The director of the family dentistry clinic "Dent-House" Viktor Balykov - associate professor, candidate of medical sciences, member of the Association of Dentists of Ukraine and winner of the "Doctor of the Year" nomination, talks about youth, about a creative approach to modern diagnostic and treatment technologies, as well as about what Europeans should learn from Odessa specialists.
- He will tellIt's about your childhood. Is it true?, that you gravitated to creativity: music, acting and even had to star in movies?
— Yes, I graduated from a music school. He liked different types of music, but gravitated towards operetta. After music school, he studied in the theater class of Olga Kashneva, at the 37th school on Sofievskaya. And so one day I passed a film test and had to star in Stanislav Govorukhin's movie. He approved me for the main role in the film "Razbeg" - about the youth of Sergei Korolev. It was very tempting. They had to shoot in Baikonur, Belgorod and many other cities throughout the Soviet Union. But because of this, I would have to stay at school again for the second hour. And in those days, to become a sophomore, even in the tenth grade, is a disgrace to the family! In general, the parents were against it, so the filming had to be abandoned. But I remained in the card file of the Odessa Film Studio, and in the future this had its consequences.
Meanwhile, he continued to study in the theater class. We staged plays and showed them in the Odessa actor's house, and the directors accepted our productions and gave them a professional assessment. Such a theater class was the only one in the whole country, and it could become a springboard for my creativity.
But in 1981, I graduated from school and entered a medical school: my parents believed that a serious profession was necessary in life. And since I had an irresistible desire for creativity, I visited the theater studio "Experiment", which was founded in Odessa by Oleg Tabakov. At that time, the teachers of the Shchukin school came to Odessa and conducted classes in this studio. And Tabakov himself also came and gave us lectures. But then we were dispersed: we began to think about productions based on Emile Zola's novels, but at that time it was not recommended for ideological reasons. When the studio was closed, I had a creative vacuum. And I went to the studio of Mikhail Vodyanyi.
Mikhail Hryhorevich was always optimistic. His eyes burned, especially when he found himself among the youth. Once I come to the studio from the medical school, he asks me: "Student, why is it dark?" I answer: "Yes, I did not pass the test." He laughs: "What, is it important? Leak, remember, the most important things in life are women, wine and comedy." And in life, of course, there was no comedy.
- What do you have in mind?
— I graduated from medical school and went to work in the emergency room as assigned. There I realized that night shifts and constant stress that clinical doctors receive is such a life drama in which I cannot be. Then I got a call from the film studio.
The visiting committee of the VGIK came, and since I was staying in the file cabinet of the film studio, I was invited to try my hand: they were recruiting for Victor Merezhko's workshop, the competition was crazy, the selection was only 24 people. And I passed! But here fate played a cruel joke.
In the final of the admission committee, Merezhko stands up and says: "Who is Balykov? Go on stage." I'm going out He continues: "I must inform you that yesterday the decree of the Minister of Defense was signed on the removal of military armor from theater universities. You are the only one who did not serve in the army. Therefore, in case of acceptance, we must refer you to the military enlistment office. Decide." I come home and say that I am joining the army. Panic begins at home: this is the 1980s, there is a war in Afghanistan. In general, my parents insisted that I continue to study further - that is, enter a medical institute where there was a military department.
I come to the medina: "In which faculty is the biggest competition?" They answer me: "Stomat". I say: "That's where I will go." And I submit the documents. I do all this with the expectation that I will not pass one hundred percent - this is medin! — and I will join the army, serve and still go to VGIK. Such was the maximalist youthful logic. But I pass one exam, physics, and pass the competition. No one believed that I went to the dental clinic myself and without money. In the ambulance, they decided that I gave the rector "Volga" (laughing).
In September we go to the collective farm, in October we return and start studying, and in November the following decree of the Minister of Defense is issued - on the abolition of military departments in medical universities. I am removed from the course, and I am going to serve in Uzbekistan. Here is such a comedy.
— That is, you still ended up in the army. And when you returned, did you stop thinking about entering VHIK?
