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J

Joerg

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hello Mike,
I found a site that shows what it looks like. It's called Panorex and
gives a panoramic view to show the general condition of all the teeth. It
is usually taken every 5-7 years. Other types of X-Rays are needed for
more specific diagnosis. (The panoramic image is much larger and better
than shown here:)

http://www.dentalgentlecare.com/necessary_x-rays.htm

Pretty cool. Although it isn't new, similar units have been used for
diagnosing neck problems at least in Europe for a long time.

Regards, Joerg
 
M

Mike Monett

Jan 1, 1970
0
Joerg wrote:

[...]
Pretty cool. Although it isn't new, similar units have been used for
diagnosing neck problems at least in Europe for a long time.

Regards, Joerg

Yes, it's probably been around for a while. But as a typical engineer who
gets caught up in customer's problems, I haven't seen a dentist for a
<mumble>very long time</mumble>.

Mike Monett
 
J

Jim Thompson

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hello Mike,


Pretty cool. Although it isn't new, similar units have been used for
diagnosing neck problems at least in Europe for a long time.

Regards, Joerg

It was available here in Arizona at least 15 years ago.

...Jim Thompson
 
M

Mike Monett

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jim Thompson wrote:

[...]
It was available here in Arizona at least 15 years ago.

...Jim Thompson

They are definitely worth it. One site mentions a cost of $74. Another
site mentions a package of 12 smaller images at $20 ea. This would save
$166.

Besides being less expensive, they give a much clearer view. And you
don't have to put up with a dozen X-Rays.

Mike Monett
 
J

Joerg

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hello Mike,
They are definitely worth it. One site mentions a cost of $74. Another
site mentions a package of 12 smaller images at $20 ea. This would save
$166.

Besides being less expensive, they give a much clearer view. And you
don't have to put up with a dozen X-Rays.

Less expensive? Save? One xray is billed at $20 by my dentist and with
his long experience all he usually needs is one or two. Somehow this
reminds me of "modern" car diagnostic. Out of the blue you find a steep
"diagnostic fee" on the invoice so they can amortize all that expensive
computer gear. In the good old days an experienced mechanic could
listen to the engine and know what's wrong. All he needed was maybe the
equivalent of a stethoscope. Same with engineers. Many of my clients use
highly automated EMI analyzers to find problems. I usually use a simple
receiver. They are often faster...

Regards, Joerg
 
J

Joerg

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hello Mike,
Yes, it's probably been around for a while. But as a typical engineer who
gets caught up in customer's problems, I haven't seen a dentist for a
<mumble>very long time</mumble>.

That reminds me. Feeling a bit guilty now. Many years ago I finally went
to a dental cleaning after being urged by my wife. Afterwards the
hygienist said there is nothing wrong but that he considered this not a
cleaning but a gross debulking.

Regards, Joerg
 
M

Mike Monett

Jan 1, 1970
0
Joerg said:
Hello Mike,


That reminds me. Feeling a bit guilty now. Many years ago I finally went
to a dental cleaning after being urged by my wife. Afterwards the
hygienist said there is nothing wrong but that he considered this not a
cleaning but a gross debulking.

Regards, Joerg

Heh - if you haven't seen a dentist for a while, you might like to schedule a
visit while you are thinking of it. Before something else comes up and you miss
the chance.

When you get there, you have a choice. Now that you are getting older, there is
ample opportunity for hidden infection in the roots, even if you can't feel
anything now. So do you take one small X-Ray that shows a couple of teeth for a
total of 12 or so, or do you go for one big panoramic view of everything?
Remember, if you miss something, it *will* come back and bite you. You risk
losing some teeth if it gets too far.

So call while you still have some left:)

Mike Monett
 
I got scanned with such a camera back in 1968, at the Melbourne
University Dental Hospital - I'd got hit in the face with a (field)
hockey stick, which had knocked out one tooth and broken another, as
well as putting a racture line in the lower jaw.

Did give a nice panoramic picture ...
 
M

Mike Monett

Jan 1, 1970
0
I got scanned with such a camera back in 1968, at the Melbourne
University Dental Hospital - I'd got hit in the face with a (field)
hockey stick, which had knocked out one tooth and broken another, as
well as putting a racture line in the lower jaw.

Did give a nice panoramic picture ...

Bill sloman, Nijmegen

That was 2005-1968 = 37 years ago! I'm surprised the technology was that
advanced. You'd think it would require an excellent X-Ray source for
good resolution, fast film to get an image without frying the victim, and
good synchronization to keep the film advancing correctly. I'm impressed
they were able to do all that so long ago.

