Last week, I had my routine dental cleaning, and we discovered a cavity. And today, I had my cavity filled. The procedure wasn't too bad. In fact, it only took about 1 hour, including wait time. I've had a fair number of cavities in the past, mostly because I'm not very good about actually flossing my teeth on any regular basis. But, going through today's procedure and thinking back on my others, I had some observations for dentists that I'd like to mention.
First, Dr. Sanderson, my dentist, offered me headphones to listen to the radio while they worked. I love this. No, it doesn't drown out the loud drilling sound inside my head, but at least the noise wasn't deafening and I had something else to focus on. So, I suggest that all dentists take up this easy concept. The radio I used was probably $10 at any Radio Shack. A simple AM/FM job with an analog dial. Nothing fancy, but easily made my experience much more enjoyable.
Second, dentists should really think about the air flow in their offices. Particularly when drilling. The acrid smell of burning enamel really makes it hard to enjoy the experience. I have great confidence that Dr. Sanderson was doing the right thing and is supremely competent in her craft. However, when I smell something akin to those portable tar machines (the kind used to cover roofs), and that smell is coming out of my mouth... well, let's just say, that's not really a user-friendly moment. I don't know what one could do about it... but I really wish someone in the dental field would consider it. Maybe some air suction attached to the drill?
Third, in addition to the issue of the smell, dental assistants (sorry, i don't know the real name for the helpers in these procedures) should really focus on suctioning out the saliva. I mean, if you're taking something like a Dremel to my teeth, nothing short of geysers of saliva is my natural response. Since the dentist doesn't want that to interfere, get in there and get it out. Sure, someone was helping today by suctioning, but not nearly enough. And again, from a user-friendly point of view, nearly choking on my own saliva is a bad experience. And if it's not possible to suction out the saliva on a regular basis, take little breaks to remove the drill from my mouth and tell me to swallow. I'm completely willing to be commanded at that moment. But fighting the urge to swallow for fear of causing the drill to go somewhere it shouldn't... not very user-friendly.
Fourth, I know that I'm supposed to keep my tongue away from the drilling. In fact, I *want* to keep my tongue away lest I end up with a small hole in my tongue. However, there's a problem. Half of my tongue is completely numb. So, just tell me where to put my tongue and I'll do my best to keep it out of the way. My approach today was to touch the tip of my tongue to the cheek opposite the side being drilled. I don't know if this helped or not, but it was the best I could manage. But, I'm sure that the doctor could just tell me how and where to put my tongue to keep it safely aside. And I'd be more than happy to give it my all keeping my tongue aside.
After reading this, you may think I don't like my dentist. But nothing could be further from the truth. I've had several dentists in my life, and Dr. Sanderson is the best. Many if not all of the suggestions apply to every dentist I've ever seen. If you live in or around LA and need a good dentist, check out Helen Sanderson. She is awesome.
Yes, that's right... I'm giving thanks for butt paste.
Why you ask?
Well, butt paste, the kind from buttpaste.com, is perhaps the best solution to diaper rash ever. Aurelia recently got her first real case of diaper rash and we began our combat with Vaseline. However, we later learned that vaseline is the wrong thing to use because it keeps the area moist, which does not slow the rash. Instead you want to dry out the area as much as possible. And here, butt paste kicks... well... butt. We've only used it for a day and a half, but the results are remarkable.
So, the next time your kid has diaper rash, or you have diaper rash, give it a shot.
(And you thought this was gonna be some weird pornographic blog entry... dude, get your head out of the gutter ;)
I am a Democrat. I believe in most of the principles that the Democratic party advocates. I'd like to see the Democrats retake Congress and the White House.
However, I am very excited to see that Lieberman lost the Democratic primary to Ned Lamont. Why? Because Lieberman was a democrat in name only. Most of his beliefs dovetailed with the Republican platform more than the Democratic one. And his voting record reflects that. I actually respect Lieberman for voting the way he believed rather than blindly doing what his party said. But, I just don't believe what he believes.
So I'm glad that he lost.
Moreover, I'm glad that the online political blogosphere actually made something of a difference. I think it's really cool that bloggers and sites like MoveOn.org affected something more than just the rss feeds of people's inboxes.
After leaving yahoo, I dorked around for a while with my daughter... just clearing my head and staying away from computers. i found it really amazing how refreshing a 1 month hiatus from touching a computer can be. i still had business school and did some minor house projects, but i tried to stay away from computers for a bit.
Then, I ran into 2 old friends at a coffee shop and starting working with them on http://www.aboutmybaby.com. It's an online scrapbooking website that lets people post videos, photos and stories about their children, and lets visitors sign a guestbook, leave comments, and join a mailing list for site updates. I *love* working on this site for several reasons. First, I totally dig looking at pictures of my daughter. Yeah, it's narcissistic - and I don't really care. Second, it's fun to get back to basics on a website. Third, it's fun to be one of three, and the one who's doing the most work on it day-to-day. So I deal with everything from ordering hardware, to thinking of new projects, to coding backend stuff, to frontend css/js stuff.
If you have kids, check it out. It's a really cool site and I've personally found it a great way to share memories with my friends and family around the country.
Of course, you should also check out my daughter at http://aureliaviner.aboutmybaby.com.