Letters from California--the safety police

I am sure many people imagine the United States of America as the land of the free, where people can do what they want unfettered by unnecessary rules, regulations and taxation. Unfortunately, the truth is very different and there are as many rules and regulations in the USA as almost anywhere else, and in some cases they are more complex since regulations come from both the federal government and the state government. Both may pass similar laws which differ in small degrees so there may be considerable areas of overlap but also considerable differences between the federal and state regulations. For dentists, a particular area of concern in recent years has been the agency known as OSHA, the Office of Safety and Health Administration.