Content Dam Diq Online Articles 2016 05 16may5bcedn Simmonst

Dentistry

What a dental patient says happened versus what actually happened

May 3, 2016

Oh, the stories our patients tell us when they come in for some kind of dental emergency or concern! The drama, exasperations, and the need to get in yesterday are all-too-common. Every now and then, though, the descriptions patients give our front desk team are actually dead on . . . well, almost. Breakthrough Clinical’s Editorial Director Stacey L. Simmons, DDS, says, “I’d love to hear your stories about patient encounters of the weird kind. E-mail me, and if I get enough responses, we’ll do an entire write-up it. My topics range from brick dropping, meat hooks, sex changes, to a patient banging his head on his car in the parking lot. It just gets better and better!”

This article first appeared in the newsletter, DE's Breakthrough Clinical with Stacey Simmons, DDS. Subscribe here.Oh, the stories our patients tell us when they come in for some kind of dental emergency or concern! The drama, exasperations, and the need to get in yesterday are all-too-common. Every now and then, though, the descriptions patients give our front desk team are actually dead on . . . well, almost.

This particular patient called and said that his implant fell out, and he wanted us to put it back in and . . . oh, yeah, a piece of bone came with it, too (but that got thrown away).

OK. Well, wouldn’t you know it, the entire apparatus did indeed “fall out” and that piece of bone—well, let’s just call it the porcelain/ceramic type that just happened to break off the crown (see photo). Brutal honesty in a polite way is always a fun thing, and thankfully, this patient went with what karma threw his direction and just asked what we could do to make it work. I love those kinds of patients!

I’d love to hear your stories about patient encounters of the weird kind. E-mail me, and if I get enough responses, we’ll do an entire write-up on it. My topics range from brick dropping, meat hooks, sex changes, to a patient banging his head on his car in the parking lot. It just gets better and better!

Moving along . . . When you take an impression for an implant, don’t you just hate it when the tissue collapses and the divergence profile that you worked so hard to achieve is now a mush of tissue? Want an easy way to fix that? Well, you’re in luck, because Dr. Mike Meek is back with some great advice on how to avoid this common downfall with regard to restoring dental implants. It’s no secret that dentures are frustrating—for patients and providers alike—but you can reset your perspective with this article by Dr. Dennis Wang. Implants + endo = implant overdenture alternatives on endo-treated teeth. Sometimes you have to step out of the box, and Dr. Musikant describes a technique that you may need to use in your practice one day; you just never know.

How have you been doing with the oral pathology cases thus far? We have last month’s oral pathology diagnosis and a new case that questions the pathology origins up for your perusal.

Dr. Seuss wisely said, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” Get to it! What are you waiting for? And don’t forget to send me your stories. We’ll print them, anonymously of course!

Cheers!