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Dr. Pete’s Top 5 Dental Health Trends

September 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Trend #1. The explosion of implant dentistry will bring costs 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 for missing teeth and instead of dentures. 

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 Will 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-offce 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.

 

Filed Under: Dentistry, General Dental, General Health, Teeth and Gums, Teeth Tips Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Want to Keep Your Teeth and Gums Healthier

September 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Want to Keep Your Teeth and

Gums Healthier? Try Adding

This Little Known Step to Your

Daily Dental Routine

Everyone pretty much knows by

now brushing and flossing after

every meal and getting a

professional cleaning at least

every six months has a huge

impact on dental health.

But there’s another facet to

personal daily dental hygiene

that has a big impact on dental

health: scraping your tongue.

Perhaps we don’t hear that

much about it because tongue

scrapers are not well promoted.

One inexpensive one can

practically last a lifetime.

Studies suggest that by

removing the soft plaque from

the tongue, you’re removing

most of the bacteria and other

debris that are the primary

source of bad breath, hard

plaque (tartar) and mineral

leaching acids (tooth decay).

The latest research associates

the bacteria in our mouths with

heart disease and other

ailments. The bottom line – for

dramatically better oral hygiene

and health just add cleaning

your tongue to your routine.

You can get a tongue scraper at

your next appointmentTry Adding

Tongue Scraper

Try Adding This Little Known Step to Your Daily Dental Routine

Everyone pretty much knows by now brushing and flossing after every meal and getting a professional cleaning at least every six months has a huge impact on dental health.

But there’s another facet to personal daily dental hygiene that has a big impact on dental health: scraping your tongue.

Perhaps we don’t hear that much about it because tongue scrapers are not well promoted. One inexpensive one can practically last a lifetime.

Studies suggest that by removing the soft plaque from the tongue, you’re removing most of the bacteria and other debris that are the primary source of bad breath, hard plaque (tartar) and mineral leaching acids (tooth decay).

The latest research associates the bacteria in our mouths with heart disease and other ailments. The bottom line – for dramatically better oral hygiene and health just add cleaning your tongue to your routine.

You can get a tongue scraper at your next St Louis dental appointment.

Filed Under: Dentistry, General Health, Teeth and Gums, Teeth Tips Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dental Urban Legend, Expressions and Other Trivia

August 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

One of the more popular proverbs still in use today is: “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” We know it means to not express ungratefulness when receiving a gift, but have you ever wondered how the expression came about? Our research found that ranchers and farmers used to open a horse’s mouth to examine its teeth in order to determine how old it was and also to assess the state of its health.

A common expression today is “dressed to the teeth,” although it has been corrupted to “dress to the T.” This describes a man or woman so completely decked out in attire that the only body part left undressed is the teeth.

A lesser known expression, “long in the tooth,” was used to refer to someone more advanced in age. In a story written in the 1800s, a woman whose looks had eroded with age was described this way:

“His cousin was now of more than middle age, and had nobody’s word but her own for the beauty which she said she once possessed. She was lean, and yellow, and long in the tooth; all the shops in London could not make a beauty of her.”

More recently is the urban legend surrounding Clark Gable. As the story goes, the dashing ladies’ man was not an adherent of dental maintenance. His oral hygiene (or lack thereof) led to a “raging infection of the gums” (which we’d refer to today as “periodontal disease”) during the filming of Dancing Lady in 1933. He was hospitalized and all of his teeth extracted. He then had to wear dentures, or, as they said in those days, he was “fitted with false teeth.” He was off the production set for a month, only to fall sick again his first day back. Turns out the infection was in his entire body. In Mr. Gable’s era, the relationship between dental and systemic health was not as known as it is today. However, had he kept a regular dental maintenance schedule, his dentist would have had the opportunity to check the disease in its earlier stages.

Moving onto the world of television in the mid 1900s, you might be old enough to remember the following ad slogan dreamed up, no doubt, on Madison Avenue: “You’ll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent.” The ad went on to make a claim that this toothpaste contained an ingredient called “irium,” which supposedly fought tooth decay. It was later discovered that no such ingredient exists. Maybe this was the same ad agency that made snake oil so popular once upon a time?

In summary, whether urban legend or age-old proverb, folks have always recognized the importance of good teeth. If you want to preserve your health, you need to recognize that the teeth are interconnected to every organ in your body. Keeping a regular maintenance schedule helps not only your teeth, but your overall health.

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Is Your Dentist Keeping Secrets From You?

December 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

“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.”

Dr Pete’s 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.”

Dr. Pete: I haven’t used mercury for fillings in twenty 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.”

Dr. Pete: Aurum Ceramics is one of the labs we use at 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.”

