Branch Reports 9th Out on a Limb in Dutchess County Greetings from the Dutchess County Dental Society! By Michael J. Schwartz, D.D.S. You be the judge. Traitor or Patriot? I watched, recently, on PBS, a documentary about Dr. Daniel Ellsberg, a Rand Corporation military analyst, who copied and released the infamous “Pentagon Papers” during the Vietnam war. This eventually led to the downfall of the Nixon administration and, also, to Ellsberg’s prosecution and subsequent dropping of the charges against him. Essentially, he acted as a “whistleblower”, trying to expose what was a systematic conduct of governmental coverup and lying to the American people. His trials have become the “poster child” for our unfortunate and stifling national obsession with attacking whistleblowers who come forward to deliver a public service. No doubt, Ellsberg felt he acted as a “Patriot” trying to protect our constitutional process. Yet, he was viewed as a treasonous whistleblower by our authorities, who sought to protect their own interests and national security. Our nation was deeply divided at that time and, depending on who you spoke with, that was the side you heard. Sound familiar? Are we reliving a similar scenario today with Robert Snowden, Julian Assange (Wikileaks), as well as our current administration? You will have plenty of company for each viewpoint. The subject of whistleblower suppression is just as apropos today as it was at that time. The healthcare field has its own share of whistleblowers or, if you will, people who seek to “expose” accepted practices, or more accurately at times, put their own agenda into the mix. One just has to peruse the Internet and Facebook to be bombarded by sites espousing all sorts of “information” about “questionable” medical/dental practices, in their minds. For example, we have been at odds with the Anti-fluoridationsists for years, and yet, they keep persistently reappearing with what is considered “junk science” (sort of like “fake news”). Yet, they think that they are the true believers and whistleblowers and their avowed mission is to expose themselves to be the true Patriots and not the Terrorists. (Traitors??) This issue will not disappear in my lifetime. I recall the “Amalgam Wars” with those who believed that amalgam for dental use was neurotoxic. This was an impetus for our profession to develop alternative materials, initially acrylics and later, composites. There were “studies” that concluded that placing amalgam, stimulated the recurrence of leukemia and lymphoma in children, already in remission. The reality is that, after examination of these studies, their conclusions failed to hold up to scientific scrutiny. Today’s composition materials are much improved and acrylics are no longer used. And yet, the longevity of amalgam is still unchallenged. Unfortunately, there were practitioners who used the hype to convince patients to remove the old “toxic” amalgams and developed a protocol for “safe removal”. This whole scene was probably more financially motivated than scientifically justified. So, who was the whistleblower here? The anti-amalgam people or the opportunistic dentists who sought personal gain by tapping into the scare tactics? Or, was the prudent dentists the real Patriot? Years ago, when I interned at the then Grasslands Hospital (no Westchester County Medical Center), I was fortunate enough to attend the prosthetics courses given by Dr. Elliot Feinberg, at his office. I vividly still recall Elliot’s slides and lectures espousing the benefits of re-contouring bone around crown preparations to obtain proper gingival and bone anatomy. At the time, periodontal surgery was largely limited to gigivectomies and it was considered sacrilege to touch the bone. Elliot saw himself as both whistleblower and patriot for his crossing the line of accepted practice of just soft tissue elimination. He was viewed as an “outlier” by his colleagues, who considered themselves the rue patriots, protecting the public. In reality, like Ellsberg, Elliot was the patriot, for he foresaw his results. The lies between MARCH 2018  19