There was a time when the understanding of patients was broadly aligned with professional standards – Kevin Lewis asks how this has changed in a world of conspiracy theories and social media driven expectations.
We live in an age of conspiracy theories. The existence of such theories is hardly a new phenomenon but they have blossomed because they now have what they have always dreamed of – rocket fuel to propel them to a whole new global audience in the shape of social media, coupled with a cloak of anonymity for those who feel the need for it.
Many do not, of course; instead they actively crave the attention and pseudo-celebrity that they can receive from fellow conspirators.
On local TV recently I was listening to the parents of a young child (aged six-ish) who had already endured three general anaesthetics to remove 16 of the primary dentition after the teeth had ‘crumbled’ and the child was in agony with toothache.
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