Gray Face Demon

A dentist need not be a masked demon

HONG KONG — Of all the painful events of daily life, visiting a dentist is often the worst. Grown, otherwise strong and brave men have nightmares in which the dentist hovers over them, like a white-clothed and masked devil bringing pain and destruction. For some it is the sight of the needle that can induce a faint; for others it is the wretched whining of the drill, worse than fingernails on a school board because it presages pain to come; for others it is the sharp probing of very personal space while helpless, which may mutate to torture if they dare to move.

The trauma of teeth usually starts at a tender age, before the toddling stage with sleepless nights accompanying the eruption of milk teeth. For most people it continues at regular intervals with the loss of those baby teeth, the coming of new teeth that don't properly fit the growing adolescent skull, wisdom teeth that play headaches games, the decay and toll of aging, not to speak of accidents in cars, on the playing field and on the battlefield of life.

Now a distinguished group of Japanese dentists has presented a radical piece of research that says it doesn't have to be this way. Much of the trauma and the pain can be avoided with better dental skills and regular checkups. "Your dentist should be one of your best friends, who will see that your teeth last for a lifetime and with a minimum of painful drilling," says Mikako Hayashi, who plays the part of the masked demon in the photo posted with this article.

From patients' disadvantaged prone position in the chair, this is welcome news — if they can believe it.

That's the big question. The radical work is a "Guideline" — a technical instruction on best treatment practices. But it advocates a new way of thinking about the care of teeth. For general dentists, it means they have to make potentially revolutionary changes to their traditional treatment methods, which have been summed up in three rhyming words — "drill, fill and bill."

For governments, the new policy prescription is potentially most radical and challenging of all: But do budget-strapped governments have the imagination to institute far-reaching reforms in everything from training of dentists to public health insurance?

Supporters of reform have one important weapon in Japan: Spending on social security has started to rise unsustainably with the rapidly aging population. With about 23 percent of Japanese aged over 65, there is a yawning gap between social outlays and receipts.

The Cursed Crusade Isn't Demon's Souls, It's A Medieval Brawler ...

The first question I asked Atlus’s (remarkably tall) Scott Strichart when I began to play The Cursed Crusade was, "Is this some sort of RPG with brawler elements or something?"

Nope, he replied "just a brawler."

"But it’s like a brawler with role playing elements, right?"

"Not really, it’s a brawler"

"Not some sort of hybridized brawlPG or anything like that?"

"It’s just a brawler. Kind of a departure for us, actually"

At this point, my character Denz had impaled the first enemy I had found through the face, then beheaded him. Yep. This was a brawler alright.

I picked up my fallen enemy’s sword, putting my shield on my back to try a more offensive style. Using the time-honored method of light and heavy attacks mapped to square and triangle, my blows shattered the armor straight off of my foes, leading to knee-skewering finishing moves. After noticing my quickly dwindling health, I switched back to using a sword and shield with the d-pad for a bit more defense.

My battle proceeded to a well, and I tossed a few enemies into it when they got too close. My assault continued unrestrained, with my ally (which was AI-controlled, but cooperative play is available!) holding enemies still long enough for me to slash to bits. After clearing the area of enemies, I moved into the next area, only to be greeted by arrows sent from the ramparts of a nearby building. As I fumbled with my bow (draw with L2, shoot with R1!), my ally took out the archers, clearing our path and allowing us to move on.

When I started to worry about my minimal health, Scott told me that I could gain health by engaging the Templar’s Curse with L1. Generally the Templar’s Curse (a curse that Denz is afflicted with by virtue of his blood) just makes Denz stronger (while making him grow horns, leaving a molten hole in the ground, and causing the world appear as a nightmarish hell full of skeletons) and allows him to rip the souls from his enemies, but the curse gauge can also be used to heal Denz, instead of just violent destruction.

Freshly healed, I had Denz pick up two enemy-dropped maces and wield them akimbo, a combination that was much slower than any of my blades, but even more devastating, removing my squishy enemies from their heavy armor in a matter of strikes and pounding their ears together with some particularly cringe-worthy finishers. Shortly after performing one of these, Denz smashed another enemy’s face into a burning torch, inspiring me to ask, "Is this really the good guy? He’s so angry!" — only to be informed that the curse in his blood makes him very grumpy.

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