Tag: practice

Morals in Dentistry

Dental Revelations5 Comments

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It’s time to get serious again. In this post I will get to the bottom problem of the dental industry. The lack of morals and the urge to maximise profit at the cost of the individuals is like a plaque that sticks around before the cure is found. For about half of the dentists I have met fall into that category and that’s a lot considering that we – the health care workers – should be the ones having the highest integrity of all.

What I will do next is give examples of the lack of morals amongst dental professionals. It will be just a (thin) slice of a (big) cake but you will get the idea no doubt. For clarification, all the examples are from real life and witnessed by yours truly.

NHS Dentists

For those who are not familiar with the NHS, it is the UK’s National Health Service. The NHS dentists work under a contract and receive payments for the treatments done.

Before the year 2006 (when the contract was replaced with a new one) the misuse of the system was widespread. The dentists were laughing at the system that was like a gold mine to them. They could easily make an outstanding pay by doing certain treatments that would not raise questions. It did anything but raise questions. The treatments made them look like they were concentrating on preventive care and looking out the patient’s best interest.

A revelation:

The truth is that they did not care about patients. Patient was merely a tool for money making. An example: The dentists made fissure sealants for every patient who did not have them and they made them from first premolar to the last molar. There was no evaluation if the fissure sealant was needed and it was an easy treatment to justify to the patient as it was preventive treatment.

“It prevents you getting a decay…”

Who would say no to that?

Fissure sealant was very quick treatment to do as it could be done in batches (all the premolars and molars from the left side in one go and next the right side) guaranteeing a very productive day moneywise for the dentist. There are probably millions of people in the UK whose teeth are coated with fissure sealants.

Eventough the NHS contract was renewed in 2006, the dentists found new ways of misusing the system.

Root Canal Treatment on Wisdom Tooth… What The?

The most immoral dentists have found a way to make the most out of every tooth – moneywise. Normally the decision to remove a fully erupted wisdom tooth is made lightly if there are any problems like decaying, periodontal problem, malocclusion with the tooth. But more than once I have seen wisdom teeth that have been heavily filled, root canal treated and even have had crowns on them (on top of the root canal treatment).

There is no other explanation to this than a dentist who is practicing dentistry only to gain wealth.

Performing Treatments Without Having the Skills

Some dentists suggest treatments they have no skills to perform and charge the patient as if they were specialists. An example: A dentist recommends periodontal treatment to the patient. The course of treatment consists four 30 minute visits to remove calculus one quadrant per visit and the cost is the same as if a periodontist would perform the treatment. Once the course of treatment is done by this wannabe specialist, the patient goes to see a hygienist for oral hygiene instructions. The hygienist soon realises that there is still lots of subgingival calculus left and therefore the gum disease is still active.

The hygienist does her best to remove the calculus (which she has skills for) and the patient is left under an illusion that nothing is wrong.

It is called collegiality what just happened. Dental professionals covering for each other’s mistakes and malpractice.

Root Canal File in the Root Canal

In our business the equipment can malfunction and instruments can break in use. In these cases it is good practice to tell the patient what happened. For example a curette’s tip can break inside the pocket of the tooth. It can be found from there but the patient needs to know what happened. Some dentist cover these kinds of incidents or mistakes they have made by simply not informing the patient. Now THAT if anything is malpractice.

An example. A root canal file broke inside the patient’s tooth whilst the dentist was performing a root canal treatment. The nurse did not notice the incident until a control x-ray was taken and the file was clearly visible. The dentist did not inform the patient about the broken file or attempt to remove the file.

Treating Patients With Cold Sore

This matter is so serious that I am going to write separate post about it. When a patient comes in with a cold sore, the guidelines are quite clear about what us dental professionals should do. We should not treat the patient unless it is urgent treatment that cannot be postponed. Why? Because there is serious risk with the virus causing the cold sore – the herpes simplex virus.

Herpes virus can easily spread in the aerosols our high speed instruments produce. Dentist, nurse, hygienist and the patient are in risk of contracting it through their eyes. This can result in blindness.

This is just one worry over the herpes virus. Follow my blog to find out more in detail why we shouldn’t treat the patients with cold sore.

Even though we have guidelines, even though the dentists have the highest education (so they should know better), too often they decide to treat the patients who have cold sore. And the reason for this is greed. The ugly side of our profession.

Conclusion

The dental industry draws in immoral individuals because it has been allowed to happen. It wasn’t until the 21st century when the dental schools started to interview the applicants for the undergraduate programmes of dentistry. Before this the suitability of the applicant’s personality was not measured by any tests. This means there are dentists in the field that should not be dentists.

In my opinion all the dentists who have not gone through the MMI should be asked to have one. If they fail, they should be struck off their profession.

But no test is a fool proof way of finding the bad seeds. The most rotten souls can often talk their way through any obstacles. And the reason why these individuals are drawn to the dentist’s profession is the well known fact that they make rather nice pay (here’s one article about it).

