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Poultry pearly-whites

July 18, 2011 By Eva Watson Leave a Comment

by Eva Watson

 

 

Notable people are not of this earth; they are quintessentially, superhero-perfect in every way.  From their sparkly, alien eyes to their effervescent way they secretly speak to us through television, film, books and music, their aura of mesmerizing personalities and fan-stalking abilities truly places them on a much higher plane of being.  They are alluring.  They are special.

And most would not give me the time of day.

But I must be able to touch the divine; I must know about their teeth.

William Jablonsky, professor of English at Loras College and author of The Indestructible Man (Livingston Press) and his most recent novel, The Clockwork Man (Medallion Press), granted me permission to briefly ask about his oral health regimen and his thoughts on electric toothbrushes.

DB: Why is oral health important to you?

WJ: Primarily because I don’t want to look like a stereotypical Englishman, nor to have breath that can peel the chrome off a trailer.

DB: If you had to choose between flossing in the morning or night which would you choose and why?

WJ: I feel fortunate that I do not have to choose, but if I did, the morning, simply because that’s when I’d actually be thinking about it.

DB: What would be the ultimate feature of an electric toothbrush?

WJ: One that has a built-in Taser. I prefer my methods of self-defense to be non-lethal.

DB: What would be the best tasting toothpaste ever?

WJ: Chicken tikka masala-flavored toothpaste. No one would buy it but me, but I’d buy all of it.

Why the toothpaste industry hasn’t begun to develop alternative-flavored toothpaste is a mystery to me, but clearly, huge changes are needed to meet the demand for those who desire the dentifrice, taste sensation that is meat.

 

 

Filed Under: Anecdotes, Fun Tagged With: Electric toothbrush, flavored toothpaste, William Jablonsky

Don’t buy amalgam from shady places

July 12, 2011 By Trish Walraven Leave a Comment

Ready for another installment of  Timewarp Tuesdays and some IN YOUR FACE insult marketing?

What I love most about this 1906 ad from LD Caulk (now part of Dentsply) is how it trash-talks the competition while at the same time not really quantifying why their amalgamated alloy is better. Theirs is better why? Because they say so. Because they have “delicate laboratory instruments” and “full scientific equipment.

One other thing that’s interesting, try looking at Google Maps to see what is now built at the SE corner of Broad and Chestnut Streets in Philly. That’s some prime real estate, one block from Penn Square downtown.

 

 

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anecdotes, Operative Dentistry Tagged With: 20th Century Alloy, Alloy, amalgam, L D Caulk, timewarp tuesdays

Alabama education’s new low

March 14, 2011 By Trish Walraven Leave a Comment

by Trish Walraven

Alabama’s reputation in dentistry has recently been elevated to EPIC FAIL status.

According to today’s news at DrBicuspid.com, dental students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) are deficient in their education. They’re playing video games at the retirement homes instead of doing dentistry, unless you count “brushing someone’s teeth” as doing dentistry. A whole lot of other allegations are being raised as well, but I thought this one especially was worth a hoot and a holler.

SPANK!

Take that, Alabama! This little slap will teach you not to hand out licenses to dental professionals without requiring students to take a national board exam first. Or even go to college first. Hey, does this mean that a dentist from Alabama will only be able to get work as a dental assistant in all the other states, like licensed dentists from other countries, until they pass the OTHER states’ board exams? The good news is that now that there’s a bunch of eyes on the situation brewing at this dental college, maybe there will be a tasty intervention coming. Remember, the first step in recovery is admitting that you have a problem.

Get the whole story here at Dr. Bicuspid (you may need to subscribe first). And if you’re from Alabama, sorry for the smack. Does it help you forgive me a little if I say I loved Alabama in Forrest Gump?

Filed Under: Anecdotes, Dental Debates, Operative Dentistry Tagged With: Dental School, DrBicuspid, licensing, linkedin

A few things you need to know

January 21, 2011 By Eva Watson Leave a Comment

by Eva Watson

I act dumb. Full stop. I’m a grown woman who acts like an immature twit. I’m constantly making fun of everything. When I noticed crunchy, dried-up boogers sticking to the wall next to my three-year-old’s bed, I said, “Syd? Santa thinks that’s disgusting. Now you’re on his disgusting list. Great.” So cruel. I can’t even write maturely. I once wrote an article on

recommendations for thwarting raccoon thievery of my summer garden strawberries; the segment was titled, ‘Raccoon Smasher Garden Patrol’… (snort) See? Tasteless. I can’t help myself. Life gets stupid. But it doesn’t stop there. My adolescent humor even seeps into my care of patients.

A young guy was in my operatory chair. He hadn’t had a professional scaling in four years. I was about to begin his SRP when he said, “I might be a big baby when you get in there.” I laughed and said, “That’s what I tell my OB/Gyn.” Later, when the guy asked to see another hygienist, I said to myself, “I’m so retarded.”

Another patient attempted to describe what sounded like floss threaders. She went on for more than five minutes trying to describe what floss threaders looked like. I finally said, “You mean those furry, tampon-y thingies with the long string attached? Yeah, I have those.” After the patient rolled her eyes and asked to speak with the dentist privately, I thought to myself, “I’m so juvenile. Why do I do that?”

With the influx of dental products out there, I wish there was a device to zap me with low-voltage electrical currents when I misbehave; like a TENS unit but angrier. As soon as I unleash a nasty one—zzzzt! Owie. Everything would be fine after that, but I’d have to explain to patients why my hair has a static electricity boner. I suppose it doesn’t have to be a dental product, per se. It could be manufactured by a urologist for what it’s worth. They could call it The Electrical Nerve Punisher.

I don’t know. Perhaps it’s not a good idea after all.

 



Filed Under: Anecdotes, Humor Tagged With: anecdotes, Fun, humor

Edible dental art

October 19, 2010 By Trish Walraven 1 Comment

Since art is subjective, I won’t go there. These photos are mostly cakes collected from all over the web, and were just worth sharing. Enjoy!

 

 

Delicious dentin, savory enamel, and yum, PULP CHAMBER!

 

 

I’d like a slice of interproximal decay, please.

 

Mrs. Toof had herself a bunch of babies. But some of them don’t look like Mr. Toof.

 

George needs perio treatment and a few implants. Wait, you’re in London? Nevermind, these are good British teeth.

 

A cake with a busted lip? Naw, just the 35th anniversary of Rocky Horror, time-warped next week especially for Glee fans.

 

Too much CSI on TV these days.

 

Really creepy and not something I would want to eat or stick my hand into. Fortunately you can click on the photo above and see that this ended up being really artistic.

 

Minimalism at its Halloween coolest.

 

I can just imagine the staff arguing about who gets to chew on the dentist.

 

Annoying Orange, meet your nemesis.

 

If you know of any other tasty dental endeavors, feel free to link them below in the Comments, especially if you’re creating them for Halloween. Just don’t make me look at another puking pumpkin carving. Why not, you ask? It’s the smell. It reeks even though it’s only a picture.

 

 

Filed Under: Anecdotes, Fun Tagged With: Cake Central, Dental cakes, edible dentistry, Fun, humor

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DentalBuzz explores rising trends in dentistry with its own slant. The speed at which new products and ideas enter the dental field can often outpace our ability to understand just exactly the direction in which we are heading. But somehow, by being a little less serious about dentistry and dental care, we might get closer to making sense of it all.

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