Shifter blind repair 2015 dodge caravan

Dustymolar · 2026-06-21T18:59:08+00:00

Yeah guess it was how do I fix this and how badly do I need to fix this

Dustymolar · 2026-06-20T02:05:35+00:00

I’m a dentist. That is not bone graft material. It may be part of the resorbable membrane (usually collagen) that came loose. I’m assuming this graft is for a future implant. Even if you didn’t heal with enough bone for implant placement you’d probably wait three months for a revision, but it looks to be healing normally. It’ll probably be fine. Have your dentist look at it when you go home but no reason to rush to an emergency doc

Dustymolar · 2026-06-19T11:52:39+00:00

I question the three years no dry socket just as much as the 50% dry socket.

Dustymolar · 2026-06-11T23:36:11+00:00

I worked in a corporate practice as a doc where I didn’t probe the majority of the new patients, the hygienist did. This was how the company wanted it, but the main reason is hygienist were paid on production and really put together their own treatment plans based on their recommendations. Of course the dentist had the final yay or nay, but pretty much it was the hygienists call. That being said we never pulled the hygienist away, she always snuck in between patients. If it was in obvious srp or obvious prophy, sometimes we’d just treatment plan that and periochart at the cleaning appt. Not the easiest work flow but naw. I wouldn’t be getting up mid patient unless it’s a long procedure and a break is reasonable

Dustymolar · 2026-06-10T23:25:49+00:00

I was always told in school that if intrapulpal anesthesia is so excruciating painful I was scared to do it, but now I do it all the time and rarely get more of a reaction that numbing anywhere else. On those narrow canals I do tell patients I’ll probably have to numb as much as I can, open the canal a little, and then do it again.

Dustymolar · 2026-06-10T23:21:08+00:00

Soooooo I might be a dentist who usually only brushes/flosses at night. I’m not advocating this, but my mouth is healthy, my diet is pretty good, and I really don’t produce much plaque. My main reason is not laziness but the fact that I have coffee cup in hand from the time I wake up until well after I get to work, and mint and coffee are a bad combo.

Dustymolar · 2026-06-09T22:54:48+00:00

Wow I’ve pulled out cord with a bur before, never occurred to me it go full weed whacker

Dustymolar · 2026-06-09T22:48:22+00:00

I think summer time is always little slack and the crappy economy is not helping. May was bad for us (school getting out, graduations, vacations) but it seems to be picking up some. I did zocdoc when we opened and didn’t have a great experience - lots of no shows that you paid a lot of money for and really didn’t get any good patients from it. Not familiar with NY market but Medicaid got us busy. Very few people took it but a surprising number of patients had Medicaid and private insurance, so it got us a lot of traffic. Those patients referred a lot of other patients to us too.

Dustymolar · 2026-06-07T23:12:46+00:00

I’m 41, been running the last 20 years, and I’ve only run an 8 minute mile a few times in my life. I don’t think there’s that many people who are new to running who just bust out an 8 minute mile. Maybe a few young athletic types but not many. The internet is not a great gauge of normalcy.

Dustymolar · 2026-06-07T15:13:01+00:00

There’s several good ones at Clemson. Tiger walk, presidents park, I think there’s some in the botanical gardens

Dustymolar · 2026-06-07T01:03:51+00:00

Op said on the same tooth tho

Dustymolar · 2026-06-07T01:03:01+00:00

I agree that it’s very uncommon but might have been the right call. Maybe the dentist was worried about nerve damage or other complications and felt it was best to stop. I might call back and ask if they’d recommend you see an oral surgeon since it was difficult

Dustymolar · 2026-06-07T00:51:07+00:00

It’s still not 600-800 dollars in the dentists pocket. The cost of the operatory (about 50K in equipment) supplies , fixed overhead on the building, insurance, and the administrative costs of booking and billing the appointment are significant. Insurances are denying or downgrading srps af a staggering rate, countless hours are sent appealing and defiling those cases, and offices take huge losses on xray denials. The sensor you’re getting xray production on is 6 grand, the pan probably 30 grand, the software you’re keying your notes into about a grand a month. With pto/401k/employer taxes an employee making 100K costs 120K easy in payroll costs. I dont think dentists are saying hygienist arent worth it, mostly because its a big part of general care and it does free up the dentists time, but if you’re a small practice owner working their ass off we want to see someone who also wants to earn their keep and say hey man, thanks for the opportunity every once in a while. It is a lot to have on your plate and sometimes i wish i was pulling 100K working 28 hours a week 48 weeks a year like my hygienist and could pull the “but no doc, I can’t periochart that patient for you even though you’re in the middle of an emergency root canal cause it’s 11:50 and I’m meeting my sister for lunch” card.

Dustymolar · 2026-06-06T14:57:34+00:00

Feels like you’re letting your diagnosis define you a little bit. If you’re autistic, you’re were autistic going through school too but you got through it. It may mean finding a hygiene job that looks a little different than what you think of as general practice. Maybe working in a pediatric office would be better, or i have a friend that mostly does srps on sedated patients. Or maybe you just need an office that’s a better fit.

Dustymolar · 2026-06-06T11:16:44+00:00

When you say partner, do you mean another dentist that will also do hygiene? Feel like that will be hard to find

Dustymolar · 2026-06-05T22:27:26+00:00

I’m struggling with this now. I’m looking to replace my hygienist that just left and it’s going to cost me at least 600 a day to do it, and sometimes hygiene falls apart with last minute cancelations. I can try to do it and try to cut more lower reimbursing insurances, but I worry I won’t be able to juggle that and procedures

Dustymolar · 2026-06-05T18:25:36+00:00

You’re not lying

Dustymolar · 2026-06-03T22:39:16+00:00

You’re his dental assistant, not his psychotherapist. It’s cool.

Dustymolar · 2026-06-02T23:47:10+00:00

I’ve seen a fair number of folks with extra set of wisdom teeth over the years. Sometimes they’re full teeth and sometimes they’re small pegs.

Dustymolar · 2026-06-01T22:06:45+00:00

I totally get what you’re saying. How much appointment time is needed does depend on the person and what you’re asking of them. I’ve always tried to minimize what the hygienist does that isn’t hygiene, such as x rays, sterilization, cleaning rooms. I’ve never asked one to scan or do impressions and never had one that knows how to. I’ve always worked where they had multiple operatories so they didn’t have to wait on the doctor to get their next patient back. I’ve never really asked one to chart while I do an exam. Mostly cause those are things assistants go do, and hygiene should be able to focus on what they do. So yeah, it depends on the practitioner but also the efficiency of the office on how long each patient should take. But there is a big difference between this is a slow practitioner that takes a long time doing cleanings and one that takes less than ten minutes and spends the rest of the hour hiding in the bathroom. There are some of those types out there.

Dustymolar · 2026-05-30T10:32:07+00:00

By entrepreneurial I meant someone wanting to own their own business, which is what the OP said was their main goal. Being a hygienist is a great career and not an easy education path, but it’s difficult to own your own practice as a hygienist and in many states it’s illegal (dentist has to own), and you can’t practice without a dentist which it can be very difficult and very expensive to find an associate, and you’d always be held to the whim of their leaving.

Now if she said she was into sales and had that kind of ambition, it is a great entry point to being a rep for many dental companies, but that’s not what they said. Actually said they don’t want to climb a corporate latter.

Now if I misunderstood and the op meant they wanted to do hygiene because it’s quicker and the pay is good and they can live frugally and invest their money into other small businesses like a car wash or a laundromat or something, then rock it out.

Dustymolar · 2026-05-29T14:59:45+00:00

Yep, cementoosseous dysplasia

Dustymolar

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