Why stories matter. Applying principles of narrative medicine to health care ethics.

Narrative medicine seeks to improve clinical effectiveness through narrative training in reading and writing. Stories give meaning to experience and encourage communication between doctors and patients by honoring the basic human need to recognize and be recognized. Learning how to receive and tell stories, practiced through close reading, group discussion, and written response, may also facilitate ethical reflection and inquiry.

Is general dentistry dead? How mid-level dental providers will affect the profession.

The rhetoric concerning mid-level providers and their impact on general dental practice is building in intensity. This is a complex issue and there is no clear picture of either the benefits or dangers to the public of such a delivery model, whether such plans are economically sustainable, or the role of general dentists in the configuration of future practices. The opinions of a representative sample of thinkers from various perspectives are sampled.

Meth mouth: a review of methamphetamine abuse and its oral manifestations.

Illicit methamphetamine use is reported widely by news media and discussed increasingly among scholars, clinicians, and members of civic and law enforcement organizations and legislative bodies. This article examines the phenomenon of methamphetamine abuse, including its extent, its effects on both users and society, and its implications for dentistry. Meth mouth refers to a pattern of oral signs and symptoms of methamphetamine abuse, thought to include rampant caries and tooth fracture, leading to multiple tooth loss and edentulism.

Advice for a young editor: my journey in dental journalism.

Editing is sometimes a good route to writing; it may certainly be useful for an editor to understand the writer's point of view. Tips are offered regarding building writing skills, developing personal discipline, and generating story ideas. Writing and editing can be a way of finding out who one is.

Betrayal of trust: reflections on questionable dental practices.

Dentistry is built on relationships of trust between individual practitioners and their patients and their colleagues. Increasing commercialism may be eroding some of that trust. An inventory of questionable practices is presented along with examples. These include inappropriate care that is unreasonable, aggressive, or intrusive; inappropriate billings, and misrepresentone's identity or qualifications. Although dentistry is predominantly provided by individual practitioners, it is not practiced in a vacuum.