Chiba Dentist Explains: Will Today’s Treatments Be Rejected in the Future?
What Was Once Medical Innovation Can Become Obsolete – The Lesson from Lobotomy
In the world of medicine, new treatments constantly emerge, hailed as groundbreaking advancements. However, some of these treatments, once considered revolutionary, are later deemed dangerous or ineffective. A prime example is the lobotomy, which even won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1949 but is now entirely banned.
What Was the Lobotomy?
A lobotomy was a surgical procedure that involved cutting connections in the brain’s frontal lobe to treat severe mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia. Initially, it was praised as a miracle cure, but later, its severe side effects—including emotional dullness, loss of intelligence, and personality changes—became apparent. As a result, lobotomies are now considered an unethical and harmful treatment.
This case demonstrates that what is considered “cutting-edge medical practice” today may one day be viewed as dangerous or unnecessary.
Could Today’s Dental Treatments Be Rejected in the Future?
Even in dentistry, some treatments once widely used have fallen out of favor due to advancements in medical research. Here are a few examples:
① Amalgam Fillings
Amalgam, once a popular material for silver dental fillings, contains a small amount of mercury. Over time, concerns about its potential health risks have led many countries to restrict or discourage its use.
② Root Canal Treatments (Pulpectomy)
For many years, dentists would remove the nerve (pulp) of a severely decayed tooth as a standard treatment. However, modern research suggests that preserving the nerve as much as possible using MTA cement or other new techniques can improve long-term tooth health.
③ New Treatments for Periodontal Disease
Regenerative medicine techniques, including stem cell therapy and growth factors, are currently being explored to help regenerate gum and bone lost due to periodontal disease. While these techniques show promise, their long-term effectiveness is still uncertain. In 10 or 20 years, we may discover that these treatments are not as effective as initially believed.
Science Keeps Evolving
The history of medicine shows us that what is widely accepted today may be questioned tomorrow. As dental professionals in Chiba, we continuously stay updated on the latest research and treatments to provide the best care for our patients.
We remain committed to advancing our knowledge and offering the most effective treatments based on the latest scientific evidence!
Are Chiba dentists introducing automatic reception to reduce staff?
Hello
This is Harada from Harada Dental Clinic in Chiba City.
On Friday, October 4th, the temperature exceeded 30 degrees, and I was surprised at what was going to happen, but it finally feels like autumn.
The clinic is currently being renovated, and construction is progressing every day with the aim of reopening in August 2025.
In fact, we are planning to install automatic reception.
Returning patients check in by holding their smartphone app over the machine, and the payment after treatment is also settled by credit card on their own smartphone app.
When I mentioned this to an American teacher in an English conversation lesson the other day, he asked me if the purpose was to reduce staff. I thought that it was a typical American perspective that focuses on money.
Recently, family restaurants such as Gusto and Saizeriya have been implementing automatic payment.
When paying, instead of a staff member, you hold a barcode over the machine and select your payment method from credit card, cash, QR payment, SUICA, etc.
At Gusto, orders are placed through a touch panel, the food is served by a robot, and customers place the food brought by the robot on their table themselves.
Ordering through a touch panel has become the norm even at conveyor-belt sushi restaurants.
I imagine restaurants are also struggling with a labor shortage.
The restaurant itself is busy with families and groups.
However, he lamented that Choshimaru near Chiba Station is different and more like a library.
Most of the customers are on business, or come alone.
They order on the touch panel in front of them, and when the food arrives, they eat in silence, pay, and leave.
Not a word is spoken during this time.
His ideal restaurant might be a typical American restaurant, where a waiter comes to take the order, asks about the food, and when the food arrives, the customer chats with his companions, sometimes with the customer at the next table, and jokes with the waiter when paying.
I’ve made a long introduction, but the reason our clinic has automated reception is not to reduce staff.
The purpose is to reduce the waiting time at reception and the waiting time after treatment to pay.
The idea is to have machines do things that don’t need to be handled by humans.
We use that freed time to explain things to patients and follow up with them.
Reception staff will assist first-time patients.
We use a variety of digital systems for treatment and regular management.