- I had a thought. But, despite the fact that Viktor Merezhko left me a phone and assured me that I would definitely come if I came, there were still fears. I have already entered here, and even in Medina. It is not known how it will be there. And at that time, it was believed that one should first put a diploma on the table of mom and dad - as proof of education. And only then can you do what you want. Soviet upbringing. So, after returning from the army, I decided to stay. But not only because of the parents, of course.
The vice-rector of Medina, now the late professor Boris Ivanovich Dmitriev, was an incredibly diverse and educated person. There are such giant people. He was one of them. After the army, I come to the institute. I don't really know anyone there yet, I just come to sign papers. And now Boris Ivanovich is sitting at the table, looks at me so penetratingly, takes out a book from the shelf and begins to read aloud - Yesenin. And then he sighs: "Yes, it's a pity, today's youth doesn't know all this." I answer: "Well, how to say." And I recite to him further from Yesenin. Then I read by heart Akhmatova, Rozhdestvensky, and so on. He immediately: "Surname?" He remembered me. And later he tells me: "Well, Balykov, you will be engaged in cultural and mass work at the faculty."
And I began to organize Faculty Days, KVNy, concerts. My organizational experience after the army was good. And here it turned out to be such a fertile teaching and student environment. And I felt that I can fully realize my desire for creativity in Medina.
I wondered a lot, of course. Once, he was almost expelled from the institute for creative activity. He was invited to speak at the Zhvanetsky Faculty Day. I was introduced to Mikhail Mykhailovych in the theater environment. And so we agreed on his performance, I organized a press conference, they began to distribute tickets for the concert. And the next day, I was called to the institute party committee: a statement was received that I was collecting money from students for my car (laughing). They made a strict warning then: these are Soviet times, the boundaries of creativity were set from above. In general, I was left at the institute, but Zhvanetsky's concert was canceled.
But I still prepared events that gathered people en masse. When the institute found out that the stomatology faculty was giving another performance, both students and teachers left in pairs. In the audience where we performed, the apple had nowhere to fall.
— Let's move on to your main activity. Tell us about the working principles of Dent House.
Dentistry is a craft. But such a craft, which with years of work and experience becomes an art. This is included in the philosophy of our clinic. "Dent House" is such a dental jazz band, in which a therapist, surgeon, orthopedist, orthodontist, hygienist and master technician work together. And in such a tandem, with the best approaches and technologies, we ensure that our work is perfect.
Before "Dent-House", I was a developer of two dental clinics of the medical university - on Srednefontanskaya and Tenysta. These were my projects.
In 2001, while working at the university department, I went to the USA for an internship. After returning from there, he introduced the concept of dental family — a family-type dental clinic — to Odessa. I brought the first questionnaires. Then no one had any idea what a patient questionnaire was. It never occurred to anyone that it is necessary to pay attention not only to the teeth, but also to the patient's complaints that are related and, as it were, unrelated to dentistry.
Over the years, I have come to believe that it is necessary to apply multidisciplinary diagnostics using modern technologies. And the closed-cycle dental clinic "Dent-House" was opened in 2012, taking into account all these developments.
Today, there are more than 300 dental clinics and offices in Odessa, where many great doctors work. But if the doctor does not have 3D diagnostics, he simply does not see many problems. Accordingly, it cannot solve them.
For some, a panoramic picture is enough, but according to the "Dent House" protocol, at the diagnostic stage, we most often take not only photos and videos, but also computer tomography of the patient. Our Gendex s500 generation computer tomography currently provides the most accurate 3D diagnostics and the lowest radiation exposure.
As a result of processing a 20-second examination, a 3D movie about the jaws is obtained. The patient gets the ego recorded on a CD. It doesn't matter whether he stays for treatment with us or not - he has objective diagnostics in his hands, which any doctor, anywhere on the planet, can view on his computer, rotate, zoom in, make cuts, see what's in the gums, and what is in the bone tissue, and what is in the maxillary sinuses, and so on.
Our full-time specialists - therapists, dentists, orthodontists and surgeons - can examine all of this with such fine detail that it is possible to diagnose not only current, but also potentially progressive disease.
That is, in relation to the patient, it gives an opportunity not only to correct his smile, but also to protect him from other health risks.
- What are these lines? What does your diagnosis protect the patient from?
