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An interview with the Duck Dynasty dentist

September 28, 2013 By Trish Walraven 6 Comments

Courtesy of A&E Television Network.

Not too many dentists are portrayed positively in the media, we all pretty much know that. Even when something so routine as a third molar extraction becomes fodder for reality TV it becomes as heinous as possible. Oh, and thanks, sound teams, for when you add that special bone-cracking celery effect during tooth removal. You really help the cause there.

Want to know why I think that this dentist is truly one of the good guys? Not only was Dr. Kevin Finley, DDS gracious in accepting an interview request a few days after his appearance on the A&E Network, he was able to work it in amongst…get this!….fooling his whole dental team into thinking they were working, but he had secretly booked the day full of fake patients and instead thrilled all of them with a birthday party, complete with a shopping spree, a scavenger hunt, fine piano bar dining, board games (with big fat bills for winning!) and an early send-home. That takes heart. So thank you, Dr. Finley, for doing your best to make dentistry go well on TV, and for being the kind of dentist that everyone wants to work for.

With that said, here’s our conversation:

DentalBuzz: It’s intriguing to see a dentist doing a little bloodletting on unscripted television, especially on a show that’s as popular as Duck Dynasty. How long have you known the Robertson family?

Dr. Kevin Finley: I have known the Robertson’s for over 25 years. Phil has been a patient in the past. Korie has been a patient for over 10 years and her children have been patients since their first dental visit.

DB: So Willie’s not a patient? Why not?

KF: By his own admission, he does not like going to the dentist. Korie says that she is going to get him in sometime. They do seem to be very busy people.

DB: Maybe it’s time for a dental intervention! Or at least a postcard. Speaking of postcards, Wal-Marts all over the country seem to have postcards and everything else, for that matter, branded to Duck Commander this and Duck Dynasty that. Is the whole town of West Monroe like that too? How has their success changed your community?

KF: It is important to know that Phil is a great businessman. The Duck Commander and the Buck Commander have both been fantastic businesses long before Duck Dynasty. Don’t let the beards and accents fool you. Phil ( and the rest of the family) are really smart and VERY hard workers. (Filming my part of the episode was more work than i could have imagined).

It appears that the entire community is elated that they are so successful. The old adage that “a profit is not without honor, save in his own city”, does not apply here. We all love the Robertson family and they have brought nothing but positive influence to our community. It is no secret that they are Christians and they are not ashamed of who they are. They proclaim their love for God, their family and their country. They really are a phenomenal family. That being said– the business of Duck Dynasty has been great for our community. It is fantastic to see the local West Monroe police having to direct traffic in and around their store because people are coming here from all over the place.  Duck Dynasty has put West Monroe Louisiana on the map, so to speak.

As for Wal-Mart, it is not an easy thing to get your products in Wal-Mart, they, too, are great business people and they know what sells. I can honestly say that the success of the Robertson family has been a wonderful benefit to our community.

DB: It gives a whole new meaning to living one’s faith, huh? They get to be who they were meant to be and lift everyone else around them up in the process, including all their TV viewers and fans. Which brings us to how they’ve elevated your world for a while, at least. In last week’s episode you extracted the third molars of both John Luke and Sadie in the same day. That’s eight teeth in front of a camera crew! No pressure, right? What was that like?

KF: It is unique to human nature that if you know a celebrity, it kind of makes you feel special– sort of like a celebrity yourself. I got to feel famous for about 1 minute. As a side note, when I have gone to dental meetings and met other dentists and they find out I live in West Monroe, Louisiana, they all ask if I know the Duck Dynasty family. I tell them that I do and that some of the family are patients of mine–they usually look at me kind of sideways and say “that’s great”, but all the while thinking that I am lying.

I really love to see success stories, especially in person, and is even more of a thrill to be asked to participate in their story. You would have to know this family to really feel what I am saying. As to the treatment, I have been in practice for 29 years and the dentistry itself was quite normal for us. I remember from dental school reading in our oral surgery textbook that “wisdom teeth Courtesy of A&E Network. extractions are easy, except for those that aren’t”. I really didn’t know what that meant until I did my share of third molar extractions. They either come right out in a few minutes or it’s “hold on to your butts”, we are going to be here for a while. Usually on teenagers, the surgery goes very well, as was the cases for John Luke and Sadie.

