Dentist Down Under: License to Drill

Whinge of the week

2008-06-15T11:13:00.005+10:00

It's official. People in this town stink, literally. When your BO smells worse than that rotten tooth of yours something is very wrong. If you've just got off work doing manual labour I can understand and you're forgiven, but no, these stinkos looked like they'd just came from homes in their T-shirts, shorts and thongs - housewives, teenagers, bums....and they smell like they haven't shower for days. At least have the courtesy to put some deodorant on. Your smell is so repulsive even with the mask on it makes me want to puke. I feel like putting a sign up saying Please have the courtesy to shower before coming to the dentist.

Custom Search

Guess

2008-03-07T01:16:00.003+11:00

Mrs W fell off her horse in her early 20s and chipped one of her front teeth. She was never happy with the composite restoration so when it came off I suggested she gets a crown.

So which tooth was crowned?

I love my lab technician. I can do the shittiest prep and the crown still comes back perfect. Robert what would I do without you?

Still alive

2008-02-18T01:34:00.005+11:00

This blog is not defunct. I've just been too caught up with other things in life. Managed to go overseas 3 times in less than 5 months. I was looking at some pics just now and realised what a hopeless dentist I am. Even when I was on holiday and supposedly not to think about work I'd been checking out dental-related stuff. -_-"

Here, me checking out "high-tech" electric toothbrush in Takashimaya, Tokyo, Japan.

Look at the size of this thing :O

This costs USD$278 :O

Think you can't die from tooth decay? Think again

2008-02-17T23:50:00.003+11:00

See how the germs from a simple tooth decay eats away the bone around the infected tooth? Can you see how close the root of that tooth is to the sinus? Can you see how, from the sinus, the germs can track into your brain?

If you think your dentist was lying when he/she said you can die from tooth decay, I hope you change your mind now. You don't want to end up like this poor chap in a specimen display.

Any dentists reading this blog, if you want larger pics so you can print them out to scare your patients into maintaining optimum oral health please send me an email I'll gladly share them with you. I love using scare tactics.

Patient says

2007-06-28T22:58:00.000+10:00

Me : Do you have high blood pressure?

Patient: I only have high blood pressure when I come to the dentist.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Me : Do you have any heart condition?

Patient: My wife said I don't have a heart.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Me : Are you allergic to anything?

Patient: I'm allergic to dentist.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Patient: I hate dentist.

Me : I hate patient.

Patient: *stunned*

Who to blame?

2007-05-11T18:38:00.000+10:00

I received a frantic call from the oral surgeon today. Patient had woken up from GA and was still experiencing severe toothache and she's accusing the oral surgeon of pulling out the wrong tooth.

Oral Surgeon: You referred Mrs G to me for extraction of 16. I've done that but now she's saying I pulled out the wrong tooth.

I could hardly remember a Mrs G so I had a look on the computer and it all came back to me.

Mrs G was presented with fractured amalgam on a root canal treated tooth in September last year. She said the tooth was "niggling". I can never understand what patients mean when they say the tooth is "niggling". Do they mean it's giving them sharp pain, dull ache, throb or what??? I tried to get her to use other words to describe the sensation but she just kept repeating "You know it's just niggly", "It's not sharp. It's niggling". DUH. Fed up I just patched up the tooth with Fuji IX. The tooth wasn't TTP, neither was there any PA radiolucency on the radiograph. I told Mrs G if she starts getting dull throbbing ache in the tooth she'll either require RCT re-treatment by endodontist or have it extracted. Mrs G doesn't like the idea of travelling 700km to go to the endodontist and would rather have extraction. I do not like the combination of big amalgam restoration + RCT + close proximity to sinus so I told her if she ever require extraction she'll have to go to the oral surgeon. To save her the trouble of waiting 2 months to get in just to obtain a referral letter to the oral surgeon when the tooth flares up I decided to write her the referral letter in case she needs it.

Mrs G also has a deep carious lesion on 14. It had been asymptomatic so I told her she'll have to come back asap to get it fixed before it starts to hurt. She didn't.

My guess is, 8 months down the track she started getting toothache and thinking it's coming from the 16 she went to the oral surgeon. The oral surgeon followed the request on the referral letter and extracted 16 when it was 14 that was giving her pain. What amazed me is that how someone can think a half broken rotten tooth cannot cause pain, especially after being warned by me that she'll experience severe dull throbbing ache if she doesn't get it treated asap.

She came in the the practice today to make an appointment and she's still telling everyone the oral surgeon pulled out the wrong tooth. I feel sorry for the oral surgeon.

Kids say the darnest thing

2007-04-28T00:39:00.000+10:00

My dental assistant's grandaughter just turned 6 on ANZAC day.

DA's grandaughter : Nanny I like you.

DA : Nanny loves you

DA's grandaughter : But Nanny I didn't say I love you

DA : -_-''

***********************************************************************************

Mrs A has 7 anterior gold inlays done by my 60 years old boss' previous boss many years ago.

Mrs A : Are my gold fillings still alright?

Me : Yes, they're fine

Mrs A : My grandaughter asked me whether she could have them when I die. She was 6, she's now 24, I don't think she wants them anymore.

Me : -_-"

Excuse

2007-04-11T07:01:00.000+10:00

A is a very polite and well-mannered young chap. He had a deep 16 DO restoration done in Viet Nam while backpacking a year ago. The tooth had since became necrotic and he decided to have RCT. He came back for obturation yesterday.

