argument200 by beetle1986

beetle1986UID: 2431214

TOPIC: ARGUMENT200 - Statistics collected from dentists indicate that three times more men than women faint while visiting the dentist. This evidence suggests that men are more likely to be distressed about having dental work done than women are. Thus, dentists who advertise to attract patients should target the male consumer and emphasize both the effectiveness of their anesthetic techniques and the sensitivity of their staff to nervous or suffering patients.

WORDS: 380          TIME: 00:31:37          DATE: 2008-2-20 上午 10:27:49

In this argument, by citing a statistics from dentists, the author claims that men are much more nervous when they visit the dentist. Then the author concludes that dentist should target the male consumer and emphasize their anesthetic techniques and sensitivity to nervous of patients. For several reasons, I am not convinced that this argument is accurate.

To begin with, the statistics cited in the argument is specious. How and when this statistics was conducted is not mentioned. It is entirely possible that this statistics only includes some particular dentists who can provide the data that can prove the conclusion of the author. If that is the case, it would undermine the credibility of this argument. To better evaluate this argument, I need more information about this statistics.

Secondly, even if the statistics is reliable, the assumption that men are more nervous when they are treated by the dentist is also unfair. First, it is possible that the number of men patients is several times more than that of women, maybe it is five. So, even three times more men than women faint, the possibility of men faint is also lower than women. Second, faint could not necessarily reflect the nervous of patients. Patients could have other symptoms rather than faint. For example, women patients would scream when they are scaring, and this scream would make men faint. And it is also possible that women do not visit dentist for they are afraid from the dentist.  

Finally, even if men are indeed likely to be distressed about having dental work, the advices of this argument is also arbitrary. First, female patients also need dental services, and can also bring profits. The female patients should not be ignored. Second, no evidence shows that the main factor that influences the customers is anesthetic techniques. Other factors such as the climate of room could cause nervous.

To sum up, this argument is simply not credible as it stands. To make this recommendation convincing, these information would be useful: (1) more information of the statistics to make sure it is reliable; (2) clear evidence that men are more nervous when they visit dentist; (3) clear evidence that the main factors influence men's choice is that the anesthetic techniques and sensitivity  to nervous of patients.