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trends, innovations, and quirks of dentistry

The gum whisperer

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First things first: yes, this “whispering” phenomenon has invaded every niche of our well-being. It all started in a novel with just this one guy, he whispered to horses, then Cesar Millan got famous shushing dogs on TV. There are book whisperers, baby whisperers, ghost whisperers. OMG, there’s even a Bra Whisperer if you need someone to speak quietly with you or your wife’s upper anatomy.

So I just realized the other day that, I am, in fact, the gum whisperer.

Is it because I’m the world’s utmost authority on periodontal disease? Do I have such a kingdom of knowledge that it only makes sense to become an intellectual philanthropist to my patients and can cure them of every infirmity that sits just inside their lip line? Do my mad hand skills mean that I can strip only the glue off of a postage stamp with a Gracey 13/14 while it’s still stuck to an envelope behind my back as PROOF of my superior subgingival scaling abilities?

No.

I am the gum whisperer because… I actually whisper to people’s gums.

“Hang in there, interproximal gingiva! Give that #5 an extra squeeze for me today because that class II mobility is making my probe shake.”

When you’ve given up trying to convince the lifelong smoker that nicotine is his enemy, sometimes it’s just time to try a new approach. Maybe the person attached to those gums will think you’ve gone a little cray-cray, or maybe, just maybe, they might realize that you’ve started digging into your bag of desperation because they just don’t want to hear what you have to say. They’d like to give you their problem instead of dealing with it themselves.

Years ago, I took care of a patient that was into visualization, in a new-agey kind of way. She asked me to paint pictures and describe what healing needed to take place in her gums, so that she could create a pathway for sending her healing energy into the periodontium. I dunno, it was kind of soothing for me, too.

So occasionally I’ll speak softly to a patient as I’m nudging their gums, kind of like scratching a dog’s belly, “You like that, yes you do, yes you do!” Well, not that silly — definitely more clinical-minded because really, I don’t want people to start asking me to read their auras or anything like that.

Please let me know if you’ve found yourself talking to teeth, tongues, whatever body parts have engaged your healing linguistics, so that I don’t feel so all alone in this situation. And if I really am crazy, then it’s probably best not to let me in on the truth.

 

 

One CT scan = 200 Panoramics

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No doubt you listened to the radio or television news today with a double take whut-What? There’s a Yale study that just came out which links the incidence of meningiomas to the frequency of dental radiographs taken during childhood? Your gentle ionizing beam of extrasensory perception is….BEING CRITICIZED?

Yes, yes it is. But have no fear, because the research, my friend, is also having its validity questioned. Supposedly there’s a significant likelihood of being diagnosed with a benign brain tumor if you grew up going to the dentist regularly and having periodic x-rays. This tumor, called a meningioma, is usually asymptomatic, and the vast majority of the time is discovered only when a person has a routine CT scan.

Okay, so is it just me who sees this flaw in the study? People who have CT scans just for “fun” are most likely to go to the dentist for “fun.” Only you should substitute the word “prevention” for “fun.” There were other people in the study who weren’t diagnosed with meningiomas. Was this because they didn’t have CT scans voluntarily (and their parents didn’t take them to the dentist very often, possibly)? And what is the criteria for needing a scan, since we’re criticizing the “need” for dental x-rays? I mean, CT zapping is not exactly radiation-free.

Go read these articles for yourself so that you’ll have well-formed opinions when patients ask about what they’ve heard in the media to help you turn around any radiation defiance that you may come up against in the next few weeks:

Dental X-Rays Linked to Common Brain Tumor, Study Finds – Huffington Post

Web MD: Annual X-rays May Expose Patients to Unnecessary Risk

Dental x-rays can double brain tumor risk – MSNBC.com

All about Meningiomas from Wikipedia

From ABC News: Early Dental X-Rays Linked to Brain Tumors

Now ask yourself who is healthier: the guy who never took a pill or saw a doctor his whole life, and felt great until the day he died? Or the one who did all the preventive stuff and discovered along the way that yes, he had some imperfections that needed to be treated?

See, it’s a stupid question that is irrelevant. Put it to bed, put this story to bed, go scare the masses with something fun. And yummy. And dangerous.

Like sugar.

For other reading, here’s a PDF of the ADA’s radiography recommendations, along with a previous DentalBuzz parody about radiation safety, and a comparison of dental radiation doses to other medical radiation doses.

