Congratulations to those dentists who have become wealthy through the practice of their profession, as described in the August JADA article by Ellen Rinaldi and Alisa Shin, "Securing Your Family’s Future" (JADA 2006;137[8]: 1139–43).
However, as a hardworking professional of more modest means, I am not certain if I am more horrified by the fact that there are methods of avoiding taxes only available to the wealthy, or that these methods are being endorsed by the American Dental Association through its Journal.
I have been, in the past, proud to display JADA to my patients, and to the interested public. This August issue is not worthy of even the recycle bin. Dentists are privileged and highly educated members of our society, and some are fortunate enough to become wealthy through their practices.
As someone who is proud of his profession, I do not want anyone to regard all dentists as concerned with accumulating wealth and avoiding paying our fair share to a society that holds us in such high regard.
