Posts
"This surprising new study by the Mayo Clinic found that between 40% and 78% of tests, treatments, and procedures are of no value, and may already have been deemed harmful by clinical studies. New proof why it's so important to do your own due diligence..."
from Dr. Mercola.com
I take photographs of almost every tooth that I fix for two very good reasons:
1. Medical documentation so that if someone ever said that I never fixed a tooth, I have a photo to prove that I did.
2. Trust but verify! I want my patients to trust my recommendations and so that they will be able to see the problem hiding inside their tooth.
I have believed for a very long time that what appears to be 'scientific evidence' is just corrupt information.
In dentistry, we have two very good means to KNOW what is going on: Photography and 3-D Scans like Drs. Banchs and Byrne have for root canals and both of my oral surgeons have for implant placement.
X-Rays are NOT definitive and neither are many of the medical tests that our physicians order for us. Remember my post a year ago where the best sports medicine surgeon in the country, Dr. James Andrews (Birmingham, AL) was quoted in The New York Times front page story in which he said," There is nothing in an MRI that I can't learn from talking to the patient, touching the patient or watching them move." (Paraphrased). When asked WHY surgeons order MRIs prior to surgeries he responded, "The money."
The best way to insure that you are getting great care is to establish a long term relationship with those that take care of you and even then, trust but verify. Another way is to actually pay for your dental treatment so that you and only you decide what is best for you rather than an insurance clerk telling you what is covered.
