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In this survey, we found that half of dentists are ready for the profession to unionize. Feeling trapped by dental insurance and abandoned by the American Dental Association, many dentists are ready for an organized dental union.
"The wimps running the dental societies certainly don't help when it comes to the insurers," complained one dentist.
What else did our dentists think about dentists unionizing?
- “You have got to be kidding me. Ever heard of the ADA???” (Missouri prosthodontist)
- “We should bring a class action lawsuit on those insurance companies!” (California dentist)
- “What good would it do? Unionization would mean giving up each dentist's independence. If a dentist doesn't want to deal with insurance, he doesn't have to. It's entirely voluntary.” (California dentist)
- "We can't get more than 70% of dentists to join the ADA. How would you ever get them to join a union?” (Florida dentist)
- “Insurance is God's gift to dentistry! Without it, there would be a lot less dentistry getting done. Just call me a ‘dental insurance stooge.’” (Texas dental consultant)
- “We have the ADA and they can't get us national licensing. Why more socialism?" (New Jersey dentist)
- “We should have unionized 20 years ago for collective bargaining purposes. We would then be on an equal footing with insurance companies. Maybe then I could legally discuss fees with colleagues?” (Florida orthodontist)
Read more: Half of Dentists Ready to Unionize
Post a comment
November 7th, 2008 at 9:53 am
To unionize means to be desparate. The key issue is to get all the employers to change to Direct Reimbursement. Just think of how many dollars are wasted by employers who pay for premiums for their employees but the employees don’t use their dental plans because of fear, lack of dental IQ, etc.
The insurance companies are there to make money and they know it too well.
If we unionize, the Unions will control us. Do we stand in picket lines waiting for some golden goose to lay an egg for us? What about our employees? If we don’t pay them enough will they too go on strike so one day when we go to the office there is no staff? Be wise it is better to have control of your own destiny rather than have some large union organization running your life.
November 10th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I found out from the ADA that just 3 percent of members don’t renew their membership each year—that’s pretty different than what this survey seems to say. I’m glad to be one of the 97 out of every 100 dentists that continues to belong to the ADA. In addition, the ADA is well-positioned to be an effective advocate for my interests – as well as those of my fellow 156,000 ADA members.
November 10th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
This question didn’t ask dentists if they were memebers of the ADA or not. Preumably, many of the dentists who want to unionize are members of the ADA, but are somehow dissatisfied with the organization.
In a previous Wealthy Dentist survey we found that
One in Four Dentists Has Dropped the ADA
Some of those dentist respondents made it clear that they were unenthusiastic ADA members. So not all ADA members love the dental association.