Dry Socket. Pain and Treatment. How to cure the excruciating pain of Dry Socket.

Dry Socket. Pain and Treatment .How to cure the excruciating pain of Dry Socket.

Dr Seow Onn Choong

As a dentist it is inevitable to end up with a conversation over problems of dental care when you meet strangers and they found out that you are a dentist.

Last Sunday I manage to squeeze myself into a flight of three golfers to play a round of golf. At the  end of game we always sit down for drinks.The usual conversation popped up.

One of them shared with us his bad experience of dry socket after a wisdom tooth surgery four years ago. His description of the surgery was already bad enough.

But his statement really caught me. “ I do not wish upon others the excruciating pain from a dry socket. The pain was so bad that I cried. The whole episode lasted for nearly ten days and I was suffering throughout that period.”

Obviously he had returned to the dental clinic for treatment but it was to no avail. I looked at him. He is around my age and of fairly big built. For him to said that the pain had caused him to cry must be pretty significant.

Well this is not the first time I have heard of such an outcome. Just last year a patient turn up at my clinic to fix up a chipped incisor. Just as he was sitting down he shed a tear.He said he had another problem. He showed me a healing socket on his right lower jaw where his first molar had been. It still looked raw. This patient had seen me twice  for extractions of his upper molars.

He does not see me for other work as he is a regular patient of the national dental centre. Three weeks ago he went for his routine scaling. The young dentist suggested to him to take a set of x-rays. Lo and behold he found a cavity below a crown. His treatment option was to extract the tooth. Seems drastic but after some persuasion he agreed to it. Then his regret started. One hour into the procedure the tooth was broken down but still in his mouth. The nurse advice the young dentist to ask for help. Well with a more  experienced person it was done in ten minutes. Now the pain has started. It was subdued with analgesics. However on the third day  it became quite unbearable. So he returned to the centre. They proceeded to clean the wound without anaesthetic and his remarks was the same as the golfer, he was crying. They asked him to bite a piece of gauze and he told them off.He told them over the last two years he had come to see me for two extractions. Each time he was surprised that the tooth had been removed without him feeling any discomfort. Both times healing was so asymptomatic that he did not felt that he had an extraction. How is that their method was so painful and different. I told him they have not change their technique of extracting difficult tooth resulting in a Dry Socket . The method of managing the wound is very classical and textbook method.

I prescribed him an antibiotic and a pain killer, asking him to return the next day with the X-ray so that I may know the reason for the extraction. He came back the next day and told me the medication was like magic.

Dry Socket

The term Dry Socket is really a misnomer. It is the name describing a very painful condition involving the bone socket two to three days after a dental extraction. It is usually associated with the extraction of a lower molar especially the wisdom tooth . As no one knows the cause of this problem, thus here is no prevention and worst of all the whole dental world has no good solution to managing the problem.

Usually the patient can suffer for around 7 to 10 days. Some sort of relief can be obtained through analgesics but  usually is inadequate.

The condition is fairly common. Some articles quote around 4% of extractions will result in some sort of dry socket.

The worst case is when a dentist tries to clean the socket to speed up healing. The socket is ultra sensitive and usually most people will shed tears of pain during the procedure. Ironically this procedure does not work at all.

Some dentist will place some foul smelling paste known as alvogel  or cotton soak medicament (eugenol) into the socket hopefully to ameliorate the pain. Not only it does not work , it makes the patient have this horrible tasting  mouth for days. It also contravenes surgical principle by placing a foreign body to expose bone.

I do not want to elaborate more of this condition as on the internet it is already very well written and documented.

https://www.animated-teeth.com/dry-sockets/a1-dry-sockets.htm

This site gives you a very good understanding of the condition.

When I was a young dentist this condition had baffled me. I would follow the procedures as outlined in textbooks and taught to me by the dental school. The results are the same suffering of the patient. Without fail that is also the last time he or she will use me as their dentist.

In the early eighties extractions were fairly common daily procedures and with this condition occurring I felt it was not good for business.

One day I had lunch with a prominent orthopaedic surgeon. So I outlined to him my problem of managing dry socket.

He laughed and said it was such a small matter as he has to deal with much more serious bone infection  especially in cases involving road traffic accidents.

He was kind enough to tell me the answer.

That year was 1982

From that day on wards no dental infections were beyond my control and dry sockets was just a temporary irritation.