A digital scanner is used to take impressions for mouthpiece orthodontics,
and the Swiss company EMS’ Airflow, which cleans the inside of the mouth, is operated with a cordless foot pedal using Bluetooth, so there is less unnecessary wiring.
The reservation system is linked to electronic medical records, X-ray images, and intraoral photographs.
However, it is humans who perform the treatment and surgery, and it is humans, not robots, who explain things until the patient is satisfied.
This will never be replaced by robots.
In conclusion, we will introduce an automatic reception desk and increase the number of staff.
This will have benefits for both patients and employees.
The benefit for patients is that, as mentioned earlier, waiting times will be shortened.
In fact, on the day I am writing this, eight staff members are on paid leave, and one left early before noon due to a sudden illness in his child. Even so, the number of patients exceeds 120, and the clinic is operating normally.
This is something that would not be possible in a clinic with only 10 staff members.
A big benefit for working people is that you can take paid leave almost as often as you request, and even if you have to take time off suddenly for some reason you don’t have to cause any more trouble to other staff than necessary.
To get more specific, there’s also a rule that says you don’t have to buy souvenirs for staff if you use paid leave to go on a trip.
In fact, many staff members say that the thought of buying souvenirs for 40 people irritates them.
However, at our clinic, such consideration is absolutely unnecessary.
Our stance is that you should enjoy your own time on time off, and that there is no need to be overly considerate of others, so the office doesn’t end up overflowing with souvenirs from local areas.
Some staff members even avoid sugar, wheat, and vegetable oils.
This is how we enjoy providing medical care every day.
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Les dentistes de Chiba introduisent-ils une réception automatique pour réduire le personnel ?
Bonjour
Je suis Harada de la clinique dentaire Harada de la ville de Chiba.
Le vendredi 4 octobre, la température a dépassé les 30 degrés et j’ai été surpris de ce qui allait se passer, mais on a enfin l’impression que c’est l’automne.
La clinique est actuellement en cours de rénovation et les travaux progressent chaque jour dans le but de rouvrir en août 2025.
En fait, nous prévoyons d’installer une réception automatique.
Les patients qui reviennent s’enregistrent en tenant leur application pour smartphone au-dessus de la machine, et le paiement après le traitement est également réglé par carte de crédit sur leur propre application pour smartphone.
Lorsque j’en ai parlé à un professeur américain lors d’un cours de conversation en anglais l’autre jour, il m’a demandé si le but était de réduire le personnel. J’ai pensé que c’était une perspective américaine typique qui se concentre sur l’argent.
Récemment, des restaurants familiaux tels que Gusto et Saizeriya ont mis en place le paiement automatique.
Au moment de payer, au lieu d’un membre du personnel, vous tenez un code-barres au-dessus de la machine et sélectionnez votre mode de paiement parmi carte de crédit, espèces, paiement par QR code, SUICA, etc.
Chez Gusto, les commandes sont passées via un écran tactile, la nourriture est servie par un robot et les clients placent eux-mêmes la nourriture apportée par le robot sur leur table.
La commande via un écran tactile est devenue la norme, même dans les restaurants de sushis à tapis roulant.
J’imagine que les restaurants sont également aux prises avec une pénurie de main-d’œuvre.
Le restaurant lui-même est très fréquenté par les familles et les groupes.
Cependant, il a déploré que Choshimaru, près de la gare de Chiba, soit différent et ressemble davantage à une bibliothèque.
La plupart des clients sont en déplacement professionnel ou viennent seuls.
Ils commandent sur l’écran tactile devant eux et lorsque la nourriture arrive, ils mangent en silence, paient et partent.
Pas un mot n’est prononcé pendant ce temps.
Son restaurant idéal pourrait être un restaurant américain typique, où un serveur vient prendre la commande, pose des questions sur la nourriture et lorsque la nourriture arrive, le client discute avec ses compagnons, parfois avec le client de la table voisine, et plaisante avec le serveur au moment de payer.
J’ai fait une longue présentation, mais la raison pour laquelle notre clinique a automatisé la réception n’est pas de réduire le personnel.
Le but est de réduire le temps d’attente à la réception et le temps d’attente après le traitement pour payer.
