Words of wisdom

Back to work at the Empire State Building today (aka dental hell centre) where we are into week 3 of no steriliser. So back to pounding up & down the stairs to get stuff autoclaved. I've been promised its return for next week....watch this space!

Other than that its been a good day. Most of the patients have been before so it was nice to see them again. Nicer still that they expressed genuine dismay when I said I probably wouldn't see them again as my locum stint will have ended before they are due again.

I met a new patient this afternoon; she attended with her husband who acted as translator as she didn't speak any English, though I suspect he embellished quite a lot of what I was saying!
To be fair, he was genuinely concerned about her gum health; so much so he insisted on taking photos (before, during and after treatment) so he could show her when they got home.
This went down like a lead balloon with the poor lady; despite me not speaking her language I could hazard a pretty good guess what she was telling him, based on her gesticulations (I think it ended in 'off').

I wouldn't usually discuss patients (for confidentiality reasons) but he came out with a cracking analogy; one which I will use in future. It's also the reason for today's photo.
We were discussing tooth brushing. He said he's told his wife it's like cleaning the bathroom tiles; you can clean the tiles and they will be shiny, but its the grout in between that collects the dirt & bacteria.
Genius!!
It is so true! So many patients neglect the spaces in between their teeth, thinking that brushing alone is enough and it really isn't.
I'm looking forward to seeing her again in a few weeks time, if she follows my Hubby's advice she will feel like she has a whole new mouth!