Denturist Still Fighting His Battle To Help The Toothless

George White, the gun-toting Ballard false-teeth maker - armed and denturist, as he puts it - continues to practice in face of court injunctions, lack of license and late-night telephone threats.

But his struggle to stay in business, molding false plates for senior citizens at half the cost of a licensed dentist, is under new siege by the state.

As a direct result of dental-plate work subcontracted to White and two other denturists, the state Dental Disciplinary Board has revoked the license of a local dentist, fined him $2,000, ordered him to reimburse the state $5,192, and commanded him to hang up his high-speed drill for three years.

After that, he may reapply for his license - providing he makes a contrite appearance before the board and once more passes the state dental exam.

The suspension order, issued May 30, says Dr. Warner Scheyer can no longer practice the art of dentistry because he "submitted Medicare claim forms . . . for making or relining dentures for Medicare recipients when, in fact, the dental services were performed by unlicensed persons . . . George (Buddy) White of Seattle and Rodney and Jody Hansen of Deming. . . "

The three are denturists, unlicensed by the state for the particular reason that Washington, unlike Oregon, Idaho and all of Canada for example, doesn't issue such licenses. A strong dental lobby here has regularly killed off such legislation, hoping to corner the market on dental-plate work and overcharge for services.

Some dentists nonetheless contract out plate work to the unlicensed denturists because it is cheaper for their customers, some of whom couldn't afford teeth at the higher prices. The state generally allows this procedure.

For the same cost-saving reason, some dentists also refer customers directly to a denturist, as was the case with Scheyer. However, he also did a final exam of the fitting, which he thought would suffice under the law. He then sent the dentury bill to Medicare - at considerably less cost to taxpayers than the average non-dentury charge.

A $2,000 full plate from a dentist generally costs half that or less from a denturist. Indeed, a list of customers contained in the order against Scheyer shows that the most anyone paid for a full set of dentures was $660.

Most perplexing of all is that customers aren't complaining about denturists. In fact, they're praising them. When I wrote earlier about George White's battle to stay in business, many poor elderly called or wrote to say that, without George's lower rates and quality work, they simply would be living a life without teeth.

The notion that some people may spend their final years with a mouthful of pain and a loss of dignity matters none to the state. As Assistant Attorney General John Keith told me:

"We can't let an illegal practice continue simply because it's cheaper."

But, of course, Keith, the Dental Board and the dental society are doing nothing to bring dentury into the system so the cheaper practice can be licensed and regulated, as denturists have asked.

Instead, the state's only action has been to put the cheaper practice out of business and, I kid you not, even toss denturists in jail - Rick Miller, a Cashmere denturist, was fined $20,000, had his equipment confiscated, and was then sent off to jail for a week.

That will teach him to give the old folks a break.

And so much for all that ballyhooing from the governor and Legislature about trying to bring down health-care costs in Washington. Politics isn't mirrors and blue smoke; it's hot air and windbags.

In Ballard, meanwhile, George White waits for the day the state storm troopers come to drag him away. He has been ordered to cease and desist by the state, and regularly gets threats over the phone from, he says, dentists who don't want him undercutting their profits.

His equipment these days, besides grinding wheels and molding trays, includes a lawyer and a .38. He plans to shoot no one; he does plan to defend himself. It has come to that.

"Dr. Scheyer was a well-meaning dentist who helped me see retired and poor patients who could not afford to get denture work from a regular dentist," White said yesterday.

"Now the state has made him a scapegoat, trying to scare off any other dentists who might do business with us. It's just another tactic to drive us out of existence.

"The dental lobby gives the state its marching orders," White said. "And I can hear those jackboots coming my way."

Rick Anderson's column appears Tuesday and Thursday on the Neighborhoods page and Saturday on A 2 of The Times.