Request An Appointment Download Our Forms Leave a Google+ Reviews
Same-Day Appointments On Concord Pike in Fairfax, near I-95 & Route 141

Wahl Family Dentistry Blog

December 8, 2010

Defensive Dentistry?

Filed under: Uncategorized — tntadmin @ 9:15 pm

My last blog was accompanied by a painting of Washington and a photo of Lincoln.  The website host told me he didn’t want to include the images and instead substituted another image of Washington (and omitted Lincoln altogether) because he thought there might be a “copyright infringement” problem.  The painting of Washington was done by Gilbert Stuart — dead almost 200 years.  I doubt he’ll sue.  Besides, that painting is on the one dollar bill — it’s not like everyone doesn’t have access to it anyway.  The photographer of Lincoln has probably been dead over 100 years — he won’t be suing either.  Besides, what would the damages be?  It’s not like this blog is run for profit or that we get that many people visiting the website!

Sometimes it seems like we’re afraid of our own shadows!  It’s similar in dentistry and medicine.  There are physicians and dentists who practice “defensive” medicine and dentistry — that is they do what they think is best for the doctor (in the mistaken belief that it will prevent lawsuits) and not what’s best for the patient.  For example, antibiotics, which are prescription medications with potential serious side-effects, are often overprescribed in some patients before dental procedures as a preventive for heart infections.

Fortunately, the American Heart Association issued its latest statement in 2007 (http://jada.info/cgi/content/full/139/suppl_1/3S), and antibiotics are no longer recommended before dental procedures to prevent heart infections in most situations.  The few situations in which antibiotic prophylaxis is recommended include patients with artificial heart valves and previous history of endocarditis.

November 10, 2010

Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Dental Implants

Filed under: Uncategorized — tntadmin @ 9:36 pm

I’m reading the first volume Burlingame’s 2008 excellent biography of Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln: A Life. There is a lot of new information about Lincoln – or at least new to me.  Lincoln loved to tell funny stories, and he enjoyed relating a story about Ethan Allen, an American who was visiting England after the Revolutionary War between England and the United States.

Many of Ethan Allen’s English friends enjoyed making fun of the United States, and as a joke, one of them put a picture of George Washington in the outhouse. Ethan Allen didn’t say anything about it, so after a few days, he was asked if he had seen General Washington’s picture there. Allen said that he had seen it, and he thought it was an appropriate place for the picture. When asked why, Allen responded, “there is nothing that makes an Englishman s—t faster than seeing General Washington.” (more…)

September 13, 2010

One of my Favorite Hobbies is American History

Filed under: Uncategorized — tntadmin @ 3:39 pm

Oval Office, 1923 - CoolidgeMy father Dr. Mervin Wahl was the founder of Wahl Family Dentistry, and when he was born in 1923, Calvin Coolidge was president.  One of my favorite hobbies is American history, and I read a lot about it.  There are also some great television shows about American history, including on C-Span.  I’ve been watching the 1999 C-span presentation on Calvin “Silent Cal” Coolidge (http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/151626-1), who became president when Warren Harding died in office.  It is over 2 and 1/2 hours long, and it shows interviews with historians, museum curators, and President Coolidge himself (a re-enactor).  Many people underestimated Coolidge because he was so reticent.   Coolidge was actually a very interesting man and an excellent president.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

On the show “President” Coolidge (the re-enactor) said that he had the following poem on the wall of his house:

A wise old owl sat on an oak
The more he saw the less he spoke

The less he spoke
The more he heard

Why can’t we
Be like that bird?

Michael Wahl

August 17, 2010

Welcome to our blog! The skinny on sweets.

Filed under: Uncategorized — tntadmin @ 7:15 pm

Welcome to the WahlFamilyDentistry.com blog.  I (Michael Wahl) am new to blogging, but I hope that the dentists, hygienists, and staff at Wahl Family Dentistry can share some interesting and informative items with you about dentistry, our practice, and our patients.

There is an interesting article in yesterday’s New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/health/17real.html) showing that more important than large amounts of sweets eaten infrequently is better than small amounts eaten frequently when it comes to tooth decay.  The reason is that every time sugar is exposed to the bacteria in dental plaque, the bacteria releases the acids which cause tooth decay, and the acids last for about 30 minutes each time.  Better to have this acid exposure once than many times.  We know that almost everyone will eat sweets — the important thing is to brush and floss as soon as possible after doing so.

Michael Wahl

« Newer Posts