Many times I have tried to share with my dental colleagues this information and many times I have been rebutted by the oral surgeons.

One of them told me the golden rule in managing dry socket is curettage follow by a course of Amoxycillin and Flagyll.

I am sure  he knows Amoxycillin has many resistant strains.

Worst of all Flagyl is a terrible gastric irritating drug and in the oral cavity its ability to eliminate anaerobes is really doubtful

Have you heard of mega doses of Penicillin. I am not too sure whether it is still used today. I dread the risk of seeing the patient going into anaphylactic shock

Let me share my trade secret with the whole world.

From all the literature we know Dry Socket is a very localised bone infection because the bone in the extraction site is exposed to bacteria.

So all we need is an antibiotic that can reach the site and also effective against the bacteria involved.

And that antibiotic is Clindamycin

Clindamycin is used primarily to treat anaerobic infections caused by susceptible anaerobic bacteria, including dental infections and infections of the respiratory tract, skin, and soft tissue, and

peritonitis. In people with hypersensitivity to penicillins, clindamycin may be used to treat infections caused by susceptible aerobic bacteria, as well. It is also used to treat bone and joint infections, particularly those caused by staphylococcus aureus

This was a fairly expensive antibiotic back in the 80’s but now the generic version is widely available.

In severe cases the Injection version known as Lincomycin is needed. In fact the injection version is very effective against all severe dental infections as most of them are anaerobic in nature. In Brunei because of my ability to treat dental infections I was like a local hero.

Painkiller is also needed to overcome the pain. Nowadays we are very lucky to have so many variety of good painkillers. I used to experiment with lots of them and the one of the most effective was Feldene. You can hardly find it today.

Nowadays the drug of my choice is Arcoxia.

To my patients they really think I am a magician. This combination is very effective as the pain will disappear in as little as two to three hours. When I call my patients they will tell me they feel much better already.

Well if you are suffering from Dry Socket now please contact your doctor for the above prescriptions.

If you are a dentist try using it on the next dry socket that turns up. It will save you a lot of your precious clinical time and also the angst of your patients.

As dentists there are many things we can do for our patients and one of them is definitely not to make them suffer.
Many dentists will not believe what I have written. I hope the original manufacturer Pfizer will undertake a study to prove my claim. Then this method will be taught in dental schools and accepted by the dental profession.

To the whole world I sincerely apologise for those who had suffered the excruciating pain of dry socket by keeping this knowledge to myself. ( actually I had tried sharing. The few dentists I demonstrated to in Cambodia agrees) I can assure you I have no shares in the drug companies that sells the above drugs.

I wish nobody in the world will suffer from the excruciating pain of Dry Socket again.

Teach your body to burn fat and lose weight forever

Teach your body to burn fat and lose weight forever.

Overweight is one of the biggest problem facing mankind today. This is more so in the developed countries but it is fast catching up in the developing places too. The list of issues associated with overweight is so long that I would not list it out. However the reason why I went on a weight loss diet  was my cholesterol level have crept up over the years and my GP  wants me to start on statins. As all those males above forty will know, the fear of  a cardiovascular incident will drive one to improve your health. Most will seriously work out at the gym, going on serious diets to the extend of not eating any food that contains cholesterol. I think they have the same experience as me. It does not seem to work.

The easy way out is actually to take your GP’s advice. Just start taking statins and you will be fine. Afterall there is so much information outside about the effectiveness of this wonder drug that some doctors are advocating you to take it like a vitamin supplement even though you don’t have a cholesterol problem yet. Also when you check around you will find many of your friends already on the medication and they don’t seem to have a problem with it.

I choose to differ. I have high blood pressure since my forties. I have tried all the remedies known be it oil ,salt free, vegetarian diet to  no avail. Yes the medication had side effects but by changing them and fine tuning the dosage it is almost no trouble at all.

However I think one medication is enough and I need to do something about it.

I love watching TV especially documentaries. One night I happened to watch the BBC series Trust me I am a doctor. In it Dr Michael Mosley who had similar problems of health. He went on to interview many schools of dietary ideas. The problem with any dietary regime is the effect on our daily life habits not just personal but with the social interactions with people around us. Afterall our immediate family members and all your friends don’t have your health issue.

