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Showing posts from January, 2018

What Your Dentist Loves to Hear

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What your Dentist loves to hear We love when you tell us that your teeth are feeling great.  When we ask how your teeth are doing and you tell us that your teeth are great, we feel like our job here is done. Contrary to popular belief, we are not obsessed with money. We love it when our patients have a clean bill of dental health. We feel like we did our job and are happy to spend the extra time that's usually saved for treatment to talk to you about your life and learn more about our wonderful patients. We love when your teeth are flawlessly clean. Again this gives a feeling like we were able to educate and take care of your mouth to the best of ability. We see the drastic difference in health when you first come into our office to now. We love when you trust in us . I love when a patient tells me "doctor do whatever is best for me." I understand dental treatment is costly but in most cases in the long run doing what is necessary can save you the most amount

If I can get an implant why do I need a Root canal?

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Root canal or implants.   With the new development of implant dentistry dentist have been able to do so much more with dentistry. However conventional dentistry still has its place. The dreadful words of root canal makes people cringe and most people don't understand why it can cost so much for a root canal and crown to protect the tooth. The truth is it takes just as long for a dentist to do a good root canal and crown as it does to complete an extraction implant. In fact it probably takes more time. The truth is your natural teeth is king. If you ever talk to anyone who had a complicated case with implants they will tell you not everyone individual is that straightforwards. Implants can be an easy procedure but when problems arise it is very difficult to fix.   Why natural teeth? Even when we do a root canal and your nerves are dead you still have these nerves called periodontal ligaments which attach to the root of your teeth. These ligaments still provide a

Is Whitening Right for You? (2 of 2)

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Whitening First come in for your normal hygiene appointment and tell  my team that you are concerned about your stains. 90 percent of the stains can be removed from your regular hygiene appointment. Most of the stains are attached to the plaque and calculus stuck to the rough surfaces of your teeth. These stains can be removed with the ultrasonic machine. However, not all stains can be removed as seen below on the left those are stains that we can remove. The general yellowing of the patient on the right can not be removed with a cleaning.             CAN BE CLEANED                                                                                            CANNOT BE CLEANED After your cleaning we will tell you if these stains can/cannot be removed or if the general yellowness of the tooth is due to long term staining. Then we will offer you three choices First Choice . OTC white strips. If you know your teeth are not normally sensitive and your not

Is Whitening Right for You? (1 of 2)

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Whitening Dental whitening is not for everyone, but it probably is for you.   Patients ask me about how they can receive dental whitening at my office before their wedding or after college where you want to look the absolute best for those close up photos and job interviews. Patients always ask me how do you keep your teeth so white? There are three factors in keeping those teeth white.   1. DIET! The new fad with coffee and tea have been the bane of our existence. Although, we personally can't live without it but trying to clean coffee and tea stains at every recall appointment is a challenge. Stains on your plaque and calculus are removed very easily but stains in the nooks and cranny of your teeth can only be removed with whitening or fillings or crowns. For my Asian American patients the act of dipping soy sauce with your food can cause significant staining if not immediately cleaned or rinsed. However, we all know caffeine is a drug and your not goi

Stinky Breath And What To Do With It. (2 of 2)

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Treating Bad Breath (halitosis) Lets discuss first the major causes: 1. Poor oral hygiene- increase bacteria load 2. Dry mouth- saliva is our first line of defense against bacteria;therefore, whenever your mouth is dry that means your saliva flow is low and you will immediately experience an increase in bacteria.  3. Post nasal drip  - this is more difficult situation to deal with and may require a visit to the ENT if severe, but when the mucus from your sinuses and nose drips into your mouth that also increases the level of bacteria and a smell.  4. Diabetes - there is something called the Diabetic ketoacidosis that causes your breath to smell like ketone (nail polish) when a patient's diabetes is uncontrolled. Diabetics also tend to have decreased immune systems and that causes dental issues and increases bacteria.  5. Coffee and alcohol- both of these can cause dry mouth and just the natural smell of the liquid can cause the smell. Alcohol can also be met