TTC_12_06_17_Vol.14-No.04.p1-12

December 6 - 12, 2017 www.TheTownCommon.com Page
Health & Wellness
By J. Peter St. Clair, DMD
One of my dental hygienists
recently informed me of a new
series on the Investigation
Discovery cable channel called
“Deadly Dentists”. Apparently
there are enough stories out there
about dentists to make a series.
I looked the series up online and
despite my pre-conceived notion
about what the content would be,
the first episode is about a dentist
who is killed by his wife’s boyfriend.
I’ll probably stick to watching the
Bruins and hope I am never in an
episode.
However, the title of the series
did remind me about stories of
people dying in the dental office
and how important it is to be ready
for medical emergencies. A couple
years ago I remember a dentist
who was charged in the death of
a patient in Connecticut after 20
extractions and implants placed
in the same visit. The patient was
sedated by a method many dentists
(general and specialists) use called
conscious sedation. It is a very safe
method of sedation that usually
combines a couple of different
oral medications. Since respiration
can be affected with conscious
sedation, it is vital to measure
Medicare open enrollment
brings the scammers out in full
force. This is the time of year
(until Dec. 7) to decide whether
to keep your current Medicare
plan or make changes to it. Even
though the deadline for making
changes might have ended by the
time you read this, scammers have
all kinds of tricks up their sleeves:
* They might try to tell you that
open enrollment runs through the
end of December.
Brighter Smiles...
oxygen saturation and have the
proper equipment and plan in
place in case of an emergency.
It took a year for the charges to be
filed against the dentist. Apparently,
the Connecticut State Dental
Commission initially found that
the dentist was practicing within
the standard of care and didn’t
immediately revoke his license.
The allegations now are that the
dentist ignored warning signs of the
patient and also ignored warnings
from staff members to continue on
with treatment.
Most people cannot fathom
having 20 teeth pulled and implants
placed all at one visit. However, it is
a relatively common procedure and
the service is growing. So, in case
you were wondering whether the
dentist was doing too much at one
time, the answer is that it depends
who you are doing it on.
“The commission also found
that [the dentist] should not have
attempted to perform so many
procedures on [the patient] in
one office visit given that her
medical history included a heart
attack six months before the visit,
two strokes within the last two
years and medication that could
have affected her response to the
sedation.”
Do we assume the dentist knew
about all these circumstances that
made this patient a high risk to treat?
Let’s assume the patient divulged all
necessary medical information. It is
up to the dentist to decide whether
to treat or refer to a specialist that
* Thieves might say that new
cards will be coming with a new
number (that part is true), but
that you have to pay for the new
card (that part is a lie). The card
is free.
* They might claim to be from
Medicare and say that you won’t
get your new card until you
can verify the number on your
existing card. They’ll expect you
to read them all that information
over the phone.
* If you pay your premium with
automatic Easy Pay, scammers
might try to tell you that your
banking information has to be
entered into the system because of
the new card, and that you need to
give them your bank information
Deadly Dentists
Senior Scene
Open Enrollment Scams
can provide more options for
sedation and monitoring of vitals.
It is essential for the provider and
the patient to go over medical
history and concerns in detail. The
best interest of the patient should
be the forefront of that discussion.
This same dentist also allegedly
violated care standards a year
before when another patient under
conscious sedation to have teeth
extracted inhaled a piece of gauze
that was intended to prevent things
from going down the throat. The
patient was rushed to the hospital
and recovered.
Both of these situations are
unfortunate. Many people were
affected and one life was lost.
While it is impossible to determine
a definitive decision based on the
information available, it will be
important for the dentist to show
proper planning and reaction to
incidents.
Medical histories are very
important. Make sure to report
The Town smile
What say Commo
about
does your
you?
Whether you are missing teeth or are unhappy with the
all information, including any
ones you have, it may be time to explore your options.
medications and supplements. And,
if you are a medically compromised
All Phases of Dental Care Including:
person and need significant dental
• Grinding/Clenching/TMJ Therapy
surgery, consider a specialist.
• Sleep Apnea/Snoring Treatment
Dr. St. Clair maintains a private
Learn More: www.stclairdmd.com
dental practice in Rowley and
Please call our office to schedule
a comlimentary 30-minute consultation.
Newburyport dedicated to healthcentered
family dentistry. If there
are certain topics you would like to
see written about or questions you
have please email them to him at
151 Central Street, Rowley | 978-948-2030
jpstclair@stclairdmd.com. You can
view all previously written columns
at www.stclairdmd.com.
again. If you don’t, they might say,
your payment won’t go through
and you’ll be late and you might
even have your Medicare cut off.
If you get any phone calls with
people telling you things like this,
HANG UP. They are scammers,
calling to get you to disclose your
personal information.
One other warning: Your
caller ID is no longer accurate.
Scammers have figured out how
to make any number show up,
even your local hospital or the
Medicare office. They might be in
a foreign country and make your
caller ID look like they’re calling
from next door. Beware, and be
very careful..
(c) 2017 King Features Synd., Inc.
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