Doctors

Reads like a Dentist’s Advertisement

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I periodically like to check out the wisdom tooth page over on Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_tooth Recently I came across the talk page which has an interesting comment near the bottom written on September 3, 2012, “There is very little discussion of how common it is to have wisdom teeth, and how often wisdom teeth pose no problems if left alone. Nor is there adequate discussion of how often extraction is necessary when they do pose problems. Some lip service is paid to it in the “controversy” ghetto, but in the end the discussion of the “controversy” is equivocating and unclear. As a whole, the article conjured up the image of an eager, pushy dentist insisting that, “Yeah, buddy, wisdom teeth are a huge problem! It may not seem like it, but it’s bad – trust me, I know these things – … Read more

Attending to the Patient in the Informed Consent Process

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An interesting article titled “Personalized Disclosure by Information-on-Demand: Attending to Patients’ Needs in the Informed Consent Process” written by Gil Siegal, Richard J. Bonnie, and Paul S. Appelbaum appears in the Summer 2012 issue of the The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (vol. 40, issue 2, pages 359-367). A discussion is made of the current informed consent process and how it is the foundation of medical ethics and health law. Now is clear from the complications page of my website http://www.teethremoval.com/complications.html, I have numerous problems with the informed consent process. In the article the authors state “The underlying ethical principle on which informed consent rests — autonomy — embodies the idea that as rational moral agents, patients should be in command of decisions that relate to their bodies and lives. The corollary obligation of physicians — to respect and facilitate … Read more

Do Physicians and Researchers Profit and Trade Stock on Privileged Information

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An interesting article titled “Do Physicians/Researchers Trade Stock Based on Privileged Information?” written by Elie Donath and Mark J. Eisenberg appears in the Summer 2012 issue of The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (vol. 40, issue 2, pages 391-393). Speculation is made that “…physicians/researchers are inappropriately profiting (by buying or selling stock) from information derived from advance copies of high-impact clinical trial data distributed by medical conferences or journals.” A case study is made looking at the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Up until 2008 ASCO selectively and discreetly distributed abstracts from all forthcoming presentations at the ASCO Conference to ASCO members 2 weeks prior to them becoming publicly accessible at the conference. The authors used multiple linear regression to look at the percentage change in stock price on the first trading day following the release of these abstracts. A … Read more

How to Prepare for a Visit to the Dentist

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If you have had a bad experience at the dentist in previous years, being afraid that your next visit will cause discomfort or bring up bad memories is quite common. Perhaps you have never been afraid of the dentist but if a new treatment is the plan this can also cause mild anxiety. There are hundreds of reasons that patients fear visits to the dentist but there are also many ways to counteract the feeling of dread. Many people fear visits to the dentist but if visits of this nature cause you anxiety, here are four tips to help you overcome your fear. Talk to your Dentist If you are scared of booking a dental appointment, speak to your dentist about it. If your dentist is aware of the problem, they will walk you through the treatment and put you … Read more

Can Surgeons Learn Lessons from Olympians?

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An interesting article titled “Performing to a world class standard under pressure—Can we learn lessons from the Olympians?” by Serryth D. Colbert and et. al. appeared in the 2012 issue of the British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (50, pp 291-297). With the Summer Olympics this year in London, the authors decided to ask Team Great Britain Olympic rowing squad what makes a winner. The authors state: “We explored the concept of ‘mental toughness’ and the impact this has on successful performance under intense pressure. Our aim was to use their experiences to possibly improve oral and maxillofacial surgeons’ performance in critical situations.” The researchers consulted a leading performance development consultancy and made a questionnaire which was given to both the rowers and the surgeons at a joint conference.  The results were that the rowers responded to the questionnaire … Read more