So alright, you win. It was the movie.

And admit it; you guys probably have some innocent guilty pleasures just like me. Stuff like chocolate, purses, shoes, cigars; or maybe even flossing, or something totally cool…like USC football.

Don’t know about you but I don’t necessarily need any company when I’m indulging. Especially when I’m watchin’ Trojan road games or going to Michael Moore movies.

Why am I such a fan of Moore’s stuff? There are times when I’m practically positive I think Moore is awesome just because most of my molar jockey brethren can’t stand him (that alone is better than any fish oil or load of amino acids for my heart and soul.)

There’s more. I’m at least open to Moore’s views most of the time and again, that could just be my basic, usual, and customary anti-conservative DDS reflex. But I do have to admit I like the guy’s audacity; he’s totally fearless. Fearless enough to pull an armored truck up to AIG’s double-doors and ask for the Bailout money back. Audacious enough to surround all of Wall Street with yellow crime scene tape and reassure the Gordon Gecko wannabes inside, “You’ll like Federal prison; it’s a nice place.”

So how in the world does someone who graduated from conservative USC become an ardent fan of Michael Moore? I guess maybe the avocado doesn’t fall too far from the SoCal tree.

Moore didn’t go to college and I went mostly on my Dad’s check from the Teamsters Union. Moore’s Dad supported a family with a union job and gave his children advantages he never had. My dad had twice my brains and never had the educational opportunities he gave me. I bet Moore’s Dad never turned away from folks down on their luck; I know my Dad didn’t.

It might just be me, but Capitalism: A Love Story seemed more like a tribute to whom we used to be more than a sarcastic reference to what we’ve become im Moore’s eyes: a Facebook Fan Page where we fall in love with the concept of being the 1% that has more than 95% of the rest of us all put together.

So do we really want what the B of A and Wal-Mart have become? Do we really want to profit from the death of co-workers and cynically refer to company-owned life insurance as “Dead peasants” policies? Or do we want to send our best science/math students to Wall Street “derivatives” grad school where they can bet we lose our mortgage and hedge that bet by betting against themselves?

The movie’s not about the “S” word. Moore’s concern is that capitalism (more accurately a plutocracy) is causing us to lose sight of democracy. During the last several decades, Moore sees only one surviving American value: Money. Humanity, responsibility, and compassion seem to be fading fast.

By the time the credits are rolling, it’s clear that Moore is anything but maybe the only living lifetime NRA member/Socialist. Instead, Moore comes off as an unrepentant, modern day FDR-admiring New Dealer inspired by the possibilities of a restored democracy fueling opportunities for everyone, including hard-working Americans in the survival mode. And Moore sees the steady decline of unions and the country’s current dilemma as no coincidence.

I’m pretty sure my Dad would agree. And I may be a Trojan molar jockey but I still have my Teamster withdrawal card.

And I also totally realize it was only a couple of weeks ago that I last went on and on about insurance. But that was before I got jumped on the Internet. And I didn’t even call the other guy a bruin.

I’m proud to be part of an awesome E-mail network comprised of leading-edge dentists throughout the country and I love participating. Of the truly engaged component of our Molar Jockey Internet crew, about 80% would probably fist pump Rush (some are on a first name basis) if he were only a little more conservative and slightly more self-expressed. Sometimes it gets a little weird.

After spending way too much quality time on the network I actually start getting kind of paranoid. Suddenly, I’m looking for Socialists everywhere. On TV, in my gym bag, even behind the crummy fence lining TC’s “The Piazza (coming soon.)”

Seems like government doing anything these days is Socialism. And I guess if you’re one of the 47 million with no health insurance or one of 25 million with not enough insurance maybe you’re looking for some “security” or “safety” wherever you can find it. Think you’ll find relief from caring, sympathetic insurance companies? In the health insurance industry, relief is spelled P-R-O-F-I-T.

Between 2000 and 2007, the top ten health insurance companies increased profits by 428%, mostly because they could. Premiums for employer-provided health insurance (that’s me) have doubled since 2000. Even in dentistry, the annual maximum benefit that was $1000 in 1971 remains $1000 today in spite of inflation that makes everything 7-8 times more expensive now than almost 40 years ago.

