I HATE THE DENTIST!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Monday Morning and like most Americans I'm not quite ready for the week to start. My assistant comes to my office and says, Dr. Chandler we are ready for you in the first room, your first patient is a toothache on the lower left. My assistant also informs me that the patient has several badly decayed teeth. I enter the treatment room and introduce myself, "Hi, I'm Dr. Chandler". The patient looks me dead in the eye and says, "I just want to let you know, I HATE THE DENTIST! No offense to you Doctor, but I really hate the Dentist." Well hello to you too!

I'm sure someone has done a study somewhere listing the most hated professions and I venture to guess that Dentists are in the top 3. Probably just below Lawyers and Proctologist. Like I said, I don't have any data on this, I'm just guessing. Why is this? I could imagine that the fear of pain probably propels us(Dentist) to the top of the list. Maybe a bad childhood experience at the dentist. The invasion of personal space. I'm not sure. I do know that I hear the term I hate the dentist quite often. It's almost like people think I get joy out of their fear. For the record I do not. I often ask frightened children that I treat, "Do you think when I woke up this morning I said, I can't wait to go to work so I could hurt you?" Their response is always, No". Then I tell them, "Give me a chance, I PROMISE I'm going to do my best to make this as easy as possible". This usually works every time. It's not a script, I really mean it.

That reminds me of a 4year old patient I treated recently, He spoke very little English and my Spanish isn't that great. My assistant explained what we were going to do and we began and finished treatment in about 15minutes. Not a whimper, whine, tear, scream, yell, nothing. I was so pleased with his behavior that I gave him $5 and a toy from the treasure chest. This child was reminder of why I love dentistry. It was refreshing to know that I was able to help someone without them, "HATING", me. While he is probably too young to appreciate the value of dentistry, I can assure you that he didn't have a bad experience. It is my hope that this child will have a positive view of dentistry for LIFE!


I know that I personally take every measure to ensure that a patient has a pleasant experience in my office. I'm sure that 99.9% of all dentist across the country do as well. All we ask is that patients give us a chance.


What Do You Think, Why Do People "Hate" the Dentist?


Dr.Michael L. Chandler Practicing Dentistry in Edmond, Oklahoma


www.mlcdental.com

Does My Root Canal Really Need a CROWN?

All to often a patient presents to my office with a broken tooth that has been endodontically (Root Canaled) treated. The conversation between me and the patient is usually the same. My question, Mrs. Johnson, why didn't you get a CROWN on that tooth? Answer, My dentist never told me that I needed too. Well Mrs. Johnson, we need to extract the tooth now, it can't be saved!
I remember back to Dental School and having looooong lectures about crowns. One of the top reasons we were taught to do a crown was to restore a Root Canaled tooth. This lesson was told to us over and over again! It's hard for me to believe that most dentist forgot this lesson and have elected to not tell patients that their Root Canaled tooth needs a Crown.
For informative reasons, lets discuss what actually happens to a tooth once it is root canaled.

• Often times a large amount of tooth structure has to be removed during the root canal.
  
• The treated tooth is most often weakened by the root canal
• Over time the treated tooth becomes brittle.
• There is usually not enough natural tooth structure to support the remaining tooth.
• A filling or temporary filling will not adequately seal the root canal from contamination and support the remaining tooth.

So, what does a CROWN do for the Root Canal.

• Simply put, a crown protects the tooth and restores your Root Canaled tooth to normal form and function!

Let's face it, like everything else Dentistry is expensive, including a root canal. Ok I said it, Dentistry is expensive. I honestly tell my patients before we do a root canal, If you don't plan to get a crown on this tooth you may as well throw your money out the window, because your tooth will eventually break! A crown not only protects your tooth, it protects you investment.

My Denture Doesn't Fit!

It’s estimated that around 40 million Americans are missing ALL of their teeth! The most widely used treatment for a patient missing all of their teeth is a denture or dental plate. Patients often tolerate a top denture with fewer problems. The lower denture on the other hand is a different story. Most patients I have polled state that they are not satisfied with the fit of their lower denture. Years ago there weren’t many options for stabilizing a lower denture. Today patients have options that can help with the challenges of wearing a lower denture.

1. Mini-Dental Implants are becoming a popular form of treatment used to stabilize a lower Denture. When possible, 4-5 mini-implants are placed in the lower jaw and the existing or new denture is fitted to go over the mini-implants. The mini-implants have attachments that allow the denture to snap into place.

2. Dental Implants – “Regular” dental implants have a wider diameter than the mini dental implants. A lower denture can usually be stabilized with 2 regular implants as opposed to 4-5 mini dental implants. “Regular” dental Implants do have a tendency to cost more than mini implants

3. Implant supported Bars- This is when regular dental implants are placed and a custom “Bar” is made to fit over the implants. A new denture is made to fit over the connection bar. This technique provides for a very stable denture but is probably the most expensive of the three options listed.

If you or someone you know is unhappy with the fit of your denture you now know that there are options. You can contact your dentist for more information regarding alternatives for stabilizing you denture