Mindconnection eNL, 2006-01-01

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Whether you are carrying on a conversation or trying to solve a problem, try asking "What if" questions.

Here's an example of something that happened to me. I watched a movie on DVD, and when the thing got to the end, it wouldn't play. The part I missed? The last 37 seconds of the movie. Talk about frustrating. I called a friend to ask if he had seen the movie and could tell me the ending. He asked me if I had tried cleaning the back side of the DVD. No, I hadn't--but I did, and it worked.

You see, I handle DVDs, CDs, and other media with reverence and care. It would never occur to me that any person would handle touch the back side. So, I didn't even look there to see if someone had left fingerprints or boogers. I handle these by the edges, and there is no reason for me to even turn it over.

I ended up not using my brainpower, because I looked at this from my own perspective. I should have asked, "What could go wrong with the DVD? Might someone have handled it carelessly?"

The point of this opening observation is we all either should or do spend time at the dentist's office. I have an outstanding dentist with an outstanding office staff. Consequently, I have just about zero wait when I arrive for an appointment. But I have had other dentists, and I have experienced the waiting that goes well past the appointment time. My previous dentist once made me wait nearly two hours--after I had waited several months to get in!

So, here are some tips to save time at the dentist's office:

• When making your appointment, specify what it's for. Decide on X-rays, etc. Then, make sure your dental plan and/or dental insurance information is on file and current--and will cover the proposed treatment. Ask the office to confirm via e-mail.
   
• Ask if there's a day and time the dentist prefers. Some appointment slots tend to stay open and some days of the week simply are not very busy for specific offices. There's a distinct pattern for each dentist (most of the time), due to the demographics of that office's customer base.
   
• Make an early appointment. If your dentist runs into problems, cares for emergency cases, or has other delays through the day--you have been there and gone before they happen.
   
• Consider calling before you leave to see if the dentist is behind schedule--of course, that would be for appointments at mid-morning and probably late afternoon. If your dentist has never made you wait long, don't do this.
   
• If you have your calendar with you, make your follow-up appt while you are there. Otherwise, wait until you are in front of your calendar. I use MS-Outlook to schedule everything, so a few days before an appointment I make an Outlook appt (for some time shortly after my appointment) to call and schedule my next appt.
   
• Bring something to read. Delays happen. If you cover your delay time with a useful activity, then it's not wasted time.

Of course, the best way to reduce time at the dentist is to reduce the work the dentist has to do. Here are some tips on that:

• Get regular dental checkups. It takes less time to get two checkups a year than it does to do a root canal on a tooth that had a fracture that should have been caught six months ago.
   
• Don't eat sugary foods. Avoid processed foods in general.
   
• Drink filtered water. The fluoride in the water strengthens your enamel when topically applied, but when ingested it weakens the enamel.
   
• Use a three-pronged approach to hygiene:

And finally, don't smoke. This insane practice damages gum tissue, and it causes all kinds of other problems. Even if you don't value your teeth, think of the effect on your brain. Smoking is great for those who want to lower their IQs (do a yahoo search on this subject, if you--for some reason--doubt this). For the rest of us, it's not a good idea.

You can apply all of the above to your doctor, as well--just change the tooth care details to body care details. And remember that doctors and dentists are there primarily to handle the disease--caring for your health is up to you. Every minute spent on healthcare saves you hours of disease care.

The Humane Society offers advice on this frequently--and they are just one of many sources. Some of the tips I've gleaned are as follows:

• Have your pet spayed or neutered. This reduces the likelihood they will wander off (note--this is generally not advised as a safety measure for your kids--just for your pets).
   
• Make sure your pet has adequate tags and other ID. One kitty recently made the news by taking an unintended trip to France. But she was flown back to her home in the USA because some kind people in France were able to read her address on her tags.
   
• Consider making your pet an "indoor" pet--especially if your pet is a cat (for pet alligators, this probably isn't necessary). Many people take advantage of the wide roaming area afforded to their cats by the great outdoors. But outdoors, those cats are also exposed to hawks, cars, dangerous chemicals, and various predators and parasites. While outside, they are targets for sickos who like to do mean things to small animals.  They are also easily picked up by petnappers or even AT agents.
   
• Do spend time outdoors with your pet. Most people know to take their dogs for a walk. But what about cats? If you have developed a good, trusting relationship with your cat, it's no problem to take your cat for a walk. Keep the cat focused on you by constantly talking with the cat--most cats love to carry on conversations. But notice I said "with" and not "to." Cats are very verbal, so listen and try to respond in similar pitch and tone. Cats have superb hearing, so you can do this quietly.
   
• Teach your pet boundaries. The best way is to simply walk around the boundaries of your yard with your pet and communicate that it's bad to go farther (eye contact during this time is important). If your pet doesn't understand what the heck you are talking about, don't worry. Eventually, the message will sink in.
   
• Teach your pet to look both ways when crossing the road. I have taught cats to do this. You do it the same way you teach a child. Stop, look both ways, and exaggerate the motions for the animal.

Why do these outside things if you have an indoor animal? It's always possible your cat or dog will rocket past you through the open door to chase a squirrel or for some other stupid reason. Without the experiences suggested above, your animal won't know when to stop, and is likely to dash right into traffic.

And, no, it's not a browbeating to walk around with a book on your head. Take a few minutes to read it--you'll be glad you did.

1. Please forward this eNL to others.
    

2. Factoid #1: Babies are born without kneecaps. These don't appear until they are 2-6 years old.
    

3. Factoid #2: People who cross the Mafia often don't have kneecaps, either.
    

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