So I dunno; some key reasons I’m a healthcare provider today and an employer who provides full health insurance for my co-workers go to my public school education K-12 and later at Cal State LA. And without my “socialized” education I could easily be one of some 72 million folks who are one banana peel away from losing everything. As it is, I’m just another small businessman ensured of getting hosed by insurance.

Maybe I’m crazy but the public sector was there for me when I wanted an education. The private sector dropped my worker’s comp coverage after 15 years because a dental assistant hit her elbow on a counter top while cleaning up a treatment room.

Funny thing is, not having dental insurance actually keeps folks away from the dentist when the tab for x-rays and exam are the investment equivalent of a microwave oven. And the preventive value of a visit to the dentist can be tens of thousands of dollars in terms of quality of life and even years of life.

So part of dealing with healthcare is being responsible and doing what you know you oughta do to take care of yourself. We’ve worked to encourage folks by offering complimentary x-rays and exam (or if there is dental insurance coverage, a rebate of similar value for future care.) Now if we could just get a similar commitment from a few health insurance companies. Or maybe some decent competition and competitive prices.

But see ya; gotta run. I’m off to the public 210 and the public driving range; might even listen to some public radio coming from public Pasadena City College on the way. Just hope I’m not getting a lesson from some freakin’ socialist golf pro…

Without Trojan football, I’d probably kick the cat and that’s no good because I don’t have one. And without Salute to Troy, I probably couldn’t get through August and everyone else’s vacations…or even last weekend.

And you try writing this column every week for going on twelve years and see how you like it. I have this ritual where I write the thing the Friday before the Wednesday deadline, the actual column coming out on the following Monday. Like I said, you try figuring out the method to that madness.

This Friday was totally out of the question because it was bookkeeper visitation day. No way to be even slightly creative when someone is interrupting you every five minutes reminding you how much it costs to be a dentist (“Was this bill for marketing or continuing education or equipment? Is this for Worker’s Comp; thought you paid that one with the really big one you send into Anthem for everyone’s health insurance? Is this a new consultant or is it the old one with a new company name?“)

Back in the Day, when ole Mel Gibson used to ride a horse and paint his face all blue just like some re-caffeinated Seahawks fan a few years before he bought Malibu, didn’t he used to scream something all the time? Wasn’t it something like, “FREEDOOOMMM!!!“? Bet he meant freedom from insurance.

Never thought I’d say this but Mel, I understand.

Oh, Friday also means a chance to go across the street to the bank and squeeze in one final deposit for the week. Imagine my elation on seeing six insurance envelopes in the mail. Imagine my dismay when the contents of the six messages from the folks in the tall buildings Downtown revealed payment delays, a missing detail, or the lack of coverage for a given procedure. Not a single check.

And Friday, at least three different people told me they don’t go to the dentist because they don’t have insurance. Hmmm, I was wondering if that was sort of like living forever because you don’t have any life insurance.

When I finally made it to Friday night CNN, I saw a bunch of knuckleheads calling the President a Nazi because he wanted to mess with health insurance. Thought maybe they had him confused with the guy who wire-tapped citizens, tortured folks, and invaded a sovereign nation posing no threat to the U.S. But let’s leave the past in the past.

Turns out, the leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S. is a health-related catastrophic event. Turns out, half those bankruptcy folks have health insurance; just not enough.

Friday night, I tossed and turned, somewhat stressed over my concerns for another fat monthly check due to Anthem Blue Cross, team members ill or on vacation, and the uncertainty of unchartered economic waters.

But on Saturday, I took a mega-dose of life’s best medicine. And what else would you call exercise, laughter, and the company of friends and family? Did I leave out the Salute to Troy, another year of USC Trojan football domination, and a whole fall season of Saturdays that take you back to being a kid again?

And a few days in the sun…with absolutely no thoughts of freakin’ insurance.

My Dad was diagnosed with diabetes at age 50; he had had no obvious symptoms. The elevated blood glucose level showed up in a blood test taken during a check-up. Dad immediately transformed his diet; couldn’t possibly have been more compliant. Never saw Dad drink another cold one; good thing he wasn’t allergic to salmon and vegetables.

