DMD Staff

A New Hampshire dentist is under investigation after allegedly practicing while impaired. That tops this week’s news so far in the world of dentistry. Also making the list: Dentist fired for speaking out against Kentucky’s proposed Medicaid overhaul, new treatment for gland cancer and a grant to bring dental care to underserved children.

Keene dentist faces allegations of practicing while impaired

 A Keene pediatric dentist has agreed not to practice while allegations that he worked while impaired are pending before the state’s dental board. Dr. Blake C. Wullbrandt, a dentist at Children’s Dental Care in Keene, is accused of practicing while impaired on two occasions, according to an Aug. 3 order from the N.H. Board of Dental Examiners.

Cal State L.A. gets $16.6-million state grant to bring dental health to underserved children

 Cal State Los Angeles was awarded $16.6 million to bring dental care to underserved communities in the Greater Los Angeles area, officials said Tuesday, billing the grant as the largest in the university’s history. The school was one of 15 agencies awarded funding from the California Department of Health Care Services to create programs to improve access to dental care over the next four years for the roughly 5 million children enrolled in the Denti-Cal program.

Former dentist 'treated 1,500 patients while unregistered'

 A former dentist who treated patients, including children, illegally has been fined. Eleni Kalamara pleaded guilty to five charges of carrying out dentistry illegally following an investigation and prosecution by regulators the General Dental Council. The charges related to ‘dental procedures of varying complexity’ performed on five separate patients, including children, in 2015.

Kentucky dentist says he was fired for criticizing Medicaid plan

 A former public health dentist at the University of Kentucky claimed in a lawsuit he was fired for publicly criticizing Republican Gov. Matt Bevin’s plan to overhaul the state’s Medicaid program. Raynor Mullins was a faculty member at the university’s college of dentistry. He lost his job June 30 after more than 40 years with the university. In a federal lawsuit filed recently, Mullins claimed two top university officials and an unknown member of Bevin’s administration conspired to punish him for publicly criticizing the governor’s Medicaid plan. He wants financial compensation for losing his job and to punish the university and Bevin’s office for harming his reputation.

Dentistry school uncovers new treatment for gland cancer

 A new University of Michigan study found the combination of traditional chemotherapy drug, cisplatin, with an experimental drug destroys a rare type of salivary gland tumor and prevents it from reoccurring within 300 days after treatment. The study was conducted on mice as well as primary human adenoid cystic carcinoma cells in the Nör Lab at the School of Dentistry.

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A New Hampshire dentist is under investigation after allegedly practicing while impaired. That tops this week's news so far in the world of dentistry. Also making the list: Dentist fired for speaking out against Kentucky's proposed Medicaid overhaul, new treatment for gland cancer and a grant to bring dental care to underserved children.


The DMD Checkup: NH Dentist Allegedly Treated Patients While Imparied

	The five phases of dentistry, software demos and green tea polyphenols: These stories are among the most popular on our website this week. Catch up on what you missed while you were filling cavities.

The 5 Stages of Dentistry According to Dr. Abernathy

 Any career comes with trials and tribulations, and dentistry is no exception. No one knows this better than Dr. Mike Abernathy, who has spun his life experience into a helpful, relatable guide to find happiness and stay motivated in a dental career. Continue below for an adapted excerpt of his book, “The Super General Dental Practice.”

For Dentists Picking Health Benefits, Uncertainty Looms

 The leader of the Michigan Dental Association’s insurance program says employers are facing a tough time in the era of the Affordable Care Act. This is especially the case if they told their employees to buy insurance on the open market. Continue below to find out more.

Six Key Questions to Ask During Software Demos

 Salesmen will be salesmen, so when you have one in your office demonstrating software, be sure to come prepared. ValuePenguin, a product-review website devoted to giving insight to small business owners, provided a series of questions to help you do the most in your research. Continue below to find out more.

Set Yourself Up For Financial Success After Graduation

 Becoming a dentist or medical doctor requires a significant delay to enter the workforce. Choosing to enter into these professions means that earning potential is delayed until around 30 years old. InvestingDoc knows the path to getting established in your career is fraught with debt and feelings of being entitled to luxuries after working hard in school. Continue below to find out how to move past these feelings and pave the way for financial success.

