oral surgeon

Are Dentists Ethical or Scam Artists?

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Recently The Journal of the American Dental Association has been running some “Ethical Moments” regarding dentists. This is purely propaganda and should not be taken at face value. For example Jeffrey C. Esterburg wrote an article titled Are Dentists Losing Their Status as Professionals? (J Am Dent Assoc, 2011; 142, 1084-1085). He opens up the article saying “As a new dentist, I am becoming increasingly concerned that what it means to be a dental professional is being lost in the eyes of the public and our vendors and consultants.” He goes on to discuss some conflicting pressures he is faced with running his dental practice. He then goes on to discuss the American Dental Association Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct. He closes the article by saying “The size of our hearts defines our success much more than does the size of our practices, homes or bank … Read more

Successful and Positive Wisdom Teeth Removal Experiences

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In the past I posted survey respondent elaborations of their wisdom teeth removal experience that were negative as in the outcome was not what they were expecting. For some of these you can see https://blog.teethremoval.com/wisdom-teeth-surgery-survey/ and https://blog.teethremoval.com/wisdom-teeth-extraction-survey/ If you have a spare few minutes please complete the wisdom teeth removal survey I have created which is linked to below. http://teethremoval.polldaddy.com/s/6E8CF57E23BD9041 Below are some survey responses of those who have had positive wisdom teeth extractions. All ages given are at the time of surgery. A 23 year old female who had 2 wisdom teeth removed says For me, the worst part was the “laughing gas”. Other than that, I have had no bleeding post-surgery, almost zero swelling, and have not needed to take any pain medication beyond Advil. A 48 year old male who had 4 wisdom teeth removed says after … Read more

Dental Care in Japan

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I found an interesting piece by Kevin Rafferty in The Japan Times Online from June 15, 2011, titled “A dentist need not be a masked demon.” The article is located here http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20110615a1.html The article gives an inside look into recent developments in dentistry with a particular focus on Japan but the principals and message apply globally. The main focus on the article centers around a report soon to be published in both English and Japanese titled “Guideline for treating caries following a minimal intervention policy, an evidence and consensus based study.” The report was conducted by Mikako Hayashi of Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry and her committee in which 18 months was spent conducting research. Some notabled quotes from the article by Kevin Rafferty include “Recent advances in dentistry include recognition that teeth, if properly treated, regularly cleaned and … Read more

Patient Consultations for Wisdom Teeth Removal

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In my last post on the Well Informed Patient I discuss how Dr. Thomas B. Dodson talks about “…a new brand of well-informed patient.” In that post I attempted to make that case that many patients are not being well informed at all when it comes to wisdom teeth extractions and is partially due to the current model of informed consent in the U.S but also failure to provide their patients with current scientific evidence and information. In this post I will look specifically at 2 examples of patients who have in the past few years visited oral surgeons to discuss the possibility of having wisdom teeth removed and/or had wisdom teeth removed. From their writing one can make the case that they may have benefited from being better informed and aware of the fact that no current evidence supports … Read more

The Well Informed Patient

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In a recent editorial in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery (vol. 69. page 1263, 2011),  titled “Shouldn’t All Clinical Research Be Scientific?”, Dr. Thomas B. Dodson,  talks to his fellow oral surgeon colleagues and says “Not only do we face rapid advances in science and technology, but we have new accountability from economic, legal, and regulatory challenges, as well as a new brand of well-informed patient.” I personally would hope that the well-informed patient are patients who are being informed by oral and maxillofacial surgeons and dentists. However, I do not believe that is really the case here. One question to ask is why patients in the past were not well informed? The other and more pressing question to ask is why are these patients still not being properly informed today? (This also applies to other doctors and … Read more