BTW, I hope your injuries healed OK.

Mike Monett
 
J

Jim Thompson

Jan 1, 1970
0
That was 2005-1968 = 37 years ago! I'm surprised the technology was that
advanced. You'd think it would require an excellent X-Ray source for
good resolution, fast film to get an image without frying the victim, and
good synchronization to keep the film advancing correctly. I'm impressed
they were able to do all that so long ago.

BTW, I hope your injuries healed OK.

Mike Monett

Ah, Now I understand... Sloman suffered fried brains... that explains
everything ;-)

...Jim Thompson
 
My impression was that the refinement was all in the mechanism, which
ran remarkably smoothly (as is obviously necessary).
At the time the professor of Oral Surgery and Dental Science was living
in the same graduate student accomodation as I was, and had was trying
out his (bad) system for re-implanting teeth on the one of mine that
had been knocked out, and he didn't see any necessity to boast about
the Melbourne department's panoramic camera, which suggests that it
wasn't ground-breaking technology at the time.

As far as the healing went, I didn't have any particular problems at
the time. The impacted fracture of the lower jaw was mildly painful for
the next couple of months, and left me with a slightly wider chin which
brought my facial proportions a little closer to the norm.

In the long term, the fracture line had opened up the lower jaw to
bacterial infection, and I had lots of root canal infections in the
lower jaw over the subsequent twenty years. This - combined with
British dentistry, which can be very casual - eventually cost me about
half the teeth in the lower jaw, and I'm now on my third lower partial
denture, which is working well.

I still play field hockey, but I wear a gum-shield for regular play
(which probably wouldn't have helped in the 1968 incident) and full
face mask an helmet when I play goalee (which I do whenever my team
plays in competitive games).
 
Once again, Jim Thompson finds a hypothesis to fit his prejudices. At
the time I'd finished the experimental work for my Ph.D and was deep
in the analysis of the results and starting to write the thesis. This
was a slow process, but it didn't get any slower while my jaw healed up
- I didn't need prescription pain-killers, though I did get through a
lot of Veganin in the first few weeks, and found that I would drink
more alcohol at parties (though I reverted to my normal - low - intake
when I noticed this).
 
M

Mike Monett

Jan 1, 1970
0
My impression was that the refinement was all in the mechanism, which
ran remarkably smoothly (as is obviously necessary).
At the time the professor of Oral Surgery and Dental Science was living
in the same graduate student accomodation as I was, and had was trying
out his (bad) system for re-implanting teeth on the one of mine that
had been knocked out, and he didn't see any necessity to boast about
the Melbourne department's panoramic camera, which suggests that it
wasn't ground-breaking technology at the time.

As far as the healing went, I didn't have any particular problems at
the time. The impacted fracture of the lower jaw was mildly painful for
the next couple of months, and left me with a slightly wider chin which
brought my facial proportions a little closer to the norm.

In the long term, the fracture line had opened up the lower jaw to
bacterial infection, and I had lots of root canal infections in the
lower jaw over the subsequent twenty years. This - combined with
British dentistry, which can be very casual - eventually cost me about
half the teeth in the lower jaw, and I'm now on my third lower partial
denture, which is working well.

I still play field hockey, but I wear a gum-shield for regular play
(which probably wouldn't have helped in the 1968 incident) and full
face mask an helmet when I play goalee (which I do whenever my team
plays in competitive games).
Bill Sloman, Nijmegen

Thanks, Bill. I'm sorry you had to go through all that, but your
experience may have helped me. I had two wisdom teeth pulled a while ago,
and everything should have healed by now, but something is still not
right. I think I'll make an appointment to go back to the dentist who
pulled them and see if he can figure what went wrong.

Mike Monett
 
B

Bob Stephens

Jan 1, 1970
0
Thanks, Bill. I'm sorry you had to go through all that, but your
experience may have helped me. I had two wisdom teeth pulled a while ago,
and everything should have healed by now, but something is still not
right. I think I'll make an appointment to go back to the dentist who
pulled them and see if he can figure what went wrong.

Mike Monett

I can empathize Mike. I had two wisdom teeth extracted on two different
occasions and both times one tooth healed up in a couple of days while the
other caused real agony for weeks. There's a condition called a 'dry
socket' where the healing flesh doesn't adhere properly to the bone,
leaving the nerve exposed and painful which in turn can lead to bone spurs
growing out of the gum which also hurt like a bitch. I would recommend
going back to the sadist^H^H^H^H^H^H dentist who pulled them until he gets
you healed up.


