Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:14:24 -0500 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/ Dental Blogger en-us http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/images/logo.gif http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/ administrator@dentalblogger.com http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article38.html There have been many predictions about the end of dentistry over the last couple decades. Some day there will be a solution that gives us the perfect dental health cure. It will be dispensed at McDonalds like a DVD movie! It will be here very shortly. The minute after the common cold is cured, the hour after the heart-safe-instant anti-obesity pill is introduced and day after the devil throws salt over his ice covered doorstep. With just one statistic, I can crush this propensity for dental health positive predictions. But I believe it is better to start with reality if we really want progress. If you want reality-based results, read on. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:14:24 -0500 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article37.html Imagine being sick. No, imagine someone you would die for being sick. Plus the disease they have is incurable. You would do anything for them and let them do anything that might help them, including spending their last dime – which might also be your last dime. From what I can tell, you can accomplish this goal with “Dental Revision” – not the curing goal – but the giving their bank account a-completely-cleaned-out-bill-of-health goal. While I am not a dentist or even a scientist, I am someone who has people I would die for to save their life. At some point I might have to make decisions while being emotionally challenged. I will need to make a decision using all the evidence I have at my disposal. While a dentist, medical doctor or scientist might help guide me and you, we will be making the final decision. Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:10:06 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article36.html Looks like oral piercing is the latest youth rebellion without a clue. As they used to say, this is your dental health on hormones. If your kid has a tongue or lip ring, his or her fear of the dentist could be justified. Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:00:00 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article34.html Dentistry is in our mouth. Do we forget that when asked to open our wallets for dental care? If you are focused on “cheap as you can get it” dentistry, you could be choosing between saving money and losing your life. China makes a lot of stuff for us. Much of it is pretty good stuff. But when it goes in our bodies and affects us in many ways, getting it from overseas for a very low price – should raise our conflicts with reality radar. Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:17:01 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article33.html The root canal has been drubbed through the years for its agonizing exploits. While much deserved in the past, its dreaded historical references have hung on too long. Just like the fact that your barber is no longer also your dentist, root canal (or endodontic) therapy has changed dramatically since the nomads of dental horror yore told those first stories. Thu, 29 Nov 2007 01:50:03 -0500 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article32.html Cargill claims they can sweeten us up without ruining our grins and gums. The FDA has sided with the big food ingredient and grain company, listing Cargill's Xtend brand with 11 other sweeteners that are considered safe for teeth. While I give them an A for effort, it’s amazing how hard some companies work so we can keep faking ourselves out about dental health. Next thing you know we will be able to take a pill that lets us believe we are going to the dentist on a regular basis. And candy bars will be sprinkled with a tooth fairy dust so we can (with a straight face) tell others we ate a meal of broccoli and cauliflower. Finally, if this does not get us in the mood to be better stewards of our natural enamel, advertisements will make us think we would eat mashed bananas and peas even if we had teeth. Thu, 04 Oct 2007 23:58:02 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article31.html There are things you should never experience. These are things I have done so you will not have to. Writing about dentistry is the obvious one. There are many others I cannot discuss without getting your “have the guts to know” insecurity clearance. This story will dissect an occurrence the faint of heart should avoid. And just to put you further towards the edge of your seat, this is about modern dental care. It all started with a recommendation from my children’s dentist. See how seemingly unremarkable these things can start out. The pediatric dentist, a normally trustworthy fellow, told my wife that our children, two beautiful angels, should use an electric toothbrush to clean their teeth. The total banality of this event is almost staggering in its ability to throw you off its frightening potential. While they have regularly brushed their teeth over the years, it is more difficult to get them to do it correctly, and more importantly for a long enough period of time. Dental health is very important topic in our family: it is a secret I feel comfortable in telling you now. Hiding it for these many web blogs - has taxed my conscience. Forgive me for my lack of candor in the past. That said, the nightmare continues. Feel the tension? Palpable. Anyway, we go to the local electric toothbrush outlet mall to purchase one of these puppies of dental care