Experience the Difference

Zig Ziglar once said that there is something that millions of Chinese schoolchildren can do that you and I can't. Namely, speak Chinese! That doesn't make them smarter than us, it just demonstrates that they have had different experiences than us.

Recently I was visited by a young adult from Minnesota who was interested in Invisalign. She had been to a dental school in Minn. in hopes of getting her teeth straightened, but was left undecided after hearing the differing opinions of the dentists at the school. There are many smart people teaching in professional schools, but there are as many different ways to approach dental problems as there are dentists.

After evaluating this young lady, I realized there was more to her problem than just straightening her teeth. The confounding situation for the dentists who had seen her before was that she had developed a compensating bite, commonly referred to as a "Sunday bite". She would push her lower jaw out forward so it looked like she had a better bite relationship than she actually did. Her teeth did not fit well together in this position, but because of having done this for so many years, her teeth didn't fit well together in a retruded position either. Consequently, she was getting headaches and jaw aches frequently.

From my experience, I know that orthodontic treatment could be the attempted treatment for this, OR it could seal the deal on capturing this problem for a long time. From my experience, I felt that she first needed to have her jaw joint and muscles neutralized and in harmony, and then her bite stabilized in some position before beginning Invisalign treatment.

Invisalign is on hold temporarily, and she has been started on NTI appliance therapy. I met the inventor of the NTI appliance Jim Boyd, DDS years ago while attending a dental conference with him in Hawaii. I remember Jim making this appliance for other attendees who had headaches daily. The next day at the seminar, these people were interviewed and explained that the majority of their headache and neckache problems had dissipated almost immediately.

Now, this NTI appliance is a good treatment, but not for all cases. Dentists still need the experience to know when it will help, or when it could cause more difficulty.

I recieved an email yesterday that our patient is having changes for the better almost immediately. She wore the appliance on her way home to Minn. while driving, and told her mother that she already was feeling positive differences. I'll see her again in a couple of months, and hopefully we can start to stabilize her bite and eventually get her the straight teeth she wants.

More later, as the story develops.

100% Government Free Health Care

I just read a linked story on CNN about the current health care debate. People out West in Big Sky, Montana stated that they were concerned about government intervention in their health care coverage. They didn't want government to get too involved in their own choices and care. One person interviewed was at a low-cost dental clinic stating that government intervention was bad. The interviewer elucidated the fact that the U.S. government was financing about 50% plus of the costs of the clinic.

Wait a minute! It's obvious that another idea needs to get more press. Since January of 2008, the Care Free Dental Clinic, Inc. has been in operation in Delta County, Michigan. We have provided over 350,000 dollars in free dental services to over 1500 patients. The population we serve are the uninsured, homeless, and low-income residents of our county.

The Care Free Dental Clinic is unique. There are no paid employees. Rent, heat, and lights are donated. We don't even have a phone. The clinic is staffed by community volunteers. Eleven dentists donated their time to keep the clinic staffed for two half days every week. About 50 volunteers comprised of dental assistants, receptionists, and dentists work together to the common goal of serving others. "Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others." is our motto.

Funding for the clinic is by private and individual donations. We have an annual fund raiser which raises much of the money for materials and disposables. Every dollar of money coming into our clinic goes directly to patient care. Our local St. Vincent DePaul Society has housed the clinic since its inception, and is presently adding on two new rooms for our clinic expansion.

Now, if this simple but effective clinic has demonstrated our community's ability to care for its own, why can't the idea spread to other areas. We know it can! It will take time. It will take good people. It will take miracles, but it can come to fruition. This idea is certified 100% Government Free. Pass it on.

We The People must be the answer to our own problems. Let's not wait for someone else to take care of us. Let's not wait for someone else to solve the problem. Let us do as our forefathers did and take ownership for our own problems. Encourage others around you to get involved. Keep an open heart and mind when people around you try to do good for others. Donate to a cause. Your monies will come back ten times to you.

Share this miraculous, encouraging story with others. Please forward this to your friends in the hope it may inspire someone else to join in the fight to continue our independence from government intervention. Together we can care for each other, save our American way of independent living, exercise the freedoms we are so blessed to enjoy, and not just sit back and wait for someone else to throw small coins into our laps.

We are also encouraged by the possibility that our potential Surgeon General is aware of the power of volunteerism. (Read also: Sherpa Nell.) Dr. Regina Benjamin has also given selflessly of herself in tending to the needs of her patients in Alabama, many times donating her services.

For further information on the Care Free Dental Clinic, Inc. or to learn how you can help support the growth of clinics like this, contact Paula Jacobs, R.N. at pjacobs@hughes.net.