Greed. One of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Alcohol – The Feared Subject

Dental Revelations3 Comments

Dental Revelations Blog-1044

About 60 year-old man came to see me one morning and complained that every once in a while a layer of skin comes off inside his mouth and no-one has been able to tell why. He was concerned and felt that it was happening at that very moment as well.

I took a look at the soft tissues before the treatment and asked if he had used a mouthwash the same morning or the night before. Negative. I asked if he had drank wine last night. The patient’s face went serious and he said he had been drinking whiskey last night. I went on telling without any judgement how alcohol effects the mouth and body – the risks in mouth and the age related risks. He looked like he had eureka moment and was very happy but also shaken as he realised that his alcohol use could be damaging his health in more ways than just one.

Now, this blog post is full of information for dental professionals but there are links that are useful for the patients as well. I will give advice to the patients at the end of this post so move on over there if you want to skip the professional part.

Fear of Asking

Us professionals seem to find it hard to discuss about patient’s alcohol consumption. For some reason we think that alcohol consumption is too personal question to ask. Sometimes also the patients think the same which makes it even more difficult question to ask. But we ask about illnesses, smoking, diet and oral hygiene habits. Why not about alcohol?

Everyone knows that smoking can cause oral cancer. But not so many know that alcohol does the same. And even fewer knows that alcohol and cigarettes combined raise the risk of developing oral cancer many times higher. So dental professionals are on the frontline of preventing oral cancer. This means that asking about alcohol consumption should be a routine thing to do and I’m going to help you with that.

  1. When interviewing the patient about his medical history, oral hygiene routines and smoking, continue without hesitation How about alcohol? Do you use alcohol? Keep the same tone of voice as if you were asking did you watch the footie last night?

This is how the conversation continues:

Patient: Yes, sometimes.
You: How often would you say you drink per week?
P: When we go out after work.
Y: How often did you go out last week?
P: Last week we went out almost every night.
Y: What do you normally drink?
P: Beer.
Y: How many do you drink on your regular night out?
P: Normally 3 or 4 pints and on weekends it can be a lot more…

When you engage patient into discussing about alcohol consumption you are kind of evaluating the patient’s attitude towards the subject. Is he co-operative or defensive? If the latter, you need to advance with very small steps. A piece of information here, a piece there. Whenever the patient is ready to take in information about alcohol.

If the patient is co-operative (you would be surprised how many are!), you can move on to sum up the alcohol units the patient consumed the last week and then give information about how it affects his health. Before you can do this you need to know the facts.

2. Learn the numbers and facts behind the risks of excessive alcohol consumption

The recommended low risk (of developing an alcohol related illnesses) daily units are:

healthy women 0-1 units
healthy men 0-2 units
65+ year-olds no more than 0-2 units (no more than 7 per week)

Learn these by heart or print them out (please note, that the recommendations can vary in different countries).

The oral cancer’s death rate is nearly 50%.

Alcohol is an aldehyde and it is metabolised by oral bacteria to acetaldehyde which is carcinogenic in humans.

This is very short but effective list. With this little information you can have a significant impact on patient’s alcohol consumption.

3. Be a therapist if needed

More than once I have been in a situation with a patient when the patient opens up about his life when we discuss about alcohol. There have been patients who have thought by themselves that they are drinking too much. Some tell the reasons behind them. All they need at this point is that someone listens.

But if you feel like the patient needs more advice and guidance, remember to ask
Do you mind me giving you an advice?

People generally respect you more if you don’t offer advice without asking. Especially when it is about alcohol. Have phone numbers at hand for local AA and offer them if needed.

4. If you didn’t ask about alcohol consumption

Do ask about alcohol every time when

  • there is no improvement on oral hygiene routine despite a great effort, especially if there is lot of plaque every time
  • the soft tissues are bright red and the patient is not using mouthwashes (and even if he is, mention also that alcohol can irritate the soft tissues no matter how it enters the mouth)
  • the mouth is very dry and no other reason is found for it

Reminder to All Dental Professionals

Do check the soft tissues and tongue every time you see the patient. It doesn’t take long and you might be saving somebody’s life. No matter if you are a nurse, hygienist or dentist. All of us can tell if something is normal or not and it doesn’t matter who points out the abnormality in the first place.

Have a dental camera or DSLR with macro lens at hand. Learn to use them so that when you see something suspicious, you are able to take a photo of it and compare it the next time.

This is an area in our profession that is too often neglected.

Information for the Patients

You are in good hands when you are interviewed thoroughly on your very first visit and  and every time when you have your check-up done. If you only needed to fill in a medical history form and no-one asks further questions, it’s not a very good sign. The professionals treating you are not looking after you very well.

Please do take our questions as they are. They are questions for your best interest and health and for good quality of treatment. We need to repeat these questions over and over again every time you come in for your regular check-up.

