We recently had a situation where we had a patient who had neglected their dental care to the extreme. This young man was really pushing the envelope of ending up in the hospital. We had to do extensive surgery to remove the affected teeth as well as drain the area and see him multiple times. One of the things that my Fellowship in Maxillo-facial surgery has done for me is to let me help people that are in these straights. Luckily this young man knew how much he had risked his health. Many folks don't realize that recently a person in Cincinnati died from a dental infection. Several years ago a young man in Washington, D.C. also died from a dental infection. This person in DC was a child which makes it even more of a tragedy.

The other interesting the the last few days was a patient who came to our office having been given a lot of different information about dental implants. The thing that I find most saddening about the public's perception is that calling and seeing different folks will lead to understanding. In reality there are folks that are fly by night offices offering pie in the sky dreams for people that can't really have them. There is an old country phrase that I am thinking of here, You can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear. The other phrase that comes to mind is champagne taste on a beer budget. We all operate on a budget. Sure Donald Trump's budget is different than say The richest person in Louisville, Kentucky.

I can't get that german sports car I fell in love with at age 7 on the monthly payment of my used SUV I currently drive. That's just reality. Of course, If I wanted to live in a much more meager place, really really scrimp in my clothing and food I'm sure I could get that sports car. But its just not that important to me today. And teeth are the same way. It's important that people be honest with themselves first. I have a patient in her 90's that has all her teeth. It's important to her, when I've gone to tell her about a new dental care product, she usually already knows about it. There is with all things a bit of luck. But it is at the end about priorities.

What are your dental priorities?

We've been listening to a wide range of music at the office. Becky created a new station for the front office on Pandora. We had been combining all the Pandora stations our team and patients had created but good ole Pandora played a few they didn't think were quitte appropriate for the office.

Here is a viral video of the Great Billy Joel at Vanderbilt University being the Kind of Guy(or gal) I think many of us should be. Gracious and kind.