modernity. The cost was not insignificant, but the Gap in teeth store had a nice khaki with a tasteful mint floss belt accessory. Obviously, my family is hip with the dental set and has got some serious dental freaky going on… Not sure where that was going, but as kids do, they came home very excited about their new dental acquisition. Most importantly, they were excited to be on the road to better dental health. Sadly, this would be short-lived. Their father, a resolute and honorable person in most dental cases, had already opened the trapdoor to dental care hell and did not even know it. Sun, 19 Aug 2007 12:00:00 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article30.html Direct Reimbursement for dental care is what your employer should do to save your job and their company from rising health care costs. Plus you can have great dental health too! Direct Reimbursement is simple. You use it - you stay healthy and feel better. On the other hand your employer pays nothing when you do not use it. Additionally, if your fellow employee does not use it (like they would have with dental insurance as well), your employer is not stuck with their premium payments. This means healthier employees and no driving down of wages because of those who do not take advantage of it. What are the other reasons direct reimbursement is better for covering dental care? Mon, 30 Jul 2007 11:19:21 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article29.html The new movie Sicko by Michael Moore , which I have only seen trailers of and read an article about, depicts our health care system as at least seriously wanting if not wholly un-American in its pathetic distribution and effectiveness. Michael presents damning medical care statistics and tragically demoralizing and "hard to believe we could do this to our fellow American" real life stories. Unfortunately, dental care is another cliff Michael Moore could jump off and not hit bottom on for "many are going to die-harder" sequels. Hollywood movie making and partisan battles aside (or not), we need to really take a look at what we are doing with this Laissez-un-faire health care system and the policy driving it. There is damage being done to our fellow citizens, the nation's national security, and to many of us. By sitting on our hands and waving the "everyone is on their own" flag so much, we forget about what is most important: keeping as much of the almighty dollar in our own pocket as possible! In God, Greed (and lots more consumer) Goods We Trust. Okay, I forgot what we are really forgetting. But I will get to that and a link to damning dental health statistics in the next section. Tragic real-life dentistry destruction stories as in the aforementioned movie will be left until we (hide the hard truth from us) Americans have the stomach for them. Get Damning Dental Health Statistics and some partisan jabbing here (and left hook there) reading the rest of this dental blog. Sun, 22 Jul 2007 18:39:14 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article28.html Soon the Brits won’t have anything on us when it comes to smile profiles. And ugly teeth are just the beginning. The root of the problem is a shortage of dentists, which is intensified by a gallop to the money. Free enterprise and dentistry positively collaborate in various ways – but without a public health (we are in this together) foundation, big holes in the dental care distribution system can open up that hurt real people. We train fewer dentists because we are letting the “market” decide, which has contributed to the closing of many dental schools. While the market has its efficiencies, it cannot see or feel dental suffering. It only reacts to the money and most often the easiest money. There is no obvious easy money in helping kids and elderly improve their oral and dental health. This “market” philosophy drops to its knees when children are in pain for weeks and months because dentists have fled for an oasis of plenty. Blaming dentists as money grubbing is a weak scapegoat theory – because few other private marketeers are planting their financial lips where they might get parched. The reality is that most dental practices are small businesses; while not mom and pop exactly, they work on cash flow like all the others. Plus few of these rural/low-density and low-income areas are getting infusions of private market funds. Why should we expect dentists to sacrifice in these desert locations when most of us have long ago moved from them? Mon, 09 Apr 2007 02:01:18 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article27.html You have probably heard the “let’s do it our way” state-by-state argument derived from constitution versus Supreme Court squabbles over the last 150 plus years. Kids and their dentistry should not be part of this botched up disunited concept. While dental care distribution is not a specific constitutional argument, it is hinged on this same go-it-alone mindset. Here is some background on how this state-by-state way of thinking and approaching issues has made a mockery of our union. The biggest misfiring was the supreme court's ruling protecting slavery. It was one of the first issues where the supreme beings let constitutional obfuscations get in the way of making this country a better place. In consti-voluted scholar-speak, it goes something like this: each state has authority over their affairs in numerous ways, which the federal government cannot abridge, especially if we are actually trying to do something worthwhile for all Americans. Still not sure what states’ rights has to do with dentistry? It might be difficult for me to tie it all up – but I like to make connections where no one else sees them. If you like it easy – surfing