Dr. Pete: All good points. I cover some of this in my free downloadable
electronic ebook found at http://stlouisdentistdrpete.com

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My 40th High School Reunion at CBC

October 1, 2008 By Leave a Comment

This past weekend I met up with schoolmates I hadn’t seen in many years. I introduced them to Martha – guys like Sam Catanzaro, who was part of a closeknit alliance of Italian kids like me. Others flew in who I hadn’t seen in decades and yet because we shared the experience of attending CBC in the 1960s, there existed an undeniable bond that erased the distance and the years. [Read more...]

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An Old-Fashioned, Inexpensive Gum and Tooth Remedy

September 13, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Some of my patients in St Louis who have been with me for a long time remember my dad, Dr. Sam Pagano, who practiced dentistry in St Louis for over fifty years. A short while ago, Dr. Sam and I were discussing long-forgotten, but effective folk remedies, when he relayed something I’d never heard mentioned in my dental studies. He told me that fifty years ago he and other dentists used tea tree oil for gum and tooth infections, swelling gums and overall gum health and that it was quite effective.

I did some research to find out more about tea tree oil. Turns out that because of its antiseptic qualities, it has many more uses than just making your gums healthy. I ordered some organic tea tree oil from Australia and will be trying it out.

I’ll keep you posted.

Filed Under: Teeth Tips Tagged With: , ,

Look Ma’ No Cavities!

August 25, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Look Ma! No Cavities!

For Boomers who grew up with this famous toothpaste advertisement, I have a news flash: At your age, it’s no longer just about cavities!

If you’ve passed the age of forty, you really should have a mid-life diagnosis to evaluate the overall state of your oral health AND to plan a proper course of treatment that will enable you to keep your teeth for the remainder of your lifetime.

Patients over forty have often shortchanged their dental health or just barely maintained their teeth and gums. With the expense of family taking precedence through the previous two decades, Boomer-aged patients coming to me for the first time are often prepared to play catch-up with their own dental health.

Today you can plan a course of treatment that will ensure you’ve got your own teeth to chew with well into your senior years. In addition, nothing is more youthful than a natural-looking white smile. Unlike your parents, if you take care now you can have both.

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The Sedation Dentistry Debate

August 1, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Back in the 70s, sedation dentistry was commonplace. When several deaths were reported, most doctors stopped using it and you didn’t hear about it for several decades. Thus, this “new” sedation dentistry is really not new at all. Personally, I don’t endorse it, as I have found ways to treat my patients with minimal pain. Plus, I don’t like the idea of knocking out a patient for several hours to do backlogged dental work. Sure, it’s great money for the dentist, but the slackness of the unconscious jaw makes it very difficult to ensure that the bite will be correct after the treatment. An incorrect bite can lead to headaches, neck aches, indigestion and other health problems.

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In an Era of Speed, Quality is Still Valued…

July 18, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Will all of you under 40 indulge me for just a moment while I reminisce about “When I was Growing Up?” Once in a while, I’m reminded of the higher quality with which things used to be made. Cars, furniture, clothing, appliances and yes, even dentistry were MADE TO LAST.

My dad, Dr. Sam Pagano, practiced dentistry in St Louis for over 50 years. Many of his techniques are lost today. Yet, his techniques resulted in quality dental work that lasts.

Case in point: My dad and I were having breakfast at Sunrise Café on 141 and Olive Blvd. A 91 year old woman by the name of Josephine came up to our table. She looked at my dad, waiting for him to recognize her. Turns out, he filled her teeth 40 years ago. She proudly announced that she still had those same fillings and that her current dentist wanted to know (and I quote): “Who did all of this beautiful work in your mouth?”

In another outing, my dad and I ran into a former patient of his who proudly displayed the dentures my dad had made for him – IN 1953! Over 50 years later, these dentures were still working for this patient.

In earlier times artisans and craftsmen spent years as apprentices in order to Master their skills. I was fortunate enough to get an apprenticeship fresh out of dental school, working with my dad for nearly ten years. I learned as much from him as I did in school, if not more. By mastering the fundamentals of dentistry and focusing on quality, I had a strong foundation on which to embrace the technological advancements that have been made in dentistry.

Despite my excitement at learning new procedures and acquiring the latest technology, I know that these aren’t substitutes for a firm grounding in the skills of providing quality dentistry that will last.

Filed Under: Dentistry Tagged With: , , ,

Sorry maam, your insurance only covers bumpers and tires

January 22, 2008 By Leave a Comment

That’s about what your dental insurance would cover if you were a car. If you had to have your car towed to a garage, and the mechanic discovered you needed a new alternator, belts, and a laundry list of other repairs, would you say, I’ll hold off for now on the battery and belts. My insurance company won’t cover those?

Relying on what insurance will cover to get through your life’s dental care is like playing the slot machines in Vegas. You might wind up a winner, with all your teeth in your senior years. More common is that people require more dentistry than insurance covers.

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