You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Q: Why do you believe there is so much controversy<br />
surrounding the different dental philosophies?<br />
Dr. Jackson: To some degree, this is always the case when the established order<br />
is questioned. Looking at history, and on a much larger scale, people were imprisoned<br />
or executed for questioning whether the world was flat. In addition, it<br />
took hundreds of years for it to be accepted that the earth revolved around the<br />
sun instead of the other way around. Scientists, starting with Copernicus who<br />
first questioned the idea, on up to Galileo who was able to prove it so because<br />
he measured it, were all considered heretics and ostracized by the establishment.<br />
When a belief is held for a long time and an entire field of thought (geography<br />
or restorative dentistry) has been built around it, it can take on an almost<br />
sacred aura. It gets forgotten that the original premise, based on observations at<br />
the time, was often nothing more than an attempt to create a working model<br />
(the world is flat, an established occlusal concept), from which to operate and<br />
go forward.<br />
Controversy is always the first stage of change.<br />
Dr. Reed: Change is inevitable. Growth and learning, a choice. Change,<br />
growth and learning require giving up previous beliefs and patterns. When paradigms<br />
shift, everyone goes back to zero. Leo Tolstoy the great Russian author<br />
and philosopher summed it by saying – “I know that most men, including those<br />
at ease with problems of greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the<br />
<strong>LVI</strong> VISIONS • JANUARY • FEBRUARY • MARCH • APRIL 2008 63
Change language