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Ask prosaic1 Anything!
prosaic1 has been a member since July 20th,2000.
# Asked: 111 -- # Answered: 1118
Average: 0.68 -- Average: 4.69
Rank: 81 -- Rank: 58
7.10.00 - I have points to burn, so ask me anything. Lets avoid the commonplace questions. Make me think! Make me squirm! I am prosaic1 by the way.
heyteach on 7.10.00 - When you're a dentist, what do you believe your role and responsibility will be (or should be) in promoting the overall health of your patient? How will you try to get them to listen to you if you go beyond what folks associate with a dentist (brush, floss, watch the sugar)?
Excellent question. I believe the dentist can play a key role in the early diagnosis of systemic disease. Their role in treating or curing systemic disease is limited. At our school (University of Minnesota School of Dentistry) in the past year, we have diagnosed 5 life threatening cases of hypertension in patients who otherwise had no clue about it. Those were done with simple blood pressure checks at the beginning of exams. Another key role for dentists is the early detection of HIV. One of the earliest signs of HIV is oral candidiasis (yeast infection). If we see this at the school, we are instructed to immediately take the patient to the physician. In order to serve these patients, we must absolutely know their disease status for both our safety as well as theirs. These are two of the simplest examples I can think of off the top of my head. Since many disease have oral and cranial manifestations, who better to see them than the guy who has his hands in your mouth. We have many, many hours of Oral Medicine and Diagnosis. Older dentists may not be as concerned, but that is not their fault, it is really within the past decade that our role in diagnosis of systemic disease has come to the forefront. The days of the "tooth carpenter" are coming to a close. We really are using our "doctor" status more and more.
Jeni on 7.10.00 - how exactly do you expect to handle a patient like me? Terrified at even the thought of a dentists office. Will you turn on the gas? Will you put head phones on them with soothing music? What types of skills have you learned to deal with the dental phobic type personalities? Will you just refer them to someone else? Would you like to specialize in patients with phobia's?
I know this is more than one question but it all sort of relates anyway.
In handling dental phobic patients....hmmm lets see. Yes, if the patient wants gas (nitrous oxide) no problem. I am a bit opposed to head phones because sometimes you need a patient to turn to the left or right and verbal commands make it easier. Before beginning any "work" or I should say invasive work, I would try to build a repoire with the patient, half of dental phobia is being uncomfortable with the person that is working on you. I would also assure them of the power of our newer anesthetics. The days of "Novocaine" are over. There are more potent, longer lasting anesthetics than Novocaine. Novocaine has become a word of our language used similarly to Kleenex, when it comes to asking for a facial tissue. Lets just clear the air, no one uses Novocaine any more. As far as patient management skills, I am just entering clinical rotation in September, so my practice of this fine art is very, very limited. The only phobic patients, I would refer out are children. I don't deal well with children, and to be quite honest the Pedodontics Program at our school is the pits. I don't want to specialize in the treatment of the phobic patients, and no one should. The dentist who promises painless runs a huge risk. Lets face it, we still have to stick you with the needle to get you numb. No other form of anesthesia has proven effective.
obbop on 7.10.00 - So, yer a dentist??? How does the public protect itself from the MANY rip-offs as exposed by various studies...... dentists proscribing unneeded work, etc.
A large percentage of dentists have been found to be doing this.
Many Americans can NOT afford to get 2nd or 3rd opinions!!!!!
No, I am not a dentist yet. I am at the end of my second year of dental school. Two more years and two more board exams to go! When searching for a dentist, the best source for the "low down" on what your dentist is up to is the State Board of Dentistry. Every state has one and they are in the phone book (blue pages I believe). Dentists, Lawyers, Doctors and yes, even plumbers are self regulated professionals. We have been given the honor of keep each other honest through peer review. I am on the peer review committee for the Minnesota Dental Association. The State board can tell you about any dentist practicing in the state, their history, any patient complaints etc. It is the best way to rank a dentist. While there are some crooked dentists, I believe this to be a minority (less than 1%). There is more than enough oral disease to go around without having to make it up. As the insurance companies move toward evidence based dentistry, it will be harder and harder for crooked dentists to do unnecessary work. But short of the "second opinion", the state board is your best bet.
Goody613 on 7.10.00 - If you could meet anyone in the world alive or dead, and you could only ask them three question what would they be?
I would like to meet "God" or "Allah" or "Buddha". Pick your incarnation, it's all the same in the end.
Three Questions:
1) What is the meaning of life?
2) If you wrote the bible, why did you depend on humans to interpret it to the rest of us? duh.
3) Do you really like people to donate alot of money to buildings and congregations assembled in your name?
mamie on 7.10.00 - I read somewhere that the 'plaque' buildup on ones teeth can be linked to the possibility of similar plaque buildup in the arteries, and subsequent heart disease. I can't find that information again, anywhere. Is there a connection between these two occurrences and if so, should it be mentioned to ones physician?
