Free I-Pod with Brain Surgery

Would you get your brain surgery from a surgeon who advertised that

you would get a free I-Pod if you got your surgery from him?

Would you get a knee replacement from a guy who offered a free

DVD player with every knee replacement?

Of course not!

These things are too important to trust to someone who may be doing

a terrible job on people and is simply trying lure people in with free stuff.

Please use this same logic when you choose your dentist.

Your teeth mean more to you then you will ever know.

Good looking teeth will help in your self confidence, relationships, getting a job,

respect of co-workers, neighbors, etc.

What do you think of when you see someone with no teeth, missing teeth,

badly stained teeth, etc?

You may place labels on them that are not all that flattering.

These labels may not be true but someone that has a horrible looking

smile may be overlooked for someone, less qualified, but with a better looking smile.

Getting freebies is cool.

But get the freebies from Old Navy or some place like that.

DO NOT get your freebies from someone that will be providing medical or

dental care to you that may effect you the rest of your life.

Ask around.

Get referrals.

Ask to see before and after pictures.

Know before you go.

If you really want the free I-Pod that is great.

Just don't be shocked if the teeth you end up with don't match your expectations.

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Cosmetic Bonding Mindy Anderton Wright

This is a cosmetic case for Mindy Anderton Wright.

She is a part time hygienist for our office and the shortest sister in law I have.

She has always hated a gap she had in front of one of her teeth.

She finally decided to do something about it.

(She decided to wait and see what to do with the gap in back of the tooth.)

This procedure took 20 minutes.

No shots. No pain.

She is ecstatic with the results!!

Before

After

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How did I get a cavity?

Happens everyday.

I tell people they have cavities and they look at me

with this questioning and confused look and say,

"How do I have cavities? I brush my teeth."

This is probably just an eternal battle for me as a dentist.

For a person to say...

"How can I have cavities? I brush"

Is like saying...

"How did my engine overheat? I put water in the radiator."

Good job on the water.

That is a very necessary part of helping keep your engine cool.

However, so is adding oil to the engine itself.

Adding the water is nice but its not enough.

Just as brushing is nice but it is not enough, on its own, to prevent tooth decay.

Moral to the story.

Brush AND Floss

Brush AND Floss

Brush AND Floss

Brush AND Floss

Got it?

Good.

Now have a wonderful day.

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Which Electric Toothbrush is Better?

Okay, because you asked.

When the topic of electric toothbrushes comes up there are two big questions that I always get asked.

Questions.

#1 Do I need one.

#2 Which one is the best.

Answers

#1 No. You do not need an electric tooth brush. If you are a diligent brusher then it does not really matter if your tooth brush uses batteries for power or uses you for power. The results can be the same. This is not to say that the results will be the same in the same amount of time. Because they wont. The manual tooth brush will take a little longer but it is capable of doing the same thing.

# 2 This question is like asking which car is the best. Well, a Ferrari is the fastest and looks the best, but a Toyota Camry will do you just fine. The same is true for tooth brushes. There are tooth brushes out there that can run you over $300. They have timers to tell you when to stop. they will talk to you and tell you to switch sides of the mouth. They have pressure sensors to tell you if you are brushing too hard. And they look really cool. However, the electric toothbrushes that cost $10 can do just as much for cleaning your teeth. The whole idea behind cleaning your teeth is just to get the bristles to remove the plaque. Little timers are nice but if you are capable of getting your teeth clean without a timer then what is the point.

So what do I use?

I use an Oral B electric. I like the way it feels when it cleans and it seems to work well for me. My wife uses a Sonicare, and can't stand my Oral B. Conversely I have used her Sonicare and that thing drives me up the wall. So there is a lot to be said here about personal preference.

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Can anything be done about my teeth grinding?

Teeth grinding is a tough thing to deal with.

The problem here is that most teeth grinding is done while you sleep.

Thus, you are doing it subconsciously.

Well, unless you can control your subconscious then you might be out

of luck in making yourself stop grinding all together.

So what can be done?

The only thing that can be done is an attempt to stop the damage being

done from the grinding.

Serious damage can occur as you grind your teeth.

Chipped teeth is one of the biggest things.

To help avoid chipping, and even completely breaking, your

teeth we recommend a night guard.

Its not complicated.

Its just a piece of plastic that is made to fit your teeth.

The fit needs to be fairly tight so that it does not fall off into your mouth at night.

You will still be doing the grinding but instead of grinding teeth on

teeth you are now grinding teeth on plastic.

Over time the plastic will wear out and you will need a new one.

It is however, much cheaper to replace a piece of plastic then it is to replace your teeth.

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Are Clear Plastic Braces for You?

Everyone calls these types of braces Invisalign.

However, another product is out on the market that

does the exact same thing except less expensive.

This product is called Clear Correct.

The trays are still clear.

Your teeth still move.

You can still take them out.

If you have orthodontic insurance you are still covered.

So are there any differences?

Yes

You pay less.

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Your Child and Getting a Mouth Guard.

As the winter months are upon us my kids, and perhaps yours,

are starting up things like indoor soccer, wrestling, or basketball.