Green Tea Polyphenols — A New Treatment for Tooth Sensitivity?

 Tooth sensitivity is a common complaint amongst patients, and while there are plenty of products on the market, not every patient is able to find a successful solution. Certain compounds found in green tea leaves not only provides a new treatment option, but a more natural one for patients who prefer a more organic approach. Continue below to find out more.

The five phases of dentistry, software demos and green tea polyphenols: These stories are among the most popular on our website this week. Catch up on what you missed while you were filling cavities.

The DMD Top 5 for the Week Ending August 25, 2017

While ozone therapy has only recently received widespread implementation, it was first used in the 1930s.

Filling cavities is a simple procedure and one that dominates most of a dentist’s typical treatment schedule. Anxious patients, especially children, make this task exponentially more complicated.

 Sedation dentistry is one option, but for most general dentists, this solution isn’t practical. Enter HealOzone, the first needle-free, painless solution to stopping tooth decay in its tracks. Sounds like a perfect solution, right?

Ozone therapy sounds ideal on paper — and as with most things like sound ideal, this technology is not 

“Any treatment that preserves teeth and avoids fillings is welcome. However, the current evidence base for HealOzone is insufficient to conclude that it is a cost-effective addition to the management and treatment of occlusal and root caries,” a 

In fact, studies demonstrating the effectiveness of ozone therapy prior to 2006 were riddled with bias, according to a report from 

. Individual studies were inconsistent in the effects of ozone on caries, and only one trial reported an absence of adverse effects.

“There is no reliable evidence that application of ozone gas to the surface of decayed teeth stops or reverses the decay process,” the reviewers said. “There is a fundamental need for more evidence of appropriate rigor and quality before the use of ozone can be considered a viable alternative to current methods for the management and treatment of dental caries.”

Since the publication of these studies, however, more research has investigated the application of ozone with positive conclusions, even finding that ozone has preventative properties when it comes to caries.

However, for existing caries, William C. Domb’s review for 

agreed that traditional fillings may be the best option for preventing further pain and decay.

“Even extremely deep lesions can quite predictably be arrested. We also have found over the last decades that we can reverse early lesions and heal teeth,” Domb said in his review. “However, once there’s a hole, there’s a hole, and sometimes our full restorative technologies need to be brought to bear in order to repair the damage.”

Ultimately, Domb finds that most carious lesions can be reversed by the use of ozone therapy. As such, unless a treatment is effective for 

nstances of decay, sticking to tried-and-true fillings is the only sure-fire way to ensure your patients see positive results. If you’re keen on using this method for treating any kind of caries, be sure to put your patients on a regimen of fluoride-containing products, reduced sugars and diligent oral hygiene.

 In specialized dentistry, ozone has become a saving grace to prevent the spread of infection and bacteria. Endodontists are finding that ozone’s antimicrobial properties make the therapy advantageous when delivered into root canals following traditional cleaning, shaping and irrigation, according to 

“When used as an irrigant, ozone encourages tissue regeneration and bone healing. Also, when a root canal was disinfected by ozone water with sonification the antimicrobial efficacy was comparable to 2.5 percent NaOCI,” the review states. “Hence in periapical infections, ozone therapy can increase the scope of nonsurgical management of these lesions.

Ozone therapy can also help patients suffering from hypersensitivity and periodontal disease. Ozone gas and ozonated oils and water can be applied directly to an abscess or area of infection to reduce and even eliminate bacteria, according to Domb.

In conjunction with preventative measures and consistent use of fluoride, it can be a viable solution for early caries in children and other needle-phobic patients. However, the method is best used for specialized dentistry to curb the spread of infection and bacteria after the use of traditional treatments.

Discover more Dentist’s Money Digest® news here

Technology is quickly transforming dentistry. From digital record-keeping to machines that seem straight out of a SciFi feature, the 21st century has gifted the medical industry some amazing devices. Dentists are especially proactive about adopting new technology in their practices, so DMD is bringing you a weekly spotlight on some of the best products on the market. Continue below to read about this week's focus, ozone therapy.

Weekly Tech: Is Ozone Therapy Too Good to Be True?

The Pennsylvania Board of Dentistry has suspended the license of Dr. Christpher G. Bereznak for improperly prescribing opiates. That tops this week’s news so far in the world of dentistry. Also making the list: Periodontitis could contribute to Alzheimer’s, smart chewing gum and tuberculosis in anthropological samples.

