By Dr Saepoff | February 28, 2012 at 06:32 PM EST | No Comments
Access to care is a problem which is getting worse, not better. It is throughout the healthcare system, and is not isolated to dentistry or medicine. While I am not against profit per se, I can see that the industry's primary focus on profit and known political gridlock are working together against getting basic care available to the general masses.
Dentistry is inaccurately perceived by the public thanks to shortsighted actions by dentists and others. We do much more than drill and fill and bill. If that was really all there was to it, it would make sense to have less training needed, not bother with a doctoral level degree. But watch for the big picture to emerge. Dentists have damaged the profession by not emphasizing complete diagnosis in practice due to the perceived need for expedience and efficiency (time is money). That is why the insurance industry and the legislatures are seeing an opportunity to train lower level providers to inexpensively fill holes in teeth and extract infected teeth from people who can't afford to fix their teeth. In these 'dental therapist' practices, if we are lucky, there will be a dentist on duty to sign off on work and monitor these providers of fillings.
Corporate dentistry is a ready-made model to allow for such a highly profitable arrangement. The public will go to these places because they still believe that all dentists are trained the same and the only difference is whether you 'like' the dentist. Dentists today try to distinguish their practice by offering specific services such as implants, cosmetic procedures (botox anyone?), painless anesthetic, lasers, other gadgets, same day crowns, 'health spa' atmosphere, sedation, easy and fast orthodontics, or invisible orthodontics, advanced sleep apnea diagnostics and appliances, etc. Some practices give discounts on the most important service of all, the EXAM, which only someone with an advanced degree is legally allowed to do, and which further gives the impression that the diagnostic exam isn't worth anything. It is easy and doesn't require physical labor or a 'procedure' so we can just give it away, right? Like a free car repair estimate.
We dentists played right into the insurance industry's hands with that one! The exam that a physician does, well that is an important exam, right? Insurance pays a few hundred for an exam by a physician, that diagnosis and recommendation is important. But a dental exam to see how many holes there are in your head? $35. Sometimes more, but it is treated as a 'loss leader'. Just like in some grocery stores, they entice you in for one low cost item and then once you are there you buy higher priced items. It is a classic maneuver. Dental offices will often try to recoup the money they lost doing the exam for cheap or for free by justifying more crowns and other possibly unnecessary dental procedures. The sales pitch at these kinds of offices may at times be rather insistent.
Ideally, a discussion of your medical or dental condition and treatment choices should be matter of fact. That is considered professional. Sometimes it is difficult to discern that you are being subjected to a sales pitch. It can occur in the form of a sincere sounding concern for your health and well being and may well be that. If there is any inkling that you should hurry to get the work done lest some bad outcome occur, perhaps that is a good time to go for a second opinion. Second opinions will be similar at similar offices. Most mainstream dentists will say some of the same things in the same way. We give frequent second opinions because people hear me on the radio and realize that they might get different information if they call us. Holistic or natural offices usually have a more conservative approach but not always!!
By Dr Saepoff | December 27, 2011 at 04:39 AM EST | No Comments
I am a radio show host. I have been recording hour-long shows for about eight weeks now, and I'm enjoying this! Check the archives of 1150KKNW.com and my YouTube channel, naturaldentist1111 for shows to share around.
The shows have been about various topics, like controversies that need not be controversial anymore and probably never were, and ongoing arguments between mainstream and alternative practitioners. Orthodontic treatment rendered without first checking the jaw joints and airway is still 'mainstream standard of care' but I now consider this to be below the standard that should be used. I use the standard that I believe will be commonplace in the near future. This includes full disclosure, no sales tactics, and no infringement of the patient's right to all relevant information with appropriate detail and freedom to choose treatment and timing, as they see fit.
A recent show was about natural, less invasive ways to improve the appearance of the teeth and the smile. Having a relaxed face is very important for every interaction with others, and there is no reason to be more invasive than necessary to look great. It is actually easy in most cases to make improvements that are simple to see if that is enough. If not, you can always do the next level of treatment. Start with less invasive choices!
