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Orthodontia—Another step forward
950
Ed'itorials
unconsidered. This, probably, will be taken care of when another one hundred per cent raise in dues is "railroaded through " the House of Delegates. One-sixth of th e increase is to go for relief of aged dentists. It is our belief that the dental profession would be much better off if the entire increas e were devoted to dental relief. We believe every member of the American Dental Association can afford, and is willing to p ay, t his incr ease in du es, but we object to th e manner in which it was " put over " in the House of Delegat es, and the way the chairman ruled the motion for r econsideration out of ord er. If the American Dental Association desires to limit its membership , as sugg ested by some at Cleveland, and to become an autocr atic society, one way to accomplish it is to follow the tactics employed 'at Cleveland. We believe th e association has a gr eat fu ture, but we also believe that that future can best be ser ved by making t he organization a democratic institution, wher e every member of t he House of Delegates is allowed to voice an opinion accord ing to parliamentary law, and where the officers will follow the published or der of business, and will not allow the passage of amendments at a tim e when th ey cannot legally be br ought up. The increase of dues is now a matt er of recor d ; therefore, it becomes compulsory for every local society to raise it s du es, or so to adjust its affairs that it may be able to pay the Ameri can Dental Associat ion t wice th e amount formerly paid. The local societies as a whole will undoubtedly do this, bu t we are fearful of the effect that thi s procedure will have on th e membership in many localities. If the American Dent al Associat ion is t o be what many of us wish it to be, its dues must be so r egulated and its affairs so conducted 'as not to cause men to r esign because of the way the business is transact ed. The wisdom of raising the dues is yet t o be proved. Instead of being an action to be commended, it is one to be r egretted.
Orthodontia-Another Step Forward HE legislature of th e stat e of Michigan has appropriated twenty-one million dollars during the past four years for the benefit of its University. Twelve million of this sum has been spent f or teaching and research, and buildings costing nearly as much are now under cours e of construction on the campus. Th e University of Michigan is accomplishing some astonishing things, and as Presid ent Burton of th e University ha s stated plainly, it is achi eving some" discreetl y spect acul ar" things. In making t hese remarkable steps of progress, we ar e pleased t o note that the inst itution h as n ot forgot ten its de part ment of denti stry or the spe cial field s in denti stry. In addition to man y other improvements, a d epartment of orthodontia ha s been established und er t he leadership of Dr. Leroy J ohn ston, formerly of Boston. We cannot believe that this accompli shm ent is a part of the "discr eetl y spe cta cular" described by 'Presid ent Burton, but the creation
T
Editorials
951
of a one veal' course in or t hod on tia in a large universit y at t h is time may , at lea st, be called commendable and significant. The fa ct that it is being sponsored by a tax-supported university remov es on e of t he gre at barrier s in the way of t he est ablis hme nt of postgradua te courses in or tho do ntia, whi ch mi gh t consume many week s of time, namely, th e economic quest ion inv olve d in the proper and comp let e trainin g of th or ou ghly equipped orthodontists. The president of one of the greatest and largest edu cational instituti ons in th is country sp eaks of or t hodo ntia as "that n ew a nd wonderful sc ience making suc h rapid progress as a department of dentistry." This al on e is significan t, as it indicates that the specialt y is mak in g progr ess as a scientifi c spec ialty . Not only has the Univ er sity of Michigan in augurated postgraduate courses in orthodontia, but it has also included: Or al Surgery and Conduction Anesthesia, Preventive D entistry and the Treatment of Pyorrhea Alv eolaris, Metallurgy, Operative D entistry, Crown and Bridge 'York and Prosthodontia, in its advanced work leading to the degree of Ma st er of S eience. Th e following is quoted fr om the bullet in of th e d en tal d epart men t : " Only t hose graduates may be admitted wh o h ave mad e good r ecor ds during their colle gi ate career, and it is expected that th e grade of 'work fo r th e d egree of Ma st er of Science will be of higher or der t ha n th at r equ ir ed for th e degree of Doct or of Dental Surgery . Th e work offere d in th e subjects stated inc ludes t he latest d evelop ment s of each su bject, an d is a r ra nged by a competent comm ittee that will st ud v th e l1 pplie<1llt's edueation so as adequately to prep are f or spec ializat ion in pi-act ice. " This is especially true in the courses in ora l surgery an d or thodo ntia. It is ge ne r all y agreed that the d en tal course leading t o the degree of Doct or of Den tal Sur gery does n ot adequa tely prepare fo r th ese two eompa ra tivelv ne wly developed practices. Both r equire mu ch of t he instr uet ion t ha t h as n ot bee n in cluded in t h e d ental course and wh ich is given to the student of m edi cin e. " The or thodontia cou rse in t he Univer sity of Mich igan must necessarily be more or less of an ex pe ri me nt . However, those wh o have been responsible for its inauguration h av e taken one of the greatest ste ps for the advancement of this science, and for its further appreci ati on as a corollary science in the University. It is a mo st commendable action. -H. C. P.