A: Can you drink alcohol after RCT?

Me: Yes

A: Oh

*Silent*

A: My friend was having a big birthday party over the weekend. I didn't want to drink so I told them my dentist said don't drink any alcohol after RCT.

Me: -_-"

Don't give your dentist the pleasure of pulling out all your teeth

2007-03-06T01:17:00.001+11:00

Full Mx clearance. My favourite. I can't wait for Mr Pus-Oozing-Out-From-Gum to come back so I can pull out all his bottom teeth. *evil grin*

To all you dentist haters out there,

You say you hate us. So why are you providing us with so much fun and keeping us happy by deteriorating your oral health to such a state that you require every single tooth taken out? Extraction beats boring exam and scaling hands down. Please don't come to us for regular check up and clean because I rather you have rotten gum with pus and rotten teeth so I can pull them out. So exciting. I love blood.

P.s I also hate root canal, it strains my eyes and it's BORING. For your benefit I'm offering it as an option but I'm secretly hoping you tell me to rip out that damn tooth. Please don't make my life miserable by telling me you want root canal. For my benefit please let me pull out your tooth, I actually make more money that way.

Little Liar

2007-02-27T23:07:00.000+11:00

I've been too lazy to blog but something happened today and I just have to whinge.

Miss M, a 22 yrs old, was booked in for fillings. She came in complaining about sharp pain when she drinks cold water and she thinks it's because she has holes in her teeth. She has occlusal caries on 16 & 17 but they are not deep enough to cause any pain. 16 & 17 also have Bu gingival recession and exposed roots, which are very sensitive to the air from the triplex. So I explained to her what caused the sensitivity, gave her OHI, recommended topical application of toothpaste for sensitive teeth, blah blah. Then I asked her whether she wants to get the fillings done today. She said no. Then she said something about money but I didn't hear it no thanks to the creaking 50 yrs old chair as I was sitting her up, so I just assumed that she wanted to save up for the fillings.

Few hours later her mum rang up and kicked up a big fuss because I didn't do the fillings today. She claimed that her daughter said I refused to do the fillings for her today because I said she needed a lot of work done and that I didn't have the time to do it. WTF?! She then continued to say that her daughter was booked in for fillings and why didn't I do it, and since I didn't do anything why should she pay for anything. Excuse me, I was providing a service and you are paying me for my time (though I only received $6 for the 30 mins your daughter wasted, I could have been doing something more productive and help other ppl in real pain), besides do you think sterilizing the instruments doesn't cost anything? The mirror I used for examination can get scratched during the cleaning process, that's called depreciation and you are paying for it. My boss also has to pay the dental assistant. And what do you mean by I didn't do anything??? Are you retarded or what??? Even if I just sit there and talk it's consider doing something. Not to mention I actually had to look into her mouth to find out which teeth are sore since your daughter said "I dunno which teeth are causing the pain, it's paining everywhere". What sort of word is "paining" anyway?! Geez.

Anyway, the receptionist insisted that I did offer to do the fillings today but her daughter said no (I even documented in her record "Pt declined to have fillings done today"), she started screaming, "So you're saying my daugher is a liar?! My daughter will never lie to me!". Yeah right, I think your little angel has a big surprise for you. The receptionist then said the patient mentioned something about money so we assumed she didn't have the money to get things done today and didn't do the fillings as she wished. The patient's mum said she gave her daughter the money for the fillings today. Wonderful. The little bitch blew her dental money on something else and just shoved the blame on the dentist. How convenient.

Being the nice person that I always am, I just offered to see her daughter after my last patient of the day. No point arguing with her as obviously she only believes what her angelic and innocent daugher said. When her daugher came back she rang up again and asked whether we would refund the consultation fees. The receptionist firmly stood her ground and replied NO. She immediately blew up again and yelled THEN DON'T BOTHER, and called her daughter to tell her to leave.

Good riddance! Don't ever come back! You are banned!

Pus oozing out from gum Wooohoooo!

2007-02-07T23:31:00.000+11:00

My fav dental assistant in Mount Isa always get very excited whenever she sees pus and she would get pretty upset if I drain an abscess when she's not around. This clip is for you Paula. :p If you look carefully you can see the pus oozing out from the gum, how exciting! The tooth could move a lot more than what was shown in the clip. I didn't dare to move it too much for fear it'll fall out! -_-"

As soon as Mr D sat in the chair he pushed his tooth forward to show me the extend of movement. The tooth was parallel to the ground, I was shocked that it hasn't fall out. He was told he had periodontitis aka gum disease 3 yrs ago and it took him 3 yrs to decide that he wanted to save his teeth. A bit too late now. All his teeth have Grade III mobility, it's a wonder he still have them.

My friend HC asked me yesterday what would happen if he leaves his gum disease untreated. WTF. You're a medical doctor, what would happen if you leave an infection untreated??? DUH! I really don't understand why ppl seem to think that the mouth is a seperate entity and anything that happens in the mouth stays in the mouth, is isolated and totally unrelated to the rest of the body. Sheesh. Well buddy sorry to disappoint you but it doesn't work this way. I told him his teeth will fall out. He didn't believe me. See for it yourself.

More FAQs

2006-12-26T16:07:00.000+11:00

I'm really starting to enjoy this. More FAQs from search engine.