Dental board suspends dentist facing charges

. Dr. Christopher G. Bereznak,47, 520 S. Abington Road, Clarks Green, was charged Aug. 8 with seven counts of prohibited delivery of a controlled substance by a practitioner and five counts of criminal use of a communication facility. Police said he wrote several prescriptions for medications, including a muscle relaxer, for a woman with whom he was involved in an intimate relationship.

Manhattan Dentist receives prestigious Mastership honors

. The Academy of General Dentistry announced that Dr. Bret Gilsdorf, DDS, of Manhattan, received the prestigious Mastership Award during the AGD’s Convocation ceremony in July. it's a commencement celebration that recognizes AGD member’s commitment to excellence in dental education. Dr. Gilsdorf accepted this award at the AGD’s Scientific Session in Las Vegas.

Long-term gum disease linked to Alzheimer's disease

. Chronic periodontitis, a leading cause of tooth loss, is also associated with increases in markers of inflammation throughout the body. Some recent studies have suggested that chronic periodontitis might contribute to a decline in thinking ability, the authors note in Alzheimer's Research and Therapy.

Chewing gum that detects infection could make going to the dentist MUCH less painful.

 Do you hate going to the dentist? You're not alone. Most of us would do anything to avoid going — and if you have a dental implant, your trips are probably more frequent than most. Now a pharmacist from the University of Wurzburg in Germany has invented a new type of chewing gum that could drastically reduce the number of repeat trips you need to make. 

Student Discovers Tuberculosis DNA in Dental Plaque of Smithsonian’s Anatomical Collection

. Student researcher Soleil Young ’17, a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program, discovered tuberculosis DNA in the tartar on the teeth of individuals in a collection specifically for biological research in the Smithsonian’s Division of Physical Anthropology.

The Pennsylvania Board of Dentistry has suspended the license of Dr. Christpher G. Bereznak for improperly prescribing opiates. That tops this week's news so far in the world of dentistry. Also making the list: Periodontitis could contribute to Alzheimer's, smart chewing gum and tuberculosis in anthropological samples. 


The DMD Checkup: PA Dentist Faces Criminal Charges

Blogging, the Twittersphere and a resourceful prosthodontist: These stories are among the most popular on our website this week. Catch up on what you missed while you were filling cavities.

The Honest Truth About Blogging: Why and How You Should Be Doing It

 These days, it seems like everyone and their mother has their own blog. But if you’re not utilizing the free tools available to jump on this bandwagon, you’re missing out on a crucial piece of modern practice ownership. Continue below to find out how to get started.

Your Burning Questions: How Do I Twitter?

 We aim to provide our readers with the information they want, so we’re going straight to the source. You ask, we answer! This week, social media is our focus, so continue below to find out the answer to the question of the week.

How to Master Time Management in Your Dental Practice

 Managing time is a skill that always has room for improvement. With all the modern distractions that pervade our daily lives, many of us need to retrain our brains to get the most out of our precious minutes. Dental blogger Shen Chao has a few tips that can get you started on the path to focus and organization.

Prosthodontist Overcomes Gender Barriers to Become ACP President

 In 2016, Susan E. Brackett, D.D.S., M.S., F.A.C.P. became the third woman ever to earn the title of president of the American College of Prosthodontists. As a practicing prosthodontist who has been active in the ACP for several decades, Brackett has been recognized as a philanthropist raised to give back, a philosophy she espouses to aspiring young dentists.

 Technology is quickly transforming dentistry. From digital record-keeping to machines that seem straight out of a SciFi feature, the 21st century has gifted the medical industry some amazing devices. Dentists are especially proactive about adopting new technology in their practices, so DMD is bringing you a weekly spotlight on some of the best products and research on the market. Continue below to read about this week's focus, alternative pain management.

Discover more Dentist’s Money Digest® news here.

Blogging, the Twittersphere and a resourceful prosthodontist: These stories are among the most popular on our website this week. Catch up on what you missed while you were filling cavities.


The DMD Top Five for the Week Ending August 18, 2017

For optimal Twitter success, tune into your audience and figure out when they're online.