Food and its consumption is also the time we interact with people the most. Take for example when I was on my vegetarian and oil free diet my family complained terribly about the tasteless and bland food they were having daily. Also I have to give excuses to friends during social gatherings. Finally it  did not work.

Five and  Two diet

What Dr Mosley discovered and practiced on himself is known as the Five and Two diet. Whether he is still on it , I am not sure but it seemed he did well to reach his targets. Basically this diet advocates you fast on two days limiting your calorie intake to 600 calories for men and 500 calories of ladies. On other days you can eat normally but must not be a glutton. As there are already many articles on the internet that you can find I won’t dwell into it. This diet came about from  observations in America that during the  Great Depression era of the 1930;s many of these  so call health diseases were greatly reduced. The conclusion was this phenomenon was due to reduction in calorie intake. Many people loss their jobs during this period. With a loss in income people had less food available.

Advantages of this diet.

Life goes on as normal as far as social interactions are concern. One does not have to avoid any types of food or cook it differently.You can still partake food or drinks with your social circle albeit on a reduce amount. You choose the two days you have to reduce the calories. Thus literally speaking there is little change in your life.

**** GOAL***  

Once you reach your health targets you no longer have to fast on the two days i.e you no longer have to diet. You have mastered the technique of burning fat and thus you don’t have to worry about the issues associated with overweight.

How to get through the diet.

Obviously as with any diets one must stick to it. The first two or three weeks can be daunting but once you overcome that period it will be easy. This is where I can share my experience with you.

At the beginning.

To start of measure your weight and height so that you have an idea of your BMI. Also keep notes of your previous medical reports as a reference.

The two fasting days.

As I have mentioned there are already a lot of resources available, so do  refer to them.

My personal regime.

Breakfast

My usual day starts with fruits. I would use a blender, throw in juicy fruits and vegetables such as oranges, starfruit, cucumbers etc. Use fruits that have a high fibre content. Add water to the blending. Thus you get your vitamins, fiber and water to start your day. In addition I will just have  two tablespoon of muesli type of cereals with skimmed milk.  

Lunch

It can be hard boiled egg, sardines and some fruits such as apple, carrots, celery. I like fruits and vegetables that has low starch content, not sweet and has  a lot of bulk.

Tip. Divide the lunch into small portions and eat it over time. Drink lots of water to acoomapny  the food so you feel bulk up.

Dinner.

Clear soup, lots of vegetables, a small piece of meat.

Things to avoid.

Sugar and carbohydrates are the biggest contributor to weight gain. So I avoid it completely on the two days. As a dentist I am very well aware of the effects of sugars on our health, thus I hardly consume any soft drinks and generally do not drink any beverages with sugars. I have leant to appreciate tea and coffee in their natural state.  

Fats. As you can see fats are important but in this diet it just comes along with the food.

Tip

To distract my hunger pangs on the first two weeks I took time for walks when I feel hungry and not time yet for the next meal. All I needed was a bottle of water and the distraction of the surroundings.

The Science behind this diet.

I am sure most people have tried some or all the diets in their lifetime. Some will find it works but others cannot keep it up for life. The good thing about this diet is it is easy and you can do it for life. The best of all it cost you nothing.

Exercising and weight loss,

Many discipline people will push themselves to burn off the calories. This is very well written subject. However one has to work out the maths to see it is difficult to achieve one’s goal.

When you run or walk 1 km, the energy you burn up is only about 65  kcal. To lose

1 kilo of your weight you have to burn up 7000 kcal. Thus effectively you will have to run 100 kms to do that. Imagine the time consumed, the wear and tear on your body and the extreme discipline to finish it. Worst of all , the impact on your joints when you start exercising as an overweight person.To make matters worse if you drink a rehydrating drink after the exercise then you  have zero calories lost.

Effectively to run a marathon you only burn up in the region of a day’s routine calorie intake. If you look at the African world marathon champions they hardly have any fat.

So isn’t it easier just not to take in the calories in the first place.

So the moral of the story is exercise for health and fun so there is no need to stress your body.

Where is our fat and cholesterol coming from in our diet?

In our good life, food has become plentiful. Not just in amount, variety but also very conveniently available. Firstly we have been conditioned from young by our parents as they gave us as much food a we wanted so that we grow up healthy. Asians who are traditionally non milk drinkers have a pint of it daily. The food industry is the worst culprit. The more they sell the more money they make. So not only do they upsize the meal they add a lot of sugars to hook you. Worse of all when the food arrives on the table in order not to waste any, you finish all of it thus conditioning your body to the next big meal.