L’idée est de faire en sorte que les machines fassent des choses qui n’ont pas besoin d’être effectuées par des humains.
Nous utilisons ce temps libéré pour expliquer les choses aux patients et assurer le suivi avec eux.
Le personnel de la réception aidera les nouveaux patients.
Nous utilisons différents systèmes numériques pour le traitement et la gestion courante.
Un scanner numérique est utilisé pour prendre les empreintes pour l’orthodontie buccale,
et le Airflow de la société suisse EMS, qui nettoie l’intérieur de la bouche, fonctionne avec une pédale sans fil via Bluetooth, ce qui réduit les câbles inutiles.
Le système de réservation est lié aux dossiers médicaux électroniques, aux images radiographiques et aux photographies intrabuccales.
Cependant, ce sont des humains qui effectuent le traitement et l’opération, et ce sont des humains, et non des robots, qui expliquent les choses jusqu’à ce que le patient soit satisfait.
Ce système ne sera jamais remplacé par des robots.
En conclusion, nous allons mettre en place un bureau d’accueil automatique et augmenter le nombre de personnel.
Cela aura des avantages pour les patients et les employés.
L’avantage pour les patients est que, comme mentionné précédemment, les temps d’attente seront réduits.
En fait, le jour où j’écris ces lignes, huit membres du personnel sont en congé payé et un est parti tôt avant midi en raison d’une maladie soudaine de son enfant. Malgré cela, le nombre de patients dépasse 120 et la clinique fonctionne normalement.
Ce serait impossible dans une clinique avec seulement 10 employés.
Un grand avantage pour les travailleurs est que vous pouvez prendre des congés payés presque aussi souvent que vous le souhaitez, et même si vous devez prendre un congé soudainement pour une raison quelconque, vous n’avez pas à causer plus de problèmes aux autres employés que nécessaire.
Pour être plus précis, il existe également une règle qui stipule que vous n’êtes pas obligé d’acheter des souvenirs pour le personnel si vous utilisez vos congés payés pour partir en voyage.
En fait, de nombreux membres du personnel disent que l’idée d’acheter des souvenirs pour 40 personnes les irrite.
Cependant, dans notre clinique, une telle considération est absolument inutile.
Nous pensons que vous devez profiter de votre temps libre et qu’il n’est pas nécessaire d’être trop prévenant envers les autres, afin que le bureau ne finisse pas par déborder de souvenirs des environs.
Certains membres du personnel évitent même le sucre, le blé et les huiles végétales.
C’est ainsi que nous aimons prodiguer des soins médicaux au quotidien.
This is Harada from Harada Dental Clinic in Chiba City.
It’s still hot in September, but I hope that it will cool down in the latter half of the month, as the saying goes, “The heat and cold will last until the equinox.”
There was a dentist who used to practice in Chiba City who used to go to clubs in Ginza.
It’s been almost 10 years since he quit dentistry, so I think it’s okay to write about it here, but
he also wrote about it in the dental association’s newsletter.
He said that he couldn’t stop going to Ginza clubs because he could get information that the general public couldn’t get.
It’s been more than 10 years ago, but at the time, it was 30,000 yen for a beer with a hostess sitting next to you.
Maybe there is information that can only be found there.
As for me, I have no interest in going to such places.
Other than this, perhaps there are other things I should experience as a business owner, such as meeting geisha or spending time in Kyoto with maiko and geisha, but I have never been there and don’t have any particular desire to go.
Of course, I don’t deny that there are people who like this kind of fun.
Everyone is free to do what they want.
I once read an article by someone in the entertainment industry who said that men should have a lot of fun in the nightlife where there are hostesses, but I personally don’t feel like going.
Of course, I like eating out with friends and family, but I get sleepy late at night, so I make sure I get enough sleep and take good care of my health.
In this respect, it’s great that Dodgers player Ohtani turns down invitations to drinking parties after games and gets about 10 hours of sleep.
A famous baseball player was photographed coming out of a drag queen bar in the past, but as I’ve said many times, people are different.
I will continue to take care of my health and time.
Just to be clear, I’m not writing this because I want to be invited to these kinds of places.