Dr. Olya Zahrebelny (@TheZGroupLLC) asks:

 When is the best time to Tweet for maximum impact and to reach the largest audience?

What Mighty MolarMan & Friends Can Teach Dentists About Digital Outreach

Growing Gig Economy Presents Complex Wage Issues

This is a fantastic question. Timing your Tweets is completely necessary, and while there is no perfect answer, there is data that suggest certain times of the day correlate to successful Tweeting.

Many practices’ social media strategy is to Tweet hourly, but according to a study from 

, those Tweets might be better put to use during peak traffic hours.

What times of the day do YOU tend to venture onto Twitter? Chances are you’re using social media in your down time, and perhaps unsurprisingly, so are your patients and clients. Here are the highlights from Buffer Social’s data set:

·Early morning before work, Tweets are shown to receive the most clicks

·After hours, meaning 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., yield the highest favorites and retweets

·Lunch time, or noon to 1 p.m., is the most popular time to Tweet. But don’t be mistaken — “popular” in this case means the highest volume of Tweets, so whatever you put out will quickly get pushed down your followers’ feeds.

Of course, the results of the study differ greatly depending on time zone and audience. But for the most part, U.S. Twitter users take advantage of their break times and before- and after-work hours to hang out on the platform. Twitter has a helpful 

 tool to help you figure out your unique audience.

Based on our own analytics, Tweeting too much can actually hurt your results. We find we have the most success Tweeting about once an hour from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

What you Tweet and how much you interact with your followers is a big part of finding success on Twitter. Consumers are exceptionally wary of promotional techniques, so if you only produce generic, rushed Tweets that are blatant attempts to advertise, you will quickly find yourself losing followers. Be personable and speak directly to your audience!

Tweeting is just a small fraction of what you should be doing to optimize your business success. Check out our article on 

 to find out more about content creation.

We aim to provide our readers with the information they want, so we're going straight to the source. You ask, we answer! This week, social media is our focus, so continue below to find out the answer to the question of the week.

Your practice's blog should feature educational content, your patients and — most importantly &mdash; you. 

Across every service industry, tuning into where customers and clients hang out online is essential to the success of individual businesses. If you have your own website, use social media and put out content on your platforms, you’re on the right track. But there is more to self-promotion than Tweeting out interesting articles you stumble upon or Instagramming a few pictures of your smiling patients.

And while having your own website is a start, it’s not enough to engage patients and differentiate yourself.

“I’ve met thousands of dentists over the years, and none of them were even close to the same. But you wouldn’t know it from their websites,” writes blogger Alan Mead, a Michigan-based dentist and avid 

, businesses with blogs receive 91 percent more links to their websites. What’s more, a 2012 BlogHer study found that more than 60 percent of online American consumers use blogs to make purchasing decisions. That’s a lot of potential to expand your patient load.

With a blog, you can create your own original content that serves your patients’ educational needs while giving your practice a marketing boost. Dentistry may not be as exciting to your patients as the fashion and lifestyle blogs they likely frequent, but with the right content strategy, you may just find yourself tapping into a patient pool to which you wouldn’t otherwise have access.

First thing’s first: An inactive blog is almost as bad as not having one at all. So, if you’re not going to post original content that is unique to your practice on a regular basis, you’re just shouting into the void.

The Internet only needs so many practice blogs espousing the virtues of brushing twice a day and flossing regularly. Think patients need another definitive list of toothpaste brands? It has been done.

“Even if you’ve got great search engine results, if you have lame content on the blog a savvy potential customer is going to be able to tell that it’s canned copy,” 

 regarding authenticity in practice marketing. “And you need to assume that everyone that gets to your site is a savvy potential customer.”

Instead, create a workable formula that still incorporates you, your practice and your patients. Everyone loves to see themselves featured online, even if it’s just on a community practice’s website. Give patients an incentive to visit your blog by hosting contests and spotlighting a patient of the month.  

The days of early-2000s blogster sites are over, so your blog should have a multimedia approach. This means photos, videos, written content and even audio can — and should &mdash; be featured on your blog.

Most importantly, give your blog a personal touch. Don’t be afraid to talk about the hobbies, goals and past experiences that shape you as a dentist. Patients love to see you being human, and making yourself accessible in this way may even make anxious patients less afraid to come in for check-ups. Consider monthly posts sharing your life and practice updates, your favorite things outside of dentistry, and your personal and professional success stories.