Dental plaque and Atherosclerotic Plaque. There has been some degree of debate surrounding this topic. Every time you have a dental procedure performed, you get what is known as a transient bacteremia. In this, bacteria are introduced to the bloodstream and are thought to be able to cause damage. Some speculate that the bacteria could form colonies on the arterial walls and therefore lead to the development of cholesterol/bacterial plaques. I am not so sure of this right now. The real danger of the transient bacteremia lies with the patient who has preexisting vascular problems, most particularly, heart murmurs. It has been speculated for some time that patients with heart murmurs are susceptable to the formation of bacterial vegetations on the damage heart valves, further adding to the problem of deficient heart function. While there are no cases directly linked to dental bacteremias, we as a profession have taken it upon ourselves to premedicate patients that are at risk with antiobiotics. This antibiotic prophylaxis is intended to keep the bacteremia to a minimum, thus possible preventing bacterial endocarditis in the patient. Bacteremias in most cases cause no problems, which is good, since any dental procedure with adequate bleeding will cause one. If they were more dangerous, we would probably all be dead with just a simple filling.
manda on 7.10.00 - Dealing w/commercials, when
said, call within the next 10 minutes and you get blah blah free, is that
genuine? Do you automatically get the free gift? Or is there some weird
way that company can track whether you called within that 10 minute period
and then you get your gift?
I hope that is understandable. I've just always
been quite curious about that.
No, the companies have no idea when you order within 10 minutes of a commercial. Given the vast size of the television market in the United States, the logistics of such a feat would be mind boggling. It is merely a ploy to get you to order. Have you noticed that the free gift really isn't all that special? And that they make up for that cost by charging exorbitant Shipping and Handling charges? I don't buy things off of my TV. I live near one of those "As Seen on TV stores", so I can handle the product before I buy it.
savia on 7.10.00 - prosaic adj 1: not fanciful or imaginative; "local guides describe the history of various places in matter-of-fact tones"; "a prosaic and unimaginative essay" [syn: matter-of-fact] 2: lacking wit or imagination; "a pedestrian movie plot" [syn: pedestrian, prosy, earthbound] 3: not challenging; dull and lacking excitement; "an unglamorous job greasing engines" [syn: commonplace, humdrum, unglamorous, unglamourous]
Why prosaic1?? You don't seem to fit the description, to me!
Way to look up Prosaic before assuming I just meant the antidepressant Prozac. Oh how this plagues me in the chat rooms! Yes it means all that and more. See when I was in high school, I had some friends who had musical equipment, and we decided to form a fun band. We orignally wanted to call ourselves the Retarded Penis Trucks. I am not sure where this came from, perhaps too much testosterone with a healthy helping of caffeine. So we went to Roget's Thesaurus and looked up the word retarded. The last word mentioned as a synonym was prosaic. So we took it. No one wants to admit that they listen to the Prosaic Penis Trucks, so we settled on Prosaic Trenispucks (notice the subtle inversion!!). So off we went. We produced three albums which we sold ourselves and had a good time. After a while, I just started using it as a chat name. The dull, ordinary, mentally retarded one. None of its true, but the story of the name is!
whatevillurks on 7.10.00 - What does god look like? (lets assume he exists) Or, if you dont want to answer that, Whyd do you think we are here, as a species?
God's looks are a matter of personal interpretation. I see him (yes him!) as having long gray hair and a beard, you know that "wise man" look. Although I question his wisdom from time to time.
Why are we here?
One sick joke on behalf of the afore mentioned "wise man". He made us, lets see how we do. We have done okay so far, but how much more can we eke out as a species? It will be interesting to see how this pans out over the next 100 years or so.
charlesc on 7.10.00 - As a child, did you desire to be a dentist when you grew up? How did it occur that you now practice one of the most feared professions known to non-flossing man?
NO, as a kid, I wanted to be a cosmetic surgeon. That would have been so cool and so lucrative! But alas, I was in college when I realized that it was going to take too darn long to achieve that. I had heard that dentistry was going to be open in the next decade, so I did a little research. I thought how cool, to be a doctor and to not have to deal with either feces or urine! I went into it with a very different perception of how it really was. I thought, just like John Q Public, that dentists had it easy, that they do a whole lot of nothing for a whole lot of money. While the money is good in dentistry, there is alot that goes with it. As a dentist, you will earn every single dime you charge. This starts as early as the first year of dental school. There is alot of character building involved in this, sometimes, more than even I like. I don't feel that I have made a bad decision though. I love the art of dentistry, particularly periodontics. Let me tell you though, the road to success in this profession is paved with your blood and sweat!
auburn23 on 7.10.00 - what do you think a deja vu is ?
Deja Vu is a glitch in the "Matrix". LOL. Must be alot of glitches, because I have them all the time.
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