Many dentists are trained to upsell and manipulate people's anxiety about how they look in order to 'sell' treatment plans. It is more work for a dentist to learn other more subtle techniques and to understand the face aesthetics and golden proportions in order to make the most of any treatment offered. It really is an art, but some dentists are more adept at the art of persuasion than the art of proper diagnosis. A truly great diagnostician is rare, and part of the art is knowing when to call in second opinions of specialists for consideration.
Call to ask your questions and you may become clear if there is a difference in approach. Before you spend an uncomfortable amount of money, get more opinions! Don't commit until you feel certain in your gut that you want to proceed. Remember, once it is drilled it is gone for good. The less drilling the better!
By Dr Saepoff | December 03, 2011 at 11:01 PM EST | No Comments
You have a right to all information that is relevant to a choice you are making. How do you know if you have all the information? Is it even possible to attain ALL the information? You didn't go to dental school, so there must be things you don't know that your dentist knows. How can you just find out what is enough to make an informed choice, to give true informed consent?
You trust your dentist to tell you what you need to know, so that you can weigh your options. That is fine if the dentist is completely impartial. Perhaps your dentist has resolved the conflict of interest inherent in running a business for profit and providing health care to an unsuspecting public.
Never forget that your dentist must earn enough to cover office expenses, payroll, rent or mortgage for the business location, supplies, taxes, the list seems endless. The cost of running a solo practice has skyrocketed, fixed expenses have not gone down, and insurance payments for treatment have gone down. The economy has been difficult for offices that still carry debt, and patients are putting off treatments due to concerns about the economy.
If you like your dentist, and you trust their opinion about what you need for dental health, support them by not waiting to get care. In this economy we may start to see more dentists closing their doors or selling out to corporations. It is time to support the small businesses that we like best and want to continue to have as a choice. (More about that in a future blog.)
Over the years, dentists have received training from practice management firms and product manufacturers on how to SELL MORE DENTISTRY. SELL TREATMENT PLANS, CONVINCE PATIENTS TO COMMIT TO EXPENSIVE LUCRATIVE TREATMENT, 'it's all ok since the patients need to get work done anyway, so why not sell patients on the most expensive treatment that you can' they say. It doesn't seem to matter if the treatments are more invasive than necessary, they are convinced that it is justified because it is how lots of other dentists practice. It is 'within the standard of care'.
I was fired from an office where I worked because they said I wasn't producing enough crowns. They said I was using burs that are too small and not cutting away enough tooth structure, and I should do dentistry the way the owner boss did. Since each dentist has their own license that they are responsible for, I knew I had a right to practice according to how I was trained and my philosophy. So I told them that if they wanted me to do more crowns, then they should have the front office schedulers schedule more people for me that NEED crowns. For stable revenue, they just wanted me to cut some number of crowns per month whether I thought it was necessary treatment or not. They did a lot of crowns at that office!
That is the current culture in most dental offices. In some offices, the entire staff makes bonuses based on the money collected. So everyone is so nice to you, and tells you how great veneers will look, or invisalign, or how great implants are and how bad partials are (they cost MUCH less by the way!) Implants are a big money maker, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't get them. You just need to know what your choice are, and not be rushed into a decision.
This is all justified in their minds by the fact that you might actually need some dental care, so they 'upsell' and use fear and vanity to motivate you. They will tell you things are urgent, and the awful things that will happen if you don't hurry up and get the treatment that the doctor has recommended for you. They will often have the dental hygienist repeat it, and the assistants as well. This is done to reinforce the 'truthfulness' effect. If you've heard it several times, it must be true!
Ok, that was quite the rant!
If you go for a second opinion, you are likely to land in a similar situation, but they might trash the other dentist's treatment plan to get you to come to them for treatment. I've seen this happen! A true second opinion should be by someone with other options available.
Take your time and get as many alternate views as you want. Any dentist that discourages this can be considered unprofessional.
Even if you decide not to get care in a holistic office, I highly recommend seeking an opinion from such a dentist. They usually are more low key about telling you whatever you want to know and are usually more at ease about you taking your time making a decision. They usually will not act insulted or hurt if you choose to get the treatment elsewhere. It is your choice and the holistic community as a whole really gets this concept of FREEDOM OF CHOICE, and SOVEREIGNTY over your body and your health.
Check our YouTube channel naturaldentist1111 for my radio shows on dental controversies and other topics. This will help you find out some of the questions you don't know to ask. Be sure to share these widely!