This is Harada from Harada Dental Clinic in Chiba City, which will be opening a new staff room building in October 2024.
We are currently considering various materials for the exterior walls of the building.
When we opened in 1987, we decided on the color of the exterior walls, but we didn’t think much about the material.
However, more than 30 years have passed since then, and when we renovated and even rebuilt, we found that there are many different types of exterior walls.
We are currently considering ceramic siding and galvalume steel sheets.
Each has its pros and cons.
We plan to use galvalume steel sheets for the roof.
As the name suggests, it is made of metal, but it has insulation inside.
When I think of metal roofs from the old Showa era, tin roofs immediately come to mind.
I remember that when it rained, the sound of it hitting the roof was terrible.
I’m sure it sometimes leaked.
That won’t happen with today’s galvalume steel roofs.
For the exterior walls, our director will choose from ceramic siding with or without joints,
selecting the type that best suits the image of the clinic.
Renovation of the office space has already begun,
but construction on the main clinic building will begin soon, so we’re excited every day as we make plans.
Is it “impossible” to offer paid leave or childcare leave at a dentist in Chiba?
Hello
This is Harada from Harada Dental Clinic in Chiba City.
In the summer, we have to be on our guard against typhoons and torrential rains.
It is essential to be prepared on a daily basis so that we can be prepared for any disasters that may occur.
The other day, a famous influencer said on YouTube that “it is impossible for small and medium-sized companies to give employees full paid leave or childcare leave these days.”
This person usually makes sharp comments about politics, so I thought, “Oh, that’s strange.”
In the first place, paid leave is an employee’s right, and if an employee applies for paid leave, the employer must approve it.
It is true that in a workplace with a small number of employees, for example a workplace with three employees, even if one person takes a day off, the number of employees will be reduced to two-thirds, or about 67%.
So, having three employees is not at all uncommon in a dental clinic, and if three employees are reduced to two, the clinic will be in a lot of trouble.
For example, after dealing with a patient at the reception desk, you might immediately assist the dentist inside, or if the phone rings, you might stop your assisting duties to answer it.
In this situation, it is difficult to take paid leave out of consideration for the other staff, so they don’t take it.
They only take paid leave together just before they leave.
It’s a difficult situation if even one person is absent, but the two staff members who come to work on the day the patient is absent have to do the work of three people between them, so they are exhausted by the time they finish work.
It is especially difficult not only physically but mentally when someone suddenly misses work on the day.
If this continues, it’s natural that some staff will leave early or some will badmouth the management during their lunch break, creating a negative spiral.
There is something important to note here.
It is the 80:20 rule.
This is a concept I learned at a seminar by Anthony Robbins, the world’s number one life coach.
The 80 in 80:20 is mindset, and the 20 is technical skills.
Improving technical skills is absolutely necessary in any job.
For example, in the job of a dentist, it is absolutely necessary to receive training to improve your skills, attend study groups to increase your knowledge, and read books.
However, focusing only on that does not mean that your dental clinic will be successful.
This is because 80% of work is influenced by psychological factors.
In other words, things like not being in an overly busy working environment, being able to take paid leave, and being able to take childcare leave without worrying are four times more important than improving technical skills.
In fact, even among the staff of our clinic, there are some who, even if they have a lot going on at work, feel refreshed when they go on a paid vacation and are able to work hard again.
Of course, there may be some people who can work 24 hours a day like the hard-working employees of the high economic growth era of the 1950s and 60s.
However, those were times when wages were rising steadily, and if you worked hard you could see a bright future, in other words, it was a time of spiritual fulfillment.
Even now, there may be people who can work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for their own mission, but that is less than 1% of the total.
I think that people who work normally choose workplaces where they can take regular holidays, have little overtime, and have a good work atmosphere.
The number of people who become managers (as opposed to self-employed) is probably less than one in ten.
Managers and employees are completely different people.
You should not force the behavioral patterns of managers on employees.
It usually doesn’t work if you do that.
Getting regular employees to participate in study sessions for managers usually doesn’t work well.
In fact, if you do that, some employees will quit.
You’ll end up wishing you hadn’t sent them to study sessions for managers.
I know a lot of examples like that.
