Got a tooth question? We have answers!
Hey, friends, I’m back. This time with a slew of questions from all of YOU about your teeth. Last Sunday on the radio broadcast we talked about dental topics – something I don’t do very often. I don’t talk about the teeth much because basically in medical school we learn exactly NOTHING about teeth. Happily, HCMC (the health care system that employs me) has a terrific group of dentists and oral surgeons.
On the show, we intended to talk about dental implants and other oral surgeries. Eventually, we did do this. But I, of course, had other insightful and probing questions for my guest (oral surgeon Louis Christensen) – questions like:
- “Why are they called ‘wisdom teeth’?”
- And maybe more to the point, “Did I get dumber when I had my wisdom teeth yanked out?”
I think the correct answer to the first questions is “nobody knows” and the answer to the second question is “Yes.”
Dental implants are really cool if you are a hockey player. Or even if not a hockey player.
Fortunately, listeners to the show had questions that were much more en pointe, as they say. We learned cool stuff from Dr. Louis Christensen (that’s him in the picture) who joined me early on a Sunday morning in the WCCO studios in downtown Minneapolis. He’s an oral surgeon who does surgeries not only on wisdom teeth, but he does dental implants, jaw reconstruction, face reconstruction (oh my!) and lots of other work to keep our teeth and faces in top shape.
As is often the case, though, we didn’t get to cover all the questions people had, so in this post we’ll try to answer some. If you missed the show, you may want to check out the podcast here. read more…
Dying too young
This has been a tough week as too many people have died way too early. I’m going to write a few thoughts about young lives cut short – one from my own life and one from the nation. No links to medical information, no medical advice, nothing funny and probably not too uplifting. I think I just need to make note of these young lives. Sorry it is a sad read. Just some reflections and a poem at the end. Thanks for reading. read more…
Coffee, WHO and You: the best news in a long time
OK, before I say one thing about this topic, we need to set the mood by playing this very short audio clip. Make sure the sound is turned up on your computer or mobile device and click the “play” arrow.
This is going to be epic:
Hallelujah! Yes, indeed, the medical community has determined that drinking coffee is not only probably not bad for you, it may actually be good for you.
Here I am celebrating (undoubtedly after having had a couple cups):
That news is proof of a divine being, I say.
