Dentists need to 'earth' patients - true?

[Ashles]

My mother was at the dentists the other day for root canal surgery and before the procedure according to her he 'did something to the back of my shoulder'.

It sounded like he put somthing there or touched it in an odd way, and when she asked him what it was he was a little vague.

I am a little suspicious of this dentist anyway as this is the 17th visit she has had for the same tooth issue which seems extraordinarily drawn out. So I asked her to get him to clarify what he precisely did.

His explanation was that he needed to 'earth' her as he was going to be drilling into the tooth by the nerve. (So whatever he did was presumably earthing her body to the floor to prevent a buildup of static)

Is this correct?

It seems weird to me that she is apparently lying on a completely non-conductive dentists chair and that the drill is not earthed but I dont know if this is some form of standard practice.

Does anyone know about dentists and the risks of not 'earthing' patients? Is this a normal procedure?

[fuelair]

Is "earthing" somehow related to grounding? Are we speaking of a non-US place?

17 times for one dental issue is WAY too many.



I am not a dentist, but I have been to several at various times in my life.

[Ashles]

Is "earthing" somehow related to grounding? Are we speaking of a non-US place?

Eathing as in electrically earthing/gounding a charge (I assume).

[Xephyr]

Sounds more like new age-ish pseudoscientific crystal worshipping to me.

All he needed to do was freeze the area being operated on. It would have done the trick all by itself with no need for 'earthing' alongside.

:rolleyes:

[Soapy Sam]

Most dental chairs are pretty fair insulators. The equipment attached is a mix of ceramics, plastics and metals. Unless he was using anything that produces a significant static charge, I can't see why earthing / grounding would be necessary. Drills etc would be electrically grounded at their power source. Sounds like a superstition to me- maybe he was kidding. Or maybe he's a bit...strange?

[mumchup]

Mere speculation but - maybe he was making sure there was no static built up.
While I don't have any reason to think there might be a static charge built up, now that I think of it, my dentist has put his hand on my shoulder just as he's getting ready to drill. I've always figured that he does it to sort of reassure before he starts with the "scary" stuff because he's always very concerned with the comfort of his patients. I'll have to ask him next time.

But really, 17 visits for a root canal? That's nuts. I wouldn't trust the guy either.

[RecoveringYuppy]

The sensor that Dentists use to map the nerve and the canal requires the patient to be grounded.

ETA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_apex_locator

[jasonpatterson]

If he was grounding her electrically, it would be something that would, presumably, remain throughout the procedure. The exact same thing that he did would be accomplished by shaking her hand, or even simply touching her face at the beginning of the procedure.

17 visits does seem like a lot. I know that tooth removals and new implants can be drawn out in time, but even then, 17 visits is probably too many. Unfortunately it's not terribly uncommon for dentists to cheat patients for insurance money (usually by telling them they have cavities that need filled that they don't have or that require no immediate action.) I wonder if that's what's going on here. In any case, with the extent of the problem in time and the weirdness of this bit of stupidity, I'd look for a second opinion.

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

Who is this bozo? You go in once for a root canal, a second time to grind the tooth and cast a mold for the crown, and a third time to install it. Done.

~~ Paul

[Soapy Sam]

3 visits was also my experience- with a Syrian lady dentist in Saudi Arabia, so 17 looks a bit fishy.

[rjh01]

When was she touched? It is a bit hard to touch the back of the shoulder while she is in a chair. I would have thought that she would have been earthed when he put his hands on her face to start the work.

Also 17 visits over what period of time? Time spent on each visit? Amount charged? If it is a once a year visit (and really just a check up) then everything should be OK. Anything more then yes you need to ask questions.

[Dancing David]

The sensor that Dentists use to map the nerve and the canal requires the patient to be grounded.

ETA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_apex_locator

Thank you , I asked my dentist how the thing worked:

"I don't know." said he.

[paiute]

Thank you , I asked my dentist how the thing worked:

"I don't know." said he.

I had friends studying biochemistry in graduate school. They said on any exam, the biochemical graduate students would get the high scores, followed by the medical students. The lowest grades always went to the dental students.

[BenBurch]

My root canal happened in one go. But I have heard of people needing a few sessions.

[Rasmus]

My root canal happened in one go. But I have heard of people needing a few sessions.

Yes, but 17?

I am no expert - but what could *possibly* require 17 separate appointments? Teeth aren't that complex, are they?

You may need to continue with a next appointment if

- something needs to heal
- something needs to settle or otherwise come to rest, grow in, etc.
- something needs to be manufactured
- you've been in this session for more tha n16 hours on end.

[BenBurch]

Are we sure it was one tooth?

[Ashles]

Are we sure it was one tooth?

Yes.

[mumchup]

I know it's standard practice to begin the root canal and let things heal a bit to make sure no infection takes hold before it's finished up. If there's a problem it could take more than two visits.
But my sister lost 3 teeth from a kick by a horse and I don't think she needed 17 visits even for that long ordeal.