Thursday, September 28, 2006

ROOT CANAL AND CROWN/TRAITEMENT RADICULAIRE ET COURONNE (End/Fin)

During the following appointment , Dr. Kubieniec proceeded with planing down the temporary crown so that there would be room to drop in a temporary crown and took impressions of both the top and bottom teeth in that area.

Les filets nerveux de la dent étant supprimés, les douleurs associées aux traitements dentaires ordinaires n’existent plus. Cela ne veut pas dire que les travaux de renforcement et de reconstitution de la dent ne provoquent pas de traumatisme. La dentiste m’avait prévenu que les sensations d’irritation persisteraient pendant 2 à 3 jours. Quelle fut mon agréable surprise lorsqu’elles disparurent dans les 24 heures suivantes!

Today's appointment saw the removal of the temporary crown and the fitting of the permanent one. Again, no pain! There was some discomfort with the final grinding and planing, but after a couple of tries, the permanent crown was dropped into place and felt like the tooth had never been absent from that position. One last check in about a month's time and I am done!

A few words about the dentist that performed this work: she is Dr. Kinga Kubieniec, a new associate of Dr. Lloyd Koutsaris, of Toronto. He has been looking after my teeth for the last 28 years and it is only because I came in on an emergency that I was asked if I would allow Dr. Kinga to do the job. An associate of Dr. Koutsaris must be a top dentist, I thought to myself. And I was right: she was professional, she was precise, she knew her stuff but she also was kind, understanding, listened to my occasional ravings, and always responded with enthusiasm and a smile.

Il faut absolument que je donne quelques précisions sur la Dr Kinga Kubieniec, nouvelle associée du Dr Lloyd Koutsaris, de Toronto, qui me traite depuis 28 ans. Étant arrivé en urgence au cabinet, on me propose ses services. Je me dis, si le Dr Koutsaris l’a choisie comme associée, c’est qu’il lui fait absolument confiance et qu’elle est une excellente dentiste. Je n’ai pas eu à regretter ma décision : c’était une dentiste de carrière, précise, compétente mais qui possède également des qualités humaines admirables : gentillesse, compréhension, attention et enthousiasme et un sourire réconfortant.

Patient/dentist and customer/professionals relationships are built on trust. Dr. Koutsaris has seen me through thick and thin and has always come through. That is what I aim to do with my professional customers - help them understand the service they are getting, provide top notch service and trust will surface all by itself.

Les relations entre patient et médecin ou professionnel et client reposent sur la confiance. Le Dr Koutsaris est passé par des tas de choses avec moi et les résultats ont toujours été excellents. C’est ce qui est mon objectif dans mes relations avec mes clients : les aider à comprendre les services que je leur rends, leur fournir une aide sans reproche et la confiance s’établira toute seule.

The result in both cases: a smile on the customer's lips. Dans les deux cas, un sourire aux lèvres du client.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Editing an English Newsletter

One of the major components of translation is revision, i.e. the detailed and careful analysis of a translation to ensure its accuracy. It is a form of editing. Traditionally, translation students learned it from their professors, employees from their company revisors. Debuting freelance translators are at a disadvantage because they do not have a second pair of eyes looking critically at their work.

I was fortunate to have had good revisors and later on carried out an extensive study of translation quality control using statistical analysis. In recent years, I have used my critical skills while assisting ATIO's certification exam candidates during their preparatory work.

In the present world of the Internet and Websites, many business people resort to E-letters and Newsbulletins to reach their potential clients. In many cases, these are professionals who have embarked on a second or third career in the independent world. They are well educated, knowledgeable and have years of experience in their field but they have, in the past, relied on writers or other staff to do the bulk of their writing. Some have discovered the advantages of speech recognition and dictate their letters. I myself have tried it and find it quite effective once you have mastered the media and the method. The problem is that people have little time to do the editing work or they are too absorbed in it to see the errors or areas for improvement.

In the last six months, I have had the opportunity to provide editorial (i.e. revision) services to several very capable independents and was amazed by their reaction. They absolutely welcomed my comments, asked for opinions and generally made me feel that the service provided was worthwhile.

What has been your experience?

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Cerveau – Université McGill – Broca, Wernicke et autres aires du langage

Je viens de découvrir lors d’un moment de cybernautisme, un site très intéressant sur le cerveau et en particulier sur le langage.

Je connaissais déjà les travaux de Broca et de Wernicke, mais ici le site en donne des explications sur plusieurs niveaux : débutant, intermédiaire et avancé. Donc, le lecteur peut choisir le niveau de technicité qui lui convient.

McGill’s site on the Brain contains a very interesting section on language. The link above will get you to the French section from which you can transfer to the English one.

Root canal treatment 2nd step – Traitement radiculaire - 2ème étape

Once this space has been cleansed, the next treatment involves filling in and sealing up the interior of the tooth. The antiseptic compound used will harden and seal the canal to prevent any bacterial reinfection.

Le canal est élargi, désinfecté puis obturé avec une pâte antiseptique qui durcira et donnera une étanchéité à ce canal afin de prévenir toute nouvelle infiltration par des bactéries.

At this stage, the tooth may be more fragile and breakable so a crown may be required. One first has to reinforce the tooth and rebuild it, then take an imprint, have an artificial crown made by a specialized lab and cement the crown in place.

La dent dévitalisée est fragile et cassante, il est préférable de la couronner. Il faut d’abord la renforcer et la reconstituer, préparer et prendre une empreinte, faire réaliser une couronne prothétique par un laboratoire de prothèse et sceller la couronne.

In my case, I actually enjoyed the procedure since there was no pain (since the tooth nerve had been removed). The traditional reaction of fear and pain created by the sound of drill was no longer there. Keeping one’s mouth open for a long time was tiresome but not painful.

Dans mon expérience personnelle, cette étape du traitement était agréable car elle était sans douleur (le nerf de la dent ayant été enlevé). Ma réaction habituelle de crainte et de douleur suscitées par le son de la fraise du dentiste n’avait plus de raison d’être. Il est vrai que rester la bouche ouverte pendant longtemps est pénible, mais sans douleur.