Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Dentistry

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[edit] Dental amalgam controversy

Any dentists or toothy-interested persons might want to have a look at dental amalgam controversy and it's talk page. I'm having a discussion with User:Dr. Imbeau that might be of interest (Talk:Dental amalgam controversy#Critics). · j e r s y k o talk · 00:20, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 'Palmer notation' vs 'Palmer notation method'

User:Dozenist asked if I could help out by checking if any of his list of dental stubs had a cross-over into wider medical practice - most of terms I had never heard of. However I did learn that the system I had always seen in UK used by GPs, ENTs and Dentists in communicating between themselves not only was not the only system, but that it had a name. Unfortunately Palmer notation article did not yet exist, so having done some research, I created it. Then checking the "what links here", it became apparent that wikipedia articles use two attempts to link to this topic: the various teeth articles use Palmer notation whilst the various numbering-method articles use Palmer Notation Method. Before I adjust Palmer Notation Method links to Palmer notation, could a dentist please advise which is the more correct of the two terms (PS 'Palmer Notation Method' breaches wikipedia article naming as it would need to be 'Palmer notation method') :-) Yours David Ruben Talk 02:02, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

My morphology textbook, which is called Wheeler's Dental Anatomy, Physiology, and Occlusion, uses the term "Palmer notation system." It also says it is referred to "less commonly as the Zsigmondy/Palmer notation system." - Dozenist talk 02:43, 16 October 2006 (UTC)
I note the other relevant articles are named Dental notation and FDI World Dental Federation notation, neither of which qualify their topic's title as being a "system" David Ruben Talk 22:42, 17 October 2006 (UTC)
Yeah, hmmm. I just was not sure if we should name the article according to a source like a textbook. If I can find the system mentioned in another textbook, I will post it here. - Dozenist talk 00:38, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Shortcut

I note the wikiproject announces its shortcut as being WP:DENT, which probably explains why I struggled to find the thing. Any objection to having alternative/additional shortcut of WP:DENTISTRY ? :-) David Ruben Talk 22:47, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

The shortcut sounds like a great idea! - Dozenist talk 00:36, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Project directory

Hello. The WikiProject Council has recently updated the Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Directory. This new directory includes a variety of categories and subcategories which will, with luck, potentially draw new members to the projects who are interested in those specific subjects. Please review the directory and make any changes to the entries for your project that you see fit. There is also a directory of portals, at User:B2T2/Portal, listing all the existing portals. Feel free to add any of them to the portals or comments section of your entries in the directory. The three columns regarding assessment, peer review, and collaboration are included in the directory for both the use of the projects themselves and for that of others. Having such departments will allow a project to more quickly and easily identify its most important articles and its articles in greatest need of improvement. If you have not already done so, please consider whether your project would benefit from having departments which deal in these matters. It is my hope that all the changes to the directory can be finished by the first of next month. Please feel free to make any changes you see fit to the entries for your project before then. If you should have any questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you. B2T2 00:15, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Problem assessing articles

I assessed some articles, and they still are listed as unassessed (as well as what I assessed them). Anyone know what the problem could be? RobJ1981 22:19, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Periodontitis vs Periodontal disease

Interesting discussing about terminology on Talk:Periodontal disease.--Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 18:17, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wikipedia Day Awards

Hello, all. It was initially my hope to try to have this done as part of Esperanza's proposal for an appreciation week to end on Wikipedia Day, January 15. However, several people have once again proposed the entirety of Esperanza for deletion, so that might not work. It was the intention of the Appreciation Week proposal to set aside a given time when the various individuals who have made significant, valuable contributions to the encyclopedia would be recognized and honored. I believe that, with some effort, this could still be done. My proposal is to, with luck, try to organize the various WikiProjects and other entities of wikipedia to take part in a larger celebrartion of its contributors to take place in January, probably beginning January 15, 2007. I have created yet another new subpage for myself (a weakness of mine, I'm afraid) at User talk:Badbilltucker/Appreciation Week where I would greatly appreciate any indications from the members of this project as to whether and how they might be willing and/or able to assist in recognizing the contributions of our editors. Thank you for your attention. Badbilltucker 18:11, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Front Page

Pulpectomy. Wow. I didn't know anybody else was interested in dentistry.Dr-G - Illigetimi nil carborundum est. 17:06, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Neat. I like the illustration. Did you write that article, Dozenist? I couldn't determine who the primary author was from the history. · j e r s y k o talk · 17:10, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

