ernmental politics seem like a child’s game. The competition for promotion is based primarily on research and publication, so that teaching students takes a back seat. In addition, full-time faculty are obligated to serve on numerous committees and spend a disproportionate amount of time in administration, and without an independent income, a decent standard of living is difficult to achieve. Unfortunately, society places actors and sports figures at the top of the ladder and teachers near the bottom. Dentists undergo the sacrifices and hard work required to enter the profession to be self-employed and responsible for their own success. Unless universities and the professional schools they control adopt a different attitude toward the value of their faculty and the worth and importance of dentistry, good dental teachers will be scarce. James L. Dannenberg, D.D.S. Philadelphia