1. How long does it take for tooth to ache before it gets infected?
Guess what, it's already infected that's why it bloody hurts! It takes at least 2 years for an infected tooth to hurt, so it's either:
1) you didn't go for regular dental check up, which in this case serve you right; or
2) you're a cheapskate and refused xrays during dental check up (serve you right too); or
3) your dentist is lousy and didn't tell you you need regular xrays (but sometimes dentists are so jaded by patients thinking we're out to make a quick buck by taking xrays they can't be bothered anymore, in this case, I totally understand).

2. I've toothache but can't afford to see dentist
Dentists're humans too, many would let you pay it off over time. Call your local dentists and ask about payment plans. If you're lucky you might even get a sucker dentist like me who would do it for free (just don't tell my boss!). I sneaked in a few times with my trusted DA after hour at my previous workplace to treat ppl who can't afford but require emergency treatment or lose their teeth if they wait till they save up enough money. Unfortunately I can't do my dodgy afterhour charity dental treatment anymore as my current trusted DA aka partner in crime doesn't have the key to get into the surgery after hour. BAH!
But if you waste your money burning off on ciggies, booze and worse, drugs, you don't have my sympathy and deserve the toothache.

3. Having a tooth extracted that has broken
Extraction of a broken tooth, depending on how broken it is, is a PAIN IN THE ARSE (and a pain for your wallet too). If you wait to the stage where the tooth is half gone, good luck. Many times it will end up being a surgical extraction as there's nothing much for us to grab on with the forceps, or the tooth was so weakened by decay it just keep crumbling off. If you are wondering what surgical extraction is, it means we've to take out the big scary scapel to slice your gum off, and the big scary bone drill to drill your bone away to remove to remaining tooth, and as if that's not enough there's the stitches, imagine the needle poking through your gum. Muahahahahahaha! My advise is, get it fixed before it breaks!

4. Can teeth without nerves still hurt?
Yes it can. When root canal fails it will hurt due to infection.

5. What dentists do when your filling falls out
Put another one back in. LOL. Joke aside, fillings fall out for several reasons:
1) Too old / crack. Simple replacement will do. Unless u waited too long and the tooth got infected and started to decay, once it starts to hurt, you might need root canal or extraction.
2) Accident (e.g. motor vehicle, sports, fights etc). Probably replacement or root canal or extraction.
3) Decay under filling. Again, if you wait too long you might end up needing root canal or extraction. Rule of thumb is, get it fixed before it starts to hurt.
Nothin lasts forever so don't expect your filling(s) to last forever. You car needs to have the engine oil change several times through it's life (if it lasts as long as you do), your filling will require several replacement/repair through your life too.

6. Abscess tooth if left untreated
YOU WILL DIE. Refer to article below.

7. Can you get sick from abscessed molar chronic infection?
Yes. If you are lucky you only get sick. If you are unlucky you DIE.

8. Filling fell out now tooth hurt
Oh let me guess that filling fell out 3 months ago. Congratulation the decay has progressed into the nerve now we can't put filling in anymore please fork out $1000 for root canal or face the bloody butcher knife to have it extracted.

9. How to treat an infected tooth without going to dentist?
Just use the plier to pull it out. So simple. LOL.

10. Does it hurt after getting a tooth pulled?
Does it hurt after you have the tip of your thumb chopped off? It always amaze me how ppl expect extraction wound to be painless right after the anaesthetic wears off. I'm sick of ppl coming back to me 2 days after extraction complaining about "infection" because it's still sore. Extraction is a bloody surgical procedure of course it would bloody hurt you dumbo.

About time they publish something like this

2006-10-19T21:12:00.000+10:00

The Age, 9th October 2006

A rotting tooth can infect your life

Peter Weekes

MELBOURNE researchers have developed a world-first test that reveals which teeth are at threat of imminent decay. They say the test will help reduce the risk of heart attack and premature birth, and control some forms of diabetes.

Researchers at Melbourne University are about to publish the results of a successful clinical trial of the test that allows dentists to accurately predict if a tooth is at risk of developing gum disease, which if left untreated could be fatal.

"People can die of dental infection if you have a spreading infection going down into the throat or chest cavity, or occasionally into the brain," said associate professor at the University of Sydney and chairman of the Association for the Promotion of Oral Health, Dr Hans Zoellner.

"In New Zealand, the unofficial estimate is that one or two people die of it every year. I suspect in Australia the number is similar, but no one is counting."

Fortunately, in most cases the disease can be treated before it becomes deadly, but it involves a hospital stay and a heavy course of antibiotics.

The new test for potential gum disease will allow dentists to resolve the problem long before hospital admission is required and also prevent other problems.

"Periodontal (gum) disease is a very good predictor of people getting cardiovascular disease," said Melbourne University associate professor Stuart Dashper. "People with untreated chronic periodontal disease have a much higher risk of getting cardiovascular diseases than people with healthy mouths."

In the past 10 years or so, scientists have discovered that many illnesses can be traced to a person's oral health, and gum disease in particular.

Periodontal disease is unlike other diseases where a person gets an infection from a bacterium outside the body. The bug that causes gum disease is among the 700-odd bacteria that are always in a person's mouth, but once one or two proliferate, they can cause widespread inflammation, bleeding and pain. A mouth with gum disease affecting all teeth has an area of infection about the same size as a human hand.

Bacteria in plaque eat away at the ligament holding the tooth in place and can then get into the jawbone and blood supply.

