Cricket Legs

Our home is a transient stopover for animals. Some stay for a short while (not that we're bad pet owners but some just have a shorter natural lifespan), and some stay for years and become infused as a part of the family.

Our newest member is Arnold, an anole.Even though this is considered a cheap pet, I've realized that like any pet, it's not the amount of money you pay upfront, it's the upkeep of said pet that is pricey. Arnold eats crickets and at 10 crickets/ $1, he's averaging about $3/ month. If you tack on gas to get the crickets and time spent driving to purchase these insects, it's starting to get to me. On top of that, to cut down on insect purching trips, I've been buying them 30 at a time. There is a separate container to keep these crickets while they are awaiting to be inserted into the food chain. Alas, the "food" also must be fed to be kept alive.  Fortunately, a few Cheerios, a lettuce leaf and a soggy paper towel ball is all they need as they wait unknowingly happily chirping away  at night.

My latest dental article is about crickets as food. Not so much for Arnold, but for people. Many countries outside the USA are already accepting insects as a food choice. Americans, in general are a lot more squeamish about things like this. Read and enjoy!

Did You Have Crickets For Lunch?

As a dentist, there are courses and lectures that can help improve dental skills and knowledge.  One of the skills I’ve developed after years of being a dentist does not have to do with dentistry at all. I’ve learned to identify leftover foods in patient’s mouths. I know, it’s an interesting but yucky skill. Broccoli is the easiest!

As much as my patients think they have clean teeth after lunch, it’s still a great idea to rinse with water and try to get all the food pieces out. Sugarless gum is also a good way to clean your teeth after a meal. It also freshens your breath and neutralizes the acidic saliva. 

Last month I was at a museum store with my kids and they were selling roasted crickets. “Look at that!” I said to them. “Let’s try a box!” We bought a box and ate it in the car. It just tasted a little dry, crunchy but not bad at all. Not what I expected! Scientists have said that in the future, insects will become more and more acceptable and available as food. The only bad part was after we ate the crickets, bits of cricket legs were all stuck in our teeth. I did not have any sugarless gum but thank goodness I always have floss in my bag. We checked each other with big wide smiles saying, “Do you see any more legs in there?”

2nd Chances

In life, and sometimes in love, people want 2nd chances.
My son is known for asking for 2nd chances. Every time there is is a punishment or a "consequence" to be carried out, there is pleading for 2nd chances.
As much as I want to be merciful, the lessons will not be learned or reinforced if I'm too much of a pushover. This month's article for Weekly Biz is just about that.
Happy reading!

2nd Chances

Recently I got a new cell phone and after it was activated, I noticed that all my old voicemail messages had transferred over. I had saved some of my kids’ messages when they were a lot younger. They still had their baby voices and it’s so cute. One message in particular made me laugh. It was my son when he was around 8 years old. My Dad was watching them after school while I was working. They are supposed to be doing homework and practicing their music. Those are the rules. No TV or video games after school, too.  My Dad told me that both my kids had broken the rules by watching TV so when I got home, as a punishment, I had them write 1000x “I will obey Mommy’s rules and not watch TV during school nights”. 

My 9 year old daughter went to her room and after a short time; handed in her 1000 sentences.  My son took longer so I had him complete it the next day. While I was at work the next day, he came home and left me a voice message. “Mommy, I want you to know that I did not watch TV after school today. Can I have a second chance?  If you let me stop writing, I will obey your rules, clean my room, wash the dishes after dinner and I promise not to watch TV after school on school nights.  I love you, Mommy.”  He sounded so sad.

Sometime in the future, people will have a 2^nd chance with their teeth. Adults have a complete set of teeth by the time they are 12 years old. Instead of living with one set of damaged or repaired adult teeth for the rest of their lives, having to deal with old root canals, bridges, dentures, implants, all of a sudden, a new set would come out and we would have a chance to do better. All the people who did not take care of their 1^st set of adult teeth could now have a 2^nd chance. Brand new white teeth as a 50 year old!

