The Tea(th) – 5th Ed: Amalgam is *Still* Safe

What is ‘The Tea(th)’ you ask? It’s our way of bringing some dental news, current events, and clinical pearls to the palm of your hand. With a little added humor and satirical stanzas, of course! We know your life is busy and no one has time to read a newspaper nowadays, so we aim to make this brief yet informative, and above all piping HOT!

In this week's edition: Amalgam is *Still* Safe, Trick-or-Treating Cancelled?, Bob need some help with his tooth ASAP, On the Wedge of Glory, and more!
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Recent News

Amalgam is *Still* Safe

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NEWSFLASH, but the indications for and use of amalgam in dentistry actually *are* viable options backed in evidence-based research. I know, shocking! Since the general public seems to like to question the validity of such every few years the ADA, yet again, released a statement to “reaffirm its position that dental amalgam is a “durable, safe, and effective” restorative material.” So the next time your conspiracy-theorist driven patient comes in claiming ‘adverse health effects,’ tell them if they feel safe enough to wear a silver tin-foil hat on their head then they should feel safe enough to have a silver filling in their mouth.

Trick-or-Treating Cancelled?

In its latest update, the CDC has put forth recommendations for the upcoming fall Halloween season and associated events. Essentially advising against trick-or-treating, costume parties, hayrides, pumpkin and apple picking, and more. As if this year wasn’t bad enough, the now unofficial/official cancelling of Halloween is pretty much the final nail in the coffin (no pun intended). We’re scared to see what will come next in November and December as we prepare for the typical holiday season. Spooky season just got a whole lot more sad and spooky.

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Entertainment

UNTOLD STORIES OF BOB & JEAN

Real patients, real stories, fake names.

So I get Bob as a new patient, do a comprehensive exam, FMX, full work-up, the whole 9-yards. Suffice it to say Bob’s mouth was a train-wreck and there were more hopeless unrestorable teeth than sound ones. I draw up the different treatment plan options, explain them to Bob, and review the teeth that need to be extracted. After going through all of that Bob is still hesitant about having them extracted because, “[he] didn’t feel any pain and not be able to chew.” I totally understand and get that. So I tell Bob how some of his molars not only have severe bone loss, but the second I apply any apical pressure they’re suppurating white, liquid gold that would make Dr. Pimple Popper giddy. I also mention that I’ll make him a transitional partial so he can chew and function after the exos. All that still wasn’t convincing enough because Bob was still reluctant. There are just some people you can’t help.

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Pearls

On the Wedge of Glory

Have you ever been running behind in clinic, spent an absurd amount of time spoon-excavating out decay, only to *finally* get your faculty’s approval to move forward with restoring? Same. Better yet it’s a ~YUGE~ Class II and you know you’re about to fight the tofflemire to squeeze it between the teeth. After finally getting it in there you “forget” [read: think you know better than] to place a wedge because you’re like, “I ball-burnished the heck out of that contact, it will close nicely.” So you go ahead, restore, carve/polish, and remove the tofflemire only to see an open contact that you could drive a truck through. *Internally you scream hoping your faculty won’t notice but in reality know they’re not even going to attempt to floss that.* Long story short, take the 5 seconds of time to place a wedge, they do indeed matter.

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meme of the week

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