Do you trust your dentist?

David Leonhardt of the New York Times wrote an interesting article in yesterday's paper: When Trust in an Expert Is Unwise. He reported on a study by economics grad student Henry Schneider. Schneider came to some disturbing findings about the trustworthiness of auto mechanics. He made some simple tweaks to his car, ones that if left unchecked could do major damage, and found that many of the mechanics either didn't catch the problems and/or prescribed costly repairs that were unnecessary. This is evidence that a healthy dose of skepticism is very good when faced with auto repairs. But what's most alarming, and this is addressed in the article, is when you're talking to a doctor or dentist instead of a mechanic. It's a classic case of the selling party having more information and more expertise than the buyer. That's why independent third party analysis (think Consumer Reports) is so important in a market economy. And today, with the rise of online vendor reviews (eBay, Amazon, Yelp) it appears there's hope that the playing field will be evened out. But even so, there will still be the problem of those peer-review sites being polluted by false positive reviews or false negative reviews (coming from an ex-husband with an axe to grind). Last year the economist declared the “Rise of the Consumer.” Maybe the internet is getting us closer to that ideal of leveling the playing field between the seller and the buyer. But the real key will be finding ways to prevent people from gaming the online review system.

A side note. I, for one, find it difficult to trust dentists. I was once told I needed a root canal. When I changed dentists for other reasons, my new dentist told me I needed a new filling. Now, I have trouble trusting experts (like dentists) who are also trying to sell me something.