My new patient has arrived and presents her medical history. Let’s see….there are checks by these history questions: diabetes, heart disease, heart surgery, angina, bleeding disorder, neurological problems, lung disease and prosthetic joint replacement. She takes nine medications and reports an allergy to penicillin. A history with this complexity might seem destined to increase my … Continue reading Complex Medical History = Time and Stress?
As a long time practitioner with a focus on special needs patients, I have run the gamut when it comes to dealing with patient medical histories. I have experienced and learned the importance of being systematic when dealing with patient’s medical histories and to break them down into issues that are manageable. This requires a specific … Continue reading Red Alert: Susceptibility for Infection
Dentists know that drugs are helpful for patients but that some care must always be given to make sure that the entire spectrum of activity of a drug is considered. We spend a lot of our clinical formation learning how they will impact our decision making. And though we encounter many of the same drug … Continue reading Inside the Dentist’s Mind: “Drug Reactions”
From day one in dental school forty years ago there was an emphasis on knowing if your patient had a history of rheumatic fever. That was a red flag because of the potential sequelae of heart valve disease that could result in infectious endocarditis (IE) following dental care. This resonated with me because I had … Continue reading Preventing Infectious Endocarditis: Pill or No Pill?
Not long ago I went to a dental CE course in Austin, Texas. I found myself sitting beside a young dental assistant. To be cordial I asked her where she worked and with whom. She told me and then asked me where I practiced. “Fort Worth” I told her. When she asked me how long … Continue reading A Dentist’s New Year’s Resolutions: 2016 Edition
Here we are coming to the end of another annum and the earth is finishing the last few miles of her yearly trek. This is the perfect chance to recall some of our favorite blog posts of 2015. Thank you to all of our loyal readers and for checking back for the latest content. If … Continue reading Staff Picks: Best Posts of 2015!!
Recently I heard an intriguing interview with Dr. Gordon Christensen by Dr. Howard Farran. This podcast sparked two radically different ideas I thought I would share. First thought: Dr. Christensen does an exceptional job of going through a brief overview of relevant issues in dentistry. In responding to Dr. Farran’s questions, Dr. Christensen names areas of … Continue reading Howard Farran interviews Dr. Christensen
As a proud graduate of the Dental School at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas, I am delighted to see how it has continued to grow into such an innovative comprehensive center. In my opinion, one of the best things the Dental School does is require their students participate in … Continue reading CATs: Your new favorite pet!
Ruminating on Thanksgiving and the many things I am thankful for had me thinking about a list of things that continue to make dental appointments great experiences... On behalf of my patients I am thankful for: local anesthesia so I can take care of patients pain free The high speed drill so I can treat … Continue reading A Dentist’s Thanksgiving List
Consider this analogy: If a pilot knows the altitude of his plane relative to sea level, but not the altitude of the terrain he’s actually flying over, he’s in trouble. Yes, he might be flying at five thousand feet, but what if he is in Colorado?! What does this have to do with periodontal charting? … Continue reading Planes, Terrains and Perio-Charting Skills
