ARE YOU INTO DENTISTRY?
by Jan Bellows, D.V.M.
Diplomate, American Veterinary Dental College
Diplomate, American Board of Veterinary Practitioners
"My last veterinarian didn't believe in dentistry" Believe in dentistry?
Its not a matter of belief, its a fact that veterinary dental care provides
significant benefits for our companion animal patients. Sounds odd that some
practitioners just aren't into dentistry for their patients. They may clean
and polish teeth periodically, but pay little or no attention to individual
tooth problems. Why are there believers and non believers when it comes to
dentistry? Why are some practitioners into it and others not?
Two years ago I was barely computer literate. We had our office computerized,
but I knew little about personal computers. The words DOS, AUTOEXEC.BAT, and
CONFIG.SYS were part of a foreign language as far as I was concerned.
Inorder to be more efficient I needed to learn. My education came though an
evening computer course on windows and word processing. I then purchased a
laptop and was on my way.
Animal dentistry in many ways is similar. Due to the void in most veterinary
schools, endodontics, periodontics, orthodontics, intraoral radiology are for
most practitioners, foreign concepts. Dentistry is scary to some, since many
fear what they do not understand. So what do you need? Desire, education
(the software), and the proper equipment (the hardware).
Education is available for the asking. Tackling dentistry as one large
subject may be overwhelming. Split it up into bite sized pieces (endodontics,
periodontics, orthodontics, oral medicine, oral surgery, radiology and
crowns) in order to make the education process less intimidating. There are
texts, videos, and interactive computer programs available. The American
Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians ( 800-613-3647) is dedicated to
teaching veterinary technicians how to recognize pathology and how to perform
a complete prophy. They certify veterinary dental technicians after passing a
700 question open book test. Our office offers hands on Sunday wet labs on
intraoral radiology, endodontics and extraction techniques (next one
scheduled for January 28, 1996 call 954-432-1111). During the education
process questions often arise. Feel free to call on us for answers.
Equipment is also easy to obtain. The essentials include high ,low speed
drills, and a air/water syringe. Such equipment does not need to be
expensive. Getting into dentistry can cost as little as $1500.00 or as much
as $10,000 for all the bells and whistles. The return on your investment
will be virtually immediate with increased patient service. Not having the
proper equipment does however creates a dilemma. When presented with cat
suffering from a feline erosive oral lesion, you need high speed drill
capability to properly care for your patient. Equipment can usually be
purchased on time payments which help.
Desire is the key to unlock the mysteries of dentistry. Better patient care
should be reason enough for any practitioner to want to improve dental
skills. Our client's pets do not need to loose their teeth at six years of
age because dentistry may have not been emphasized when younger. With a
enough desire to learn and equip yourself, dentistry becomes fun and
relatively easy.
Once again, making the analogy between computers and dentistry, my latest
adventure occured surfing on the internet. Just as in dentistry, it was a
scary uncharted territory for many. I avoided the World Wide Web. I was not
into the net. Then two months ago my desire peaked--it was time to dive in.
With a little education (thanks to my wife Allie) and some new software, I am
an active participant. As with dentistry there is a wonderment of new and fun
things to persue.
Getting into dentistry is a challenge. For most practitioners dentistry means
simply cleaning teeth. It can be much more. Start by evaluating each tooth as
an individual unit. If what you see doesn't appear normal ask yourself what
would it take to fix. Present your findings and suggestions to the pet's
owner. Once the client recognizes your dental expertise they will be
appreciative that you care so for their pet's total health care
Education, equipment, and desire are the keys--now its up to you.