By Dr Saepoff | July 23, 2011 at 10:52 PM EDT | No Comments
Information gets out to the people. What information? Why would anyone think that information isn't readily available? You ask questions, and get answers. Information you didn't ask for is given as well. You are now WELL informed. You sign a consent form indicating you have been informed. You know all of your options, or so you think. It may not occur to you that there is more, and therefore you do not have the questions to ask.
There is more. Keep asking for the questions to ask. If you wish to stop and be satisfied, that is your freedom to do so. If you are reading this, there is something beneath the surface that you are looking for.
Remember, dentists are well trained to give rehearsed answers that they believe are in your best interest. Dentist are given very specific training, and it is quite difficult for some to see other possibilities than what was taught and which still prevails as 'truth' for the professional community. Do not judge, please do not judge.
Continue to ask whether there is more to ask, more to know. Then do that new age thing and listen in meditative stillness for the guidance from within.
By Dr Saepoff | July 09, 2011 at 01:59 AM EDT | No Comments
WELL, it's been some time since I last wrote. Sorry for the wait!
You are the author of your life. You think it into existence, and you star in it. Is that news to you? It is the basic premise that I operate with, a working theory until proven insufficient.
So, as the author, you do your research for the creation of your story, which you then act out in cooperation with other authors that you have agreed to co-operate or co-create with. hmmm, how much do these others get to write in your life story? This is a quandary. Sometimes it sure looks as though others are co-opting whole chapters!
When you walk into THIS dental office, you are assumed to be in research mode, or at least confirming mode for research you've done prior to your appointment. I will let you decide the aspects of your care that do not fall within the part I legally must control in order to co-exist with the mainstream organization that decides about who gets to have a license to practice dentistry.
So, I will not assume the role of author, although I am an authority on the subject of dentistry. So you can use my knowledge base for your research, if you know what questions to ask, and I'll help you if you don't ask every relevant question for your case.
My job, as I see it, is to give the job of 'authority over you' back to you. This, just in case someone else in your past has attempted to over rule you based on the fact of their being an 'expert' or some similar title entitlement trip.
By Dr Saepoff | March 29, 2011 at 02:43 PM EDT | No Comments
There is a grain of truth or more in everything you hear, sometimes it is undetectable but usually enough is there to be misleading. Misinfo and disinfo are everywhere. Who can you trust to give you the truth? We HAVE to learn to discern. There is no way around this.
There will be a pile of research and also some 'research' to support any point of view you care to look at. Sometimes the one with the tallest pile of published papers wins. You might assume they had the most money. Great 'gut' instinct! and of course, follow the money to find the motive. Use your gut instincts for everything you can. Interestingly, we have other body part instincts. I have read that these centers of instinctive resonance with truth correlate with the chakras.
I will leave you with that thought, hopefully an AHA moment, and the motivation to focus some conscious attention to this. Our bodies will become a useful antenna for intelligence if we learn to listen.
By Dr Saepoff | February 27, 2011 at 03:01 AM EST | No Comments
Is there a code of professional ethics for dentists? Are we told 'do no harm' in dental school? Sort of. I took that stuff to heart, but I'm not sure everyone did.
I remember that the dental students got more points toward graduation for the larger restorations. That means more reward for more drilling. This had really to do with making sure students got all the experience necessary to be skilled practitioners. Unfortunately, the effect of this is that in some cases, the take away lesson is that more drilling is better. In practice, it means more money for more invasive procedures.
In a perfect world, the only treatments done would be those needed and wanted. And elective treatments would be available but not 'sold' or pushed on the patients.
Full disclosure is the key to real choice. People don't need to be 'sold' on anything, or convinced of anything. Persuasion is not needed. Information allows free choice, and choosing between options is something all of us innately know how to do. We don't need to be led, just permitted to choose. This is the sovereignty I referred to in the previous post. Make your own choices, after getting informed. Remember that people who are selling something usually only want to tell you whatever will get you to buy. You have to distinguish the difference. Do you know how to learn to do that?
By Dr Saepoff | February 16, 2011 at 02:02 PM EST | No Comments
It is your body, and you have the privilege of being responsible for it. It is your body, and you are responsible for it.
