The clinical practice of treating patients suffering with craniofacial pain problems is quite difficult. It’s perhaps the most taxing of all areas of dentistry. Shadowing patient care is the lingering worry of malpractice, state board accusations by disgruntled patients, OSHA regulations, and who knows what else. Now we have a further distraction, especially for anyone who deviates even slightly from what’s considered as acceptable by the powers that be . . . whoever they are.
In 1969, Stephen Barrett founded the Lehigh Valley Committee Against Health Fraud. In 1977, this self-promoting, all-knowing group of watchdogs assumed its current name: Quackwatch. Its purpose was to combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, and fallacies. According to whom? That’s the problem. To quote Barrett’s website (www.quackwatch.org), he defines quackery as, “. . . anything involving overpromotion in the field of health.” This definition would include, “questionable ideas as well as questionable products and services, regardless of the sincerity of their promoters.”
In league with Barrett is Robert Baratz, M.D., D.D.S., Ph.D. There are several others as well (e.g., John Dodes and Marvin Schissel just to name a couple), who search procedures, web sites, continuing education courses, individual practitioners, products, devices, and even ideas. If these items do not measure up to what these self-appointed, elite intelligentsia consider acceptable or scientific (according to their own definitions), Quackwatch goes into action. They intimidate, slander, and threaten to sue if the person, procedure, item, or idea doesn’t immediately conform to what is, in their minds, acceptable. Does anyone remember Germany in the late 1930s and early 1940s?
For example, if you incorporate any form of biological dentistry into your practice, you’re a quack. If you recommend supplements or vitamins or work with a chiropractor or naturopath, yep, you guessed it, you’re a quack. Kinesiology, elimination of amalgam from your practice, sedation, cosmetic dentistry, specialize in treating headaches, backaches, myofascial pain, or TMJ problems, grab the sign: “I am a quack.”
Many readers of this journal are leaders in the field of craniofacial pain, and believe it or not, actually specialize (limit their practices) in treating headaches, backaches, myofascial pain, and TMJ problems. Apparently these practitioners are all quacks. Such procedures as anterior repositioning of the mandible, trigger point injections, radio frequency surgery, treatment of osteocavitations, and many other procedures accepted among those of us who actually have to treat patients are quackery according to Barrett, Baratz, and their minions.
Did Barrett start this self-promoting public service with ill intentions? Probably not, but he anointed himself as a crusader, and unfortunately, many crusaders, without reason and oversight, gather zealots. Zealots become blinded witch hunters. (We all remember the history of witch hunts, whose zealots decided that anything outside of their understanding of normal was witchery and put thousands of innocents to death.) The case of these misguided people is to condemn as quackery any practice of medicine that does not meet their personal approval and to put an end to the practice.
How can anyone be an expert in every aspect of medicine, dentistry, chiropractic, homeopathy, nutrition, and basically, any other area of health care? What an awesome responsibility to have such intellect and insight into virtually everything in the health sciences. Just like Rush Limbaugh, they must have half of their brains tied behind their backs, just to make it fair.
What’s Barrett’s background? He claims to be a retired psychiatrist, but in his last five years of practice ending in 1993, legal documents show Barrett saw only nine patients, and his so-called employment was at the Pennsylvania State Mental Hospital in Allentown where he worked 4 to 8 hours a week. Quite a resume for an expert on everything!
And what about Barrett’s side-kick, Robert Baratz? Is he qualified to persecute dentists as he has been quite actively doing recently? He is, if you consider a medical practice of hair removal and skin care as adequate preparation for the difficult and often varied procedures of a craniofacial pain practice. Since most hair is on the head, that probably qualifies him.
How should we respond to harassment from those who have no idea what we do? First, dedicate yourself to providing the finest care possible to your patients. Does that mean scientific according to our friends at Quackwatch? The Quackees rely upon university proven techniques to be deemed acceptable, but if we, who actually treat patients, rely upon university endorsements, our patients will be bankrupt, dead, or both.
Second, if threatened, stand up to them. They are being embarrassed and defeated in head-on confrontations in court. Exposure will be their demise. They’ve committed perjury and are being countersued. Frank Recker, D.D.S., J.D. recently successfully diminished Baratz to a quivering and beaten pulp in Wisconsin. Truth will defeat dishonesty and lies even if it takes a long time.
Lastly, let’s dedicate ourselves to scientifically scrutinizing procedures and theories and not be blown about by every wind of doctrine. Most successful procedures do not originate in universities, but not all university knowledge is bad either. Let’s also agree that none of us are omnipotent, and if we truly want to help our suffering patients, we have to investigate and pursue alternative therapies, regardless of what self-appointed overseers like Quackwatch may espouse.
Are you a quack? If you’re like me, “guilty as charged” according the soon-to-be-cooked Quackwatch! “Quack . . . quack.”
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