When Mom was diagnosed with the disease in her late-70s; she had loads of symptoms. In a health care/gender role reversal, Mom almost had to be dragged to an appointment with a physician. By the time Mom finally agreed to a visit, we nearly had to carry her in.

Dad enjoyed going to the dentist the way I enjoy Bruin football. In fact, one story has it he once sneaked out of a waiting room on hearing some distressing sounds coming from some poor soul receiving dental care nearby…and no, it wasn’t my office. Dad died of a heart attack a couple of months after I opened my practice here in Temple City, just one year into his retirement. We never did get around to even an exam and x-rays.

My Mom loved going to the dentist. After an early debate over Mom’s vision of ideal painless care with no local anesthetic (a rare debate I actually won) and some early fillings, Mom pretty much cruised through the next 15 years or so with no cavities or gum problems.

Mom didn’t walk anywhere up until about age 75. She ran. Mom used the Diabetic Diet way before she’d ever heard of it. Dripping wet, my 5-foot tall Mom never weighed more than 100 pounds. Up until diabetes-related neuropathy, mini-strokes, and progressive kidney failure, Mom could have danced teenagers off the floor.

A diabetes symptom I happened to pick up during a dental check-up explained my finding Mom with a whopping totally out-of-character 13 cavities. The cavities had resulted from “dry mouth,” an oral condition common with diabetes.

An even more common oral condition is periodontal disease (or gum and bone disease.) It’s estimated that 80-90% of people with diabetes also suffer from periodontal disease. Diabetes has a major impact on the ability of small blood vessels to facilitate the flow of nutrients to and removal of waste from body tissue. The result is tissue that doesn’t effectively heal.

So it’s bad enough that periodontal disease is a leading cause of tooth loss. For diabetics, the worse news is periodontal disease makes controlling diabetes even more challenging. And I often wonder about my Dad’s periodontal risk. Could proper diagnosis, continuing care, and consistent monitoring of possible periodontal disease have made a difference?

The irony is both diseases have so much in common. Diabetes and periodontal disease are both chronic and episodic; they’re managed not cured. Both diseases have an insidious onset but can easily, painlessly be diagnosed by objective numbers; and both have been proven to be connected to other health challenges such as heart disease and stroke.

If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, seeing your dentist is a must. And as in my Mom’s case, 6.3 million Americans suffer from the disease without the benefit of a timely visit to a physician and a diagnosis.

Please be responsible and see your physician and dentist. The statistical consequences for unmanaged periodontal disease alone equal about seven years of life expectancy and untold years of life quality.

So just do the right thing.

I’ve seen the dentalese approach practically put folks into a deep trance.  Patients just sit there absently nodding with eyelids aflutter hoping somehow I’ll finally stop verbalizing so they can escape.  But these days my dental assistants do a good job keeping me on track (Singing Dental Assistant Kolleen just points to her watch while Dental Assistant Extraordinaire Dani prefers a more dramatic Sicilian hand gesture.)  And I guess if I hired on assistants to support me in every aspect of life I’d have more friends and fewer broken tennis rackets.  But I digress.

So what sort of choice would you make if someone sporting a white lab coat told you that you had a little gum infection and the solution was a series of deep cleanings?  Can we hear a little traveling music?

“A little gum infection” sounds like something almost cuddly.  I start thinking maybe my cutting back on cute little candy figures should do the trick.  Since most folks will listen for basically what they want to hear, many tune out after hearing “a little.”   Besides, things seem way out of proportion when a slight infection warrants multiple deep incursions around the ole choppers.  And what about the consequences of doing nothing?

Believe it or not, dentists can be normal folks just like you.  Really.  We hate dishing out bad news and we enjoy being liked.  And often this totally human approval addiction gets smack in the way of good care.

The solution is as simple as asking for a cookie.  Today, you’re more likely to hear your dentist or hygienist actually ask permission to describe any clinical discovery that falls outside the parameters of health. 

So if your gums bleed when you brush, you have an infection.  If any other body parts bled on touching, would you describe the concern as “little?”

