Challenging case

 Recently, I had a patient who had trouble with dental implants which his former dentist had embedded. At first, I rejected to treat him. Because, the implants were different from ones which our clinic dealt with. I use implants produced by Straumman co. which has been used worldwide. I did not know the product maker of the patients' implants through the appearance and X ray images of them. It is said that there are over 50 implant makers in the world. Some new companies aim niche in the market, struggling to keep up with the technology of the companies already having big share. Sometimes, some companies' implants have kinks though they say their product are fool proof. I wanted to pull out the patient's implants with counter clockwise strength, because they were poorly positioned. Of course, considering patient's agony, I can't carry out it. He asked me to treat many times, and finally, I gave in. Now, I am enjoying the process of reconstruction of his occlusion.

 before

 halfway

(It's like night and day, isn't it?)

 X-ray at the first visit

Pontsuku, Kokura's sweets

Kokura is a smaller than Hakata (the capital city of Fukuoka) but growing town in Fukuoka prefecture Kyushu Japan. Since last September, I have attended a dental seminar held in Kokura, every second weekend in each month. Last week, before going there from Tokyo, a dental hygienist turned to me, “Doctor? Please buy souvenir for our staff”. She is called as a sweets commentator in my office. She gave me a list of sweets made in Kokura. It seems that she researched all day long on the Internet. Considering expiring date of the sweets, I chose Pontsuku (photo) which an old established store has made. It is a sponge cake including custard cream. There are other versions of cream, such as powdered green tea, chocolate, and strawberry. It was amazing, fluffy, fabulous and yummy. All our staff turned cartwheels. When you have a chance to visit Kokura, try Pontsuku, the awesome sweets!