When it comes to listicles, keep them to a minimum if you’re only providing information that already yields myriad results on Google. These posts aren’t just boring to your patients — search engines will punish you for copying existing content by pushing your search results down. An alternative to this is to take advantage of weekly trending hashtags. For #TechTuesday, feature products you’re using in your practice to show patients you’re on the up-and-up when it comes to technology. #WisdomWednesday is an opportunity to share your funny post-wisdom tooth surgery stories or, with your patients’ permission, pictures and videos of how a procedure went. Get creative!

When you run low on ways to feature your community or provide updates on you and your practice, take a note from popular lifestyle blogs by sharing recipes that support oral health and keeping a backlog of ask-the-dentist posts for patients’ frequently asked questions.

The good news is that the hard part is over. Now, shift your focus to promoting that post on your social media platforms. It doesn’t matter what goes up on your blog — if it’s on there, Tweet, Instagram and Facebook it to let your followers know what you’re publishing.

Creating a posting schedule for social media is key to optimizing traffic to your blog. Make sure your patients know your social media handles by posting them around the office and asking satisfied patients to follow you after their appointments. Once you gain your online following, 

 by observing your audience’s behaviors.

By sticking with consistency and originality, blogging can be easier, faster and cheaper than traditional advertising.

These days, it seems like everyone and their mother has their own blog. But if you're not utilizing the free tools available to jump on this bandwagon, you're missing out on a crucial piece of modern practice ownership. Continue below to find out how to get started. 



The U.S maintains the highest birthing costs in the world.

Starting a family is one of the most challenging and exciting undertakings of a person’s life. But no one brings a child into this world thinking a little bundle of joy will make life easier. As priceless and rewarding as parenthood may be, there are opportunity and, of course, financial costs. Big ones.

, a personal finance website, put their data analysts to the test to find out which states are the most and least ideal for child rearing. Using 20 key cost measures, health care accessibility and family-friendliness as criteria, WalletHub’s data range from hospital conventional-delivery charges to child care costs and number of pediatricians per capita.

If you’re determined to have children of your own in the near future, you may want to consider relocating to one of these top ranked states, according to WalletHub’s analysis.

·Maryland, New Hampshire, North Dakota, West Virginia and Utah offer the lowest C-section-delivery costs

·New Jersey has one of the highest costs for both conventional and C-section delivery

·Despite being some of the overall worst places to have a baby, Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana and Alabama boast the lowest average annual infant-care costs.

·Washington, D.C., Delaware, Vermont, Massachusetts and Nebraska average the most pediatricians and family doctors per capita

·Washington, D.C., Vermont, Maine, Alaska and Minnesota boast the most OB-GYNs and Midwives per capita.

After graduating dental school, finding a job, and getting financially established, you may be considering starting a family of your own. And while you probably expect to shell out some serious cash to raise a child, where you start your family can make a world of difference. Continue below for the key findings of WalletHub's latest research on the best and worst states to have a baby. 


The Best and Worst Places to Have a Baby

Might Molar Man serves communities by providing dentists with physical products and online tools they need to succeed.

Molar Towne is a place populated by anthropomorphized teeth, evil bacteria and nefarious characters like Dr. D.K., a former family dentist dead set on getting his patients addicted to sugar.

If all this sounds fictional, that’s because it is — Molar Towne and its populous are the brainchild of Dr. John U. Bond and animator Juan Molano, who set out several years ago to create an elaborate imaginary world where real-life children can learn about oral health and make positive associations with the dentist.

“I met Dr. Bond about four years ago now, and we teamed up when he was looking for an animator. We started developing cartoons and a children's book and started talking about doing an actual animated series for kids,” Molano recalled. “Our big focus has always been to create something to help children get over their fear of going to the dentist. When we created Mighty Molar Man and Friends originally, they were mascots that [Dr. Bond] used in his office to bring in more patients.” 

In those four short years, Molar Towne and its nearly three dozen residents have developed into quite the nonprofit social enterprise. Between the detailed character storylines, printable pledge certificates, Mighty Molar Man merchandise, and their interactive web presence, the Mighty Molar Man team has gone beyond the call of duty to educate children all over the U.S. about oral health. But Molano and Bond have not only given dentists the tools to help get pediatric patients excited about the dentist — they carved out a path for digital and social media best practices in the dental world.