Melbourne University senior lecturer and head of periodontics, Ivan Darby, who also worked on the study, said once oral bacteria entered the blood supply, the whole body was affected.

"One of the things it affects is the build-up of fatty plaque in your arteries that leads to heart disease. We have found the DNA of the bugs that cause gum disease . . . in the fatty plaque in the arteries around the heart."

A Danish study last month also found an increased risk of coronary heart disease among those aged under 60 who had more than four millimetres of jawbone loss from gum disease.

Oral bacteria may also trigger a build-up of the hormones that induce women into labour prematurely. Professor John Newnham, of the University of Western Australia, said an "association" between the two was known, and he was in the midst of a $1 million study designed to find if a link existed.

What researchers do know is that an oral infection releases three bacteria into the body's circulation: cytokines, which cause inflammation and are involved in the initiation of labour; prostaglandins, used by hospitals to induce labour; and a unique mouth bacterium that can "translocate" and has been found in the amniotic fluid that surrounds the embryo.

Professor Newnham's study follows a similar one in Chile last year, which found periodontal therapy reduced pre-term birth and low birth-weight infant rates by 68 per cent in women with pregnancy-associated gingivitis.

Dr Darby said international research had also revealed that periodontal therapy limited the wild swings in diabetics' sugar levels. "What has been shown recently is that if you treat the gum problems of people with diabetes, you can improve their glycaemia control so you don't get these wide fluctuations," he said.

The bite stuff

· Brush and floss twice daily, and get regular check-ups.

· Quit smoking. Gum disease can be added to the long list of reasons why it's healthier not to smoke.

· Drink water. Helps reduce mouth inflammation by producing more saliva. Saliva dilutes toxins in the mouth created by plaque.

· Eat healthier. A balanced diet enhances your overall health.

SOURCE: Medical Network

THE NAKED TOOTH
Bacteria can enter the bloodstream through the damage caused under a tooth.

DIABETES
Periodontal therapy has been shown to reduce the wild fluctuations in a diabetic's blood-sugar count.

JAW
Bacteria can eat away at the jaw bone that holds the teeth in place.

FOETUSES
Oral bacteria can spur the production of the hormone that tells the female body it is time to give birth.

BRAIN
Oral bacteria can enter the bloodstream and reach the brain, causing damage.

HEART
The DNA of oral bacteria has been found in plaque that clogs the arteries, which leads to heart attacks.

SOURCE: University of Melbourne, Association for the Promotion of Oral Health, University of Copenhagen, Unversity of Western Australia and University of Chile.

Dentist vs Stupid People

2006-10-14T00:16:00.000+10:00

I was surfing the web when I came across this website called Toothache at Holy Shmoly!

I had a good laugh. It's amazing how ignorant some people are. If you are getting pain obviously your body is trying to tell you something is very wrong, but instead of seeking professional help guess what these people do? Go on the net and ask about home remedies. Yes, go on, drink those alcohol. Just wait till the infection spread and you end up in the hospital emergency department dying from caries.

Why are there so many stupid ppl? -_-"

Here's one of the comment on the website by someone called Ban Fillings and my replies.

Ban Fillings Aug 25th, 2006 at 10:02 am

The problem with amalgam fillings, apart from the fact that the mercury in them is toxic and could very well be creating a host of long-term illnesses in your body, is that in order for fillings to hold, dentists have to drill the cavity out quite deeply, thereby reducing the strength of the tooth by 75%. Fillings later expand and cause the tooth to crack and this harbours more decay and the filling eventually falls out leaving the tooth in worse shape than had the initial cavity been left alone. I can’t wait for all my amalgam fillings to fall out. But will I get them drilled out or replaced by new generation fillings? No way. I have found that the pain related to a cavity or a broken tooth, while intense, is usually short-lived - lasting generally no longer than a week max and the pain is mostly controllable during that time anyway. The body obviously has a way of counteracting the pain. I mean, you have to ask yourself “how did people cope in the days before dentistry?” I find that most of the pain of a toothache is related to food particles and tooth/filling fragments that irritate the cavity. Therefore my first line of defence is to use strong (rounded) wooden toothpicks to dislodge these particles and clean out the cavity and thoroughly work the toothpick between the adjoining teeth. Then using my thumb and forefinger I wiggle the affected tooth as much as possible from side to side and then bite down on a tissue that’s been folded over and over. I do this routine after every meal and whenever I feel pain. All this manipulation can intensify the pain momentarily, but in my experience the body remedies the situation itself within a few days. If I’m feeling excrutiating pain I find that swilling brandy or similar over the affected area in conjunction with a dose of headache tablets before going to bed works wonders. Would I get another filling? No way. Would I get a tooth extracted? Yes, but only if the pain of the toothache was so bad that I wasn’t prepared to wait for it to fall out on its own. But if you can stand a little discomfort, be patient and your body will generally rectify itself.

dentistdownunder Sep 5th, 2006 at 2:49 pm

Ban Fillings,

Maybe you should advocate prevention instead of spewing rubbish. Prevention is the best cure. Leaving infection untreated is just asking for trouble. You are lucky nothing has happen to you yet, but others are not as fortunate as you. I’ve seen several cases at the hospital emergency department where ppl almost died from complications developed from a simple decay that was being ignored. Infection, if left untreated, can spread. Maybe you should try pulling them out with pliers yourself instead of leaving them in your mouth. Try leaving an open wound on your arm and bath it constantly in fluid loaded with bacteria and tell me what happen.

