Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Free CE for Small Smiles, Kool Smiles, Adventure Dental and Ocean Dental Dentists

After spending some time today pursuing FORBA's website, set up for their Small Smiles clinics I found a link to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry's Behavioral Control Guide for dentist,  and support staff.  Low and behold, FORBA is clear on these techniques!  They know what to do and when to do it!  OMG!  I need to check Kool Smiles to see if they have a link as well so that I'm sure they know too.

I knelt and thanked the Lord.

What I began to wonder though was, "Does or has anyone at FORBA read it"??  Just asking...

My guess is by adding a link on their website to the guide along with the statement above the links, they are trying to send a subtle message that your child is safe and they know what they are doing.  


These Guideline were adopted in 1990 and have been revised 6 times with the last being 2008.  Soooooo.... these were the guidelines in place when good ole Dr. Spaghetti Eddie and Dr. Meatball Mike DeRose laid out their sinister plan to be the Kings of the dental kingdom.

Anyway, back to the Guidelines, let me give you a few snippets:....

"Dental disease usually is not life-threatening, and the type and timing of dental treatment can be deferred in certain circumstances.  When a child's behavior prevents routine delivery of oral health care using communicative guidance techniques, the dentist must consider the urgency of dental need when determining a plan of treatment.  Rapidly advancing disease, trauma, pain or infection usually dictates prompt treatment.  Deferring some or all treatment or employing therapeutic interventions (eg, alternative restorative techniques [ART], fluoride varnish, antibiotics for infection control) until the child is able to co-operate may be appropriate...

...Treatment deferral also should be considered in cases when treatment is in progress and the patient's behavior becomes hysterical or uncontrollable.  In such cases, the dentist should halt the procedure as soon as possible, discuss the situation with the patient/parent, and either select another approach for treatment or defer treatment based upon the dental needs of the patient."

Keyword 
  1. Communicative -  to communicate; to impart knowledge of; make known: to communicate information; to communicate one's unhappiness: I communicate my displeasure with Small Smiles, Kool Smiles, Adventure Dental and other dental mills on a regular basis.
  2. Deferring - to put off (action, consideration, etc.) to a future time:  We are deferring aggressive treatment of the carie and feel a sealant will be sufficient.
  3. Hysterical - uncontrollably emotional, irrational from fear, emotion, or an emotional shock: The child was hysterical from fear because there were three huge woman laying on her and another holding her head while the dentist pinched her nose.
  4. Halt - to stop; cease moving, operating, etc., either permanently or temporarily: The dentist halted the drilling because the child was hysterical.
I realize many dentists working at these clinics, English would be a second language  I have  supplied a sentence using the keywords so the meaning is clear.

"Dentists behaviors of vocalizing, directing, empathizing, persuading, giving the patient a feeling of control and operant conditioning have been reported as efficacious responses to uncooperative patient behaviors."

  1. Vocalizing - to use the voice, as in speech or song: By the screams heard through the walls,  it was clear the child was trying to vocalize he was in pain as the dentist drilled into his tooth.
  2. Empathizing - to experience empathy; the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another:  Dr. Chu's  inability to empathize with people makes her a horrible dentist.
  3. Control - to exercise restraint or direction over; dominate; command; to hold in check; curb:  Jimmy had no control of the vomit as it rose from this stomach into his mouth.
  4. Efficacious - capable of having the desired result or effect; effective as a means, measure, remedy: A $24 million dollar settlement may not be efficacious in stopping the mistreatment of children.
I first thought the above paragraphs might be hidden deep in the guide, which might explain why many dentists at the dental mills don't seem to know about them.  I was wrong.  These few statements are on page 2.  The first mention of using a 'stabilization device' doesn't show up in the guideline until page 6 of the 8 page guide.

If any of you would like to learn more you can do so by clicking here.  I'm hoping when I look at the sign analysis, I will see hundreds of 'out clicks' leaving my site to this document.