Healthy Live Everyday

GUIDELINES OF A QUALIFIED DENTIST
1-6 in how to select dentist
7.        He will regularly recall patients for periodic examination.
8.        His attitude is always geared toward the practice of prevention more than restoration.
9.        He will never allow a patient to walk out of his office with a jagged tooth or a rough surface whether it is preexisting or due to his own treatment.
10.     He will do everything humanly possible to avoid extracting a tooth. He considers an extraction similar to an amputation; he feels every tooth is vital.
11.     Although his concern is primarily  about the health of his patient’s teeth, he will not overlook the cosmetic needs of the ; patient.
12.     His office is always immaculate; he is careful about sterilizing all his instruments.
13.     He will rarely ever remove a child’s tooth, even a baby tooth, that will eventually fall out naturally, because of the importance of maintaining the dental arch. If he is nevertheless obliged to remove the tooth, he will insert a space maintainer in its place.,
14.     He will be concerned with the fluoridation of drinking water, and if fluorine is not available in the drinking supply, he will see to it that his patients receive some form of fluoridation treatment,
15.     He is never opposed to any health plan, such as Blue Shield, which often checks on his work.
16.     He always provides a substitute when he’s away so that his patients can always receive emergency help.
17.     A good dentist has all the latest tools, including a new high speed drill, which operates at 300,000 times a minute (the old type operated at only 30,000 times). This tool is most valuable to him, but he knows that overuse can kill a healthy tooth by heat. If the water spray is not working properly, the tooth may die. In short, he will never subject his patients to harmful over-dentistry.
18.     Lastly, the good dentist knows all about X ray. He has a new model X-ray machine in his office that delivers a fraction of the radiation that the old type did. He knows how many rads each tooth X ray will deliver into the patient. He knows what the radiation exposure limits are. He knows all the figures on lethal doses of radiation. He knows all the dangers inherent in overdosage such as leukemia, genetic destruction, fertility deficit, potential blood disease. He knows about the cumulative effects of X ray. He knows and cares and takes every precaution. He will carefully cover his patients with a lead blanket, especially children and pregnant women.

It seems like a great deal to demand of a dentist, but that is why he went to dental school, that is what he has been trained for, and that should be his dedication. He is a healer, not a promoter.