I guess if I was going to have any anxiety it would be with the anesthesia–we all know that the unexpected can happen and we would not like it to happen while parents were in the room or while the filming was going on.  As it turned out, thanks to Delvin Price our Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, who is off the charts amazing, conscientious and caring, and our wonderful dental assistants, Frances and Kim, the Robertsons went to sleep, stayed asleep for their procedure and woke up when it was over, only slightly worse for the wear. I would call this quite a successful operation! Of course, after they woke up, then the real fun began, as you saw on the show. I can’t say enough good things about this family and my life has been enhanced just by knowing them—regardless of how famous they may be.

DB: Fame and good fortune sometimes goes to the right people, that’s what it sounds like you’re saying. As an insider looking out (because after all, you do live and work in the Beard Bubble there!) your experiences with the Robertson family seem to explain their phenomenal success to the rest of us: Duck Dynasty is not so much about characters as it is about character.  Thank you, Dr. Finley, for sharing a juicy little slice of what it’s like to be a dentist in the middle of reality TV.

So there’s a final serious answer everyone wants to know about working with the Robertson family: How have you and your team ever managed to do dentistry through all that facial hair?

KF: (crickets chirping).

 

 

Didn’t catch this episode of Duck Dynasty? You can watch it now in its entirety by clicking this link to the A&E website: John Luke After Dentist

 

Also a BIG hug goes to my friend Eva Watson, RDH for pushing the interview button. Thank you, awesome woman!

Filed Under: Anecdotes, Featured, Interviews Tagged With: dental interviews, Duck Dynasty, John Luke After Dentist, Kevin Finley DDS, Robertson Family

Serious tongue action

August 28, 2013 By Trish Walraven 3 Comments

Are you in a state of media overshock after this gratuitous display of tongue-adge on a certain video awards show? No? But it may give you pause to think about all the naughtiness that tongues present to you as a dental clinician on a daily basis.

Most tongues behave themselves very well when you’re working in their realm. It IS the tongue’s kingdom after all; the mouth is where this majestic muscle rules supremely, preventing any dangerous objects from being inhaled or swallowed. However, there are some tongues that simply won’t cooperate, no matter how much you comfort and reassure them. See if you recognize any of these personalities in the tongues you have worked with.

The Stalker

This is a tongue that hangs back, ominously, but sort of follows you a tiny bit, like it’s planning to MURDER you while you’re simply blowing an occlusal surface dry. It is the godfather of tongues, so you had better not refuse its offer of allowing you to LIVE.

The Fist

If you encounter The Fist, you will be lucky to gain power over it. Usually appears when you’re working on an upper posterior tooth. The tongue will ball up and tighten so hard that you cannot wedge anything, not even oxygen itself, between the tooth and the tongue.

 The Dive Bomber

You know you’re working with a Dive Bomber tongue when the tip of it continuously pounds you from every direction. It wouldn’t be surprising at all if the patient were actually whistling downward and making the CRRR crash sound with every hit. Your dentistry may feel like the crumbled buildings in Space Invaders by the time this appointment is over.

The Wave

A tongue doing The Wave is bad. Not that it’s doing anything to get in your way, but when the ripple of peristaltic action starts quivering along the rim of the tongue, that usually means that the patient is about a half-second away from a gag and a wretch. Have your high-speed suction available for…um…incidentals.

The Bulldozer

Everyone has had experience with this tongue. It’s one big bully, pushing you around, scooping up the rubber dam clamp and pelting it against the wall before you even consider straightjacketing it with your square of latex. The Bulldozer will warp impression vinyl into a freakshow of “was that a human or an octopus?” when questioned by your lab, and is generally violent towards anything you try to put in the attached patient’s mouth.

The Lover

This tongue is so embarrassing! You’re working along, minding your manners, when it just sort-of slinks up the handle of your mouth mirror and begins pole dancing. Worst of all is seeing this happen to a straight male dentist by an apparently straight male patient who has no idea that his tongue is lovingly caressing the tools. You just. Can’t. Say. Anything. But your assistant will, after the appointment, behind your back. Or worse, to your face.

The Exorcist

I’ve only seen The Exorcist once. Okay, twice, but it was the same patient, and I would have never believed that a tongue could move like that unless I’d seen it with my own eyes. The Exorcist stands up, perfectly straight in the center of the mouth and slowly and continuously rotates in a clockwise direction while you’re cleaning the left side of the mouth, and then stops and begins rotating in the opposite direction when cleaning the other side. The only reason I didn’t call a priest was because the patient’s health history showed she was taking some major antidepressants and schizophrenia medications.