Carbohydrate is the real culprit.

In human evolution, our main building blocks are protein and fats. Once agriculture was developed carbohydrates as a source of energy was easier to obtain than hunting for food.

However our body is tuned to the early days. When food comes into our system our body is geared  towards the absorption and storage of the protein and fat as they are the basic building blocks. In the past man has to do more physical work thus any intake of carbohydrate is welcome.

Now the story has changed. Not only is food abundant, with the help of machines we are doing much less physical work. The nett result is an abundance of carbohydrate and thus calorie intake.

Everything will be fine if excess carbohydrates excreted out just like water as urine.

Now comes the big Ouch.

All the excess carbohydrate is converted to Triglyceride. Yes you did not see wrongly and what does triglyceride end up as? Yes you guessed it. Fats.

So now you can understand why the hype about eating low cholesterol food did not achieve an inch of success!.

We have all being conned.

What else?

As we know the building blocks of cholesterol is triglycerides, you will not have a problem of having a high cholesterol if you just take in the right amount of calories. Simple isn’t it? Now you can return the statins to your GP.

 

My own personal experience.

As usual when one starts of on any project there is always a lot of scepticism.

My starting weight 71 kilos

                  Height 168 cm

Trousers waist measurement 34

As can be seen I am not really overweight. However for the sake of my high cholesterol problem I embarked on this journey. I gave myself seven weeks as I was going on a overseas holiday. As usual I am not able to resist the variety and new types of food on such trips.  

Results were dramatic.

I loss 6 kilos in 7 weeks.

My blood test results were really rewarding. My cholesterol numbers have improved significantly.

I can now wear trousers with waist measurement of 31.

Pretty dramatic changes in the cholesterol readings.

Ketones in the urine.

The  urine test indicated ketones in the urine. I checked my previous test and there was no such thing. Came as a surprised. To my happiness I found out that when your body burns fat, ketones are formed and excreted in the urine.

Hallelujah I can burn fat now.

The biggest benefit I found was my ability to run again. I used to run a lot to the tune of 8 to 10 km regularly. I am also an avid squash player. They go hand in hand. You don’t play squash to be fit but you must be fit to play squash. So you need to run to build up stamina. Over the years i find it increasing difficult to finish 8 km without stopping. It became a case of running and walking.

During the third week I went for my run. I felt I had lots of new found energy  and before I knew it I manage to run the whole 8km. That was 5 months ago, now I can run 10 km. Not bad for a 63 year old man.

The Best unintended result.

My blood pressure has come down. I now take only  half the dosage of the medication. Hopefully one day I can get on with life free of medication.

Most important now is I never really feel hungry at all. Even if I don’t eat the whole day I can still go running. Amazing.

My weight now still hovers around 64 kg. This was my weight when I was a university student, then the fittest period in my life. Alas the good life had slowly added kilos without be being aware.

I am sure the diet I undertook is not for everyone.However I want to share this with people who have the same problems I had an easy and successful way to claim back your health without medication. Think of the amount of money you can save from not having to pay for all those medications but also the food bill you saved. You are also contributing to a greener world as we know the growth, transport, preparation,sale and consumption of food  uses a lot of resources.

Still have the energy and mental strength to win a golf tournament. The tournament was played over four days. 

Follow through of the diet.

Once you have achieved your goal, it is just a matter of maintenance. The trick is very simple. If you know you are going to have a heavy meal with family or friends, make your other meals very light. In reality even if you don't eat you no longer feel hungry. So now you can really eat for fun.

Now you really can have the cake and eat it.

The mobile phone and the future of Urban Transport

The Mobile phone and the future of Urban Transport

The Personal Mobile Transporter.

How you can save yourself and mother earth.

The title of this article seems very odd. What has the mobile phone to do with moving people around going on their daily life.

The mobile phone is what we call a disruptive technology. It destroyed our old system of communication using the telephone line. It also changed the way we buy, sell products and services or what you call e- commerce. Most important of all we can now do all the above literally from any place in the world and even on the move.

In the days of landlines all communications depended on the telephone. So if you have no telephone you will not be able to talk to another person out of hearing range. Even then you must make arrangement with the party to pick up the phone when you dial the number. Otherwise you will have to leave a message and rearrange a new time to communicate.

