One of my most important patients is a 3-year-old female, my granddaughter, Sophie. I even make house calls for her! During a recent house call, she announced she wanted to play “hospital” with her father. She examined him and diagnosed “red spots.” Later, she wanted to play this with me, and she once again diagnosed “red spots.” I asked my son if she ever diagnosed anything else. He said the only diagnosis she knows is from her own experience with some red spots she had – Roseola. Essentially, she cannot diagnose anything other than what she already knows about.
Many of us have heard the expression, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” This was very clear in my experience with Sophie, but I’m sure many of us have seen this with our fellow professionals. We may even smile when they relate a problem they are having with a case, and gladly provide them with the answer to their conundrum. Yet, at the same time, we should be aware that there certainly is more knowledge out there for us to learn, either through education or experience.
We gain a lot of knowledge beyond what we learned in dental school through practicing temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and sleep disorder dentistry. Knowledge through trial and error seems free. But, from my own experience, that becomes pretty frustrating.
Trial and error may seem free at first, but there is a lot of time wasted in getting to where you want to go without a map. Maps are usually made by someone who has already been there. Our educational sources of knowledge such as books, journals, and lectures are like maps, but they are not free. The cost for producing publications or presentations is high, and those costs have to be passed on, just as in a dental practice.
Since you are reading this, you have made a decision to spend money to obtain more knowledge about temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and sleep disorders. That was a wise decision. While dental association journals might be a part of your required dues, they usually do not provide regular information on TMJ and sleep disorders. CRANIO is specific to your needs through many varied articles to help you obtain more knowledge.
Many professionals have always appreciated CRANIO’s standard of allowing the varied treatment philosophies to participate in its publication. This not only has allowed more of us to be educated on the different philosophies but also has allowed all philosophies to have a platform. While it can be comforting to only be surrounded by others whose thoughts are the same as ours, it is good to be aware of the philosophies others follow and why they do what they do.
Typically, a commercial endeavor will restrict information to what they themselves believe. CRANIO is a prime example that this is not always the case. As you read your CRANIO journal, I suggest you read all of the articles and not just the ones you feel agree with your own philosophy. You may not agree with everything written, but I think you will learn something of value. Of course, I feel you should always read the Book Review section. Not just because that is my section, but because the topic varies with each issue and will give you an idea of what you might gain from the books that are covered.
Reading of varying philosophies will help you in your own treatment philosophy in treating your own patients. It will help you understand your fellow TMD and sleep dentists, and you may even become friends. Doing this will allow us all to share knowledge as well as camaraderie, and we might all then be able to diagnose more than just “red spots!”
International Association of Physiologic Aesthetics, Riverside, CA, USA
CRANIO Book Review Editor
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