Bob
 
M

Mike Monett

Jan 1, 1970
0
Bob Stephens wrote:

[...]
I can empathize Mike. I had two wisdom teeth extracted on two different
occasions and both times one tooth healed up in a couple of days while the
other caused real agony for weeks. There's a condition called a 'dry
socket' where the healing flesh doesn't adhere properly to the bone,
leaving the nerve exposed and painful which in turn can lead to bone spurs
growing out of the gum which also hurt like a bitch. I would recommend
going back to the sadist^H^H^H^H^H^H dentist who pulled them until he gets
you healed up.

Bob

Thanks for the great news, Bob:)

Yes. If things don't improve this weekend I may go and see if he has any new
National Geographic magazines in the waiting room:)

Mike Monett
 
J

Joerg

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hello Mike,
Yes. If things don't improve this weekend I may go and see if he has any new
National Geographic magazines in the waiting room:)

Glad that you are in Canada. Over here there would be a card reader
instead where you are invited to generously swipe your card. Shortly
afterwards you'll hear a big slurping sound. A huge chunk of that goes
to the dentist's malpractice insurance carrier.

Regards, Joerg
 
M

Mike Monett

Jan 1, 1970
0
Joerg wrote:

[...]
Glad that you are in Canada. Over here there would be a card reader
instead where you are invited to generously swipe your card. Shortly
afterwards you'll hear a big slurping sound. A huge chunk of that goes
to the dentist's malpractice insurance carrier.

Regards, Joerg

We have similar problems. I believe Ontario pays 70% of a doctor's malpractice
premiums, so we all end up paying in taxes. But the rates are increasing so fast
doctors are retiring early, or moving to more profitable countries like the US.

So we now have a serious doctor shortage. If you move from one town to another, it
may be impossible to find a doctor who will take you. I moved from Ottawa several
years ago and have to rely on a local clinic that is overloaded and unqualified to
dispense anything more serious than aspirin and bandages. A new doctor is expected to
move nearby in August, and I'm on the waiting list to be one of his clients. I will
find out in September if I'm accepted.

I'm sure malpractice insurance is only a very small part of the picture, but Canadian
medical practice is in serious trouble. Many doctors and nurses are moving south. You
can listen for the number of people in white coats that say "Eh".

Mike Monett
 
C

Clifford Heath

Jan 1, 1970
0
At the time the professor of Oral Surgery and Dental Science was living
in the same graduate student accomodation as I was,

That would have been Peter Reid, who was living in "Graduate House".
He's still alive, living out Macedon way.

My father was a leading Melbourne orthodontist who stayed away from
Panorex shots for many years because he had a way of aligning the
lateral-oblique xrays to minimise distortion - but those can't show
undistorted front and side teeth inthe same shot. Despite the rather
high dosage required to take a Panorex (3 second exposure), he now
says that everybody should have one, just to see exactly what's
going on in every part of their mouth.

My first job as a computer programmer was in the Child Growth Unit of
the Uni of Melbourne, in 1981. We processed digitized tracings of a
library of xrays collected from 120 selected subjects every year to
their 21st, the unit having begun in 1952. Hate to think what their
xray dosage must have been - wrists, lateral and A-P skull xrays, and
some Panorex shots. My boss is still alive, I'm sure he'd remember
when the Panorex unit was acquired even though my father doesn't.

Clifford Heath.
 
Right - it was Peter Reid, who had separated from his wife, and had
found Graduate House to be convenient accomodation while he
re-organised his life.

The amusing thing about my Panorex scan was that it not only showed the
impacted facture at the front of the jaw, but also a recently healed
fracture in the condyles, which I'd never bothered doing anything about
- I'd had a hefty collision with another hockey player a few months
before, but I'd put the subsequent minor discomfort down to cartilage
damage, and thought no more about it. The medicos couldn't have done
anything useful about it any event.

This strikes me as a good example of the comprehensive information you
got from the Panorex scan ...
 
R

Robert Latest

Jan 1, 1970
0
On Wed, 15 Jun 2005 20:46:44 GMT,
Joerg said:
Wow. That is high tech.

Bog-standard method 25 years ago. I got several of those as a kid when
my teeth were all over the place.
Mine still uses the "hold this plate, please"
technology but he said it's fine for him. With root canals he has some
modern gizmo to see that the nerve is really dead.

They still do that for high-resolution images of single teeth. If we're
talking about the same thing, that is. I mean when they give you a small
plastic envelope with the film in it that you're supposed to hold inside
your cheek right next to the tooth in question.

robert
 
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