Even the message you sent can be erroneous. This is because the person transmitting the message can say different things or worse to than that forgot to transmit the message. Then came the telex machine. First you will need to find one and worst the message has to be delivered by a person or by post. Finally with the advent of the fax machines all these problems were greatly reduced but all these were  still not personal. There is always some middle person or machine that you need to access.

The line telephone mode of communications was thus expensive and prone to errors.

As for commerce the mobile phone has really destroyed many systems. The personal computer revolutionise how information was handled and business was done creating what we know as e-commerce. With e-commerce you no longer needed a physical shop. People can buy and sell things 24 hours a day without even coming into physical contact. Now the mobile phone is your personal computer and thus the days of the PC is limited. Even better with Apps the mobile phone can do much more things faster and you can also lock in your customer.

Now what has the mobile phone to do with the transport system.?

As you know the transport system is very similar to the landline telephone system. When you want to go from point A to point B, you can walk. So just like not using the telephone when you can shout your message across. If you have time and the distances are longer, you can use a bicycle to go further.  Nowadays we are always in a rush and we need to cover much longer distances. The car was the greatest invention that came into our lives. It is personal, convenient and transport us great distances very comfortably. However when everyone wants to drive in a city, it creates massive traffic jams, pollution, and takes up too much land space. Not only we need land for roads to drive around but also to park the car. Thus cars are a very expensive mode of transport. It is really very wasteful on the world’s resources. Cars consume a lot of energy as you are moving big chunks of metal and rubber around. You will need even more resources to clean up the pollution it creates in addition to getting rid of the rubbish like tyres, plastics etc.

So in most cities we are encouraged to use public transport such as buses and trains. Buses and trains can transport many people efficiently and at much cheaper cost than cars. However as they are designed to transport big numbers they are no longer personal. Effectively you will have to wait for a bus or a train to come along. Thus your time of travel has to match other similar travellers. Besides this you will have to walk to the designated spot be it the bus stop or the train station i.e the so call last mile.

Trains are a very efficient mode of transport provided you can conveniently within reach of the station. There are no traffic jams or traffic lights to bother. There is also a very low risk of accidents as in driving a car. To top it the majority of the trains don’t even need a driver. There is hardly any pollution along its track so that the air quality is greatly improved.

The set back of the train system is obviously the cost of building and maintenance. However over the long run it is very cost effective. Access to the stations is the main problem as these stations can be quite a distance apart. Furthermore when the population is not dense enough in certain areas it is not economical to built a train line. A big occasional irritant is when the train system breaks down. Then thousands of people are inconvenienced as there is no backup to it.

Buses are a very convenient mode of transport as there have the mobility as the car. Bus stops are usually closer to each other than train stations. In Singapore bus stops are set about 400 meters apart while train stations are about 800 meters apart.

Stuck in traffic

Problems of using buses.

Many times when you are waiting for the bus it does not seem to turn up at the designated time.  When it finally shows up it is packed and you have to wait for the next bus. Thus travelling times can be affected and one have to give more leeway.

Buses have to share the roads with all other road users i.e cars , trucks, motorcycles , bicycles and finally pedestrians. So you have many types of vehicles on the move and worst of all a human being with all its unpredictability and nuances constantly making the bus trip unpredictable. To add to this confusion there is also the dump traffic lights to contend with. Thus most bus journeys are seldom smooth and many a times the passengers are thrown around. More often than not any bus accidents usually have significant casualties.

Then there is the problem of pollution. All buses are powered by diesel engines. At least in Singapore black soot belching buses are rare but nevertheless with a few thousand buses daily on the roads a fair share of smog is created. Then there is the problem of bus schedules. To please the public buses are run on schedules. As in the typical transport problem everybody wants to travel at the same time. Thus the buses are packed. But then one forgets that during off peak hours these buses are running more or less empty thus really contributing unnecessary pollution. Furthermore it is all these wastage of no passenger miles that add the cost to the bus fares. In addition buses take up a lot of road space and parking places. In land scarce Singapore this can add up to a lot of land both for bus stops and terminals. Also buses are fairly huge vehicles and they really slow down road traffic especially when they come to bus stops and also the implementation of bus lanes. Congestion at bus stops contribute to a lot of delays and also significantly lengthen travel time. The worst journey is obviously when you have to take a feeder bus to catch a train change to another train followed by another bus to your final destination.