Ban Fillings Sep 9th, 2006 at 7:18 pm

Dentist Down Under,

Prevention of decay is all very good, but the dentists’ philosophy of saving a tooth at any cost rather than extracting it is a profit motivated practise. Drilling and filling teeth is an expensive, destructive, cosmetic and very temporary solution to the problem akin to grinding the rust out of a car body and filling it with bog before respraying - it looks okay for a while, but the damage is already done and the underlying decay will keep resurfacing.

I am not advocating that people ignore infection. The pain they experience is the body’s way of telling them there is something the matter. If they clean out the food particles and bits of toxic filling and remove the sections of bad tooth, the pain usually disappears within a couple of days without any other intervention.

The money-generating dental “profession” has only been around a century or so, yet people seemed to manage before then somehow, even if they didn’t have perfectly straight, Hollywood bleached teeth. The human race managed to survive before dentists came along by using common sense and allowing the body to heal itself.

Generations of people now have been conditioned to book an appointment with the dentist at the first sign of a toothache, or trained by the dentist to go regularly for checkups. Either way, the dentist gets plenty of repeat business and most people are totally unaware of their ability to deal with their teeth themselves.

dentistdownunder Sep 10th, 2006 at 1:47 pm

Ban Fillings,

You obviously live in the last century. Nowadays we prefer preventive dentistry to restorative. If I don’t have to drill I wouldn’t. Like I kept saying, early decay is REVERSIBLE, provided it’s detected in the early stage, that’s why it’s important to have regular check up, unless you can cut out the carbohydrate from your diet no matter how many times you brush you still have the risk of getting decay but it’s your choice nobody is forcing you to see the dentist. If you let your car get to the stage of rusting you obviously never take good care of it, just like your teeth they need regular maintenance.
I’ve left holes unfilled several times, provided it’s not decay and the patient can keep it very clean you don’t have to fill it. The filling is only there to prevent the tooth from getting decay again, as it’s very difficult to keep clean when you’ve a hole in your tooth. If you don’t want it filled it’s fine by me it’s your tooth not mine. What I don’t understand is that why do ppl think that fillings should last forever? Your car doesn’t last forever so why should you expect a filling to last forever. When you have a heart attack you don’t expect the cardiologist to fix your heart back to what it used to be, so why do you bash the dentist when a dental treatment doesn’t restore your tooth to what it used to be? Weird.
Please do more research before you make any untrue statements. Human beings had been practicing dentistry for thousands of years. Archaeologists studying the remains of two men from Mehrgarh, Pakistan, made the discovery that the people of Indus Valley Civilization, even from the early Harappan periods (c. 3300 BC), had knowledge of medicine and dentistry. The physical anthropologist that carried out the examinations, Professor Andrea Cucina from the University of Missouri-Columbia, made the discovery when he was cleaning the teeth from one of the men. Later research in the same area found evidence of teeth having been drilled, dating back 9,000 years. Check out the news on the BBC website http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4882968.stm
Ancient Chinese medical works also discussed dental and gum diseases in their oldest medical book written by Huang Ti about 2500B.C., one whole chapter was devoted to dental and gum diseases and the treatment of this conditions.
Hammurabi’s Code created around 1780B.C. had several references to dental procedures and fees.
The Edwin Smith Papyrus (dates as early as 3000 B.C.) and Ebers Papyrus from about 1550 B.C. also discussed several dental diseases. Numerous papyri enumerate prescriptions to dental diseases, such as pyorrhea, loose teeth, dental caries and abscesses. Surgically produced holes to drain an abscess under the 1st molar were found in the mandible of a 4th dynasty mummy (2625 - 2510 BC). A loose tooth fixed with a gold wire bridge to a neighboring sound tooth was discovered in another mummy of the same dynasty in Giza. Artificial teeth holding a maxillary bridge by a silver wire was also found in the late period (Greco-Roman). Tooth extraction, treatment of mouth ulcers and treatment of jaw dislocation were also dealt with in the Edwin Smith and Ebers Papyri.
I can go on and on with more examples but I’ll just leave it at that.
So the dental profession has only been around for a century or so? I don’t think so. You are probably living in a cave or your English is so bad you don’t know the defination of “a century”.
I don’t advocate Hollywood straight, bleached teeth. In fact I always try to convince my patients they’ve beautiful teeth whenever they want me to bleach them or straighten them. Teeth are naturally yellow, I won’t bleach my own teeth so I won’t bleach others either. If you want to blame someone, blame the media. There is only supply when there is demand, if ppl never ask for “blinding white” teeth I doubt any dentist would be doing it.
Tooth is drilled to remove decay, if you have a better way of removing it please let me know. Pain would disappear when the nerve dies, but the infection is still there, that’s why ppl end up in the emergency department dying from an ignored dental infection. They think once the pain is gone the tooth is getting better, but as long as the decay is still there it will eventually blow up, the pain will return, often 10 times worse, and if you are the unlucky one, die from a simple tooth decay. If you want to yank your tooth out just because of decay by all mean go ahead, God obviously put your teeth there for a reason but like I said before, it’s your teeth not mine, do whatever you want with them, that’s what I always tell my patients, just don’t come back to me to complain later down the track.

I'm still waiting for Ban Filling's reply. He probably went into hiding because he had ran out of shit to rebut me. Ha.

Dentist 1. Stupid ppl 0.

How much is your health worth?

