RSS 2.0 FeedSuccessful Dentist Shut Down By Florida Government…
by Brad Warbiany…because he didn’t get the government’s permission.
Roger Bean, 60, was arrested on Tuesday and held on a $US6,000 bond.
Bean performed denture fittings and made false teeth in his garage, charging just $US200 for a full set of dentures, a procedure that typically costs more than $US2,000, authorities said.
But he was not licensed to practice in Florida.
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s detective Don Zumpano said there were “health risks with operating this type of facility outside of your house”, adding that Bean’s workspace was “filthy”.
Neighbours and clients, however, praised Bean for saving them thousands of dollars.
Ron St. Mary, 73, head of the neighbourhood crime watch, said Bean is no criminal.
“He’s helping the old people who don’t have a few dollars,” he said. “I think the world of him.”
Truthfully, he wasn’t quite a dentist. Much like the hair-braiders, Bean was simply providing a service that some dentists provide, that doesn’t really require the full training a dentist requires, for a much smaller fee. Nor did anyone think he was a licensed dentist, if he was working out of his “filthy garage”. But consumers understood that he could fit them for dentures for $200, while “real” dentists would charge 10 times as much.
Now, I’m not sure how much training it really takes to fit a mold and put together some dentures. But I didn’t hear any information in this story that suggests customers were complaining. What I do know, however, is that to become a dentist is much more in-depth than just fitting dentures. You learn enough to be entrusted with prescribing medicine and administering anesthesia, something that Bean did not do.
When you hear about something like this, you have to ask yourself who is helped. People who need dentures don’t seem to benefit. On the contrary, it’s dentists, who have now shut down a competitor and can charge 10 times what he charged for the same service. Who benefits from licensing? Is it the consumer? Nope… Milton Friedman laid it out quite succinctly:
State licensing rules limits entry into the professions, thereby allowing professionals to charge higher fees than if competition were more open. That (more than the public interest) is why professionals love licensing.
While you may think that stopping Roger Bean protects the public, I’d ask you to look at those old people who can’t afford $2000 for dentures. Does stopping Bean really help them?
This man is a hero of the old and the toothless. A modern vigilante who fights bad teeth and over-priced dental “professionals”
But seriously, I wonder if he could be classified as an oral sculptor/artist rather than a fake dentist. I he never claimed to have a license then he should not be prosecuted.
Comment by Keith — May 5, 2007 @ 9:56 am