There are times in life when we are introduced to concepts that are new to us and which are incredibly exciting. Exciting primarily because they cause us to think about things differently, things, which until that point we had regarded as being set in a certain way. Darwin's theory of the survival of the fittest might be one such example, or for me the explanation of the binary way of denoting numbers, thereby allowing the possibility, combined with electronic theory, of creating computers.

In the realm of such weighty matters, it might therefore seem quite small fry to equate a similar moment of revelation when someone first clarified the notion of 'third-party' payers in terms of dental care. It is not a difficult concept, and yet in its own fashion it does permit an insightful view of the way in which we run the business that we call dental practice.

Log in or create a free account to read this content

Gain free access to this article, as well as selected content from this journal and more on nature.com

Access through your institution

or

Sign in or create an account
Continue with Google
Continue with ORCiD