According to a 2014 Health Policy Institute study, about 15 percent of Americans surveyed said they could not afford dental care when needed. The average dentist in 2013 earned, after expenses, about $181,000 (as compared with about $175,000 for family doctors). A Washington Post 2015 commentary argued that dentists may be overpaid, in part because they are protected from competition by law in most states. Minnesota, however, is now licensing "dental therapists," who are not dentists but are allowed to clean, fill, and pull teeth when under the "general supervision" of a dentist. One study found that dentists' income was reduced by 16 percent where hygienists were allowed to offer independent care.

1. Do you think we should allow market forces to drive down the cost of dental care by permitting less expensive dental personnel, if appropriately trained, to do some of the work of dentists? Explain.