Mighty Molar Man and Friends extends outside the realm of Molar Towne on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, where they engage their audience to find out what moves Molano and Bond should make next.

“We are very adamant about involving the community. We've gotten a lot of feedback on social media from the direction we're taking the cartoon to everybody using the products. We really try to stay in contact by asking, 'What can we make that's going to be beneficial for you, that you're actually going to be able to use?’” Molano explained.

The answer to that, Molano says, is tuning into the channels of communication today’s patients use the most. In addition to MightyMolarMan.com’s Find a Dentist function, characters Texter and Dr. P.H. — created in collaboration with the Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health — serve the dual purpose of making communication and education easier for dentists and patients. Texter is the delegate for the app Text2Floss, while Dr. P.H. was designed for the app PH2OH.

“Text2Floss is an app that allows communication between the dentist and the patients through text. Around the country, texting is the main and the easiest mode of communication, so it allows you to put a patient on a tentative program where they receive reminders to brush and floss,” Molano said. “Ph2OH is an app that allows you to get a conversation about oral started with acidity in the mouth. Patients can actually get these PH strips and take a picture of their results to determine their pH value and learn how that contributes to oral health.”

With so many platforms, marketing your practice and connecting with patients can seem overwhelming to dentists who are new to online communication. But according to Molano’s research and experience, being a part of the digital landscape can be as simple as just posting content, especially when offices take advantage of MightyMolarMan.com’s social media reach and prowess.

The practices Molano works with tend to find success on Instagram thanks to its location search and direct messaging functions, which are a quick way to garner referrals.

“The one thing that I always tell offices that ask us what they should do is to find whatever works for them, put out content and not worry too much,” Molano said regarding which platforms dentists should focus on. “You can’t really go wrong with putting out content.”

For their own marketing purposes, Molano said he and Bond focus on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, with Instagram being the best platform for audience engagement. Facebook is the best place for ad placements due to its cost effectiveness and control of a practice’s audience.

Paying attention to conventions and events in the industry is also a crucial piece of what Mighty Molar Man does to generate views.

“If we have a convention coming up, we research all the hashtags that they're using, and we'll search what all their followers from last year were doing. We spend about a good two weeks really diving into an organization, what the analytics for their followers are and what they're doing,” Molano said of Mighty Molar Man’s social media process. “Then, about two weeks prior to the actual event, we'll start spending time actually using the hashtags and trying to get eyes on what we're doing. Once you start getting those eyes, that's where we can start saying, ‘Here's what we have to help you in your social media.’"

In other words, Molano and his team rack up views so dentists can increase their traffic by interacting with Mighty Molar Man accounts. The organization also holds contests in which dentists print out Mighty Molar Man’s free pledge certificates and take photos with their staff and patients, which are then plugged into Facebook by an application called ShortStack. Molano says these interactive contests are excellent ways for offices to increase traffic from their communities.

Besides being an online intermediary between dentists and patients, Mighty Molar Man & Friends is, first and foremost, an educational animated series designed to be shared online. Practices should regard the website’s content as both a tool for patient education and a means to engage with their respective audiences. Currently, Mighty Molar Man users can look forward to a two-minute cartoon that children can watch while brushing their teeth, which Molano expects to be a hit with a diverse array of audiences.

“Don’t try to copy what other people are doing — just try to find whatever it is you want to deliver to your audience,” Molano advised.

To get started with Mighty Molar Man and Friends, visit MightyMolarMan.com’s 

Mightymolarman.com, created by a dentist and an animator, aims to create a better dental experience for pediatric patients through educational animated content. Using its growing social media presence as leverage to help dentists bring education and resources to those who need it most, the Mighty Molar Man team has become an inadvertent role model for practices looking to adapt to digital communication. Continue below to learn more. 

Dental practices may not produce as many wild stories as the ER, but every so often, a unique patient comes right out of left field to make a dentist’s day a little more interesting. We compiled a list of stories that demonstrate just how strange patients can be. Keep reading for stories that will make you scratch your head and — more importantly — laugh out loud.