We will ask about subjects (like alcohol consumption) you would rather not discuss with anyone but please do not hide anything or lie. Most often we can see from the patient’s mouth if we were not told the truth about certain subjects like:

smoking
alcohol consumption
how often you clean between the teeth
do you brush your teeth regularly
certain illnesses

So be honest and don’t be afraid of a judgement. It is not our job to do.

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It’s ok to swallow, it’s only water… Or is it?

Dental Revelations4 Comments

Sandbox-4950

You feel the water lever rising in your mouth while you are having a treatment done at the dentist. Your natural instinct raises an alarm in you mind.

I’m going to drown…

I’m choking…

Your eyes open wide and you raise your both hands to make a gesture that you want to get up to empty your mouth. The nurse quickly takes the suction to remove the water but there’s always some left, isn’t there? Your hands are still reaching the spittoon next to the dental chair but the nurse lays a hand on your shoulder and says gently

It’s ok to swallow, it’s only water.

Well is it?

Dental Unit (= the Chair) Waterlines Causing Infections?

The water in dental unit waterlines should match the same standards as safe drinking water. In short this means that the bacterial count (colony forming units, CFU) in the water should not exceed certain safe level (if interested to find out more in depth, please visit here). The standards vary in different countries. The countries I have worked the CFU/ml regulations vary from 100-500. Now here comes the nauseating fact:

In practice the CFU/ml levels can be as high as hundreds of thousands of all sorts of nasty bacteria, including the ones of human origin. Needless to say that it is enough to cause problems.

The problem with the dental units is that many of them are old and do not have the latest technology for waterline cleaning. Renewing the dental units is slow as they are expensive and practices want to use the existing ones as long as possible.

Dental units without waterline cleaning system have a slow flow in the waterlines, the water is warm and the water stands still during off-surgery hours (nights and weekends). Sounds like a very bad combination, eh? The old dental units do not have preventive valves in the waterlines to stop suck back of the patient’s saliva into the lines.

So as a result the waterlines in the dental units are lined with biofilm (a mass or layer of live micro-organisms attached to a surface) that should be removed regularly.

Who Is at Risk?

The healthy patients should not worry much. But to be honest, I do not like to swallow the water myself. It’s gross.

The patients whose immune system is impaired are most at risk. The elderly, the young children, medically compromised people and everyone with immunodeficiency. In worst case scenario the visit at the dentist can be lethal.

Of course us professionals are at risk as well. There are lots of aerosols in the air during the use of the dental unit. A bacterium to raise the biggest concern is the Legionella that causes Legionnaires’ disease. So do take care of the unit waterlines.

Advise for Professional to Improve the Water Quality

Use water source that meets the standards for drinking water.

Run the water from the unit waterlines (handpieces, ultrasonic scalers, air/water syringes):

10 minutes after the weekend
3 minutes in the morning
30 seconds after every patient

Use an efficient waterline treatment product recommended by the unit manufacturer. Use it regularly. Running the water as I advised will get rid of the free flowing bacteria but not the biofilm, it needs an effective disinfectant. The most effective product for getting rid of the biofilm are the ones containing:

hydrogen peroxide
hypochlorite
superoxidized water

Invest in new dental unit (do not go to the cheapest option – you only go from bad to worse) with the latest technology. It’s only humane thing to do.

Conclusion and Cause for Worry

In my experience the dental unit waterlines are not looked after as they should to maintain the good quality of the water.

I have seen that instead of cleaning the waterlines the dental professionals have stopped using the water e.g. when using the slow handpiece (the drill that feels like a street drill). Now I must mention that this happened only in the other country I worked at. I never found out why they actually do this (please enlighten me on comment box below!) but perhaps it was because of the water quality problem? When I used a slow handpiece there, I was naturally worried about overheating of the tooth and tried to get water flowing but it was made impossible.

I have seen a dentist performing implant surgery using a water from air/water syringe (it wasn’t the only thing that was wrong with that treatment – imagine dentist’s tie hanging loose and contaminating everything it touches. Sterile surgical coat was nowhere to be seen). Implant surgery if anything needs an absolute clean environment and wearing your personal clothes and using unit’s water supply simply is not up to the standards.

I know for a fact that many dental nurse neglect running the water as described above. It is appalling thing to do. Honestly.

What does this tell about us professionals? We should be the ones that are looking after the patient’s best interest and health. Doing all the fancy and immaculate maneuvers inside the mouth is not enough to fulfil our purpose.

Are we too busy making money and forgetting the basics?

Advise for the Patients

Seek out a modern dental practice with modern equipment. If you are unsure what modern dental unit looks like, here‘s one example (unfortunately I don’t get paid for advertising this site).

It is ok to ask the nurse or the dentist if the waterlines are regularly disinfected and if the nurse runs the water after each patient.

If you liked this post, you might also like:

Are Your Dentist’s Tools Clean

Drowning at the Dentist – Is It Possible?