You make all of the choices even when you choose not to, which is your free choice to do. But, have you been tricked into letting others choose for you?
It is still true that even if you have been tricked, it is still your responsibility, unfair as that seems. Ignorance is not an excuse for breaking a law, and the same principal applies here. (It is as though you could wake up from hypnosis whenever you decide to even if you've been instructed not to.) Doesn't seem fair, does it?
So the question becomes: How do I know if I've been tricked and misled, and how do I 'wake up' from this condition?
Think about whether you believe you need an educated authority to tell you what you 'should' do, or whether you consult such experts for information so that you can decide for yourself what you 'should' do.
This blog is for contemplation, and there will be follow up relating it to dental care.
By Dr Saepoff | September 27, 2010 at 12:04 AM EDT | No Comments
I am a disclosure dentist. I will continue to talk openly about mercury fillings, root canals, fluoride, metals, and nutrition. I will continue to promote conservative dentistry and progressive thinking. Nice combination, I think.
Strange that the far right John Burch society had it right about fluoride, but many progressives dismiss the information about fluoride because they disagree about other obvious points.
I have learned some of the most critical bits of information from the most unlikely people. Some of the people, had I been hasty in judging or impatient about spending time listening to them during treatment visits, I would really have missed out on some of the most crucial pieces of the health puzzle. I don't know any other way to say it, but I have been given gifts of messages from people who appeared as the most unlikely of sources. Go figure!
When I hear progressive and well educated people dismissing information about fluoride research because some fascist right wingers publicized it decades ago, I just wish they would practice what they preach. I mean, they ought to think for themselves and check it out. Don't rush to judgement just to disagree with people you disagree with.
THINK FOR YOURSELF ABOUT EVERYTHING.There are several topics that the progressives have been ensnared by disinformation and they don't realize it but continue to speak with self-righteous certainty about. Please know that I am fully a progressive, and wish to conserve little from the past. (But I love antiques and old stuff.) I study history so that I can envision our progress from there to the next and the new, not so we can preserve the ways of the past out of fear of conscious evolutionary change.
If you dare, lets look anew at fluoride, minus the sneering about the 'right wing conspiracy people'. Really look it up and open your mind so you can think for yourself about how we really arrived at exposing ourselves to fluoride in so many forms that it has become ubiquitous.
OK enough for now. More on this and the other topics soon.
Watch for upcoming video blogs on these same old topics, but from ME on my YouTube channel, naturaldentist1111.
Natural refers to where we are from, in our case, Earth. You can be more specific with the address of course, but that is up to each individual.
Using that definition, which I do, I consider the ‘Earth’ to be going in a particular direction. We as inhabitants can move in the same direction, or we can go against the flow. I like begin each diagnosis with the notion that something is moving at odds with the general flow and causing a disturbance. This shows up as break down, or decay of some variety. We try to catch this while it is still in the pre-carious state if possible.
When we try to ‘figure’ out something, that is a mathematical term, referring to figures (numbers). For some reason (sensible), we could also speak about it as trying to ‘make sense’ of it. This of course is a ‘feeling’ term. So do we use our head, or our gut, or our heart to come to a conclusion, or perhaps all of the above.
If we are looking at the problem in a mechanistic way, we are looking at restoring the physical form back to functionality. If we look at it ‘sensibly’, we include the above in the plan, but not neglect the sense of disharmony that contributed to or precipitated the breakdown process.
Just something to ponder, thinking about solving and resolving the breakdowns of our bodies.
By Dr Saepoff | September 07, 2010 at 03:03 PM EDT | No Comments
Hi All,
I will be posting here about once per week on various topics of interest to the holistic community. There may be some overlap with the 'news and events' section from time to time.
I have a couple of announcements to tell you:
1- Natural Dental Health Associates will be featured on PBS, the American Health Journal. First show will air in Orange County CA on September 28th. I don't know the time it will be on. We are VERY excited because there hasn't been a mainstream TV show about alternatives in dentistry since the 1990 60-minutes expose on mercury!
2- I am interviewed by Keesha Ewers, ARNP every Tuesday at 1:30 pm on Healthy You radio, AM1150, Seattle area. Tune in!
Thanks, and if you have a topic you would like me to address in a blog, please contact me!