2006-10-02T00:57:00.000+10:00

She hasn't been to the dentist for "a while". She said she can't afford it but she had no choice today because one of the teeth was starting to hurt. "I only want that tooth fixed, nothing else.", she said.

I fixed the decay but can't help noticing the thick calculus around her teeth. Studies have shown the association between poor oral hygiene and systemic health, especially heart disease. It costs $65 to get scaling done once a year, that's less than $6 a month. You can't even go to the cinema with less than $15 these days, and I know ppl who burn $200 a week on cigarettes, so I don't think money is a good enough excuse to let your oral health deteriorate like this. It'll cost much more to replace those teeth once they start falling out due to periodontitis, not to mention being handicapped by it coz frankly speaking it's a pain in the arse to replace missing lower teeth with dentures, you won't be able to eat with it. If you want implants, get ready to sell your house.

Anyway, she seemed like a nice lady, no fancy clothes, no make up, no smoker's breath, maybe she does have financial difficulty. So I gave her the benefits of the doubt and did the scaling for free, boss doesn't know of course. I hate it when ppl tell me they can't afford it. I hate it even more if I can do something but sit around and do nothing. So I just went ahead and did it.

Moral of the Story

2006-09-13T23:31:00.000+10:00

J came in about a lost filling.
He sounded very excited.
"You won't believe this!", he exclaimed.
"My son was going to eat a lolly the other day, he's only 5. I told him if you eat the lolly your teeth will fall out. So he gave it to me and I ate it and my filling fell out haha"

-_-''

FAQ Your Questions Answered

2006-08-10T00:15:00.000+10:00

I noticed a lot of people came to my blog via Google search. Many of them were looking for answers to their dental problems, so I've decided to help you with some of the most common questions.

1) Toothache after crown prep/ toothache under crown
Congratulation, I think you need a root canal now. If you're the former, maybe not. During crown prep, the heat from the drill can cause pulpitis (inflammation of the nerve). If you're lucky, the nerve heals up, might take a while, few weeks, few months, if not the pain would persist and progress into irreversible pulpitis, you'll start getting spontaneous dull throbbing ache. When that happens you will need root canal or extraction. As for toothache under crown, go to your dentist immediately and have a vitality test and x-ray done. Sometimes it could be the gum that's causing the pain, but it could also be due to dying/dead tooth.

2) Does getting a tooth pulled hurt?

No it doesn't hurt, unless you are the psycho imagining it.
The only reason it would hurt is that you've waited too long to go to the dentist and your tooth has developed an abscess. The pus would prevent the anaesthetic from working properly, so if you're feeling pain when you're having your tooth pulled, don't blame the dentist, blame yourself. If you have gone to the dentist for regular check up you wouldn't even need to have extraction in the first place. Repeat after me 10 times: Early decay doesn't hurt and is reversible, if I need a tooth pulled it's my own fault, I'm a bloody idiot for not going to the dentist earlier.

3) Infected tooth doesn't hurt anymore
Yeah, that's because the nerve is dead you dumbo. Go ahead and avoid the dentist, I can guarantee you the pain would come back, 10 times worse on a Saturday night in a few months time with a big swelling in your face, and most likely the anaesthetic wouldn't work by that stage, and the pain would hurt you so much you would wish you are dead.

4) How to take the swelling down from an abscess tooth?
Use a plier and pull the damn tooth out. Either that or do a root canal. Taking antibiotics will only give temporary relieve as the antibiotics cannot get inside the tooth to kill all the germs. The swelling might go down and the pain might go away but it will come back (I bet my life on it) and haunt you for the rest of your life as long as that darn tooth remains in your mouth untreated. I am so sick of the medical doctors dosing patients with antibiotics thinking that it'll get rid of the abscess from an infected tooth indefinitely. I've had patient who went to the doctor 5 times to get antibiotics for swelling caused by decayed tooth before the doctor decided the antibiotics are not going to work and told her to see the dentist. What the f***. Haven't you learnt anything about resistant bacteria???

5) Dental treatments and holidays (Phillipines)
Sorry, can't help ya, I dunno any dentists from the Phillipines. The only thing I know about them is the stuffed ups I'd to fix.

Many people also came to this blog in search of matrix band, and Vitrebond. I dunno why you're here for but if you want to leave me a question I'll try to answer.

Here's one of my favourite photo, courtesy of Dr Steve Stephen from the US. Cracked tooth. Did someone just ask me why a crown is required when the tooth is compromised by big cavity?

Bring it on!

2006-06-19T02:53:00.000+10:00

"They will remember our names when we beat them" - Mark Viduka

Nobody believe we would win, we proved them wrong. After thrashing Japan 3-1 in the last 8 minutes we're now facing the previous world champion Brazil. Can we prove them wrong again? My non-Aussie friends told me dream on. I say bring it on! We've beaten Brazil before, 1-0 in 2001 Confederation Cup in Japan. I don't see why we can't do it again. Come on Aussies! You can do it!

I hate bad referee

2006-06-13T00:35:00.000+10:00

It's so obvious the bloody Japs played dirty! They only got their first goal because their bloody striker Naohiro "Arsehole" Takahara physically attacked our goal keeper Mark Schwarzer!!! Slow motion video clearly showed Shunsuke "Shitface" Nakamura's goal was done by karate! Lousy referee!!! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! How can you trust a nation that blatanly denied slaughtering millions of civilians during WWII to play fair. We should have known.

