Dental News - US election results not favoured by dentists

Daniel Zimmermann, DTI

Sun. 9 November 2008

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LEIPZIG, Germany: According to a recent survey, US dentists might be disappointed by the Democratic win in the US elections last month. Two out of three dentists surveyed in a poll by dental practice marketing resource The Wealthy Dentist said that former Republican nominee John McCain would be a better president for dentists. One in six favoured Obama, while the remainder said there would be no difference between the two.

Illinois Senator Barack Obama won the recent US presidential election against John McCain by 365 to 173 votes. He will take office from incumbent president George W. Bush in January next year. In a Democrat radio address in November, he announced the development of a plan that will create 2.5 million jobs by 2011—“a plan big enough to meet the challenges we face that I intend to sign soon after taking office.” He has also promised to expand federally funded health care for lower income children and other groups. Many poor and lower-middleclass families in the US do not receive adequate care, in part because most dentists want customers who can pay in cash or have private insurance. The lack of dental care is also not restricted to the poor and their children, recent data show. Experts on oral health say that about 100 million Americans have no access to care.

Most dentists, however, believe that a Republican would have been better for the economy. “Due to higher taxes by Obama, there will be less money to spend on dentistry,” griped a Louisiana dentist. “Obama will be a disaster, raising costs for employers and decreasing patient service,” agreed a New Jersey dentist. “There will be less elective cosmetic services as the economy goes downhill!”

Dentists were concerned about tax issues. “Obama is a classic Robin Hood Democrat: tax the people who work to create wealth, and redistribute it to the masses,” said a Florida dentist. “The last thing I need is higher taxes,” said a California periodontist.

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