Unfortunately, that is not true. Like my son that left the sad voicemail, there were no 2^nd chances with his punishment that day and there are no 2^nd chances with a new set of adult teeth. My senior patients tell me that if they had known how important teeth are as they got older, they would have taken better care of their teeth while they were younger. Some people wish they have 2^nd chances with their teeth. In the future, they may be able to. Just not right now.

o_O!

We did "speedy" things this weekend. Hubby checked out the race track at Raceway Park, Englishtown, NJ.  He was disappointed. Track too short, too many curves, not enough of a straight-away for his peddle to the metal moments.   Kids went go-karting. They came back all bright-eyed and with renewed teenage confidence.  

"Mommy! In a few years, we don't have to take driver's ed anymore! We know how to drive now. It's so easy!" 

"Sure kids.... sure. That, plus your PS3 experiences in Grand Tourismo 6, right?"

"YES!! Mommy, you're sooooo cool !!!"

"Sure kids... sure. Just like when you thought all of a sudden I could cook really well just because I was good at Cooking Mama on Nintendo DS??" 

o_O !

I was on the sidelines in the "pit" area doing last minute editing for my latest article for Daily Sun while there was racing around via lawn mower engines.

Dear Diary…. o_O!

Dear Diary….  I’ve always told people that dentistry is never boring. There is always something that will shock me even after being a dentist for over 20 years.

A new patient, Mrs H, came in to see me last month. She was close to my Dad’s age and she gave me a polite smile.   As a new patient, everyone fills out a paper with their information on it and a list of questions to be answered. It helps us to get to know our patients better.  One of the questions listed is, “The reason I’m here today is…”  My new patient answered, “I’m not happy with my dentures.” Immediately, I thought about all the problems patients could have with their dentures. Loose dentures, not able to eat properly like their own teeth, not liking the color of the teeth, not looking like themselves in the mirror, etc…

After I sat her in my chair, I asked her how I could help her with her dentures. She said, “When I got my dentures the very first day, I was very happy with them. I was glad I could eat properly again. They fit perfectly fine! Now they look like a mess. I don’t know what I did wrong. I can’t go through life with blue teeth!”  I asked her to tell me what happened step by step.

Mrs. H:  When I got my dentures first put in my mouth, I was overjoyed! I looked so young again smiling in the mirror.  I wanted to take extra good care of my new dentures so I brushed them very well with my toothbrush and toothpaste at night. I must have spent 10 minutes scrubbing and making sure everything was cleaned out.  After a few days, I noticed they had a bad smell so I thought the toothpaste I was using was not strong enough. I mixed in some salt in with my toothpaste.  I had hoped that the salt crystals would scrub everything even better and get rid of the smell but it didn’t.  I bought a harder toothbrush and scrubbed even longer at night.  I was surprised when I started seeing the denture collecting stains! Was I not doing enough? How does a regular person keep their dentures so clean and fresh? I decided to let them sit in a cup of bleach. That way, the bleach would kill the smell as well as get rid of the staining.  The next morning, no matter how much I rinsed the dentures, I could not get rid of the bleach smell. I can’t imagine it being too healthy to put that in my mouth so I ran it through the dishwasher as I was doing dishes.  They came out without the bleach smell but I wanted them fresh and minty.  Finally, I decided to soak them in a strong mouthwash. This is where I gave up. Dr Lee, I can try to hide the smell, I can try not to smile too wide and hide the stains but I don’t know what I can do because now my dentures look blue!”

As you can imagine, as I was listening to her story, I must have looked like this:    o_O!

See if you can figure out what Mrs H did wrong and in my next article, we can compare notes!

Sad Goodbyes

I've been avoiding writing this article because it hits a heavy spot in my dental career but I feel that if my articles and my blog posts can help, it's for the best. Most of my blog posts have been entertaining and fun while dentally educational. Hope you enjoy this one even though it's not on a lighter note.