The Puppy Dog

Like a real puppy dog, this tongue is actually kind of cute. It bounces, following you around while you’re touring a patient’s mouth, stopping to sniff while you check the edge of an old amalgam, wagging its tail when you give it a little attention. It’ll even pee on itself if it gets nervous. Yeah, you’ve seen that submandibular salivary gland gleek squirt piddle.

The Cobra

The Cobra should be heeded, but it is more of a display than an actual threat. When a patient’s tongue slowly raises up and looks like a curved shield about to strike, get out your clarinet. It’s time for a little snake charming.

The Victim

This tongue acts like it’s been maimed and waterboarded, cowering in the back of the throat like it’s trying to make itself as small as possible. You actually feel sorry for The Victim, and find yourself trying to convince the patient that you’re not the dentist from The Marathon Man, which can cause some funny looks from the oblivious. One problem with The Victim is that it may end up consoling itself by acting out its former abuse and become The Lover. NOOOOOOOOOO!

 

And if this is the best tongue-in-cheek humor you’ve EVER READ you need to share it now. Oh that was bad. But share, because the world needs more tongue humor, at least.

 

Filed Under: Anecdotes, Fun, Humor, Operative Dentistry Tagged With: dental humor, tongue control, tongue humor, tongue in cheek, tongue management, tongue posturing, types of tongues

Poetry for the dental soul

May 6, 2013 By Trish Walraven 3 Comments

You know how they say whatever you give to the universe, it will come back to you double? I shoulda been more careful….

toothredThis all started about a month ago, and it wasn’t even supposed to be a poem; more like silly prose set to music, but one thing led to another and the darn thing practically wrote itself. Not that it’s art in the sense of revealing the true nature of the human condition, but I thought it was pretty funny and so I shared my little ditty, “The Ballet of the Stray Hair” with a friend, who posted it over here at DentalEggs. You should go there, read it, and then continue on with this story.

Back already? Well, then.

A few weeks later, unsolicited, a little limerick popped up in my inbox from a professor at the college where I took my STATE BOARD EXAM! What do I do? I HAVE to publish it, right? Because if I don’t I’ll keep having those nightmares where my instructors find about a bajillion clicks of subgingival calculus and make me repeat my senior year over and over until finally I get to take my board exam and lo and behold the patient’s teeth are caked with green marijuana stain…. Wait, no, actually, that last part really did happen.

In the middle of all this, I was invited to the Townie Meeting, and something that didn’t happen in Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas. It came home as a bug in the back of my brain (it could have been in a worse place, admit it, you thought it!). One of DentalTown’s original masters of meter told me that there were thousands! yes thousands of dental haiku written years ago, almost forgotten behind the cobwebbed threads of the message boards. And I received permission to repost a few of them here.

Hey Universe… thank you?

On to the poetry now.

 

 (be sure to click the link to see why this limerick’s subject is appropriate)

There practiced a dentist in Maine,
Who worked hard, hard as a train,
Esthetics was his love,
But he forgot to glove,
The Boards took his license again.

Dr. Raghu Puttaiah

 

These haiku are posted in the order of their original appearance. Think movie credits, but with only one actor. It’s kind of a soliloquy, actually.branch

 

OSHA training tape
must review for staff to watch
thrice I fall asleep

patient excited
will fix rotten teeth tuesday
oops forgot check book

open wide I say
the assistant turns to retch
oh god it’s anug

brown nubs, baked bean teeth
patient rinses with pepsi
between cigarettes

Lortab seven please
Ultracet is what you’ll get
no? then there’s the door

a long day for me
tears, red-faced child wants father
refer to pedo

“just so you know Doc,
I don’t like things in my mouth!”
Not even your brush?

your teeth are rotting
hurting, stinking, and all loose
“Can I get them bleached?”

two rough sedations
why did he eat that breakfast?
vomit in the sink

other doc’s patient
MFLI composite
should I steal him? No.

I hate most endo
boring snoring tedious
oh crap! broke a file.

started root canal
paid in full but won’t come back
on mom’s credit card

can you get it out?
well, there’s nothing left but root…
do I need a shot?

why do I do them?
the tooth is buried in bone
sadomasochist

zoom day white excel
left it in my trays too long
teeth are white, but ouch!

silver point canal
retreatment necessary
ultrasonic? yes.

perio abcess
white purulent exudate
debride and Trimox

smoke? get dry socket
I pack some gelfoam in there
maybe it helps some

appointments not kept
what is wrong with these people?
next time I’ll not show

what’s that dark shadow?
it’s peri-implantitis
periodontist

branchDENTURE PATIENT

This plate doesn’t fit!
he looks at the wall photo
I want ’em like that!

