teaching, research, and so forth, these com m ittee m em ­ bers have th e additional tasks o f so rt­ ing out hund red s o f applicants and m aking th eir selections. T h e appli­ cants are selected only after careful consideration. All applicants are professionals whose qualifications vary, but who are attem pting to further their dental education. T h eir backgrounds m ay vary considerably, but they are re ­ ce n t graduates, dentists com pleting their m ilitary obligations, experi­ enced general practitioners, or spe­ cialists. I am sure th a t m ost o f those who have applied to these program s will agree with m e th a t th e schools treat the applicant w ith little concern for his o r h er fu tu re plans. L et m e explain th e procedures m ost schools use— procedures o f w hich I am sure you are aware. T h e schools m ake specific m ention to all applicants o f th e deadline for appli­ cation forms. T h ey further set down very specific regulations for applica­ tion procedures, interview appoint­ ments, and so on. W hen all these fo r­ m alities have been com pleted, th e ad­ m issions com m ittees begin to sort and w ade th ro u g h th e statistics. They first elim inate th e undesirables and then begin further study o f th e p o te n ­ tial candidates. In this interim , they are pressured from th e applicants, from friends o f the applicants, from friends o f friends. C om bined w ith oth er school pressures, this causes com m ittee m em bers m u ch consternation. H ow ever, th e schools do n o t seek any solution to these problem s, and thus th e problem s affecting these m en cause them to trea t th e appli­ cants w ithout concern. T h e end re ­ sult is organized confusion, to say the least. T he applicant’s first problem c o n ­ cerns th e date w hen th e schools de­ cide to notify applicants o f their sta­

952 ■ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR / JADA, Vol. 82, May 1971

tus. A lthough m ost schools set Ja n u ­ ary 12, others com e o ut earlier to, perhaps, fill th e ir classes early o r o b ­ tain th e p referred applicants. T his tactic forces som e applicants to m ake early decisions, and they com m it their deposit fee to an “ early” school. I f they are accepted later at a p re ­ ferred school, they m ust forfeit their deposit fee. O ther schools, whose reputations in various specialties exceed others, usually find no problem s in filling their classes w ith candidates o f their choice and purposely delay th eir n o ­ tifications. A nother situation concerns alter­ n ate positions. A ffected are those whose applications have been “favor­ ably acted u p o n ,” b u t for som e u n ­ explained reason are n o t prim e choice applicants. T h e alternates are literally left “hanging w ith h ope” for approxim ately six m onths. Finally, th e re are those who have n o t been accepted. M ost schools a t­ tem pt to no tify these individuals im ­ m ediately, b ut others get to it when their m uch-overw orked secretaries find the tim e. I t is m y contention th a t p artial so­ lution to these problem s lies w ith a p roposed list o f rules set forth by th e B oard o f School A ccreditation. First, all accredited schools should be com pelled to adhere to a definite date when all acceptance and alter­ n ate notifications m ay be released. Also, th e alternate should be in ­ form ed o f his standing on th e list o f alternates. N ext, a set perio d o f tim e should be established during w hich the ap ­ plicants m ay respond and subm it their deposit fees. Follow ing this deadline, th e schools should fill th e rem aining seats w ith alternates. In conclusion, those n o t accepted should be notified by a given date. I realize th a t the problem s and solutions are n o t as sim ple as I have suggested, and th ere are m any other factors involved. I w ould be very in ­ terested in hearing opinions o f others on these problem s. ALFRED P. RICH, DMD HATBORO, PA