Finally there is the problem with costs. Buses are not cheap vehicles. Some of them can cost more than half a million dollars. Add these to the number of bus drivers the cost of running a fleet of buses it is a very costly transport system.  Bus drivers in Singapore are usually foreigners as locals cannot take the hardship. Can you imagine driving the bus from Clementi to Bedok facing all the traffic and the irate passengers, plus wearing diapers as there is no way to go to the loo. As it is there is no robot bus driver yet unlike the trains.

Taxis. This is probably the most convenient mode of transport. Fortunately taxi fares in Singapore are very reasonable but it can still burn a big hole in your pocket. In the era of driverless cars this can be a very good option. Still like a car it is still a big chunk of metal running around. In Singapore the authorities require the taxi to clock a mileage of 250 kilometers so as to ensure they don’t hide at places. Really in the age of Uber and other call apps this is really and joke and extremely waste of fuel, wear and tear, least of all contributing to the smog.

What About Bicycles ?

The funny thing is our traditional idea of the bicycle as a clean, healthy mode of transport is the barrier to the new age of Personal mobile transporter. PMT for short. Bicycles have been around for a very long time even before your advent of cars. Remember the massive numbers in China’s cities before Chinese became rich. What happen to all these cyclist? They all become fanatic new car owners. Not only did they have a new status symbol now they have also projected their distances significantly.

Let’s face it. The number of cyclists dwindled because cycling is really hard work. Yes it is good for health but you can be very tired when you reach your destination. Then there is this weather problem which all cyclist are faced with. In Singapore  the weather is so hot that even cycling for a kilometre is a torture and you will need a shower just to get rid of the sweat. In countries with winter and snow it is too cold to really pedal on the road.

Many countries have developed cycle lanes to encourage cycling. Holland is the best example and thus a lot of Dutch people commute with bicycles. However in Singapore the civil service has their brains stamped with this phrase of land scarcity that building cycle lanes is done at a snail’s pace. Also we still have an archaic law that says bicycles must share the roads with other mechanised vehicles so much so road traffic deaths are a regular. This puts tremendous fear on me to cycle especially the buses and trucks are always rushing to their destinations.

The bicycle is a very large object and some of them can be pretty heavy. There are many places in Singapore , one has to carry their bicycles across bridges or go down staircases. This is really daunting for a petite person. There are a number of foldable bicycles that one can use on trains but few people have use it because it is very difficult to move it into a crowded train. Last but not least bicycle thefts are still rampant in Singapore. I was once such a victim and the authorities have not been able to solve this issue. I have given up cycling since then.

The new disruptive revolution.

The first of the technologies introduced was the electrical powered bicycles. This turn the common bicycle into much like a electric motorbike. It extended the cyclist range greatly with the comfort without the need to peddle.  In China this is a very common vehicle. In fact there are charging stations just like your petrol stations where a short charge can enable one to reach home or their office to plug in for a full charge. However they have made it more or less like a electrical motorbike and thus is fairly bulky.

Choosing freedom

The electric skateboard and other similar devices.

Recent technological development in reducing the size of electric motors and greater power output has enabled them to be fitted to skateboards. This essentially started as a piece of fun equipment but many people have adapted it for their daily commute.  With the affordability of light weight lithium batteries this boards have a tremendous reduction in weight and at the same time significant range. Now there are a plethora of other similar devices such as the hoverboard, spinning wheels, roller skates. For those who cannot balance so well seats can be fitted to the skateboards.

Once again Singapore has failed to recognise this new disruptive technology. Our country prides itself trying to be an innovative country but actually we have been followers. This may stem from our citizens and decision makers kiasu mentality. Every project we undertake  must have an expert panel  opinion. If the project does not meet expectations it is not my fault because so many experts have studied it. Take for example the idea of flood prevention, we need a panel of external experts to advice us on that matter. Some of these experts come from countries that have desert like climate. Can’t we think for ourselves?

This Personal Mobility Transporter is really god sent to our small nation state especially for our hot humid climate. Riding on it will immediately create a natural breeze. It is not only our country’s answer to mass transport but if we can innovate further a great contributor to the world eco system.

The advantages of the PMT.

Clean and non air polluting.