No doubt that these activities will lead to a few bumps and bruises.

In time these bumps, bruises, and even broken bones will heal.

Something that would not heal however, is a broken tooth.

Teeth, unlike bones, will not grow back.

To save teeth requires root canals, crowns, and any number of other things.

Please Please Please.......

get your child a mouth guard to wear during their sporting events.

The ones that you can buy from the store and mold to your

child's teeth will do, but a custom made mouth guard from

a dentist is always the best way to assure the best way to go.

I don't care if you get one from me or the other guy.

That is not the point.

The point is to protect your child's teeth.

They will have them for a very long time.

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Are pacifiers bad for your kids?

Well, like most things, the answer is ............ it depends.

Sucking is a very natural and calming thing for a baby to do.

I have given each and every one of my 5 kids a pacifier.

None of them are delayed in their teeth coming in, have any speech problems, or had any thumb sucking problems due to using a pacifier.

There are some obvious things you should be concerned with.

If you use a clip and a cord to keep the pacifier attached to your child's clothes make sure the cord is short enough that can't choke the baby.

Once your child gets to kindergarten make sure that they only use the pacifier at home. Being known as the only kid that had a pacifier in kindergarten could seriously damage your child's chances at getting asked to junior prom.

Seriously though, allowing your child to have a pacifier for the first few years of life is, in my opinion, not a problem.

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Implant case

Here is an implant case that we did several months ago.

The patient came in with a broken lower molar.

She decided that instead of trying the heroic measures necessary to save her own tooth that she would get an implant placed.

The extraction and immediate implant placement went very well.

The healing took place over an 8 week period.

The abutment was in for an additional 2 weeks.

The crown was then placed this morning.

Wonderful alternative to root canals, posts, core buildups, etc.

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What is a retainer and what kinds are there?

Lots of people ask me about retainers.

Most retainers are given to folks from their orthodontists.

The type of retainer you have really depends on the personal preference of the Orthodontist.

Some orthodontists like the retainers that you can take in and out every night.

These come in two forms. The ones that use wire to retain the teeth position

and the ones that are made simply of clear plastic.

Other orthodontists like the small metal wires that are actually

glued to the teeth and can not be removed.

So which one is better?

That depends on what irritates you most.

Would it irritate you more to have something glued into your

mouth that you could never take out?

Or would it irritate you more to always have to remember to put your retainer

in every night and take it with you on every trip vacation and overnighter you go on?

Both will do a fine job.

My Mother has a retainer that she puts in every night and has done so for over 30 years.

My wife has a bonded metal wire that she has had in place for over 20 years.

Both seem to like what they have and wouldn't change.

If you have a particular type of retainer and you would like

to try another kind that is no problem.

We can switch you to another kind, let you try it for a while, and then

switch you back if you don't like it.

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80's dentistry

It happens all the time.

Someone comes into my office that hasn't been for a long long time. I ask why it is that they have not come for so many years. They reply that they had a bad experience once and that they can't stand the noise of the drill or the feel of the novocaine or something similar to that.

I ask them how long its been and the response comes back that they haven't been in 20 or 30 years.

I then ask them what their cell phone looked like 25 years ago.

After a puzzled look they go on to describe a boxy bulky phone that weighed a ton. I then ask them to describe their personal computer. They go on to talk about floppy disks and commodore 64s.

I then explain that just like in every other area of their life, things move on. Technology advances and things improve. Dentistry of 30 years ago is NOT dentistry of today. I tell them of quieter drills and how we don't use metal fillings anymore and on and on. The real kicker comes in when I tell them that we haven't used novocaine in over 20 years! I don't even know if you can buy the stuff anymore. Even the stuff we use to numb people up with has evolved immensely.

Moral to the story is this. If you have had a bad dental experience in the past. But it was the past of the 80s or even 90s. Please give the dentist another try. Things are so much better now then they have ever been. Technology can be a wonderful thing.

Don't know why I included this one. Just love the 80s hair.

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80's dentistry

It happens all the time.

Someone comes into my office that hasn't been for a long long time. I ask why it is that they have not come for so many years. They reply that they had a bad experience once and that they can't stand the noise of the drill or the feel of the novocaine or something similar to that.

I ask them how long its been and the response comes back that they haven't been in 20 or 30 years.

I then ask them what their cell phone looked like 25 years ago.

After a puzzled look they go on to describe a boxy bulky phone that weighed a ton. I then ask them to describe their personal computer. They go on to talk about floppy disks and commodore 64s.

I then explain that just like in every other area of their life, things move on. Technology advances and things improve. Dentistry of 30 years ago is NOT dentistry of today. I tell them of quieter drills and how we don't use metal fillings anymore and on and on. The real kicker comes in when I tell them that we haven't used novocaine in over 20 years! I don't even know if you can buy the stuff anymore. Even the stuff we use to numb people up with has evolved immensely.

Moral to the story is this. If you have had a bad dental experience in the past. But it was the past of the 80s or even 90s. Please give the dentist another try. Things are so much better now then they have ever been. Technology can be a wonderful thing.

Don't know why I included this one. Just love the 80s hair.

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