— We try to develop collaborations with other specialists: first of all, with ENT doctors, osteopaths, neuropathologists, cardiologists, cosmetologists. Because if the patient has sleep disturbances, drops in blood pressure, headaches of a migraine nature, ringing in the ears, decreased hearing, changes in facial expressions, these are all symptoms associated with dental pathology.
I constantly talk about this at all medical congresses and conferences. And doctors who know about these relationships refer patients with similar complaints to us for diagnosis.
Here, for example, morning headaches of a migraine type and facial swelling are common, especially among sailors on long voyages. It seems that a person is resting, but wakes up in the morning tired and irritable, with a feeling as if he had been chewing something all night. What is the reason? And the reason is the wrong bite.
Using a computer method, we record the potential of muscle tone: we see which of the high or masticatory muscles is hypertonic, and which is relaxed. Then, by raising the bite, we level this occlusal ratio. For эa cap is made for that patient based on a cast of teeth - a special plastic plate that is worn on the teeth at night, on the principle of a boxing splint. And a man sleeps in it. For what? During the day, a person talks and uses facial expressions, thanks to which the blood flow of the brain is more active and balanced. And at night, in a person with a malocclusion, the vascular-venous bundle is compressed, blood outflow becomes weak, and hypoxia of the brain increases. As a result, the person wakes up with pain in the jaws, swelling and migraine. If this happens regularly, the accumulation of such fatigue in the body causes the most negative consequences. To avoid all this, we put a cap on at night: it removes the joint block and reduces muscle tone, the blood flow stabilizes, and brain hypoxia does not occur. In addition, this is how we prevent tooth wear.
Sailors order from us two or three caps per flight. After all, they have more stressful work - far from home, in a close team. Accordingly, psychoemotional stress is greater, and hypertension is higher. Therefore, they "eat" such a plastic cap in a dream in a couple of months. Otherwise, they would brush their teeth.
— By the way, about the sea. All offices in "Dent House" have individual names related to water. Why?
— The philosophy is obvious: all good houses stand near water. Everyone likes a vacation at the sea or the ocean, but not everyone likes going to the dentist. In order to create psychological comfort for patients, we have developed a design of offices associated with different water bodies of our planet. You go to treat your teeth - and end up in the Maldives. You will still smile - and the tension will disappear.
— Reveal the essence of the philosophy of the family dental home. For example, how do they work with children at Dent House?
- It is important not to scare children and convince them. Therefore, when parents fill out the child's questionnaire, we ask them to indicate all the details: for example, what is the child's favorite toy, what is its name. And when the child comes to the reception, the Tooth Fairy meets him, takes him to the children's area and tells him a story about how his toy came to visit us, we cured her teeth, and now it's the host's turn. Yes, this is also a theater. And this theater allows you to establish contact with the baby.
— Do children's animators help you?
- No, the doctor and the assistant themselves change into costumes and treat the child in this form. Of course, these are specialists with knowledge of child psychology, they know how to inspire confidence in children, they know how to create distracting maneuvers. We never do anything by force. If the child is not in the mood, we postpone the meeting, give him a plaster model-coloring and ask him to bring it to show next time.
— What would you recommend from modern technologies for caries prevention in children?
— Children are recommended to "seal" their teeth. This is called the fissure sealing method. Fissures - depressions on the surface of chewing teeth - can provoke caries, because it is very difficult to clean them, almost impossible. Therefore, when children's bite changes, and milk chewing teeth are replaced by permanent ones, we quickly clean them and "seal" them with a gel - a special resin varnish. The gel seals the tooth, and the flora for the development of caries does not get there. In our country, few people still do this procedure: it is a question of culture, attitudes towards oneself. But we try to convey to parents that this is necessary for the child to have strong, healthy teeth in the future.
— And what modern technology for preserving healthy teeth is recommended for adults?
— Once every six months to an hour, it is necessary to clean the oral cavity. It is inexpensive, takes 20 minutes of time. We use a Cavitron ultrasonic scaler. Glasses and a mask are put on the patient and cleaning is carried out without touching. The first stage is ultrasound cleaning of hard deposits from the teeth, so-called stones. The second stage is air-flow with water pressure and a special powder. If you do such a cleaning regularly, the gums and teeth will be preserved much better, and in the future you will not have to put implants. And this is again a question of culture: take care of your teeth - like honor - you need youth.