I like the icons in your wiki project page, but clicking on them takes you to the information about the png picture. is there a way of making the icons clickable links?Bouncingmolar 11:38, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Which article were ya'll referring to? - Dozenist talk 10:45, 14 March 2007 (UTC)
No idea. Root canal, maybe? · j e r s y k o talk · 13:30, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Relevant FTC

Wikipedia:Featured topic candidates/Teeth, fyi. Honest assessments requested. · j e r s y k o talk · 02:10, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Interdental plate

Interdental plate has been created & needs expanding. Hopefully you guys will be able to spruce it up. Just so you know. It needs assessing too... Thanks, Spawn Man 07:21, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lentulo spiral

Please post on the Talk:Lentulo spiral page to protect it from speedy deletion. DRosenbach (Talk | Contribs) 13:36, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Dental Wikipedians

I was wondering what you guys thought of trying to recruit more dentists into this project. Rather than making a new template and have to insert it everywhere, do you think it's a good idea to alter the existing Wikiproject Dentistry template to say something line "Join us if you want to help out"...this way we can have more than just a handful of people on this. DRosenbach (Talk | Contribs) 12:04, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Anything we can do to recruite more dentists, the better. Are you talking about the article rating template? - Dozenist talk 15:47, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Tooth article name

In case anyone is interested, there is a conversation about what to do with the information in the tooth article, as most of it refers to the human teeth. Should the content be moved out to an article called, human teeth (or some variant of that), or should there be a new article called, teeth in animals (or some variant of that). The discussion is taking place here. - Dozenist talk 15:47, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

I find it hard to believe that there's not a naming convention or Manual of Style guideline out there somewhere that addresses this type of issue. If there's not, this needs to be discussed at one of those talk pages so that a community consensus can be reached on this issue, as this type of thing would affect quite a few articles, methinks. · j e r s y k o talk · 16:37, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
I believe so far this issue has not been addressed, but if so that would make things easier. - Dozenist talk 17:57, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Enamel lamellae

This article was recently deleted, restored, and blanked due to copyvio. The information there currently is but an approximation gleaned from basic sources. Could someone please fix it up a bit? ˉˉanetode╦╩ 02:24, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] WP:MEDMOS

Wikipedia:Manual of Style (medicine-related articles) is a proposed guideline discussed and developed over recent months. Please visit the talk page to indicate whether you support or oppose Manual of Style (medicine-related articles) becoming a guideline. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 20:52, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Sugar free gum promotion by Wrigley's

Hi. I was hoping for a little help with a conflict of interest case. It appears Wrigley's gum are making edits to a number of dentistry and related articles to promote the use of sugar free gum. Example edits [1], [2] - see the COI report for more detail. I have no expertise in this area at all, and some of the information that is being posted may be good and useful, but it really needs some independent expert editors who can provide neutral sources and wording that gives appropriate weight to the assertions to ensure we don't end up with skewed articles. I'm not sure on the best method for doing this, but am happy to do some of the grunt work, monitoring pages and copying and pasting consensus statements where appropriate. Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks -- Siobhan Hansa 15:21, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

I noticed one of the edits at dental caries, I believe, and reverted it a couple days ago. Dozenist, who likely has more dental articles watchlisted than anyone, would be the best person to ask about any other COI accounts or incidents regarding the gum. · j e r s y k o talk · 17:01, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
I believe I noticed the addition somewhere else and removed it as well. Agreed, that there is a huge conflict of interest, and any sources used should be from a neutral source. - Dozenist talk 22:03, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
thanks for responding. What is the current opinion on sugar free gum and teeth health? Is it up there with brushing and flossing? Are there some good sources we could use? -- Siobhan Hansa 23:31, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
No it is not "up there with brushing and flossing". Sure, there may be some benefit, especially with those people who have dry mouth and can stimulate saliva with chewing gum, but no you do not immediately jump from toothbrush to dental floss to chewing gum. - Dozenist talk 23:39, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
Good to know I haven't been destroying useful information! -- Siobhan Hansa 00:17, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Periodontology vs Periodontics

I just noticed the articles Periodontology and Periodontics. They both are obviously about the same topic, so we need to merge them into one article. Which way should we determine the proper name? I believe "periodontology" may be the more proper term. - Dozenist talk 12:17, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Articles were merged. - Dozenist talk 12:38, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Advertising about gum

