Our patients make us who we are.

The last seven days in our offices have been busy ones. A lot of dentistry has been done and a lot of excitement. Last Friday was very busy at our east end location. We saw a wide range of cases from a large restorative case to a very special pediatric patient. This young man stands out to me because he has a very special place in my heart. He is from China and when he first started seeing me he did not speak the english language. He has been my patient for probably 2-3 years. But I may be exaggerating, as it almost seems like he has always been my patient. When his mother first brought him to me she and I struck up a conversation about a vacation island off the coast of china my brother visited when he was in China. It turns out her parents had a place there or visited often. I've watched him grow as a boy, and sometimes he does not want to behave for me when we treat him. This is what you learn, there are good days to do dental treatment on children and there are not so good days. To me, it is important to recognize the not so good days and just say, hey lets do this another day it was nice seeing you and let them visit the "treasure chest". I know in this "busy" world we live in that seems like a waste of time. And don't get me wrong I am more of an old fashioned guy in many ways including the fact that adults are in charge. I am not one who believes that children should dictate our behavior as a protocol. But I believe in what is best for a child sometimes this coincides with what the child wants, and sometimes it does not. My child rearing beliefs have not been tested beyond my immediate family, as I have no children of my own at this time. I love children and see many in our practices. They amaze me every time I see them. I once read an article that likened having a child was like pulling the arm of a slot machine. You never know what you will get but at the end of the day the possibility of a jackpot keeps us going for another day with our small humans as I call them.

I am currently listening to the new Pearl Jam album, not so sure I am a big fan but as with the last several....it won't keep me from seeing them on tour.

Technology in Louisville

I don't often get the time I want to simply explore business and technology news and my city. I was able to get some time today to just sip coffee and wait for the laundry to dry and just explored. First there was already not news to me about the new venture of the Hammerheads and Game owners over in the Loop area of the Deer Park neighborhood of Louisville. Those that know me are aware that I am a foodie and am a real nosey person when it comes to new places opening and in general all food related news. These guys really appear to have a vision to bring friends along the way with them and when I've seen them interact with Anthony Lamas about food and food shows they all seem to embody a joy of cooking and good food you can't have without being genuine.

I also saw that our Mayor Greg Fisher was speaking at the Code for America Summit in San Francisco. The good old fashioned curmudgeon in me asked exactly what our tax dollars where doing sending this fine man to the west coast....but then I just quieted down and started reading the article about his discussion of transparency in government and just took it al in. After that I read about and jumped to something very interesting.

This particular web page(or startup I'm not really sure) let's one input their zip or address to get crime stats and news very hyperlocal. It even told me about a new BBQ place I had heard of in the neighborhood that I wasn't quitte sure where it was located, and it gave me the opportunity to jump to the BBQ place's Yelp. This service seems ready to really make life hyperlocal it is called Louie Watch(beta). Look for it and I think you will at the very least find it interesting.

I always try to give a feel for what I am listening to and today the is a double live Album by the Tedeschi Trucks Band. THese two make great music as well as a beautiful family. I remember hearing stories back in the day of the two performing gigs in Louisville or Lexington and when one was performing the other might be hopping in their Volvo wagon and driving to the other city to perform. I don't know how true that is but I like to imagine these two awesome musicians having a wonderful family at home as well as on the road. Sounds like a movie screenplay to me...but what do I know. I have been a fan of Derek since he was practically a prodigy playing with the Allman Brothers and I saw Suzanne Tedeschi way back in the day in Lexington, what a soulful voice she brings to their sound.

Nick Drake and Social Media

I haven't written in the blog in a while but that's because I've been busy trying to figure out social media. Guess what? I haven't figured out much. But I do have a post a week strategy to at least like things on Facebook and put up something someone might find funny.

We've been active at the offices doing marketing via direct mail and getting to know people in the area. I am still amazed at folks who live down the street but don't know we are there until they get a postcard from us. I just had someone ask us yesterday how long we had been there because they had never seen us. Needless to say that spurns me on to do my best to let everyone know we are at 3707 Chamberlain Lane and 1169 Eastern Parkway in Louisville taking care of people's dental needs.

I have been on a big Nick Drake kick lately. One of these days I will figure out how to post videos again. If you are not familiar with Nick Drake he died about 40 years ago, so that might be why, but he was an amazing singer and songwriter. He performed a song called Pink Moon that you may have heard in a VW commercial 8-10 years ago haha. He was a great singer but his songs have an overwhelming sense of melody that in a way reminds me of a current singer whose band is called Beirut. In this case the singer's voice sort of becomes a melody in the song and they lyrics almost become an instrument. Check him out I don't think you will be disappointed.

IN teeth news this week has been about in my opinion doing the best thing the first time. In dentistry folks will often ask us to "make something work" because its "cheaper" or easier." I can safely say that cheaper or easier is often not the best route. Steven Covey takes about Beginning with The End in Mind. This applies ever so importantly in dentistry. If we know something may cost 40-60 percent more but will last ten times as long there becomes a dollar cost average over the lifespan of the procedure or item. I hope that over the next two decades we can do far more dental implants and increase the longevity of the dentition in our patients.

Nick Drake - Pink Moon

My Kids teeth and other Cookout questions

I was recently at a Holiday cookout when of course the conversation turned to parents asking me questions about their children's teeth. Although I am not a Pediatric Dental Specialist, I do see a lot of children and worked alongside the Pediatric Dental Residents during portions of my elective residencies at the Chandler Hospital at the University of Kentucky.

In this case the questions were about Fluoride and its history and when their children should receive it as well as questions about toothpaste. I really don't mind these questions of course when people start showing me their teeth it is a little less pleasurable cookout conversation.

In this situation I was happpy to give my opinion. Many parents leave their children to brush their own teeth a little too soon. A good rule is that if the child is able to tie their own shoes they are old enough to do most of the brushing themselves.

After this the discussion turned to toothpaste. Specifically "When should my child start using adult toothpaste?" The answer to that as with the answer to many things is "It depends." This isn't an age question but more a behavioral question." The main concern with adult toothpaste when it comes to a child is the amount of Fluoride that would go into the child's system if the were to consume the toothpaste. So if a child is mature enough to expectorate all of the toothpaste(ie. spit out) then this is the age that the child could use adult paste. And this would in my opinion be a priority to be accomplished by the time the child had their first few adult teeth, which is for the majority of children around the age of six.

TRON: LEGACY - Daft Punk's "Derezzed"

Tron Legacy

It often occurs to me differences in how people feel about their teeth. There are many very financially secure and successful people who simply do not care about their teeth. There are also people who come into our offices every day and ask: "Does my insurance cover it?" as if the shareholders of that particular corporation had the best interest of their smile and ability to chew food in mind when they sent out that years list of coverage.

When a patient visits our offices they are paying for a relationship. That relationship is one of trust, understanding, and education. The actual procedures we do are important and they are in essence what our team has been trained and schooled and tested upon. But the most important thing is the type of relationship our patients have with our team.

Its our goal to not just perform procedures and care for our patients but to educate them. I plan to say that very loudly and clearly. We depend on the insurance companies to help us take care of our patients, but at the end of the day Insurance does not cover a relationship.

On a personal music note I've been listening to a lot of Daft Punk from the Tron Legacy Soundtrack. I've been lucky enough to get out in the weather on my bike and techno has been great music to listen to while doing that. These days its harder to figure out how to get youtube into the Blogger but I'm still going to try to get the DeRezzed video from the film onto the Blog.