When a diagnosis includes the words “infection” or “disease” its time to be adult describing the concern and the consequences of inaction.  And it’s totally appropriate to be hopeful about the prospects of predictably positive treatment results.

“After examination, we’ve measured infection and inflammation in the tissues that support your teeth.  Infection of the gums and bone around your teeth is called periodontal disease. 

Without the appropriate care, periodontal disease is a leading cause of tooth loss.  Today, research is showing a strong link between oral and general health.  Periodontal disease has possible connections with heart and lung disease, diabetes, and low weight premature births.  The disease is a bacterial infection transmissible within the mouth and between individuals.  And folks who manage the disease (that is chronic and episodic much like diabetes and hypertension) live an average 7 years longer than those who don’t.

The good news is the care is personalized and gentle.  Early diagnosis produces predictably positive results. Today, improvements like laser and ultrasonic technology add a lot of finesse to our approach; our patients do great and they’re always in control of their own comfort.  Early to moderate disease is almost always treated non-surgically.  Does all this make sense?  Is there any reason we shouldn’t begin care and treat the infection?”

Insurance tends to pick up most of the tab on preventive and/or diagnostic care like exams, x-rays and first trips to the hygienist.  And the cost of the same care without insurance is way less than a trip for two to the Clippers or being hauled down from behind by “Panch and John” while cruisin’ down Las Tunas.

Next trip to the dentist, listen for what’s going on, what the consequences of inaction are, and what the solution is.  If the solution sounds worse the condition, look for a second opinion.  

I realize oral cancer gets its share of space around here and I was a little concerned about my maybe just going through the motions. I think I was also feeling self-conscious about being repetitious or perhaps just a bit short on material.

When I started out writing for the Weekly I really didn’t like my chances for coming up with a topic every single week. I wondered exactly what was in store for the readers after about Week Eight. I soon developed a routine or ritual where I would go see a movie Friday afternoon and then write the article. Something about being moved by what I saw on the big screen (if I wasn’t moved, I rented a favorite that would do the job) inspired me to look at the past week with a fresher perspective. This morning was sort of like Week Seven…until I remembered a certain video.

Back in early 2001 I had the opportunity to listen to baseball Hall of Fame announcer Joe Garagiola speak about major league baseball and one ugly aspect of its culture. Joe was speaking to about 2,000 dentists and dental team members, asking for their help in creating greater awareness of oral cancer and its link with smokeless or spit tobacco. Joe was very passionate in communicating his vision of preventing a deadly cancer that had claimed the lives of friends and former teammates; he definitely had our attention. Then he played a video.

The video I first saw almost 5 years ago and then again this morning is called “Tragic Choice: The Bob Leslie Story”.

The 10-minute film begins with Bob Leslie sharing his boyhood thoughts regarding what it would take for him to grow into an athlete and a strong, capable man. A 12 year-old Leslie was fascinated by the round tin container most major leaguers carried around in their uniform back pocket. A young Bob Leslie always wondered, “What is it? What’s in there? Is it the difference?”

Bob Leslie began using spit tobacco when he was only twelve and continued using it into his mid-20s. Couldn’t have been that bad; back in the ‘80s, marquee professional athletes actually endorsed the stuff on network television. Besides, Bob was an athlete and the picture of clean-cut wholesome health.

Five months after quitting spit tobacco, Leslie, then a high school baseball coach, was diagnosed with oral cancer. A lesion was discovered inside his lower lip and in the exact location where he had held his spit tobacco for 14 years. Bob, who had married his high school sweetheart; was diagnosed with oral cancer just before learning he was going to be a dad.

The treatment for oral cancer can be extremely invasive and disfiguring. In Bob Leslie’s case, it meant the removal of his chin and lower teeth. When asked by Garagiola about when he was most aware of his cancer, Leslie replied, “…when I wake up in the morning I realize it’s still there. When I look into the mirror…” He added, “At night… when I look over at my wife, I wonder just how many more times this will be possible.”