The total reduction in buses and cars with their associated CO  and noise pollution is already a fantastic contribution.

Reduction in land demand

There will also be a tremendous gain in land space due to the reduction of roads and also motor vehicle parking spaces.

Human resource.

The reduction in buses and taxis will contribute to our manpower  issue.

Barrier free movement

Independent mobility.

Whether you are young or old, handicap or fit there is a PMT that can be tailored made for you. You no longer have to wait for the bus or taxi and reach all corners of Singapore. MRT breakdowns are not an issue as you can still zoom home. Some PMT are so powerful you can travel with your partner or child.

It is very common in Singapore to see a maid pushing a wheel chair loaded by an overweight person. Doesn’t it make great sense to use an electric wheel chair instead?

Where is the jam?

 Isn’t it like your mobile phone?

What can Singapore do? Follow the concept of the mobile phone.

Miniaturise and improve.

We should research into developing lightweight materials be it the motors, body and the battery. Even the battery charger can be made smaller and thus portable. Eventually the whole kit can be folded and pack in a small haversack to make it really personal.

Develop the necessary infrastructure.

PMT lanes and flyovers.

Like the cycle lanes, special lanes can be created to avoid PMT pedestrian, or PMT motor vehicle conflicts. In fact PMT can travel on raised paths i.e like existing double decker roads and flyovers to speed up their travel. The lightweight nature of PMTs allow for such constructions. School children can safely travel on their own to schools no need for school buses or their parents crowding outside the school. Singapore had already embarked on a program to build cover walkways. So we can have a double decker walkway with the PMTs using the upper section while pedestrian use the lower  section.

Charging Stations.

In time just like the mobile phone you can just plug it into any electrical socket be it in the office or even in the cafe. As we have a lot of sunshine, solar panel charging stations can be build all over the country. 

PMT on call.

Google technology has changed our lives tremendously. They are experimenting on driverless cars and their google navigation system has made London taxi driver training looks like dinosaur school. Thus you don’t even need to worry to own a PMT. Use a phone to call up one and with the smart technology it will come to you from the nearest PMT storage depot, send you to your destination using the fastest and most convenient route. Isn’t it great for the tourist and definitely for you. The whole system can interact with driverless train systems thus increasing PMT’s reach.

So why are governments not even thinking of the idea?. Some people say it is because they can’t collect taxes on PMT usage. Hopefully that not true. They can save billions of dollars not building or maintaining so many roads, buying buses etc, thus there is no need for tax increase. For the average person not owning a car is already saving tremendous amount of money plus you are now a great eco citizen of the world. Generally speaking people who run governments love grandiose projects so that people can remember the great thing thay have done. Take for example the city of Metro Manila which perpectually plaqued with traffic jams and pollution. They calculated that the number of man hours lost in these jams run into billions without even thinking of the health care cost from pollution. So they got JICA, the Japanese government agency to develop a master plan to solve this problem and you what they recommended. Five things which include a new airport plan, new harbour, new subway, road controls etc. Now please tell me how is the Philippine’s government going to pay for all that and how much will the Manila citizens suffer before all those work are completed. Just don’t make sense eh?

Humans are funny. When the Segway came out many governments bought it so that their police can ride on it to guard in airports and public spaces This machine is very expensive yet governments pride on it. Isn’t a show off thing. I think a lot of governments don’t want to implement PMTs because they are worried other countries will laugh at them with such a cheap transport system. Wait till Prada makes one of them with star studded diamonds.

Ask not what the world (government) can do for you but ask yourself what you can do for yourself.

 If you wait for the government to act on this idea, it may not happen. This is the best time to do your own thing. Free from the constraint of public transport, free from the heavy loans of owning a car. Free from all the pollutants in the air generated by buses, cars and motorbikes. These air pollutants may be a contributor to all the cancers we are suffering from. Also we can avoid a great many road traffic tragedies. With PMT’s the authorities can ban motorcycles. Motorcycles are potentially death machines.

We can also save the world by reducing our carbon footprint and thus our polluting footprint. It is already here so go for freedom and also do a good deed for mother earth.

The future PMT Drones

Amazon dot com is talking about delivering their parcels using drones. What is there to stop us from developing a PMT drone that enables us to fly. That day will come when the batteries are very light and the propellers can generate enough power. After all, just like you mobile phone you can charge your drone anywhere.

Just Ride it