I think there are few managers of dental clinics, and many others, who start their own businesses after learning how to run them.
So most people spend the first few years of their business learning about employment.
However, I think it’s normal for entrepreneurs to have trouble with their employees in the first few years, and this should not be repeated.
Let’s go back to the first influencer.
Before deciding that it’s impossible to give employees full paid leave or childcare leave, wouldn’t it be better to try to do so and run your company better?
That’s management effort.
If your business allows employees to take paid leave properly, your staff will work enthusiastically.
The reason is that, as I wrote earlier, 80% of work is about feeling, and the remaining 20% is technical skills.
A dentist in Chiba who misunderstood the building of a clinic for 37 years
Hello
I’m Harada from Harada Dental Clinic in Chiba City, which is currently undergoing major renovations of the clinic in preparation for completion in the summer of 2025.
When we opened in 1987, it was a wooden building that also served as a home.
I’ve been mistaken for over 30 years.
Because it was a wooden building, I assumed the exterior walls were made of wood.
However, when I was meeting with the staff of a construction company the other day, I found out that the exterior walls were ceramic siding, an exterior wall material made by molding the main raw materials of cementitious raw materials and fibrous raw materials such as pulp and wood fiber, curing and hardening them, and painting them.
It is called “ceramic siding” because it is made by hardening it in a high-temperature, high-pressure “kiln”.
It has excellent fire resistance, durability, and quality stability, and is a material that is easy to process by cutting and drilling, and has a simple construction method.
It has various advantages, such as a short construction period and relatively easy maintenance.
It’s true that if the exterior walls were made of wood, they would burn easily in the event of a fire.
When we first opened, the exterior walls were a grayish white, as shown in the photo. This is a type of building that is commonly seen in the town of Goslar, Germany, and buildings with siding of this color stand throughout the town.
I was so impressed by its beauty when I visited Goslar some time ago that I decided to make my own clinic in this style.
The car I was driving at the time was a Toyota Carina ED with a number 5 license plate.
Around the following year, the bubble economy began, and women began saying that they wouldn’t be interested in men who didn’t drive number 3 cars.
The variety of materials used for exterior walls has increased since then. I’m currently considering what kind of exterior walls to use for the new clinic.
I’ll report back on the progress of the renovation.
What happened at the Chiba dental clinic where people kept telling us not to go to that dentist
Hello
This is Harada from Harada Dental Clinic in Chiba City.
Recently, our staff have been giving birth at our clinic. It’s nice to see our staff getting excited about the topic of some families having more boys than others having more girls.
When our clinic first opened, it didn’t have a very good reputation in the neighborhood.
The reason is that “that dentist is expensive.”
In fact, several patients who used to visit our clinic said this when they came to our clinic for an emergency.
One man who had a cleaning course at his own expense was told by his wife that he was not spending so much money on dental treatment and that he should not go again!
She made a special phone call to tell us about it.
More than 30 years have passed since then, but the grandchildren of the people who were told not to go to that dentist still visit our clinic.
They have quite unusual surnames and you can tell from their addresses that “Oh, that’s who it is.”
Thirty-five years ago, when patients went to the dentist, they were not properly explained as they are today, and they were treated in silence. Then, about 10 years later, people started complaining that they were not satisfied with the treatment they received without any explanation, and suddenly found themselves with silver fillings.
From the beginning of our clinic, we have explained the contents of treatment to everyone. Since there are many restrictions on treatments that can be done with health insurance, we explain that there are such treatment methods that are paid for by private medical care. As a result, many people have been able to get treatment at other clinics without saying anything, so they end up telling people around them that they were recommended expensive teeth at that clinic.
This has led to the saying “that dentist is expensive.”
Recently, this has of course stopped happening.
We explain to all patients that we have several treatment plans before starting treatment.
That said, there were many fans in the neighborhood, and there are still people who have been coming to our clinic as a family for over 30 years.
Also, many people who live within 20 minutes by car have been coming to our clinic for a long time.
We do not mean to say that the times have caught up with our clinic.
This is because dental treatment is paid for by private medical care not only in Europe and the United States, but also in Asian countries such as Thailand and Singapore.