When the invasive surgery was performed a second even more crushing diagnosis followed. The cancer had grown out into tissue and up through a nerve to the base of Bob’s skull and brain. On hearing the bad news Leslie put in calls to friends and family asking for their support in helping his wife and daughter after he was gone. Bob Leslie was 27.

Bob was thankful for the 6 months he’d shared with his new daughter; he was committed to making a difference for others; he was determined to help save some lives. Working with Joe Garagiola, Bob made a video. Dare you to watch it.

After surviving several painful years, Bob Leslie died some 5 months short of his 32nd birthday.

I keep seeing the image of Bob Leslie as the 12 year-old who wanted to be a major leaguer. I wonder how many of us could have been Bob Leslie?

Oral cancer is serious stuff. Bob Leslie died within 5 years of diagnosis; the 5-year survival rate of about 50% for oral cancer is less than that of breast cancer, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer. Oral cancer is the only cancer not to decline in its incidence over the last 40 years. One American dies of oral cancer every hour. 25% of the 30,000 Americans diagnosed with oral cancer every year do not smoke, drink alcohol excessively, or use spit tobacco. In the U.S., only 14% of the population knows they’ve ever had an oral cancer exam.

Even though we don’t think of Southern California as a place where people use spit tobacco, some personal connection is made each time I speak and most of the time when I’m just doing an oral cancer exam in the office. Feel free to call for information any time.

So I’m not talkin’ about Old-Time Rock n Roll or even the yucky HAZMAT breed of biomechanics that grosses out most of us non-medical specialists. But I just did have an SAT flashback even though back in The Day I didn’t even know I was taking The SAT when I was taking it.

Anyway, I’m just talking about teeth.

So most of us know teeth can be risky business; some of us know the hard way. Here’s the thing; please don’t feel so guilty about having a track record of tooth decay and fillings that seem to expand in size every time the Trojans mop up on the Bruins.

Okay, you win. You can feel guilty if you’re not trying and you know better. And sometimes guilt is good for you; just ask my Sicilian traveling production manager, Aunt Clara.

But getting cavities and suffering from tooth decay is mostly the outcome of our lack of resistance to disease. And yeah, it’s okay to think of tooth decay as a disease. Not being able to stop shoving Jolly Ranchers into your pie hole is not a disease; armies of aggressive bacteria using sugar as a medium to produce acid that will rot away weakly resistant enamel is a disease. Tooth decay, when it comes right down to it, is a bacterial infection. And some folks are more vulnerable to the infection than others.

Doesn’t it make sense to figure out who’s at risk sooner rather than later? Once dentists can assign a degree of risk to a particular oral health challenge, we’re better able to personalize care and make the care more preventive than interventive. Shucks, my world-famous continuing education guru, Seattle’s Doc Kois actually says stuff like, “No dentistry is as good as no dentistry” (And to think I pay Dr K 5Gs a pop to figure out how to best restore broken down teeth and mouths.)

The message is materials and approaches for restoring damaged teeth have made the restorative experience far less invasive than in the past. And the earlier significant tooth decay risks are identified, the more effectively we can follow the natural design of our enamel-coated chewing body parts. Kind of like the dentistry version of “keepin’ it real.”

Today, systems exist that can measure risk before tooth decay disease has even started. One particular technology, the Carifree system, takes only a few minutes in the office to quantify risk. Clinically, the experience is pain free and involves swabbing plaque off two different tooth surfaces. Carifree can even be used to measure risk in infants. The cost of the screening is less than the cost of one filling.

We can also detect risk for tooth decay just by studying patterns. If someone has active tooth decay or has had a history of tooth decay on the smooth enamel surfaces between teeth, we know there’s an increased risk. And we’re all at greater risk as we age and produce less saliva. Reduced saliva flow is also a common side effect of numerous medications.

Folks with a higher risk for tooth decay can receive fluoride in any number of ways and increase their cavities resistance. And we know the sugar substitute Xylitol potentiates the anti-bacterial capability of fluoride. Antimicrobial rinses help. Oral hygiene instruction and heightened monitoring are musts. Plus today, laser technology helps us detect tooth decay at very early stages.

So don’t feel guilty…unless you don’t stop by for a quick risk analysis from your dentist.