Definition of surgical dental procedure

[GoogleCodeExporter]

current: A series of steps followed in a regular, orderly, definite way, 
performed by a dentist or dental surgeon by manual operation on some part of 
the mouth.

I think it should mention incision. "A series of steps followed in a regular, 
orderly, definite way" seems nonessential (albeit good practice)

Are all tooth extraction procedures surgical procedures? Titus comments that he 
has done tooth extraction by pulling a tooth with two fingers. That doesn't 
sound like surgery.

Original issue reported on code.google.com by alanruttenberg@gmail.com on 21 Dec 2014 at 4:50

[GoogleCodeExporter]

"I think it should mention incision"  I would not recommend that. For instance, 
scaling and root planning is a dental surgical procedure, but there is no 
incision. And yes, so is the one tooth in my life that I extracted with two 
fingers. So, we can't apply the thinking of general surgery consistently to 
dental procedures.

Original comment by titus.sc...@gmail.com on 7 Jan 2015 at 2:05

[GoogleCodeExporter]

The problem here is that the definition doesn't work. It would seem that taking 
a series of x-rays satisfies it, as  does tooth cleaning. The top hit in google 
for: tooth scaling, says it isn't a surgical procedure. 
http://www.oralb.com/topics/details-of-dental-scaling.aspx

Would extracting a tooth with two fingers satisfy the definition? Is it a "A 
series of steps followed in a regular, orderly, definite way, performed by a 
dentist "?

What are counterexamples - procedures that are not "A series of steps followed 
in a regular, orderly, definite way"

Original comment by alanruttenberg@gmail.com on 7 Jan 2015 at 6:21

[GoogleCodeExporter]

I still think the definition works and here's why: extracting a tooth with two 
fingers is just one part of a multi-step, orderly procedure.  other steps 
include:  checking that you intend to extract the right tooth (check radiograph 
and visually in the mouth),  letting the patient rinse with chlorhexidine 
solution,  checking for (and stopping)  bleeding after the extraction, etc.

Original comment by titus.sc...@gmail.com on 8 Jan 2015 at 1:25

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Sorry I wasn't clear. It doesn't work in the sense that too many things that 
are not surgery also satisfy the definition.

Original comment by mandelba...@gmail.com on 9 Jan 2015 at 12:22