Toothache but no dentisit....

Toothsmith

Joe_Bloggs wrote:

This forces the wealthy of the millions denied treatment to go private, the rest go without .

Another common misconception. Private dentistry is not just for the wealthy. I would class only a small percentage of my patients as wealthy. One or two are on benefits, and could get free NHS treatment (and there are dentists not too far from here taking on NHS patients). When I went private, some of the 'wealthy' ones were the first down the road to the NHS surgery. People pay for what they value. My patients put good dental care above SKY T.V. in their priorities, or a new widescreen telly, or have a few less nights out each month. It's not for any of us to prioritise spending decisions of other people.

Joe_Bloggs wrote:

If you fill a minor defect in a tooth you eliminate any chance of it repairing itself. It could get worse or better.

Another very true statement. Sometimes it is better to watch and see, sometimes it is not. This is where my training, judgement and experience come in. That is what people pay me for, and not something I can explain in a few lines.

Joe_Bloggs wrote:

With the advent of minature web cameras and the internet why can't you send a movie of the teeth/gums in the mouth to the dentist ?

This wouldn't really work. X-rays are also necessary sometimes, and it wouldn't be practical or desirable or affordable for everybody to have their own x-ray unit. Plus, what would be gained by it? It wouldn't be any cheaper to have a check up, as it would still take my time to watch the video. Videoing every tooth from all the angles I look at them would take forever too, and what if you missed a vital bit? Sorry, this statement has to go on your 'silly' pile!

Joe_Bloggs wrote:

Are there published journals containing scientific papers around the topic of dentistry and likely advances/research ?

Yes - lots.

Joe_Bloggs

@Toothsmith you are always right when it comes to matters of dentistry. I thought my video idea would have been a kind of triage idea to help prioritise appointments (NHS). It could spot other oral conditions but the camera work/lighting would have to be rather good. The danger is that the the patient may feel that they don't need a check up after making the video. A progressive video record may be useful.

From what I have read/misinformed it seems like the colour of teeth depends upon the material behind the translucent enamel. This can be bleached or remain natural.

Every country including the W.H.O. is happy with Mercury fillings. Am I wrong ? I say Mercury fillings as the recipie is often 50% Mercury and 35% Silver plus other metals.

This post is in no way a criticism of Toothsmith or any other dentist.
J_B.

warn81

i hate the dentist, they are not that friendly, one dentist poked me in the chin with a needle and made me bleed. Well maybe it's not that bad, but...

Toothsmith

Joe_Bloggs wrote:

@Toothsmith you are always right when it comes to matters of dentistry.

If only! :rolleyes:

Joe_Bloggs wrote:

From what I have read/misinformed it seems like the colour of teeth depends upon the material behind the translucent enamel. This can be bleached or remain natural.

True

Joe_Bloggs wrote:

@Every country including the W.H.O. is happy with Mercury fillings. Am I wrong ? I say Mercury fillings as the recipie is often 50% Mercury and 35% Silver plus other metals.

A helpful way to think about it is to consider Sodium and Chlorine.

If you had a block of sodium in your house then it would smoulder and burst into flames and take your house with it. If you had a bucket of chlorine gas, you would destroy your lungs and bleach everything white! Yet sodium chloride happily sits in your cupboard and you sprinkle it all over your chips before eating it!

Silver amalgam is the same thing, a combination of elements into a safe and stable compound. It just gets a bad press.

BTW not all countries like it, Japan is not fond, but they have all sorts of other mercury pollution problems, and Scandenavian countries are not happy about it either, but that's more a waste disposal issue rather than a health one.

Incidentally, one of the biggest causes of atmospheric mercury pollution after traffic fumes comes from bodies being cremated! The mercury in the fillings is released at high temperatures!

Joe_Bloggs wrote:

This post is in no way a criticism of Toothsmith or any other dentist.
J_B.

I love you too JB

Toothsmith

warn81 wrote:

i hate the dentist, they are not that friendly, one dentist poked me in the chin with a needle and made me bleed....

You probably deserved it! :rotfl:

Joe_Bloggs

@ Toothsmith
I looked in to the amalgam issue and by definition an alloy involving mercury is an amalgam. The dentists using Mercury and their staff are at the highest risk of exposure. Add Switzerland and California (Jan 2006) to the list of states where other materials have to be used.
J_B.

Toothsmith

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make Joe? What you say here is perfectly true. I'm not convinced that amalgam is banned in California. You might be right though. They can be a bit over the top sometimes! I thought the only place it was banned was Japan.

I am, as you say, exposed to the stuff all the time. There are no major health problems amongst dentists related to that exposure.

Amalgam has mercury in it. White filling has bisphenols in it, glass ionomers are quite high in lead. All can be dangerous chemicals. The only one to be shown to cause no detectable harm over a period in excess of a hundred years is amalgam.

I don't like amalgam, I'm no champion of it, I use alternatives whenever I can, cos they look better, and can function just as well. But it is no more or less dangerous than anything else used as a restorative material.

I'm trying to find a link for you for a recent case in New York, where a dentist who used to spout the health risks of amalgam and would dress himself and his staff in chemical warfare suits, and have huge vacuum pumps around the patient whenever he was removing one, was struck off!

It happened last year, and he was found guilty of making profoundly misleading claims.

Joe_Bloggs

I suspect that the dentist in question was trying to avoid a law suit by concerned employees and may have been the recipient of his own medicine/devices on many levels incliding brain function and the selection of legal representatives.

I have no agenga other than to learn. Regurgitating what someone else says is not learning. Aquiring the facts, from an empirical stance, and proving the case is my philosophy/working principle. Arguing with those involved just speeds the process.


/* hyperbole warning */
Dentisty has had no reason to change or research change. What happened to the tooth decay vaccine ? Is the pulp in our teeth so biologically stupid that it cannot learn new tricks ?. Are there 200 year old plus creatures swimming around/walking with a full set of teeth that have never seen a dentist ?
/* end of hyperbole warning */

/* Science warning */
A glass of cold water would destroy the NaCl bond or approx 1500 Deg C. Mercury is an amazing substance in that other metals can dissolve into it. Iron and Platinum excluded.
/* End of Science warning */

I agree with Toothsmith on the crappyness of NHS. Were I to try and stir things up, I would say that dentists are not put under enough competition against each other to provide the best care. Second opinions should be considered where major work is the issue. Perhaps the video/Xray documentation of oral examinations would be pertinent in this situation.

This is not a criticism of any dentist or anyone but only my personal thoughts any present.

J_B. (Are NHS dentists gagged ? Can they talk to the press ? Contribute on this forum ?)