Ed'itorials
unconsidered. This, probably, will be taken care of when another one hundred per cent raise in dues is "railroaded through " the House of Delegates. One-sixth of th e increase is to go for relief of aged dentists. It is our belief that the dental profession would be much better off if the entire increas e were devoted to dental relief. We believe every member of the American Dental Association can afford, and is willing to p ay, t his incr ease in du es, but we object to th e manner in which it was " put over " in the House of Delegat es, and the way the chairman ruled the motion for r econsideration out of ord er. If the American Dental Association desires to limit its membership , as sugg ested by some at Cleveland, and to become an autocr atic society, one way to accomplish it is to follow the tactics employed 'at Cleveland. We believe th e association has a gr eat fu ture, but we also believe that that future can best be ser ved by making t he organization a democratic institution, wher e every member of t he House of Delegates is allowed to voice an opinion accord ing to parliamentary law, and where the officers will follow the published or der of business, and will not allow the passage of amendments at a tim e when th ey cannot legally be br ought up. The increase of dues is now a matt er of recor d ; therefore, it becomes compulsory for every local society to raise it s du es, or so to adjust its affairs that it may be able to pay the Ameri can Dental Associat ion t wice th e amount formerly paid. The local societies as a whole will undoubtedly do this, bu t we are fearful of the effect that thi s procedure will have on th e membership in many localities. If the American Dent al Associat ion is t o be what many of us wish it to be, its dues must be so r egulated and its affairs so conducted 'as not to cause men to r esign because of the way the business is transact ed. The wisdom of raising the dues is yet t o be proved. Instead of being an action to be commended, it is one to be r egretted.
Orthodontia-Another Step Forward HE legislature of th e stat e of Michigan has appropriated twenty-one million dollars during the past four years for the benefit of its University. Twelve million of this sum has been spent f or teaching and research, and buildings costing nearly as much are now under cours e of construction on the campus. Th e University of Michigan is accomplishing some astonishing things, and as Presid ent Burton of th e University ha s stated plainly, it is achi eving some" discreetl y spect acul ar" things. In making t hese remarkable steps of progress, we ar e pleased t o note that the inst itution h as n ot forgot ten its de part ment of denti stry or the spe cial field s in denti stry. In addition to man y other improvements, a d epartment of orthodontia ha s been established und er t he leadership of Dr. Leroy J ohn ston, formerly of Boston. We cannot believe that this accompli shm ent is a part of the "discr eetl y spe cta cular" described by 'Presid ent Burton, but the creation
T
Editorials
951
of a one veal' course in or t hod on tia in a large universit y at t h is time may , at lea st, be called commendable and significant. The fa ct that it is being sponsored by a tax-supported university remov es on e of t he gre at barrier s in the way of t he est ablis hme nt of postgradua te courses in or tho do ntia, whi ch mi gh t consume many week s of time, namely, th e economic quest ion inv olve d in the proper and comp let e trainin g of th or ou ghly equipped orthodontists. The president of one of the greatest and largest edu cational instituti ons in th is country sp eaks of or t hodo ntia as "that n ew a nd wonderful sc ience making suc h rapid progress as a department of dentistry." This al on e is significan t, as it indicates that the specialt y is mak in g progr ess as a scientifi c spec ialty . Not only has the Univ er sity of Michigan in augurated postgraduate courses in orthodontia, but it has also included: Or al Surgery and Conduction Anesthesia, Preventive D entistry and the Treatment of Pyorrhea Alv eolaris, Metallurgy, Operative D entistry, Crown and Bridge 'York and Prosthodontia, in its advanced work leading to the degree of Ma st er of S eience. Th e following is quoted fr om the bullet in of th e d en tal d epart men t : " Only t hose graduates may be admitted wh o h ave mad e good r ecor ds during their colle gi ate career, and it is expected that th e grade of 'work fo r th e d egree of Ma st er of Science will be of higher or der t ha n th at r equ ir ed for th e degree of Doct or of Dental Surgery . Th e work offere d in th e subjects stated inc ludes t he latest d evelop ment s of each su bject, an d is a r ra nged by a competent comm ittee that will st ud v th e l1 pplie<1llt's edueation so as adequately to prep are f or spec ializat ion in pi-act ice. " This is especially true in the courses in ora l surgery an d or thodo ntia. It is ge ne r all y agreed that the d en tal course leading t o the degree of Doct or of Den tal Sur gery does n ot adequa tely prepare fo r th ese two eompa ra tivelv ne wly developed practices. Both r equire mu ch of t he instr uet ion t ha t h as n ot bee n in cluded in t h e d ental course and wh ich is given to the student of m edi cin e. " The or thodontia cou rse in t he Univer sity of Mich igan must necessarily be more or less of an ex pe ri me nt . However, those wh o have been responsible for its inauguration h av e taken one of the greatest ste ps for the advancement of this science, and for its further appreci ati on as a corollary science in the University. It is a mo st commendable action. -H. C. P.