Rather Than Dread Dentures, Views Them as a Chance to Design Your Own Smile
Posted on January 14, 2010 | Filed Under Dentistry
Morton came in as a new patient asking for a new set of dentures. In collaborating with him so we could make him dentures he would be proud to wear, I asked him questions such as:
Do you want spaces between your front teeth?
What type of smiles do you like?
Who do you want to look like?
Do you want big teeth, little teeth, long teeth,wide teeth?
Do you want personalization, such as little character flaws built into your teeth?
Do you want perfect alignment?
According to the Center for Disease Control, 1 out of every 4 adults over 60 have lost all of their natural teeth due to gum disease and tooth decay. Another CDC report says 1 out of every 5 adults over 65 have lost all of their teeth. Once that occurs, your choices are dentures or implants.
Although dental implants are an excellent alternative to dentures, not everyone can get them. This doesn’t mean you have to dread dentures. The biggest reason denture wearers switch to implants is:
Their dentures are ill-fitting and uncomfortable; or
They don’t like how their dentures look.
You can dread dentures or view them as an opportunity to design your smile. If you want to pay $99 and get “teeth-on-a-plate” then the old adage “you get what you pay for” applies.
On the other hand, if you want someone to craft an appliance that feels and looks natural, you can spend the money and get something that will make you feel confident.
I minored in Art Minor and I view dentistry as both an art and a science. Although an appliance needs to be engineered perfectly, there’s no reason it can’t also be an aesthetic expression of the smile you’ve always wanted.
Dr. Pete’s Top 5 Dental Health Trends for 2010
Posted on January 11, 2010 | Filed Under Dentistry
Trend #1. The explosion of implant dentistry will bring the costs way down. Like computer technology costs came down with demand, so it is with dental implants. The cost of materials that kept prices high for implants and crowns is coming down simply because more people are getting implants missing teeth and instead of dentures. Already at Artistic Dentistry, fees for crowns and implants are 30% less. The American Academy of Implant Dentistry reports, “As the Baby Boomers begin filing for Social Security,they’re replacing teeth weakened from periodontal disease with dental implants instead of bridgework and removable dentures. Further incentive is that highly precise computer-guided dental implant surgery has made the procedure faster, highly predicable and long-lasting with a success rate of 97 percent.”
Trend #2: Teeth straightening will increasingly become the first step in a cosmetic makeover. It’s been a common practice to place porcelain veneers on crooked teeth. While this gives the appearance of straight teeth, it does nothing to address the health conditions caused by uneven teeth. These create uneven bite pressure which can lead to health problems, including headaches and migraines. With more dentists understanding the connection between the bite and jaw joints and head, neck and back pain, concern for health will lead to correcting the uneven bite rather than covering it up with veneers.
Trend #3: Gum Contouring bill Become more popular. Just like lip plumping or botox improve appearance without surgery, contouring gum lines will become popular as more dentists investing in acquiring and learning how to use laser dental equipment. With laser technology being used in everything from skin care to knee replacement surgery, it was only a matter of time before it would be more routinely employed in your dental care. In addition to gum contouring which, by the way, is also great for men, lasers can disinfect diseased gum tissue. They can also cut into the teeth, making it faster and more comfortable to get fillings.
Trend #4: 3D x-rays will enable more precise dental treatment. Technology called “cone beam” takes two dimensional x-rays and makes them 3D. This allows your dentist to provide more precise dental treatment. For example, with a 3d picture, your dentist can see the nerve tissue surrounding impacted wisdom teeth. This allows for a better surgery. With implants, we’re able to determine more exactly their correct placement.
Trend #5: Teeth whitening will become part of a daily makeup routine for women. Whitening pens like Liquid Smile will make a professional in-office whitening last a lot longer. Instead of bulky whitening trays sitting in your mouth for an hour with saliva coming out the side of your mouth, pens allow you to touch up the teeth that are visible. Ask about these in our office.
Are You Putting Acid On Your Teeth?
Posted on December 19, 2009 | Filed Under Teeth and Gums
Probabl
y not, but your sodas are nearly as bad.
Acid damages tooth enamel. Acid is measured by “ph.” The ph of battery acid is 1.0. The ph of water is 7.0 (alkaline). Sodas range from 2.387 to 4.038 ph, with root beer having the least amount of acid. Citric acid is the most erosive acid found in soft drinks and is the predominant acid in non cola drinks like root beer, sports drinks and citric juices.
LIKE SUCKING LEMONS. What you may not realize is that over time, wearing of the enamel, which is that hard outer surface layer of your teeth, can lead to some pretty uncomfortable sensitivity to hot and cold. Also, it may force you to have to invest in veneers and other procedures to restore your smile.
Proof Up Your Immunity With SuperFoods
Posted on December 17, 2009 | Filed Under Health
To proof your system with nutrients your body can assimilate easily, mix fresh, natural organic greens in your morning beverage. Since the quality of greens ranges dramatically, I recommend a particular brand: Dr. Schultze’s Superfoods Plus. Health gum tissue is related to the health of your immune system, as gum disease is a bacterial infection.
Organically grown food, herbs, and plants have 4-10 times more nutrition and healing plant chemicals (phytochemicals). Almost every herbal product sold in America uses imported, commercial-grade herbs. Foreign herbs are dirt-cheap.
