We had a patient in our office last month that had a suspicious area detected by the VELscope. We had our oral surgeon check it out and he agreed that the patient should see my head and neck surgeon at Fox Chase Center.

The surgeon did a biopsy and fortunately it came back negative. Now his wife is mad at us because we sent him to have the biopsy and there was nothing wrong.

Can you believe it?

Jerry

Jerry so many problems like this are caused by the publics ignorance of Oral Cancer,I wonder if she would react like this if her Doctor ordered a pap smear or a mammogram that came back negative.Ignorance is a daunting enemy. You just keep on being the brilliant advocate that you are

love liz

I guess at this you would say .."better safe then sorry right ?" I have had a biopsy due to an area that came back suspcious cuz of VelScope as well and my biospy was negative ....but I would due it again tomorrow if need be !! Maybe you should tell his wife to come and read this site for a while .

Shar

A short-sighted attitude indeed, Jerry. I wonder whether the woman ever has a mammogram or pap smear test?

Keep up your good work, Helen

This lady must be related to the one that slapped Dr. Mike when she got the diagnosis of SCC! (Another one for the "just can't win" file) Your patient should have been dancing around and celebrating at the news and considering herself especially fortunate that you, the oral surgeon and the ENT were so conscientious in the care of her husband. Jerry - please just keep doing what you are doing. You are saving lives!

Maybe she would have slapped me if she had been in the office. Fortunately, my office manager dealt with her on the phone!

Thanks everyone for the positive feedback. Anne-Marie is right, sometimes, you "just can't win".

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Jerry

I don't mean any harm, and I know it isn't possible, but I would LOVE to have the address of this woman!

How can you possibly be mad when your doctor is doing the "preventative" measures? I'm constantly amazed at the ignorance of the so-called "educated" America.

Makes me want to puke.

Mandi

Jerry,
I'm sure we will see more emotional outbursts from our patients.
Personally I would rather see a false positve and know that a suspicious area is nothing than finding out later after "observing" that it's something bad.
After all, a biopsy is much kinder than the surgery.
I often wonder exactly what people expect us to do in these cases. There is no recipe book. I can sleep at night knowing that I would treat my mother, my wife, my daughter or my son the way I would expect to treated, so that is my standard of care for people who are under my care. I'm much more agressive with abnormal lesions than 99% of my colleagues. I did some quick math, I recommended 243 patients have abnormal looking areas biopsied; 187 took my advice and had a biopsy, 17 were OC, 68 were other benign conditions that required treatment and follow-up ( lichen planus, cicitricial phemphegoid etc.), and the remainder came back OK.
I am not at all uncomfortable with these stats. My opimion of what I see has to be the same, so if I would have my own Dr. biopsy it if I had it then I must make that recommendation to my patient.
Rambling...I know but I hope I made my point.
You can't drive a car with your eyes closed and you can't categorize abnormal tissue without a microscope.

Just my own humble opinion.
( When in doubt, cut it out!! Then you can actually name the doubt and if all goes well it won't be OC.)

Cheers,

Mike

Sometimes, you poor dentists just can't win. It's got to be hard when you know in your hearts you are doing all you can to help your patients and they in turn are upset (or give you a slap on the face).

That "C" word...whether your confirming that someone does or doesn't have it...it's such an emotionally charged word. It's a shame that one stupid word can have that much power. And, it's unfortunate when the emotions of that word are displaced towards you.

I think being a dentist is a tough job. I, personally, have a love/hate relationship with mine. He's a wonderful person and dentist, yet I hate, hate, hate going to see him...even for a routine visit.

I just had some old fillings replaced and I never do well with the numbing shots. Today, I look like a squirrel who has one cheek that is chock full of nuts.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure the dents my finger nails made in his chair while he was drilling are permanent. I wasn't in any pain, but it's the sound of the drill that sends me through the roof.

Keep up the great work guys!!

Margaret,
Thanks for your understanding and support. I will clear one issue up though... being a dentist is not tough at all (bear with me here...and I think if Jerry reads this he will probably agree with me.) What I do is easy..until you attach a person to the tooth!!! Once that happens ..look out... you then have to explain to them and make sure they understand your findings. I usually allow an hour for that visit, but it took me four years after my undergraduate degree to understand it. That is the tough part. If I was only making teeth pretty and people were not attached to them my job would be stress free. I knew I shoulda been a Vet...animals can't talk!!

If you want some sugeestions on how to love your dentist appoimntments...e=mail or PM me.

That'll be $250.00 for the new upholstery.

Cheers,

Mike

I have been praticing dentistry for over 37 years and I think maybe this week I'll get it right and I won't have to practice anymore. Sorry, just some dental humor.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't say that I thought I had seen it all. What it comes down to is that there are many, many people that leave my office that say, "Wow, that was the most thorough dental examination that I have ever had, thank you for taking the time to be sure that I'm OK". That's what keeps me going when some idiot complains about having a biopsy "for nothing".