this half-pipe of a web blog diatribe might not be for you. Mon, 19 Mar 2007 10:15:00 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article26.html People often die when this word is imbedded in their oral cavity. Actually, about 8,000 people, who give oral shelter to the vile brood squamous unleashes, die each year. This malicious, voracious and rapacious cancer attacks the mouth, often starting in the lips, tongue and bottom of the mouth. Besides visiting a dentist today, who might save your life, there are some things you can stop doing right now to avoid a six-foot squamous induced submersion. It seems (however unlikely) that the largest number of people stricken with squamous have also heavily imbibed in death accelerators: alcohol and tobacco. While I believe the US constitution allows its citizens to smoke in bars and restaurants until they kill the wait staff and then drive somewhat inebriated without a seat-belt (and kill their neighbors as they go home), squamous might be a good reason for those citizens to stop doing what they are doing. Ironically, leading a life that includes no constitutionally protected vices does not provide us with complete immunity from squamous persecution, which means everyone should read on… Mon, 12 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article25.html Mercury is a bad substance. It could have negative effects if you poured it over your cereal or cracked open a thermometer and drank it down. However, there are some substances we can have small amounts of and still live a very healthy life. Acid is found in pop and in your car battery. I drink pop - too much so drinking the fluid from my car battery would probably not affect me as much as you - but actually drinking it would be bad. So we know there is a limit. But is the mercury found in dental fillings (and that might be leaking out) going to kill you, make you talk funny, damage your brain, or something worse? Well, it looks like those you who believe it is bad have the most to say and/or they proliferate because they are acting on some legitimate or irrational fear about it, which the naysayers do not have. To give you "some idea" of where you can take your cue, I did a search and found some links to help start your navigation of this dental issue. Tue, 06 Feb 2007 13:52:44 -0500 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article24.html Insurance is often a wonderful thing. Dental insurance is a different thing. You might want to reassess how it affects your dental care choices. Tue, 05 Sep 2006 10:22:07 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article22.html Growing teeth is likely to be commonplace if Canadian and U.S. dentists can create and then stimulate a consumers' farmers' market. Get it as low as corn prices and they will have a winner. Of course, it will take a while to germinate and flower, but I can see the fruits of this labor and a bountiful harvest just over the horizon. Imagine showing up at the dentist and getting furrowed rather than undergoing a harrowing experience. Mon, 17 Jul 2006 13:58:35 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article20.html The wagon trains of dental theory are circling and you need to know which ride is going to be the best for you. The dust storm that these two wagon trains are making in the dental profession is intense. The whips are out and the horses are all in a lather. I will jump into this wild-west dentistry fray knowing full well - my hide might get chapped in the flurry of leather. I am not a dentist - but have tried to do my best to decipher the smoke signals of clinical language these clinicians have presented me with. Hopefully, you and I will be able to move forward without getting trampled. Sat, 15 Jul 2006 13:49:23 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article18.html While not a dentist, I wanted to start things off in the Dentists Speak section with the mother of all dentist consumer articles of the print era - the Reader's Digest dentist "expose´" - circa 1997. William Ecenbarger's article, "How honest are dentists?" raised consumer awareness and the ire of most dentists. Sat, 15 Jul 2006 12:44:13 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article17.html Things are a changing all the time. The changes in dentistry should be improving your dental results and experience. Is your dentist up to date? CE or continuing education is the gauge you should monitor and ask about. If your dentist does 101 hours per year or more, they outdo the highest state requirement. A lot of dentists do much more. But this is about your dentist, your health and your life - not a statistic or a probability. Surprisingly, the highest designation is held by South Dakota (100 hours). It is possibly the state that has the most difficulty in attracting dentists. Five dentists but they are very good! Sorry SD, as a guy from Iowa - I have the right to let loose once in a while. Its neighbor to the north only registers in at 32 hours. (If you don't know which state this is, maybe your GE needs a "state" requirement.) These requirements are usually determined by some kind of state dental board. Next, more to think about and a link with every US state's dental CE so you can interrogate your dentist effectively. You can make sure he/she is not an out of date, without a clue, waiting for the dinner bell, in the Stone Age, out of touch, pliers slinging dentistry outlaw. Sat, 15 Jul 2006 12:39:34 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article16.html Gum disease, trauma, inadequate repair solutions, lack of fluoride, and bad diets all cause teeth to leave us sooner than necessary. The website we found shows you where to move to so you have the best chance