Imagine, if you will, this common situation.

You have to go to the dentist or orthodontist. You go for your six-month check-up, or to fix a cavity or you need braces — the reason doesn’t really matter.

You sit in the lobby waiting for the assistant to open the windowless door to the back of the office and call your name. You page through several magazines, not really paying attention to what you’re reading or seeing, mostly just killing time and trying to ignore the stereotypical dentist’s office smell.

Finally your name is called, you rise up out of you chair and stroll through the door, following the assistant into your room. You answer the standard questions — Yes I’m still at that address. Nope, no new allergies. Yeah, still the same insurance.

The assistant finishes up his or her questioning and leaves you to the comforts of the dental chair as you wait for the dentist. The walls are covered with posters, mostly showing the composition of your gums or what gingivitis does to your teeth. Finally the dentist arrives, interrupting your half-hearted observations of the gingivitis poster.

A little small talk ensues as the dentist readies his or her tools. Maybe you talk about the weather or sports, or maybe you threaten vengeance if he or she hurts you while fixing your cavity (hey, I don’t know how you handle the dentist).

After the dentist cleans, drills or does whatever else, you walk back down the hall toward the reception desk. You grab your free toothbrush and make sure all the paperwork is in order, and once that is taken care of, you walk out of the office to continue your day.

Within a few days, perhaps a week, you get your bill from the dentist. Assuming your insurance is in line, you probably owe the dentist anything from a few bucks to your first-born child, depending on your insurance.

Pretty standard visit to the dentist’s office, right? Well, that’s where this general story takes a twist.

While this story may be able to tell the tale of a trip to the dentist’s office for you or I, that was not the case for a pair of Ohio State University athletes earlier this month.

Reports surfaced Feb. 11 that two current members of the Buckeyes’ No. 2-ranked women’s basketball team might have received free dental work at an area orthodontist’s office from a booster.

According to the report, the orthodontist performed dental work on the two players, but failed to bill either player’s insurance company. The players each received an invoice from the unnamed practice stating their balance to be zero. The players assumed that their insurance had taken care of the bill.

Ohio State Athletic Director Andy Geiger reported the violation to the NCAA and both players are currently being allowed to participate pending an investigation. Geiger also said that as many as three of four players may have been involved in similar scandals over the past five years.

I will admit there is something immensely humorous about this infraction. I mean, I thought I had already seen it all — illegal payouts, free vehicles, easy summer, strippers on visits but free dental work? That’s a new one.

But the ridiculousness of the situation aside, this could be just another example of college athletics at its worst. Granted, while this situation is still under investigation, the precedent has been set across college campuses, especially in Columbus.

Maurice Clarett, in one of his numerous allegations against the university since his suspension, claimed that he received the use of several vehicles free of cost during his time in Columbus. He also claimed that boosters gave him a summer job, where Clarett says he did little to no work for exorbitant amounts of money.

The men’s basketball team has placed themselves on a one-year tournament post season ban after discoveries that former head coach Jim O’Brien paid a recruit $6,000. Most recently, the Buckeye football team suspended quarterback Troy Smith after it was discovered he accepted benefits from a booster.

There seems to be a common denominator in most of these cases — boosters.

Conveniently, these cases almost always seem to center around campus boosters. Boosters have become integral parts of universities, especially athletic programs over the years. Without boosters, programs do not run, stadiums and buildings do not get built and in the worst-case scenarios, programs get cut.

But boosters are not above the law. In all honesty, most boosters work by the rules, donating to the schools to financially help programs and taking pride in their pivotal role to the university.

However, boosters also need to be controlled. When these individuals start getting deep enough into a program to influence the players, they have gone too far. The influence on players should be family, trusted friends and coaches; not dollar signs from a booster.

These people should not be interacting with athletes. Just because some lawyer gives his alma mater a large cash sum does not give him or her the right to interact with these players. The Ohio State case is a perfect example of this.

The boosters in Columbus have gotten too close and too comfortable with the athletes. Boosters shouldn’t be offering these student-athletes anything, and frankly, the coaching staffs shouldn’t allow boosters this much interaction with their athletes.

I am not condemning the role boosters play in college athletics; I realize their value. And I am not saying that a booster should not be able to meet a player; friendly contact is a good way to keep boosters and athletes happy. It gives both sides a sense of belonging.

But when these meetings turn into illicit relationships, the situation has gone too far. In these cases, the booster society has gone too far in their support of a university.

We blame the system, programs, coaches and players, all of who deserve this blame. But it is time to hold these boosters accountable as well. Coaches are in the wrong for turning a blind eye to such relationships and players are in the wrong for taking benefits they know are illegal, but these boosters are the guiltiest of all.

It is time these people were put under the scrutiny of the media, and time they accepted more responsibility for their actions and realized their conduct is more detrimental than helpful to the program.

Besides, what good are pretty teeth for an athlete if they cannot participate because of it?