Was it just me or did your notice the Japs had some kind of disorder that made them ironically 'fall to the ground' everytime an Aussie player go for the ball? What a bunch of pansies! And as for the ref, perhaps he should go back into his tomb.

*middle finger to the Japs and the blind-and-corrupted referee*

Naohiro "Arsehole" Takahara's karate chop on Mark Schwarzer

Mark Schwarzer :D

Mark Schwarzer saving the penalty kick by Uruguay

The guy who helped bring us to the World Cup

FIFA World Cup 2006: Australia vs Japan

2006-06-12T22:49:00.000+10:00

Go Australia!!! Aussie Aussie Aussie!!! Oi Oi Oi ! ! !

The bloody Japs claimed they gonna win the game by accusing us of being "too physical". Dirty bastards. Go Aussies!

"Fire spear my arse that's a fcuking black boy"

2006-06-01T22:18:00.000+10:00

I overheard this comment when I was at Bunnings. It was directed at the label of a plant. Commonly known as grass tree, the "Fire Spear" is a plant in the genus Xanthorrhoea. It used to be called the Black Boy (see picture below) but the do-gooders in this country have demanded political correctness and try to get rid of anything that they think would offend the minorities. According to a Canadian friend, his town didn't put up a Christmas tree at the city square last year because do-gooders think it would offend the minorities who don't celebrate Christmas. What a bucket full of shit. I don't celebrate Christmas, I'm not a Christian I'm an atheist but I do like the Christmas atmosphere and the Christmas deco. Since when do I need the do-gooders to tell me when I should feel offended. Just because I don't celebrate it doesn't mean other ppl can't. Luckily they haven't ban the Christmas tree here yet. Anyway, guess what, the guy making the comment was an Aboriginal and he sure wasn't happy they ain't calling the Black Boy a Black Boy anymore.

Mrs S came to me with a swelling next to her 15. According to her this swelling comes and goes and had been troubling her for over a year. Now this is one of my favourite thing at work. If you take a probe and poke at the swelling pus would flow out.

I took a PA.

#&*@(%!!! What a shitty RCT.

I dug up her record and checked the previous radiographs. It turned out the RCT was done by this Pommie locum dentist who comes here every April 2 yrs ago. This husband & wife Pommie locum dentists did some of the shadiest dental work I've ever seen. The husband openly proclaimed that he hates dentistry and was only doing it for the money. He has no respect for the patients and always treat them like a pig/cow/chook/whatever waiting to be butchered. I feel sorry for the patients who end up in their chairs. The patients never get what's best for them, only what makes the most money for the dentist.

Let's see how far I can force this file into the tooth. Oooooh it went through the apex. Haha so fun!

I might as well shove the GP through the apex too and see how long it'll take before pt starts getting abscess. Yummy! I like pus!

Besides overextending the gutta percha she had also completed the RCT in one appointment. Doesn't she know that completing RCT in an infected tooth in one appointment without application of intracanal medicament would decrease the success rate??? Yes of course she does, but if you can finish it off in an hour you get to pocket $500, but if you split it up into 2 appointments you only get $200+ in 1 hour so to hell with the well being of the patient just gimme the cash!

I don't understand why she doesn't pull the GP out a bit. It's not like she can't see it on the PA it's so bloody obvious and all it takes is 1 second. ONE BLOODY SECOND. I guess she just couldn't be bothered, after all it's not her tooth. Dentists like her should be whipped and condemned to hell.

Poor Mrs S ended up having the tooth pulled. Look at that sickening GP sticking out of the tooth.

Happy Birthday to Me

2006-05-31T18:28:00.000+10:00

I was heating up the duck egg for lunch when the microwave door burst open. ;( Stupid me, I should've slice the eggs. ;(

Speaking of duck eggs, I'm getting more and more frustrated by the foreign workers the local meatwork brought in. Many ppl are protesting, claiming that these foreign workers are stealing Aussie jobs. I don't agree with them. If I'm an employer and I've a choice between someone who would work their arse off 24/7 and not whinge or someone who demands high pay but wouldn't work harder of course I would choose the hardworking ones. Those ppl who're unemployed, stop blaming the foreign workers, get your fat arse off the couch and start looking for a job and work hard to keep it. If you are good enough I don't see why they wouldn't hire you.

However, what annoys me is that these foreign workers don't speak a word of English. How the hell are they going to learn all the Workplace Health & Safety craps??? They can't even read the traffic signs. Thank goodness most of them are on their bicycles and not driving.

Anyway, I'd nothing against them. They're here doing shitty jobs that most Aussies wouldn't want to do. However I noticed the duck eggs at the market have disappeared. They always sold out before I get there. On top of that, the kangkung had MIA too. So I decided to get to the market much earlier. I got up at 5am on a Sunday morning and thought I would be the first one at the market but when I got there holy cow the foreign workers were already there and they wiped out all the duck eggs and kangkung before I could park my car.

I don't care if they're "stealing" our jobs, but now they're "stealing" my food. This is getting personal. Hmph.