SAD GOODBYES

When people ask me why I love being a dentist, one of the reasons is because I don’t have to deal well with the issue of death or dying. Eventually, I realized that if I practice dentistry long enough, I WILL have to the dreaded topic.  

I’ve come into this dental office after working on the west side of Manhattan for over 10 years.  A lot of patients left that office and followed me here to the east side. Mr O is one of them.  I had been his dentist ever since I started working right out of dental school.  Back then,20 years ago, he knew I was a nervous new dentist so he was always encouraging and patient with me.  He was a smoker and a drinker so I made it one of my dental goals to get him to stop smoking and drink less.  Every time he came in for his regular appointments, I would move my chair closer to him, look him in the eye and begin by saying, “Now, Mr O, you know I need to say this to you as your dentist but also because I care about you….”

He would smile and tell me “Dr Lee, I enjoy smoking and drinking too much to quit. You can quote me articles and statistics until you’re blue in the face.  I will not quit either bad habit. I know you are obligated to tell me these things as a good dentist, and I will listen as a good patient but I will not quit.” After his dental appointment, he told me, “I will now go get a drink! You can come join me if you want!”  I smiled, thanked him and told him my day is not over yet.

Sad to say, 10 years ago, Mr O had a sore throat that wouldn’t heal. His medical doctor did a biopsy and it turned out to be cancer. Mr O stopped smoking and drinking overnight.  He had surgery to remove his voicebox, chemotherapy as well as radiation therapy.  Things were looking well for Mr O for years after that. He retired from his job later on and spent his freetime travelling across the country and visiting relatives and friends.  I would always get a postcard in the mail every few weeks so I was able to track his travels. Whenever I received a postcard, I would get a warm happy feeling knowing he’s doing what he loves.

I received a phone call from his sister last month saying that Mr O had passed. She had come across a last postcard addressed to me that he had not mailed out.  It was from Seattle and on it, he had written, “Well, I’m done travelling coast to coast.. I’m finally coming home.”  

My dear patient, every time I speak with you about quitting smoking and cutting down on drinking, every time I do an oral cancer check during your exams, I always your best interest in mind. I will also always have Mr O on my mind. I do not want to lose another patient that way.

Making Life Easier

As a mom, I subscribe to the theory of KEEP IT SIMPLE.  Having 2 kids, I don't want to keep repeating myself on everything. So I've boiled it down to the base essentials of numbers and lists.
Bedtime routine ever since they were little was: bath, brush, floss, rinse, pjs.  That was condensed down to "Time to go to bed. Do your 5 things." It just makes life easier to remember and prevents me from repeating myself too much. Now mind you, I still have to repeat myself many times when it comes down to having a clean and tidy room now that they are teenagers but I try to keep the repeating down to a minimum.

The ADA (American Dental Association) has come up with 6 easy to remember tips on how to prevent cavities. And just in time, I have an article I need to give to Hannah, my assistant, to translate into Japanese for me.  She has an alert on her iPhone as a reminder.
She asked me in the morning, "Dr Lee.... you need to write an article for me".
"OK, Hannah, I'll give it to you by the end of today."
Later on in the afternoon...."Dr Lee.... remember the article."
"OK, Hannah, I promise you I'll get one out to you before I leave. I know exactly what I'm going to be writing about."
As I hand the newest article for her, with the deepest bow, "Arigato, Hannah, what ever would I do without you!"

For your reading pleasure as always:

Dear Diary… Nothing’s Hurting So I Don’t Need to Come See You

Dear Diary…

Last week, a patient whom I haven’t seen for a few years came back in. We had been calling her every few months as a reminder to have her cleaning and exam. She always returned our phone calls but says she was busy so I was surprised to see her on my schedule.  Sure enough, something was hurting.

