The Price of Freedom (Guest Editorial) (Report)
By CRANIO: The Journal of Craniomandibular Practice
- Release Date: 2011-01-01
- Genre: Engineering
Description
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance," thus spoke Thomas Jefferson. He knew that freedom is always under attack on many fronts. Now our freedom to practice the best care possible for those who suffer from TMDs is again under attack by a small group of politically minded academics and researchers. They again seek to impose their beliefs on all other doctors. Jefferson foretold this also when he stated: "The jaws of power are always open to devour, and her arm is always stretched out, if possible, to destroy the freedom of thinking, speaking, and writing." The professional freedom that has been hard fought to achieve and maintain over the past 40 years is again under attack. In the August issue of Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology and Endodontology (commonly called Triple O) was an editorial by Dr. Charles Greene entitled "Diagnosis and treatment of temporomandibular disorders: emergence of a new care guidelines statement." He presented the International Association for Dental Research/American Association for Dental Research Guidelines for the treatment of TMD. In the September version of the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA), Dr. Greene published the same IADR/AADR Guidelines. However, the accompanying explanations were markedly different in each publication. The JADA version, while full of unsubstantiated claims of support, was generic in nature, but staked out a position of authority claiming: "Therefore, the publication of this new TMD standard could be regarded as the closest thing to date to a true standard of care in this contentious field." While just the claim of establishing an SOC by Dr. Greene and the IADR should send tremors of concern down the spine of anyone familiar with their politics, the Triple O editorial showed the true nature of this beast. The initial target is stated clearly to a friendly Triple O audience: "The main subject of controversy within the diagnostic area has been related to the use of various electronic diagnostic devices, such as electromyography, jaw movement trackers, and sound recorders.... technological devices have failed to meet standards of reliability and validity. In other words, they do not satisfy the requirements for sensitivity and specificity that are essential for clinical diagnosis of individual patients." Here we are again fighting for scientific, intellectual and professional freedom to practice the best dentistry possible. The same old foe has come sneaking around again.