4 things I learnt last week

2006-05-03T23:39:00.000+10:00

1) Always warn the patient about possible RCT when doing a crown prep, especially when there's gingival recession. If it doesn't happen, good. If it does, patient thinks you're so good you can tell what would happen even before you start.
Mrs P came in 2 weeks ago and told me she wants "tooth coloured crowns" for 2 of her teeth with fractured amalgam. I started preparing her 37 last week. When I was happily grinding her tooth away a pink spot suddenly appeared near her root and it hit me that the slightly exposed root will not have enough thickness for a porcelain crown. Damn it I could have thought about that earlier. I quickly stopped and explained to her that her tooth doesn't have enough thickness for a crown and the trauma from crown prep would probably cause irreversible pulpitis and she might start experiencing pain. I made her a temporary crown and sent her home and told her she can decide whether to have RCT or have the tooth taken out. She came back and said:"You're right the tooth started feeling a bit sore I think I need root canal." I'm just glad she didn't think I was the one who killed her tooth.

2) If the tooth has gingival recession, do not do a porcelain or porcelain fused to metal crown. If the patient refused gold or zirconia crown, refer to someone else.
I don't want to be a hero, I just want to sleep at night.

3) Never assume an Anglo-Saxon Aussie has better command of English than you - a bloody Asian immigrant whose English is a second language.
M came in with several lingual caries on his lower molars. I dunno what shit he's been eating but it doesn't look good, most of the caries are subgingival. It's impossible to maintain a dry field and I don't have amalgam in the practice so I filled them up with Fuji IX. I thought I did a pretty good job considering his bloody tongue wouldn't leave my bur alone but he kept complaining about "sharp edges". I couldn't see any but tried to smooth it out and yet he wouldn't stop complaining. There won't be any filling left if I continue to smooth out the "sharp edges" so I asked him to show me where they are. He just said I'm numb I can't feel anything but they're sharp. What the hell.

I was getting very frustrated trying to find where the sharp edges are. In the end he said he couldn't feel the sharpness anymore but went on to bitch about me to the receptionist behind my back. He told her: " I've had fillings before but they were never this rough". What a dumb arse. Doesn't he know "sharp" and "rough" have totally different meanings??? According to my Oxford dictionary, sharp means having a fine edge or point; not blunt; capable of cutting or piercing. Whereas rough means having an uneven or irregular surface; not level or smooth.

The filling was rough because this stupid idiot waited too long to come to the dentist and the decay had extended below the gum line. I had no choice but to use Fuji IX, which can't be polished into a smooth surface. If he had use the correct vocabulary I wouldn't have wasted 30 mins trying to smooth out the invisible sharp edges. He must have a skull filled with shit.

4) When patient complains about pain but you can't find anything wrong (even after taking a BW and PA), do not dismiss him/her as a loony, take more radiographs!
S drove 4 hours from out west to get here. She had been experiencing severe dull throbbing ache in Q4 for the last 2 weeks. She'll be driving 10 hours down to Brisbane the next morning and wanted something done about the toothache. She has very good OH and only had 1 filling done more than 10 years ago when she was a kid by the school dentist. I looked at her almost perfect teeth and couldn't see any caries. I tapped on the teeth, they were slightly tender to percussion. Cold test was positive so I took a BW.

Deep restoration but seems ok

Don't see any prob on the PA either

Pt is a regular flosser so I thought she might have traumatised her gingival tissue by flossing too hard, which can manisfest as toothache (from personal experience). I was just going to tell her to go home when I thought I better have a look at her gum but it wasn't tender when palpated.

What the heck I'll take another PA.

The previous dentist had drilled into her tooth but decided to keep it a little secret and covered up with composite. It took more than 10 years to finally cause some drama. Fortunately I was able to scare her into getting RCT instead of exo. She is only 19, too young to lose a molar which most ppl don't give a shit because "it's a back tooth and you can't see it".

Before / After

2006-04-21T00:08:00.000+10:00

M saw another dentist in town who stuffed up his tooth. He was only a kid and ended up having that tooth pulled out. That was more than 10 yrs ago. He had never been to a dentist since and had clearly been indulging in Coke binge drinking which caused the smooth surface caries.

M has decided to clean up his act. He has switched to drinking water and plucked up the courage to visit the dentist. :D

BEFORE

AFTER

You can hardly see the fillings. I am so proud of myself. ;p The bleeding around the gum was caused by the polishing discs, which are like tiny sand paper, it's unavoidable when the decay is below the gum line. ;( The gum would heal up anyway :p hehe

M is happy, so am I. :D

I hate dentists

2006-04-04T21:23:00.001+10:00

I have had the following conversation many times:

Patient: No offence but I don't like dentists.
Me : Uh huh.
Pt : I hate dentists.
Me : Ah ok.
Pt : Don't take it personally.
Me : What is it about dentists you don't like?
Pt : Pain
Me : During or after treatment?
Pt : Umm.....well....
Me : So anaesthetic doesn't work for you?
Pt : Well, OK, it doesn't hurt during treatment.
Me : Afterwards, then?
Pt : No, no, I'm fine then.
Me : Before?
Pt : Yes.
Me : Ah!
Pt : What?
Me : Oh, nothing....it's just that you'd pain before you visit the dentist, well, that's not our fault, technically.....it's your fault! Plus, it's probably in your head. You're a loony.

OK, that last bit is not true, I just think that, but won't it be nice if I can say it out loud and won't get into trouble? ;p

My DA is going on a road trip to Mount Isa this Easter. I used to work out there. She said I can come along if I want. I am so tempted. I kinda miss that place. It's in the middle of no where, dusty and hot like hell, but it's so peaceful, and ppl're so friendly. If it wasn't for my arsehole ex-boss (curse him) I would still be living there. If I MIA during Easter you know where I am. :D