Immediate teeth
he wanted them yesterday
expects perfection

I don’t understand!
why is this taking so long?
this stuff makes me gag!

my old teeth were fine!
except that they were rotten…
“You should have brushed them”

EXTRACTIONS

cold steel and sunshine
former captive relinquished
clink clank shiny bowl

cotton gauze poultice
damming the flow of red life
platelets, activate

 

By no means is this collection complete! These were my favorite dental-themed haiku, and even though I didn’t check them carefully they all seem to follow the traditional 5-7-5 syllable rule. If you adored these like I do and want more from those who haven’t given me permission to share, go on over to this DentalTown thread, become a member if you haven’t already, enjoy the sometimes poignant ramblings of a bygone time, maybe even hold a revival and start a new poetry post if you’re inspired thusly.

And I promise, no more poems about hair from me!
DBSmile1

 

 

UPDATE:

Darn! She made it private! what? The poem that I wrote. So I guess that means I’ll have to host it my own dang self here.

 

The ballet of the stray hair.

Watch my fingertips: nimbly they fly
along the lip line, touching on cusps
to steady their course
while their grasp guides a mirror and a probe.

Their orchestration is captured in full spectrum detail
Thanks to a pair of magnification loupes
And a headlight emanating from my third eye area.

Previously unnoticed, a black line of evil
begins to uncoil away from the mirror handle
and adheres itself to the tacky vermillion border.
The spectre of horror becomes threefold alarming
When I realize that the patient is a blonde.

At this point I’m not wondering of its origins
as much as trying to get rid of the hair
before the patient becomes aware.

My ring finger attacks
in its pale latex slicker.
Success! I have liftoff
And a wipe to the napkin
Surely means that the hair is gone.

Worky-work, cleanie-clean.
WTF? It’s back! This time on the tongue!
Damn that static cling.
The hair is mocking me.

Time to go all Wile E. Coyote on its ass.
Quick glance to the patient’s eyes.
Total obliviousness. Good.
The snare is laid
between my suction tip and modified pen grasp.

Crap. The hair went halfway IN the saliva ejector
and now it’s acting like a telephone cord
that doesn’t want to wind straight.
OMG. Hair s t r e t c h e s before it breaks.

Two big black hairs in my patient’s mouth.
Two big. Black. Alien hairs.
It’s time for a gauzy intervention.
“I got a little messy, here, let me clean you up!”
With the force of a primary tooth extraction
times two
the hairs are gone.
They are gone for sure
because I took the two pieces of gauze
over to the wastebasket
and personally dumped them
and checked my static latex fingers afterwards.

We both sigh.
Worky-work, cleanie-clean.
Really? A booger?
Hanging halfway out of the patient’s nose?

I sure hope that’s not someone else’s, too.

Filed Under: Anecdotes, Humor Tagged With: dental haiku, dental humor, dental poetry, limericks

Videos of bad hollywood choppers

January 17, 2013 By Trish Walraven 3 Comments

Bad Hollywood Teeth have been one of the things that REALLY GET UNDER MY SKIN and because I have a place to express it like the swollen fistula that it is.(!)… Well, here we are.

No, I’m not talking about the ones that are NATURALLY bad. This time we’re going to admonish the actors that couldn’t overcome their dentition additions. Watch the videos below to see what I mean.
Do you remember Steven Spielberg’s “Hook?” I do, for the wrong reasons, and while Dustin Hoffman received positive reviews in this role, the way he would press his lower lip on his false teeth made me cringe every time the camera closed in on him.

Emma Thompson’s Nanny McPhee has the same problem, only it’s with a single tooth this time. I know, I know, she’s supposed to look ugly! But does she have to slide her lip under her snaggle so intentionally?

And then there’s the ever-creepy Mad Hatter, endowed with a careless lisp by Johnny Depp.

I actually love that Austin Powers pokes fun at his OWN teeth in this clip, while also emphasizing the need to carry floss and toothpaste into dire situations. Even so, the prosthetics never seem to quite fit in Mike Myers’ mouth.

Not only will you get to see a green (as in young, not as in tree-hugging) Ed Begley Jr. sucking on his fake braces, you to hear one of his best-delivered lines ever. Real Genius is classic 80’s cheese in a yummy Val Kilmer sandwich and this is one of the funniest scenes of the movie.

