health}Shock & Awe
It will never happen to me!
by Dr. John F. Miller DDS
Fear & Desire:
Psychologist so it’s about time I stuck to my field of expertise: The Mouth.
Much of human behavior is influenced by a combination of these two emotions. Action is initiated when the scales tip either towards fear or desire. We will take action to avoid a less-pleasant circumstance or to obtain a more-pleasant one if the available evidence suggests the unpleasant situation is indeed avoidable and the more agreeable situation is indeed obtainable. There is however, another lesser known emotion known as the “it will never happen to me” feeling. This occurs when the evidence is insufficient to tip-the-scales towards the more-pleasant or less-pleasant. Keep in mind that everyone’s scales have different sensitivity levels, and everyone has access to varying levels of evidence.
Emotions accurately describing how I would feel if I did happen to win the lottery (especially since I don’t play). These same emotions occur in the dental office all too often. The diseases that affect your mouth (e.g. cavities, gum disease, oral cancer) are often painless and symptom free until it’s too late. This is a blessing and a curse. On the one hand the patient isn’t experiencing any discomfort, but this lack of discomfort prevents the scales from tipping towards action. These oral diseases are also largely invisible to the naked eye, and they progress rather slowly.
For example, I have never played the lottery because I do not want to spend money on a potential prize “that will never happen to me.” Do I desire to win the lottery? I would be lying if I said no, but there isn’t enough evidence to tip my scales into action. Others drive at speeds in excess of the posted limits because “they will never be pulled over.” Do they fear being ticketed? A little I imagine, but not enough to abide by traffic laws. Now, I’m a Dentist and not a
It is estimated that 40% of the population does not visit the dentist on a regular basis. What is regular you might ask? Regular means that you receive a dental cleaning every 6-months with a set of dental x-rays at every other cleaning. Yes, your routine dental needs are based on the cycles of the moon. This 6-month interval has been a mainstay in dentistry for nearly a century and it continues to be suitable for most patients’ dental needs. However, contemporary
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Shock & Awe Disbelief:
dentistry focuses much more on prevention and this interval can be shortened if a patient is considered at a greater risk for disease. Shock and disbelief is rarely seen in patients who maintain a regular check-up and cleaning schedule with their dental office. As I mentioned before oral and dental disease progress slowly and can be intercepted and quite often prevented as a result of these regular visits. Let’s revisit dental decay and gum disease again and discuss what causes each: Dental Decay (aka caries, cavities): A few years back a children’s movie came out titled Wreck it Ralph. This movie was based on a character in a video game that played the “bad guy” who wrecked everything. There was a protagonist, Fix-it Felix Junior, however who uses a magic golden hammer to fix everything that Ralph manages to destroy. Now imagine that these two characters are battling it out in your mouth 24/7. If Ralph is winning the battle you will develop cavities, and if Felix gains the upper hand your teeth will remain healthy. Ralph has an