Japan is unique in that many treatments such as silver fillings and plastic fillings can be done with health insurance.
It’s often said that you shouldn’t talk about out-of-pocket expenses for the first six months after opening your practice.
However, anyone who comes to see us during those six months won’t be able to get appropriate information.
Isn’t this a disadvantage to those who visit?
We will continue to provide proper information to all patients who come to our clinic.
Dentist in Chiba to undergo first full renovation in 38 years in summer 2025
This is Harada from Harada Dental Clinic, which will undergo its first full renovation in 38 years in summer 2025.
This renovation will not just make the building bigger. We aim to create a clinic where patients feel comfortable.
One of the things we aim to do is to reduce waiting times in the clinic.
When you come to the clinic, you will check in using your own smartphone app.
All staff will then be automatically notified that you have arrived.
The dentist or dental hygienist in charge will notify you which treatment room to come to when they are ready. After treatment, patients can pay by credit card using their own smartphone app and go home.
In order to use this system, we are changing the reservation software to a new one.
Patient information such as date of birth can be transferred to the new software, but information such as what date and time Mr./Ms. XX has an appointment must be transferred one by one to the new reservation software.
Our staff does this migration work every day.
It’s time-consuming work at first, but once you get on track, it will reduce waiting time for patients, and from the second visit onwards, the automatic reception can handle patients without the need for reception staff, so we won’t have to assign staff to the reception desk more than necessary.
I’m grateful for the old software that we’ve been using for over 10 years.
I’m looking forward to seeing what the new clinic will be like.
38 years may be a long time, but it went by in a flash.
The other day, I listened to a lecture by a professor with whom I studied together about 30 years ago.
I used to think of him as a sharp, fierce person, so I was surprised to hear that his speech had improved to suit his age.
However, I thought it was wonderful that he’s still active today.
Dentist in Chiba converts leaky property into office building
Hello
This is Harada from Harada Dental Clinic in Chiba City.
The hot weather continues. It is difficult for elderly people to walk to the clinic alone when the temperature exceeds 33 degrees. For elderly patients who walk more than 500 meters alone to visit the clinic, we recommend that they visit in September for regular dental checkups and regular dental health promotion treatments, when the heat will be at an end.
As we have already announced several times on our blog, Facebook page, X, Instagram, etc., our clinic will undergo a major renovation in preparation for the summer of 2025.
By chance, we were able to own a building adjacent to the clinic. It is a house built at the beginning of the Heisei era, but we will renovate it and transform it into a building where the administrative staff can work, change clothes, eat, and hold study sessions.
I actually wanted to set up a training room for staff, like the Google headquarters in Silicon Valley. It will allow staff to do muscle training and stretch here.
However, we decided to prioritize creating a space to carry out the clinic’s basic operations.
We kept the design simple so that work could be done efficiently.
Now, the property is over 30 years old, and we noticed it the other day during a heavy rainfall that there was a hole in the rain gutter, and a large amount of rain was falling from the gutter onto the ground. The exterior walls and interior were originally in need of major renovation, but after 30 years, a lot of work is necessary.
However, the building itself is a steel frame built by a major house manufacturer, so it is very solid, and of course there is no rain leaking into the building.
As about 50 staff will be using it, we will remove the gas stove and replace it with an induction heater, dry laundry inside the building instead of hanging it outside, install two dryers so that there is a backup if one stops working, make the dining table foldable so that it can be easily moved to accommodate an increase in staff, and install glass doors for the office staff’s workroom to create a sense of openness.
However, from the outside it probably looks no different from an ordinary house.
When renovating, what will happen to the exterior walls? What will happen to the interior? There is a lot of information available on YouTube these days.
An architect wrote on YouTube the other day about not putting a window in the bathroom.
I am strongly against this.
Rather than relying solely on a ventilation fan, it is sometimes better to open the window for ventilation, and having a window will let in more light and reduce the feeling of being closed in.
As such, I think it’s important not to just blindly believe everything you see on YouTube or websites, but to adopt what’s good and reject what’s not.
The administrative building is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
After that, large-scale renovations of the examination building will begin.
We will keep you updated on the progress of the renovations.