 

Next time you see a film where an actor is doing naughty things with his teeth, remember the catharsis you felt when you came here and realized that you weren’t alone with your annoyance, because it reminded you of the reluctant denture patients that really, really need new ones but they let the old ones schlep around in their mouths anyway. And when you feel that feeling again at the movies, be sure to come back here and share it so that it can be featured in a future article.

Don’t know about you, but I feel like someone should prescribe me an antibiotic after all this squeezing.

DBSmile1

Filed Under: Anecdotes, Fun, Humor Tagged With: bad dentures, bad special effects, dental movie clips, Hollywood smiles, movie teeth

Famous people you didn’t know were dentists

January 8, 2013 By DentalBuzz Staff 19 Comments

by Robert Milton

Who says dentistry isn’t exciting? Our noble profession has captured the hearts and imaginations of some pretty interesting people over the years. Granted, eventually these folks turned to other less fascinating professions—like acting, gun fighting, inventing, painting and saving the country—but still, they all had their “roots” (pardon the pun) in the enviable art of dentistry. Just check out this list of people you didn’t know were dentists:

Edgar_Buchanan· Edgar Buchanan: This popular character actor started out as a successful dentist before moving to California in 1939. Although he co-starred in countless movies over the years, Buchanan was probably best known for his memorable roles in 1960s sitcoms like “Petticoat Junction,” “Green Acres” and “The Beverly Hillbillies.” Once he was bitten by the acting bug, he left dentistry. But, interestingly enough, his wife actually took over his successful practice after he retired.

 

dholliday• John Henry “Doc” Holliday: You may remember Doc Holliday for his friendship with Wyatt Earp and their famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, but Holliday was actually a dentist who was trained in Pennsylvania and developed a booming little practice in Atlanta. After a short time, Holliday contracted tuberculosis and he was forced to leave his practice and move out West, where the rest is, well…history.

 

marks

• Mark Spitz: Many of us know Mark Spitz from his record-breaking  7 gold medals won during the 1972 Olympic Games. What you may not know is that Spitz was actually accepted into dental school earlier on, but he decided to pursue his Olympic swimming career instead.

 

zgrey• Zane Grey: If you’re a fan of Western novels, then you’re no stranger to the name Zane Grey. Before writing over 80 books, Pearl Zane Grey was a practicing dentist in New York. Unfortunately, his love for dentistry decayed and he quickly abandoned the field when he became a published author. The lackluster Pearl went on to be one of history’s first millionaire authors. We can only hope none of his patients ever felt pangs while at the dental clinic as he did.

 

Thomas_Bramwell_Welch• Thomas Welch: While it may seem ironic that the creator of a company specializing in sugar-laden fruit juices was also a dentist, that’s exactly what happened with Thomas Welch. The founder of Welch’s was a dentist before he retired and gained some notoriety for inventing a pasteurization process for grape juice that kept it from fermenting. Welch’s intention was to create a non-alcoholic wine that could be used at the sacrament in churches.


trumpet• Miles Henry Davis:
The father of Miles Davis, who is arguably one of the most famous and influential musicians of the last hundred years, was actually a dentist. While we’re not sure whether Miles Jr. was ever tempted to go into his dad’s profession, we’re glad he didn’t. Miles Sr. bought his son his first trumpet when he was a small boy.

 

paul-revere-large• Paul Revere: This famous Revolutionary War hero made a midnight ride just before the battles of Concord and Lexington to warn people that, “The British are coming! The British are coming!” If he were advertising his day job, he might just as easily called out, “The dentist is coming! The dentist is coming!” Revere was a skilled silversmith who also advertised his services as a dentist and was known for making false teeth for his patients.

Keep this list of famous dentists handy for the next time someone hints that dentistry isn’t the most exciting profession. After all, if we were successful in attracting this list of characters in the past, you never know who’ll be among our ranks in the future!

Robert Milton blogs for Austin Dental Center, PC, and will also write compelling content for your practice website if you’d like to benefit from his extensive knowledge base, enthusiasm for dentistry, and killer smile.

DochollidaystoneBW

 

 

 

Trish adds: thanks to Robert for researching this article – I always had a warm mushy place in my heart for Doc Holliday, and was drawn to visit his gravesite in Glenwood Springs a summer ago. Here’s the pic with me and his…(wait for it….) TOMBSTONE! ahHAHAHAHAHAha!

DBSmile1

 

 

 

Filed Under: Anecdotes

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