A new report from the ADA (American Dental Association) recently states that 91% of Americans from ages 20-64 have had cavities at least once in their lives.  27% of people over the age of 20 have untreated cavities in their mouths that they may not be aware of.  Many Americans that do not plan on visiting the dental office in the next year say that cost and the belief that they do not need dental care to be the main reasons. In other words, “I’d rather spend my money somewhere else than on my health” and “Nothing’s hurting so I don’t need to come see you.”

As a dentist, we are not just here to “fix things”; the other job that I also take seriously is education and prevention.  In my opinion, education and prevention needs to be emphasized as the final answer to decreasing dental disease. 

Education is teaching people the need for them to keep their teeth healthy as they age. What causes gum disease?  What causes tooth decay? Prevention is equally important. What can be done to prevent tooth decay in the first place?  Fluoride added in drinking water, sealants for children, teaching adults to take care of their families’ teeth and gums. 

The ADA has come up with 6 easy ways to prevent cavities. 

-          Beware of dry mouth. Dry mouth is the side effect of many medications and it can cause cavities. Talk to your dentist or hygienist about ways to prevent dry mouth.

-          Brush 2x/day with a fluoride toothpaste.

-          Floss at least 1x/ day.

-          Drink water with fluoride. Limit bottled water, sports drinks, sodas, juices, etc…

-          Eat more fruits and vegetables.

-          Visit the dentist regularly for checkups.

My patient had a cavity that I was able to fix that same day.  It was an educational lesson for her that the cost of prevention is less than the cost of that filling and time spent away from work.  When she left, she made her next appointment for a checkup and a cleaning and she wrote down the 6 tips from the ADA. She told me she would tape it on her bathroom mirror at home and tape to her computer at work so she could be reminded when she was at home and at work. The perfect example of education and prevention!  

Stealth Dentistry

After I treat a patient, I always show them a mirror so they can see what things look like.
If it's something in the front teeth, they always remark with a smile, "Wow, I can't even see what you did!"
"Smile with confidence!", I say, "The more you smile, the better advertisement for us!"
If it's something in the back, they still always remark with their mouth wide open, "Wow, I can't even see what you did!"
"Stealth dentistry! That's why we do here. No one needs to know what's going on with your teeth", I say. "If people can tell, that's not good. Everything needs to blend in."

This blog post is about a different type of stealth dentistry. It should actually be called "Competitive Dentistry". Having 2 kids less than a year apart, my 2 sometimes get as competitive as this set of brother and sister do.  Ain't nothin' like a little sibling competition!

As always, for your reading pleasure!

Shhhh…. Secret Dentistry

My last patient yesterday was a 12 year old little girl. She and her brother have been coming to my office since they were 7 and 8 years old. They are always in competition with each other. Who gets better grades in school? Who plays better tennis? Who runs faster? Who plays better piano? 

Two years ago, their whole family came in and I had to tell their father that Brother had a cavity, Sister was smiling and saying, “Ha, ha! My teeth are better than yours!”

Today, I found a cavity on Sister’s tooth. “Oh no! I’ve never had a cavity before! Are you sure?” she asked me.

“Yes, I’m sure. “ I showed her an enlarged picture of the tooth with my camera on my computer screen. Having the cavity look so large on my computer made it unmistakable.

“Don’t tell Brother I have a cavity! He will laugh at me!” she made me promise.

“Yes, I don’t talk about your teeth in front of your brother,” I promised her.

With the white fillings, they look so natural that no one can tell what was done.  After I finished filling her tooth, I moved her seat up and handed her the mirror.

“Wow! I can’t even see what you did!” she said surprised.

I told Sister, “No one will know you have a filling on that tooth except for the 3 people in this room. Me, my assistant and you!”

“Good!” she said and made me promise again not to tell Brother.

I promised one more time.

As she was leaving, I said, “I made a mistake, there WILL be one person in your family who will know you had this filling.”

“Who?” Sister asked, worried.

“Your dad. Because he will be the one paying for your filling!”

“That’s OK, as long it’s not my brother!” she said with a smile and left my room with her ponytail bouncing along.