“I had a mom with her daughter complaining of a partially impacted wisdom tooth on the bottom right. I took an X-ray and showed the mom how the tooth was lying horizontally and up against her second molar. As it happens, they could only afford to take care of the one tooth, so 20 minutes later, I was done, and the teenager asked if she could have the tooth. After cleaning it off, I wrapped it in a two-by-two gauze, placed it in a zip lock bag moved on to the next patient. It wasn't 10 minutes before my office manager motioned me out of that next operatory to tell me that the mom is saying I took out the wrong tooth. My response was, 'Lower right third molar, no. 32?' That is what we did, so I just had her put the mom and her daughter in the next room and scooted over there to see what this was all about. There is the mom, holding the tooth, and sure enough, she is convinced I have removed the wrong tooth. She is holding the tooth between her fingers in an upright position as she says, 'The tooth on the x-ray was laying down. This one is standing up.' I took the tooth, rotated it 90 degrees and told her she was just holding it wrong. I couldn't make up things like this.”

“The president of our local bank called after a surgical appointment with nausea from the pain meds we had prescribed. I said no problem and just called in a suppository for the nausea. The banker picked up the prescription and tried to follow the directions for its use. The directions said, 'Insert one suppository every 4-6 hours for nausea.' I get a call an hour later asking if he should take off the foil covering. I kind of laughed and said, 'Of course, you need to remove the covering.' It wasn't 10 minutes later that he said the medicine was just too large. Laughing again, I suggested that he just cut it in half and that should work just fine. Fifteen minutes later, I got the last call, and he said, 'Mike, I am sorry, but there is no way that I can swallow this pill.'”   

“There was a patient who was a younger girl, like 17 or 18, and she just needed a filling. The dentist I was shadowing didn't usually practice at that office and he was only there for that one day, so he had never met the patient before. As the procedure went on, she started lifting her arms up and feeling around the dentist’s legs and waist. Her pupils were dilated, her eyes kept rolling back into her head and she was slurring her words. But every time we asked if she was ok, she said yes. We even took a few breaks and sit her up because we were worried. Eventually, it was pretty clear she was on drugs, but they had already started the procedure, so he just moved out of the way when she got close or gently pushed her arms down and finished the procedure.

After she left, the dentist, assistant and I all looked at each other just baffled. I asked them if the girl had any mental illnesses listed in her medical history. They said no and looked at her chart. It showed that she had a history of anxiety during dental procedures, so we were all in agreement that she was definitely on drugs and updated her chart to caution the next doctor.” 

“I had a patient come in for a procedure, and after it was done, the patient asked me if he could have his 'girlfriends' come see me. I thought I misheard him, but he said girlfriends, plural. They did eventually come in — they each had a small child by him about the same age, and they all lived together. To each their own!”

"Once we had a patient who had come in to get his new crown. The crown had such a good fit that we had a hard time trying to get it off to then cemented in permanently. We had the patient slightly bite down on a juju bead, (you know, the jelly bead you soften). Well, he bit harder than we asked and for about fifteen minutes patient couldn't open his mouth!! It made it even harder because the three of us were laughing so hard! The patient was drooling because he was hysterical but unable to open his mouth!"

"I was once assisting a dentist and holding the small pad with some composite on it while she was doing a filling. Out of nowhere, I see an ant on the pad. Looking around I can't see where it came from. Not wanting to cause a scene, I remove the top sheet and give her some fresh composite. After the patient left, I said to the dentist, 'Did you see that ant? I wonder where it came from?' She told me that the patient's beard was crawling with ants. I couldn't see this from where I was sitting. She also didn't want to say anything. Pretty sad but also weird."

"I saw a patient for the extraction of root tip no. 5. I started off the appointment with some small talk about Halloween and if she gave out candy, etc. Talked about her grandkids. She seemed like such a sweet old lady (late 70s or early 80s). After two minutes or so of luxating the root tip with my proximator, she turns to me and asks, 'IS THE SON OF A B***H OUT YET?' My D.A and I laughed so hard." 

Dental practices may not produce as many wild stories as the ER, but every so often, a unique patient comes right out of left field to make a dentist's day a little more interesting. We compiled a list of stories that demonstrate just how strange patients can be. Keep reading for stories that will make you scratch your head, and more importantly, laugh out loud. 