Nothing in dentistry can beat the feeling when a patient completing treatment (female of course) says "Do you think it will be alright if I give you hug"? That's what it's all about. Yes, Mike is right...there are people attached to the teeth and unfortunately too many dentists don't realize that. People aren't born disliking dentistry, it's bad experiences with uncaring dentists that make them that way. It's the good dentists that have to help those patients get over their fears.

Jerry

Hey Jer,
I think I am going to copy and paste the last part of your e-mail and give it to Kendra, she fits right in there with you two gentlemen!

When i walked out of the dental hospital on Monday Jeff i made three phone calls.One to my son,one to my daughter,and the third to my dentist to tell him the good news.I know he was every bit as relieved as i was.I want to punch Robins dentist several times a day,i just want to hug mine,even though his methods were a little unorthodox and i will most definately go back to him in six months for that check up.

keep doing what you do best honey being a brilliant advoate and shining example to all your patients and friends on this site

love liz

Jerry,

She would be the first in line at the lawyers office to sue you had you not sent her for a biopsy and months/years later she found out she had cancer.

Better to err on the side of caution. Maybe one day she will appreciate it.

Joy

Jerry/Mike,

I will tell all my women friends to hug their dentists next time they go in for a check up and OC screen.

I've never had a bad dentist, however, I can not tolerate that drilling sound. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. My dentist knows me well. Based on the look on my face and the death grip on his chair, there are hygentists who wonder if I'm ok and if we should take a break during a procedure.

But, my denetist knows that if we stop for a break the whole thing will take longer so he assures the hygienists that I'm fine and they need to keep moving along. He's totally right on that front.

The smells and the sounds, are very hard for me to stomach. Plus they keep their office way too cold for me year round. A problem that I often have in office buildings. I'm lucky I have pretty good teeth. Just several really old cavities that have had to be replaced recently. So, yeah! No more mercury fillings in my mouth. And, hopefully the swelling will go down tomorrow before I head off to work.

My dentist is always asking about Dan and recommending products to help him along.

This last time he suggested a liquid silver compound that can be gargled with and swallowed. I have several pages of print outs he provided to read. Plus he's always giving me samples of things for Dan to try to ease even the tiniest of discomfort.

Our current area of concern is his throat. Since most things are a swish and spit, he thinks Dan's throat could heal better if he could swish and swallow with the liquid silver. Do either of you dentist have familiarity with this?

Both our family doc and dentist have been great supporting players full of compassion and care as we have moved through the CCC process. We feel pretty blessed.

I am due for a check up and my dentist is a female so I don't know if I will hug her but I will express my appreciation. My dentist encourages music (she has a large selection) and lets me use my iPod which helps tremendously. So as I'm being worked on, my foot or fingers are keeping time to the music and it's over before i've gotten thru all my favorites. I've always thought that a great idea would be to paste some cartoon humor on the ceiling. One dentist I had, had those ceiling tiles with all the little dots in them and it was really difficult to count those dots and keep tract of which ones I had counted and which ones I hadn't. I had to keep starting over! Maybe in addition to the caratoons, some "Hug your dentist stickers?"

Anne-Marie,

"Hug your dentist stickers"? I think I might have to run that one by my wife.

So nice to read positive remarks about dentists.

Donna,
I will meet Kendra, someday. I look forward to it.

Margaret,

I have no idea what liquid silver is. Maybe Mike might. Any more details or information about it?

Jerry

I am an equal opportunity hugger!! If they deserve a hug, they get one (unless I know that they don't share my fondness for hugs.)

XOX

There is nothing that makes me love my profession more than the simple easy "Thank You", I get from satisfied patients. Hugs are always welcome, and Jerry, I have had hugs from males. They are all welcome. (I prefer the female hugs..of course!!)
I do my best for every patient every day. Like I said before my job is easy, as far as I'm concerned it is the best job I could ever have. The people attached to the teeth I treat and mouths I see are 99% of the time interesting, wonderful and caring individuals. I love the stories, jokes and tears I share with them. I let them know that they are part of my family and I will always go out of my way for them.
I hope that I can still say this in 37 years.
Jerry, you are an inspiration to me and whether you like it or not, deserve my praise. Thank you for all you have done to further our profession, help your patients and brighten my spark.
To everyone else, talk to your dentist, be honest and express your concerns and fears. It will make a difference in the overall experience you have and the treatment you recieve.

Cookey,
I sent you a PM. I'm so happy to hear about your good news. I do believe that the dentist is compassionate and capable. I do admire the fact that he did get you in and look after you. He does have my respect whether I agree with his methods or not. I just wanted to openly let peole know this. I did sort of rip his handling and ultimately his person apart in my first post. After some thought and further pondering of the situation, I'm OK with his overall dedication to his patients and profession.
I guess, It's just not how I would have handled it.
But, who am I to criticise ...

Best wishes to all,

Mike