Sounds far fetched, doesn’t it? How would you get your real teeth to a doctor in a distant location? Well, I don’t think we are there quite yet (maybe 50%) but many aspects of Tele-Dentistry are here today. We regularly send radiographs and photographs via, e-mail. We have the ability to take digital impressions and then send the electronic data cross-country or across town to a laboratory to fabricate a restoration, i.e. crown or fixed bridge. Insurance claims can be sent seamlessly, en masse, from the office at days, end and never have ink meet paper.
From a creature comfort standpoint, offices regularly have secure wifi access for patrons or accompanying persons, so that our addiction to the Internet and instant communications can be fill easily and readily. It is becoming more common to have private areas that an accompanying person can continue to work while waiting for a loved one who is having some sort of procedure being performed. Additionally, software platforms can query the schedule of the practice to send e-mail reminders out or a snail mail reminder of an appointment.
These rapidly changing technologies are forever changing how the face modern medicine & dentistry is accomplished. I find myself having more “Skype™” consultations with patients or prospective patients that are out of town. The benefits are obvious: Different time slots available for more flexible scheduling; no faceless phone conferences; the ability to show and tell in front of the monitor of an educational prop or diagram and the ability to read the body language of one another. Further, since the screen can be shared, if there is specific adjunctive information to share, it is readily available. This is invaluable to build understanding as to why a certain treatment or procedure is being recommended. This can give a prospect an opportunity to do a meet and greet, long distance, without having to make the trip. In this day and age, the classic patient distribution to a dentist is changed such that the informed focused individual knows no distance or boundaries.
I have personally embraced most of the technological advances that have come to dentistry. They have been a sheer marvel to learn although a bit vexing at times when something doesn’t go quite right. The use of technology has allowed us practitioners to deliver a higher level of service than previously to a greater number and more geographically diverse population.
Years ago, Dr. Hal Huggins, of Colorado Springs said in a seminar that dental materials controlled the health of the immune system. At first it struck me odd to hear that but as he proceeded to illustrate with study after study, evidence that supported his thesis, it didn’t take much more to convince me that this was so. Going further back, in about 1983 (Eggleston), a study of 2 people illustrated that with either the placement of a single mercury amalgam filling or a nickel based porcelain crown readily, within 3 days, changed the T-cell profile of the individuals blood profile.
What a WOW that was. When you consider that globally, the millions of people that go to the dentist and have any number of materials placed in their mouth to restore damaged or diseased tooth structure, the staggering number of immune systems being challenged is fantastic, too big to comprehend.
When dental materials are studied, they are scrutinized from any number of sides: mostly how well do they work for the intended job. There are not often critical inquiries as to the cellular response to them with respect to the immune system of the host (you). Given the possible life long stress to the system, it would seem to be prudent to check people, especially those that have immune system disorders prior to dental treatment. There are several methods to check your own tolerance to a dental material(s).
The test Dr. Huggins developed 20 some years ago is known as a Serum Compatibility test. Here the serum fraction of blood is subjected to the bulk of all dental materials that are available in the marketplace. A report is then generated detailing those materials that are most and least challenging to the immune system of the one tested. The practitioner then can use the results as a road map for materials selection. Now the patient has a much higher level of personalized care than previously available.
Alternative type testing revolves around the resonance of the material and your own bioresonance. There are physical electronic units that facilitate this or there is a physical test of this same resonance, commonly called “Muscle testing”. This is really a reaction of a substance to the autonomic nervous system of the patient. These tests are readily available in our area but not commonly so for vast swaths of land in this country.
The tests do not take long and many materials can be gone through rapidly. The down side to this resonance tests are the availability of the materials to the tester for the most accurate response to them.
Be an informed consumer when seeking the placement of permanent implanted materials into your body.