Open, sesame!

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I wish they would have named it “Strangle Me Elmo.” Because that’s how I feel about that particular character.

Sesame Street was my babysitter growing up, especially since the show and I are practically the same age. So when the news comes that Sesame Workshop is launching an educational oral health initiative geared towards two year olds and up, I get it. They’re about modeling good habits with jingles and images that kids will remember when it’s their time to “do what they saw on TV.”

This is especially helpful for the kids from low-income families, because parents may not realize that their own belief systems about primary teeth can prevent children from getting appropriate care. When a kid sees Elmo brushing his teeth and eating healthy “crunch” foods, studies show that they’re very likely to have positive changes in their own nutrition and hygiene habits, and so even if they’re not going to the dentist, they just might have healthier teeth.

Elmo’s annoying voice was not part of my childhood, so I don’t “connect” with him. But I would, oh, I SO would connect with him, if someone wanted to put him in my hygiene chair and let me spin a prophy cup at his fur.

 

 

Learn more about Sesame Workshop and their “Healthy Mouth, Healthy Me” series here, and you also may enjoy reading this interview with Dr. James Crall, Sesame Workshop advisor and professor of pediatric dentistry and public health & community dentistry at UCLA.

Share this with patients

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The general public has no excuse when the Wall Street Journal has succinctly and comprehensively explained why dentistry is so important to patients’ overall health. Make copies, post a link from your Facebook page, tweet about it. Just make sure that EVERYONE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD reads this article, watches the video, or interacts with the snapshot graphics. Click on the title below to visit:

If Your Teeth Could Talk…

The Mouth Offers Clues to Disorders and Disease; Dentists Could Play Larger Role in Patient Care

 

 

 

 

 

 

Way to go, WSJ.

If dental care is free, then who cares?

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The results of a national survey conducted a few months ago were released today:

Majority of Americans Support Mid-Level Dental Provider to Expand Access to Dental Care

Four-in-Ten Americans or Their Family Members Put Off Dental Care Due to Cost, according to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – Millions of Americans cannot find affordable dental care in their communities and many want to explore mid-level providers as a way to improve their access to needed oral health care, according to a national survey released today by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The survey reveals that many Americans are struggling to get the care that they need. Forty-one percent of Americans report they or someone in their household has put off dental care because of cost and 30% say they do not have a place to receive dental care.

Based on a poll of 1,023 adults, the survey, conducted by Lake Research Partners, finds that more than 80% of Americans believe it is difficult for people to get free or low-cost dental care in their communities, and think the number of Americans who cannot access dental care is a problem.

>> Read more of this original story at WK Kellogg Foundation News.

Here’s my thoughts on this survey: We are born with teeth, we don’t have to purchase them, so why should we have to keep paying for them? This mentality is what leads people to get away with the least cost for medical care as possible, because they don’t want to have to pay for something that they originally got for free. “Every tooth in a man’s head is more valuable than a diamond.” – Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, 1605

So duh, of course the survey would reflect such an attitude. Whether it’s economically feasible to create a midlevel provider position or not shouldn’t even be in question; the current markets of dentists and hygienists are already flooded in metropolitan areas. The solutions should be incentive-based: forgiveness of school loans, possibly more independent preventive care delegation to hygienists in public health settings, much more education-based intervention, aggressive messages from AdCouncil or whatever it takes to get the word out that natural teeth are an investment; at the going rate a full set of implants is what? 50 grand? THERE’S your message.

Originally I posted this statement at Dr. Bicuspid but thought it could stand an airing-out here as well. And I know, as a card-waving member of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association you’d think I’d be all for the creation of a midlevel provider position, right? I probably would be, except for one thing: the current anticipated incomes of midlevel providers are significantly less than the average hygienist incomes in this country. It’s almost like there was a deal in the back corner of a committee, saying: hahaha, you GO to school two more years, girlie-girl. The dental boards will assure that it’s not economically worth your while to further your education.

Until the in-fighting between the militant factions of dentists and hygienists simmers, I believe that this survey only serves to get under the skin of those who will use it to justify their own stances. Something’s got to change though, when doctors and patients alike are excessively frustrated with some questionable treatments that are performed in dental clinics primarily funded with Medicaid dollars.

Here’s how I know something’s wrong with our government dental care programs: the majority of today’s Medicaid offices aren’t even hiring hygienists. So much for midlevel providers. So much for prevention.

 

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