"Since the late 1990's, and with greater urgency recently, denture consumers have
been seeking ways to control personal maintenance costs. This is especially true of our
senior population, most of whom live on fixed incomes which lose purchasing power
with inflation. The major way people are saving is by having their denture work done
through a Denturist, and not an expensive Dentist.

What follows is an explanation of ourselves, and the situation of your Denturists in
Georgia.

What Is A Denturist?

"Denturist" is a relatively new word. In the practical sense it is the word that describes the first person
who made a denture. That person was work­ing toward Denturism, or as a "Denturist." The term
"Denturist" has come into use recently in this and other states to describe a person technically skilled to
make dentures and deal directly with the denture wearer.

A "Denturist" is not to be confused with a dentist. A Denturist's background, education, and
training is about procedures to create artificial teeth, and all the associated materials and methods
required to safely and correctly replace the natural teeth which are no longer present. In the event a
Denturist finds an oral medical problem during service to a client that client is referred to a Dentist, or an
oral surgeon.

The Role of the Modern Denturist.

Modern Denturists are yesterday's dental technicians. We have been repairing, relining, and
replacing teeth for years for dentists as a Dentist's facility service. Denturist, through denturist
education and experience, have evolved though a somewhat complex, growing, technical and work
environment.. The end result of the process has brought them better skills and expertise, which they
bring to the industry as "Public Denturists" Think of a Denturist as a skilled specialist who deals only
with artificial teeth.

A modern Denturist works­ directly with the denture wearer - user. Denturists can provide a
better and faster service to the public in making dentures, par­tials, relines, and repairs, providing a
better, and more comfortable fit, because of their unique specialization in the denture industry. It is a
fact that a Denturist's entire facility investment and work focus is on the fitting and manufacturing of
artificial denture teeth.

That is why a Denturist can pro­vide these services at considerably less cost publicly, than can a
dentist.

A Denturist guarantees not only the customer's satisfaction with their work, but also a high quality of
workmanship and materials. Again, the reason why a Denturist can provide this level of service at lower
costs is because they are skilled specialists whose primary focus is Denturism. This allowsDenturists
to narrow their activity scope and not contend with oral medical procedures, and problems related to
natural teeth, or deseases of the mouth. All these things and procedures like extractions, fillings, and
root canals, are the work content of a Dentist.

A simple to way to classify the main role and work differences between a Denturist and a Dentist is this:

Dentist - Work on natural teeth

Denturist - Work only on Artificial teeth.

Summarizing Historical Changes to Denturism that Benefit the Public.

Years ago, denture work was started in the dentist's office. Today, Denturist provide the ser­vice
directly to the public denture user in those cases where the work content does not involve dental
services or procedures. The resulting operational simplification and work content focus enables the
Denturist to provide denture service at a considerably lower cost as compared to that of the Dentist.

It is a recognized fact that the increasing high costs of dentistry provided denture service has often
prevented people from getting much needed dentures. This fact greatly diminishes an individual's quality
of life, especially among the elderly. Serious research on this social subject will reveal some disturbing
facts.

According to government statistics, there are an estimated 50.2 million people in the United States who
have some or all of their teeth missing and need dentures. Many simply can't afford a denture appliance.

The Basics of Denturist's Fees.

Dentures vary widely in their complexities, content, and makeup, therefore in their end costs. In general,
the use of an experienced Denturist will result in an estimated savings of up to 50%, and sometimes
even more savings can be realized for people through using a professional Denturist service.

Also benefiting the denture-user, a Denturist understands a patient's concern when customer
emergency denture repairs are needed, which a denturist can accomplish quickly; usually making
repairs in an hour or so. All this service is routinely provided by a Denturist while still maintaining an
exceptional dollar savings to the public user of dentures. Moreover, a Denturist "Code of Ethics and
Professional Standards" criteria has been established among professional Denturists which assures the
highest quality of service to the denture-user. They pay only for denture work, so should minor ad­
justments be necessary most Denturist will make them at no charge, or at a nominal time and materials
charge. Being a professional denture-maker "Denturist" results in economies of scale in the denturist
work operation which pass directly to the end user-customer.

Our Profession and The Proven Public Need.

Denturist are among the fastest growing individually health-centered professions on record because of
the overwhelming tremendous public acceptance, support, and public need for what we provide.

Notably, Denturist have been legal in Canada for many years and enjoy excellent success in their
work record. This fact has saved Canadians millions of dollars and contributed to the Canadian public
well-being.

In the United States, Denturists have been legalized in many states in just the last few
years. Many of the remaining states are working toward full legalization and regulation, or certainly
ought to be to lower denture acquisition costs to their residents! This becomes particularly important
since our population in the United States is aging and more people require dentures to maintain good
health.

How Denturists Are Organized in the United States.

National organization is provided the Public Den­turist industry through the National Denturist Association,
while State organization is provided by individual State Denturist Associations.

National and State Board standards and examinations have been established to insure that only
qualified, trained, and experienced Den­turists are permitted to operate.

Denturist Legislation Still Needed in Several States and in Georgia.

The National Denturist Association and the State Denturist Associations are currently working on bills to
legalize and regulate Denturism in each state. Frankly, it is imperative that denture regulation, and
the legalization of Denturist services be enacted upon soon, if the public health benefits of our
industry is to be realized nationwide. These bills are to be submitted in each state's legislature, or put on
the ballot for the people of each state to vote upon.

We are pointedly seeking to make the denture consumer aware of what is happening in our vital
industry, and the impact it will have on them financially if suitable legislation is not forthcoming.

What we are talking about is voter pressure and public awareness. Legislatures will humanly always
take the path of least resistance. They won't seriously consider Den­turist Legislation on its merits alone.

In an "informational vacuum" exists on the Denturists value to the public at large, State
officials have tended to listen only to the well funded and organized Dentists and Dental lobbyist. These
lobbyist are exerting the dentist's point of view on denture provisioning and denture services in Georgia
to state officials, and that point of view only seeks to curtail and confine the operations of professional
denturists within the State of Georgia.

Recently, the dental lobbyist have been successful in passing House bill 1622 in Georgia
which criminalizes the operation of an otherwise legitimate public denturist facility. These
denturist facilities have often operated for years providing much needed denture services
in their communities.

The Denturist Association of Georgia will expend great time, and effort to provide and
show cause why this legislation is unwarranted, wrongfully targeted, discriminatory,
unfair, special interest biased, not in the public interest, and completely contrary to the
needs of the public at large.

We must ask: "Why is Georgia legislation passed which only benefits one special
group economically, and ignores the larger issue of public need for the benefit many?"

If you use dentures, and value your freedom to choose which services you use, the
Denturists in Georgia are indeed grateful for your support! We welcome your participation!

Other State Denturist Associations are also actively seeking organizational structures with individuals
who will voluntarily work to help the advancement and full legalization of Denturist operations in their
respective states.

Our experience from other states successful with full state recognition and legalization has taught us
that a voter referundum is about the only way to succeed. despite sympathetic responses from various
state officials who continue to accept Dentist lobby funds and favors while ignoring the truth.

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