Dentists earn above-average wages because they possess highly specialized skills that most of us lack, and no one should begrudge them that. But dentists have also gotten quite canny at padding their earnings by enacting regulatory restrictions on the provision of tooth-related services by non-dentists even if the service in question doesn't actually require a dentist's specialized skills. According to the Food and Drug Administration, for example, tooth-whitening products are perfectly safe to sell over the counter and be applied at home by anyone who cares to do it. But in Connecticut the Connecticut Dental Commission has ruled that only dentists may provide tooth-whitening services as a business.
Read the entire blog post at Slate.
