Dr. Robert Nara: Freedom from Dental Disease

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PLOWBOY: Was that the end of your troubles?

NARA: Everything did settle down for a while. I was, at the time, writing research proposals for Michigan Technological University. And, about a year after the trial, I came up with a really unique proposal that seemed to have a very good chance of being accepted. While I was out of town lecturing, however, the president of the Copper County District Dental Society went to the dean of the university's School of Business—who was in charge of the grant proposal program—and told him that the college should take my name off the proposal and put the Dental Society president's name on it! The president threatened that—If this wasn't done—the Society's members would write letters to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare saying that they did not want this research done in their area. Of course, HEW isn't likely to try to conduct research in any given area if the local doctors oppose that study . . . because the project would become a terrible mess.

PLOWBOY: Are you referring to the peer pressure that could be put on the researchers?

NARA: Correct. Anyway, the dean was upset—he didn't want to lose the grant that might mean several million dollars to his university—and, as he was unable to reach me, he gave in. My name was taken off the proposal and the name of the president of the County District Dental Society was put on.

I was, of course, very angry when I heard about this, because the proposal was my work! So—since I had no other course of action available—I filed a complaint with the Dental Society against its own president! In retaliation, the Society simply disbanded and then reorganized itself . . . thereby clearing the records of all former complaints!

But, although those local dental politicians had effectively swept my charges under the table, they were really riled that I'd had the gall to attack them. Soon after they had reorganized their little club, Society dentists sent a series of letters to the Department of Licensing and Regulation. These documents charged me with unethical conduct on the grounds that I was still training my dental assistants to polish teeth and perform other such routine chores.

Ironically, while I was being hassled for training my assistants to polish teeth, the major dental journals were carrying ads for a portable device that would allow patients to polish their own teeth at home!

And, to make the situation even more ludicrous, I was then— and still am—qualified to teach in any dental school in the country. I don't need a single additional credit to train young people to become dentists . . . and yet my profession attacked me for teaching dental assistants to polish teeth!

PLOWBOY: The charge is almost identical to that made in 1972 . . . how were the members of the Dental Society able to make it stick in this case?

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