When Receiving Medical Care, Question Authority

There are several positions popular among the medical establishment that exist only to line the pockets of practitioners. As a consumer of medicine, you should be aware of the most common ones.

Dentists often make the recommendation that young children receive orthodontic care (braces). This generates income for dentists. Does it benefit people? The argument put forward by the dental establishment is that straight teeth are prettier than crooked ones and easier to clean. Alright, this may be true in a severe case of crooked teeth. What about teeth that are just a little crooked? There may not be much difference, from an aesthetic point of view, with perfect teeth. Use your judgment, not the dentist's.

In order to save my parents money and myself trouble, as a boy, I opted to go without braces, which meant I had to say "No" to at least a dozen different dentists from the age of ten on up to my present advanced age. I was always made to feel reckless, short-sighted and unscientific. Even my mother thought I should have braces, because "everyone else gets them."

I do not regret skipping braces one bit. While orthodontics may help in severe cases, in others, it handicaps a child unnecessarily with an ugly and cumbersome apparatus, and handicaps the parents with a financial burden. I am glad I didn't suffer through that unnecessary, costly cosmetic surgery.

Here are the essential truths about dentistry, which if you learn well, will prevent most dental problems in life, whether you have slightly crooked teeth or not. In dentistry, as in most aspects of life, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

ON BRUSHING. Just brush once a day before going to bed (not three times a day like dentists advise, knowing full well that working people cannot and will not do that), but brush thoroughly the sides, back and front of all of your teeth, being careful not to brush so hard that you harm your gums in any way. If your gums are sore the next day, ease up. Brushing before bed is excellent, because during that seven hour period while you are lying in bed, plaque has less chance to attack your enamel. Do not, I repeat, not brush your tongue. I have heard the urban myth about brushing the tongue a hundred times, often from highly educated, intelligent people who should know better. Brushing the tongue to prevent tooth decay is a complete fallacy and will only make you dread brushing the more. Yes, your tongue looks dirty. Too bad. Get over it. Your tongue will never win a beauty prize, but your teeth will be just fine.

ON FLOSSING. Floss thoroughly. If you simply slip the floss between each of your teeth once, you are not doing an adequate job. Pull the floss close against each side of each tooth, and continue flossing each tooth until the floss no longer brings up food, plaque or any other material. By doing so, you not only remove food, but massage your gum tissue, improving circulation and reducing the frequency of gum bleeds. In the beginning of a thorough flossing regime, expect your gums to bleed. Is bleeding bad? Yes, but don't worry about it unless the bleeding continues for ten minutes after flossing. In most cases the minimal bleeding can be ignored. Bleeding is a sign of weak and diseased gum tissue. Over time, if you continue flossing thoroughly, and if your diet has adequate amounts of vitamins, namely vitamin C, then the bleeding will decrease and then stop altogether. If you eat sufficient fruits and vegetables, as you should, it will not be necessary to supplement your diet with vitamins.

Dentists also like to engage in so-called "preventative care" by filling cavities long before the cavities present an actual problem. Why do this in children, whose teeth will be replaced anyway? I had a mouth full of silver by the time I was ten. Did I ever suffer from the slightest hint of a toothache? No. Was it necessary to put even a single filling into my mouth? No. We didn't question the dentist. We should have. He made a pile of money off our family and ran under the Republican ticket for mayor. Later, he was investigated on corruption charges.

Big Pharma trots out statistics and research extolling the benefits of cold medicine, which is largely worthless. If you are using their junk to fall asleep, stop, because it can be addictive. In place of Big Pharma's drugs, brew a mild tea derived from passionflower and valerian root instead. These two extracts will help you sleep and you will wake up feeling refreshed. You may even discover that passionflower encourages pleasant and mysterious dreams. As for valerian root, its effects are similar to a very mild form of valium.

There are some good OTC drugs, such as antacid, Tylenol, aspirin, and ibuprofen. However, if you're using antacid on a regular basis, you definitely need to figure out why. The most common causes of acid indigestion are stress or alcohol, both of which are known to cause a host of health problems, not merely acid indigestion. Eliminate one of those potential causes and watch your acid indigestion disappear. Ibuprofen is essential for back pain. Tylenol and aspirin work well for generalized pain and headaches.

An antihistamine makes it possible to go to work with a cold, which wins you points with your manager since you're not "pulling a sickie." Whatever your manager thinks, in reality you are playing the Typhoid Mary, exposing everyone else in the workplace to your illness. Do you even have a choice? I know from experience that at many workplaces, a potent taboo discourages calling in sick for any reason unless you are literally dying. At certain parts of the year, illnesses sweep an entire department, passing from person to person, because no one feels like they can stay at home, which would be the sensible and ethical thing to do. Idealism must be subservient to realism when it comes to making a living, however. We need antihistamines just to get by at work sometimes. When the worst colds infect us, the nose behaves like an open fire hydrant, gushing fluid almost nonstop. Antihistamines dry up the nose and put a damper on the continual sneezing as well, making it possible to think rational thoughts.

Cough syrup is worthless, despite the fact my doctors have consistently prescribed it to me for decades, ever since I was three years old. I have probably consumed gallons of Robitussin, all of it of zero value. Does the stuff help you cough? Not really. It just tastes like medicine and has a pretty red color. But if you drink enough, it will make you sick. As for the stories about kids getting high off cough syrup, I don't recommend trying that particular route of intoxication. Nevertheless, kids will continue trying it just as long as they are unable to purchase alcohol. In order to prevent abuse, Big Pharma inserts a nasty chemical, guaifenesin, that cause vomiting (as well as other potential problems) in dosages larger than the recommended doses. Robitussin could kill in sufficient quantities.

When I complained to my doctor about arthritis, he prescribed Naproxin. That sounded like a fancy, sophisticated drug until I looked it up and discovered it was none other than an NSAID (Non-Steriodal Anti-Inflammatory Drug) little different than aspirin. Needless to say, I quit taking the prescription.

Some doctors enroll elderly patients suffering from cancer into a chemotherapy program. They did this to my grandmother at age 91, which to me seems unconscionable. Where is the dignity? She died bald, bed-ridden and speechless in a hospital bed. The only benefit accrued to the hospital in the form of a higher profit margin due to the expensive chemotherapy.

When I complained about back pain, most if not all of my friends suggested visiting a chiropractor. Chiropractic posits all our bodily infirmity to be the result of a lumpy spine. Nice to know that. I'll try to improve my posture so I don't come down with a cold. Yeah, sure, massages feel good, but why not just hire a masseuse and jettison the pseudoscience?

I repeat the maxim of punk rock--"Question Authority." Cross-reference your sources, study the available knowledge base yourself, and be a patient advocate for yourself or your loved one. The conservatives have instituted a regime of social Darwinism in the U.S., whereby the lower classes sometimes receive substandard care and only the rich can afford consistently good care. Until people start voting in enough liberals to reform the health care system, it behooves each of us to acquire the knowledge to guide our disinterested doctors toward the correct diagnosis and effective treatment. Otherwise, you may find yourself subjected to placebos and ineffective treatments that may harm or kill you before your time.