of keeping your teeth for life. Thu, 15 Jun 2006 10:22:02 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article14.html We are stuck in old habits about dental health and dentists. I want to present dentistry in a way that moves it beyond what our parents thought of it and experienced it. My father-in-law had a sore tooth pulled out by his dentist at the bar both frequented in the 1950s. The dentist carried a pair of pliers with him everywhere. Well, dental treatment has improved significantly. But few things have changed about how we talk and think about it. We force our kids to go because it is important. Yet, we fear and/or avoid the dental visit like our dentist is still using a pair of rusty pliers after throwing back a few cold ones. I have written a couple different stories about why we should be excited about dentistry! Okay, excited is too optimistic, but possibly you will feel better about what can be accomplished. Few people would attempt to write about Dental Implants and Advanced Fillings (onlays) in an exciting way. I have already presented myself an "A" for effort - you can grade the result - as long as it is on a curve against those who have attempted the same. Fri, 12 May 2006 10:10:51 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article13.html Are more people brushing their teeth or going to the dentist? Do we do anything better or different than what our parents did besides suck down fluoride? Do we force our kids to the go to the dentist, but don't improve our dentistry? There are many reasons for this (money, time, fear) but often it is just that we are mired in old habits, get little inspiration, and have a lack of awareness of new treatments. Maybe the dental conversation should be approached differently: inspire us to enhance and upgrade. Otherwise we consumers will keep thinking of dentistry in the old ways and do nothing or less. What if DAD got involved? Fri, 12 May 2006 09:37:39 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article11.html Dental treatments should probably cost less. Dental insurance should probably be more wide spread. But maybe if we just trained more dentists - the price would come down for everyone. The British are finding out the hard way or the soft way depending on your bite quotient. Here's a New York Times story that might change your views a little and possibly make you turn your head to avoid the view. "In a Dentist Shortage, British (Ouch) Do It Themselves" Tue, 09 May 2006 11:54:25 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article10.html Dental technology (and the expertise utilize it) gives us the results we want, so I am not sure why it pains us so much to pay real money for it. While this level of technology might be dispensed in DVD format from a machine at McDonalds for $1 some day, the reality is highly trained, highly paid, people now provide it. Yet we Americans are extremely conflicted. We want the whiz-bang of no-pain, less invasive dental technology, but whine like we want the whirr of the dental drill to hang around. "Do you know how much it costs to go to the dentist nowadays? It's ridiculous!" If you are talking about uninsured Americans who are near or below the poverty line, I say, "Sign me up to that rant!" However, to the rest of our consumer society, I say, "Welcome to the reality you created." We are energetic, pathetic consumer schizophrenics. Fri, 21 Apr 2006 13:17:11 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article9.html You know what brings a smile to my face? Politicians. Their pungent aroma and exquisite finesse of reality is robustly humorous. The burning tears of unforgiving laughter overflow when I think about how hard they work to do so little. This is not to say most politicians are bad or loathsome - actually… that is what I am saying. It is just hard to tell the truth when I'm talking about those who do it so infrequently. How does this apply to dentistry? It has to do with one of those "give back a smile" programs. You know the ones where dentists donate their time, facilities and expertise to help kids with no funds to get good dentistry on a regular basis. These are great programs - but politicians should not comment on them or propose empty resolutions to "support" them. Fri, 21 Apr 2006 10:29:18 -0400 http://www.dentalblogger.com/site/Article5.html As a champion of good dental habits, I would like to note some Serious Oral Health Problem Indicators: Avoiding the dentist. Forgetting to floss and wash. Eating and drinking with wild abandon! Okay, the last one I am still struggling with, but balance in life is also vital. Anyway, "studies show" that 4 out of five dentists choose better dental health as a choice. Therefore, there must be some validity to flossing, mouth washing, seeing the dentist regularly, and improving your diet. Until I got married, which was many years ago, I thought my sadistic (health conscious) parents had made it all up. Actually, it could be much more serious than my health conniving parents ever suspected. Now they (the people that do those 4 out of 5 studies) say letting your oral health decline too much could cause a heart attack or a stroke. Talk about your mouth getting you into trouble! The other mouth trouble is all too familiar to me, but the oral health kind did not get on my radar until more recently. If only every school principal would have explained oral health to me during THOSE frequent office visits: imagine 100 hours of oral health education. See even disruptive behavior can have benefits. It is sad I am the only one that understands this. Not only can I improve dental health habits, I can transform our public school system. Now back to dentistry… Thu, 23 Feb 2006 14:08:46 -0500