— What teeth whitening technologies do you offer to patients?
— The most recent, of course (laughing). Recently, people in the USA were very surprised: "What is this "Dent House" in Odessa, Ukraine, which buys the first device from the factory?" We bought Beyond, and it was indeed one of the first manufactured devices of the new generation. How good is whitening on Beyond? This is cold bleaching. It does not have burn factors and nerve fiber stimulation on living teeth. Beyond works exclusively on the surface of the tooth enamel, without affecting the internal structure of the tooth. This favorably distinguishes Beyond from other whitening systems.
— Do families from abroad come to you for dental treatment?
— Yes, families came from Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, the USA and Canada, Israel.
Foreigners come to us not by chance. They are attracted by the high level of dental care, first-class materials, advanced equipment and an affordable price point. And at home he turns on the word of mouth radio and tells friends and acquaintances about us. And then families from this country already come to us based on recommendations.
In Europe and America, insurance companies reimburse such patients, as it is also beneficial for them. After all, our work here is not worth the money it costs there. My former students therefore say: "Viktor Vladimirovich, you should have left a long time ago - in an hour you would have become a millionaire."
- Wasn't there such a thought - to leave?
- She was. There was even an offer. In the States, after the internship, the director of the clinic immediately said: "Stay. I am ready to hire you as an assistant for two years, and then as a doctor." But the wife did not want to move: the whole family is here, the parents are here - in general, family ties won.
— If we are talking about the possibilities of professional growth, then, staying in Ukraine, you probably have to give up something?
— If we are talking about dentistry, small private offices obviously cannot afford the latest dental equipment. But we have 27 doctors working at Dent House. And we follow all the news. I myself often visit European and American medical exhibitions, I bring new generation devices from there. We constantly invest in technology.
Therefore, often, when I come to some international seminar or conference, foreigners, especially Germans, first giggle: "What kind of Ukraine? There is antiquity in general!" And then, when you show them your work, they abruptly change their tone: "Viktor, tell me, how do you do it? And let's talk!"
I was at a seminar in Lviv, and a German there told me how to restore the face when, after an accident or fire, a person has no jaw, or ears, and so on. And I was quite intensively engaged in maxillofacial surgery. And so the German tells a room of three hundred people about his method. At some point, I get up and say: "It won't work like that here: in two months, bone resorption will occur, and the prosthesis will fall out." The German was perplexed: "Can you prove it?" I say, "Yes, of course." I insert the disc and show a similar problem on the screen, but with my own work: what and how was done at Dent House, and what were the results later. The German was filled with respect. Asks: "Why don't you practice it?" I answer: "And how much does such a prosthesis cost you?" He says: "The patient costs 32 euros." I then tell him: "A patient came to me, gave 000 hryvnias and said that there was no more money. Of course, we helped her. But we can't afford to put these technologies on stream, because we don't even pay back our costs."
Of course, I always want to help. But any help should be as much as possible. If we buy the same materials as our German colleagues, then we cannot do similar operations for two hundred euros. Although I have scientific patents for all of this. Obviously, something could change if the state helped patients in similar cases in our country. But, of course, it is difficult to talk about this yet.
— What is vital wisdom and why is it not connected with wisdom teeth?
— The wisdom of life is mind multiplied by experience. And everything is good in moderation. This is what Hippocrates said. Professionalism, by the way, also consists in observing the measure. Therefore, we at "Dent House" never prescribe anything extra to the patient.
If a person observes the measure in everything, then he becomes harmonious. And the more harmonious people around, the more harmonious the world. This is also the wisdom of life.
But the wisdom teeth, they come out before the wisdom of life comes (laughing). And they need to be removed. For example, in the States they are removed at the age of 16-17, when they are still in their infancy. I can say why: so that the faces do not grow in width. After all, wisdom teeth not only destroy neighboring teeth, but also affect bone growth. Therefore, it is better to get rid of them, and preferably painlessly.
We remove them with the help of a laser device. But in our country, among people, especially people of the older generation, there is still no such culture of self-care. Although many young guys already come and ask to remove the "eights", even when nothing bothers them. Who knows, perhaps the vital wisdom of the culture of health will gradually penetrate into our society.