Any here who are interested, the editor, Ellielancaster has been inserting information on almost all relevant articles about chewing gum. Many of the edits appear to be on the fringe of acceptibility because clearly this user is associated with a company or has some motivation to promote this topic. Though there is some benefit to chewing gum, it is still not on par with brushing and flossing. The edits appear to inflate the importance of chewing gum. Examples of edits include this, this, that, that, and that (list is just a few examples). We may want to keep an eye on any articles related to saliva, oral hygiene, dental caries, xerostomia, etc. Thanks. - Dozenist talk 12:37, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Just noticed that Ideaslondon may be a similar (or same) user. - Dozenist talk 12:47, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
(edit conflict) Ideaslondon just confirmed on my talk page that he/she is alternate account of Ellielancaster, and he/she is editing in the same manner. While their edits yesterday and today have been sourced, according to Dozenist's implied objection, the relevant polices weighing against inclusion of the material appear to include WP:NOT#SOAP and WP:UNDUE. There might also be a conflict of interest for the user. I suggest it might be best to tell the user to include their information in the "gum" article or something similar, as it doesn't necessarily cause an undue weight problem there, whereas including it in oral hygiene or dental caries does. What do you think? · jersyko talk 12:51, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
The suggestion sounds like a better idea to me, though it would be good to impress on the user the danger of editing with a conflict of interest. Even with only editing on chewing gum articles, Ellielancaster has been warned previously about the user's Promotion of Wrigley's Gum. - Dozenist talk 12:56, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
I warned the sock about puppetry and then posted this message on Ellielancaster's talk page (all while I'm supposed to be working! good thing I finished that appeal yesterday . . .). If anyone has any more to say or if I've misrepresented the views of the members of this project, please let me know. · jersyko talk 15:00, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
Her response here. I might be misreading or misinterpreting, but this sounds somewhat like the "think tank" Exxon set up to "study" global warming. In other words, I don't think she has said anything to dissuade us from claiming a COI, and might have even confirmed that one exists. Again, assuming I haven't misread or misinterpreted; I think I need more eyes (or at least more dentally-inclined ones) on this. · jersyko talk 17:23, 14 May 2007 (UTC)
Yeah, that is not helping me to be convinced. What I end up reading is, "It is important people know this so they can chew sugar free gum and protect their teeth during the day when they do not have time to brush." ...and thus, buy *our* product to help *your* teeth! So, I think the very basic problem is that the user is approaching Wikipedia with the aim of putting a specific message (which so happens to further the goal her company is working towards) across several articles. Yes, chewing gum can help reduce the risk of cavities by increasing saliva production (really more relevant to people with dry mouth), but this user's questionable motives keeps me from finding a useful location for this information within dental articles. - Dozenist talk 17:39, 14 May 2007 (UTC)
This is about as obvious a conflict of interest as you can get. From the users own words it's clearly a case of paid editing to promote a particular point of view, on top of which that view point has a clear commercial benefit to the funder of the project. It also seems telling that despite requests, the editor has entirely failed to engage in any discussion about the merits of the claims she is attempting to make, and his simply stepped back the claims a little each time a set of edits has been thoroughly reverted. This isn't a good way for us to develop articles as it leads to a knee-jerk mentality against the point of view the editor is trying to push rather than an appropriately articulated statement that reflects the current understanding of experts in the field. I think a good solution would be to ask Ellielancaster to edit only on the talk pages of articles and to work with other editors to develop appropriate content. Editors without such clear COI and POV editing history should ultimately decide if and how to add the content to the articles. -- Siobhan Hansa 18:04, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Dr. Dozenist

As of today, Dozenist has now moved from the ranks of "Student Doctor" to "Doctor". Three cheers! · jersyko talk 22:12, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, man. Much appreciated. - Dozenist talk 23:37, 25 May 2007 (UTC)


Congratulations doctor. Have a nice break before you start working. Believe me, it's worth it. Dr-G - Illigetimi non carborundum est. 10:59, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] cermet fillings

I live in India. Last week, I went for my dental checkup. In one of my tooth, they removed the coposite filling so as to restore it. However, they were out of composite material, and i refused the amalgam. So they filled the cavity by using some new material. They called it cermet. I cannot find much information about cermet tooth fillings on wikipedia. Can any project member give me the details of the material used. It was whiter in colour compared to composite material. Thanks.--nids(♂) 23:29, 28 January 2008 (UTC)