Dr. Shultze, whose company makes SuperFoods, pays American organic farmers $20 or more a pound for the finest organic Habanero Cayenne peppers when they could buy them from India, Africa, Mexico or China—like all of the other companies do—for 20 CENTS a pound! You do get what you pay for when it comes to high quality healing foods. You can order these at www.herbdoc.com
Is Your Dentist Keeping Secrets From You?
Posted on December 15, 2009 | Filed Under Dentistry
I don’t think so. But I did like much of the information contained in an article of this title from Dr. Mercola’s website. Here’s a few followed by my comments:
Secret #1: Your dentist may not have the latest technology.
Digital x-ray: Dentists who do not have digital x-ray equipment are practicing in
the dark ages. Digital x-rays use less radiation than film. They are easier to read
and make diagnosis more accurate.
Ultrasonic Cleaning: Ultrasonic instruments vibrate plaque and calculus off your
teeth, even in areas below your gums. It is much more comfortable than oldfashioned
hand scraping.
Doc comment: I agree. Thats’ why our office has had this technology for years.
Secret #2: Your dentist may be using mercury.
Mercury is toxic. Norway and Sweden have banned the use of mercury fillings..
But mercury fillings are less expensive and easier for the dentist to use. If your
dentist does not use composite fillings, don’t go to that dentist any more. In the
US, the FDA is way behind the ball and not actively warning patients about this
like they have been mandated by the courts to do.
Doc’s comment: Very accurate. I haven’t used mercury in my office for years.
Secret #3: The lab may be more important than your dentist.
Dental labs create dentures, crowns, bridges, orthodontic appliances, and other
dental restorations like implant crowns. There is a huge difference in the quality
of these labs. You should be particularly wary if your dentist is using a lab in
China or Mexico. Some of the top labs in the U.S. are Aurum Ceramics,
MicroDental Laboratories, da Vinci Dental Studio, and Williams Dental Lab.
Doc’s comment: True. Aurum Ceramics is one of the labs we use a Artistic Dentistry.
Secret #4: There’s more to good dentistry than filling cavities.
A competent dentist screens for more than tooth decay. He or she should be
concerned about sleep apnea, jaw-related pain known as TMJ, oral cancer,
diabetes and hypertension.
Doc’s comment: All good points. I cover some of this in my free downloadable
electronic ebook found at http://stlouisdentistdrpete.com
Is Sugar Less Fattening Than Sugar Substitutes?
Posted on June 22, 2009 | Filed Under Health
Think you’re being “good” on your diet when you use Splenda, Aspartame or buy low calorie sport drinks? A study published in Preventive Medicine confirmed that the more artificial sweeteners you consume, the more likely you actually are to gain weight. Yes, you read that right. Your brain registers the intense sweetness of the artificial sweetener and instructs the intestinal tract to prepare for an enormous intake of calories. Your body then creates enzymes to convert future calories into fat. So, even though the beverage contains only 1 calorie, you remain primed to create fat as soon as you eat real food. You can read more about this and caffeine, colas, sugar and sweeteners in the book Caffeine Blues by Stephen Cherniske.
The Key To Dental Treatment Lies Beyond The Teeth
Posted on June 11, 2009 | Filed Under Dentistry
In a perfectly constructed mouth, the teeth and jaw fit together to perform the function of chewing. The slightest adjustment to a tooth can throw this precise functioning off-balance. Even the replacement of a filling can make your bite feel different if it’s not balanced correctly and if not adjusted, can cause your jaw joints to move out of place.
If just a simple filling requires such precision, imagine the precision required in placing veneers or implants while ensuring they not only look great but are completely natural in their feel and fit. Read more
A Simple Remedy For Solving Problems
Posted on June 5, 2009 | Filed Under Health
Familiar with that frustrating experience of trying to work out a problem that seems to have no solution? You’ve run into a brick wall?
Try this remedy: stop trying so hard. That probably sounds odd, but bear with me here. I noticed a phenomenon when I back off of trying to figure something out: the solution came to me later. I then compared my remedy with others and found that itworked for them too. It’s pretty simple and goes like this: Read more
Is Your Coffee or Cola Fix Giving You Belly Bulge?
Posted on June 1, 2009 | Filed Under Health
I recently ran across some notes I took on caffeine at a seminar and thought I’d share with you this abbreviated description of how caffeine consumption leads to an increase of belly fat. I’m omitting a lot of technical speak, so for the professionals, this explanation may be a bit simplistic.
A 15 oz cup of coffee spikes your adrenaline level by 200%. Adrenaline is what enables the body to go into overdrive. An example is the mother who suddenly has the strength to lift the front of a car when her child is underneath. It’s also what gives someone instant “courage” to fight when confronted by an attacker.
It’s the “adrenaline rush,” which is technically a mechanism in your body called “fight or flight.” Read more
What If E F Hutton Had a Bad Smile?
Posted on May 11, 2009 | Filed Under Dentistry
Those of us over 40 may well remember the famous ad: “When EF Hutton speaks, people listen.” But wait. You never saw EF Hutton. What if he had a bad smile?! Crooked, yellow, broken or stained teeth? Would people still have listened? All this to say that your smile can either lend credibility to what you’re saying or detract from it.
No matter someone’s age, weight, height…no matter if they’re not particularly pretty or handsome…a person’s unfavorable features seem to become less significant as soon as they display a beautiful, warm smile.
Per actual survey, a smile is what people remember most about others.
