Dental tip:  Cap the toothpaste but not the toothbrush.  Covering encourages the growth of bacteria.  Don't forget to floss!

iPad Giveaway

We are so appreciative of all of you that refer your friends and family to us, thanks for helping us become successful!  We are going to have our second annual Patient Appreciation Barbecue on Saturday, September 29, 2012, on the patio next to our office.  Come, bring the family and an appetite!  From now until September 28, we are having a contest for a brand new iPad.  This is how it works:  refer one new patient and you get one ticket in the drawing, two tickets for the second etc.  We will be holding the drawing at our barbecue and you need not be present to win.

A Myth

Dental Myth: Once a tooth has a filling or a crown, additional care is no longer needed for that tooth.
Dental Fact: In order to keep the tooth and the rest of your teeth healthy, twice daily brushing and once daily flossing as well as maintaining regular professional dental cleanings and examinations are needed. If proper brushing and flossing are ignored, the tooth will get decay under the filling or crown. This will require a new filling or crown and possibly create the need for a root canal.

Brush 2 minutes twice a day...yes, I said 2 minutes (not 1 minute or 30 seconds or once a day). It really does take that long to clean the majority of surfaces your mouth decently.

2012 New Years Resolutions for Your Smile

1. Stop eating sweet snacks! Although we all crave sweets,snacking on them definitely make us predisposed to tooth decay, and even make us more at risk for developing diabetes. Constantly dosing yourself with sucrose can cause tooth decay since will tend to make your teeth exposed to a more acidic environment since the bacteria coating your teeth easily metabolize sucrose. Acids are a byproduct of their metabolism.

2. Have at least two dental cleanings a year. I find that the majority of patients although they mean to, actually do not achieve this goal. It turns out that on the average they have about one cleaning every 8-10 months. For this reason, I and other dentists avdvocate pre-appointing our patients recall appointments. Although many patients prefer a six month call to remind them that it is time, this practice is more likely to result in cleanings scheduled less frequently than every six months.

3. Go ahead and restore that tooth that your dentists keeps reminding you to crown. Why wait until it starts hurting? Although few patients looking forward to having a crown done, procrastinating is not a good idea.

4. Stop chewing on hard things that can result in chipped or cracked teeth. Chewing on ice cubes, bones, hard candies, pens, pipe stems or finger nails can definitely damage your teeth.

5. Stop smoking. Aside from the obvious health problems associated with smoking, its bad for the health and appearance of your teeth. It is associated with bad breath, yellowing of teeth, staining of teeth, periodontal disease and oral cancer.

6. Start using a good electric tooth brush. Although many people feel that a standard tooth brush is all they need, most benefit from using a good electric model. Most require less time and technique to do a thorough job.

7. Although most people would benefit from wearing a night guard few choose to wear one. As a dentist practicing for over thirty years that the majority of patients experience wear and chipping of their teeth associated with bruxism. Most are unaware of this night time activity but wear patterns of anterior teeth are a definite tell tale sign of this nighttime activity. If your anterior teeth are displaying wearing at the edges then most likely a night guard would be beneficial.

8. If you have whitened your teeth more than a year ago then its time to perform a touch up. These can easily be performed in a night or two if you have a set ofcustom whitening trays.

9. Start cleaning the plaque from between your teeth. Forty percent of tooth surfaces are not cleaned by brushing alone. Using floss, stimudents or a small interdental brush will clean the areas that your brush misses. Reducing interproximal plaque will definitely lessen gingival inflammation and give their gums a healthier appearance.

10. Improve your smile. Although this sounds like a blatant plug for cosmetic dentistry I truly believe it is not without merit. I have witnessed the change in patients after having some minor cosmetic modifications of the their anterior teeth. Once whatever was making them self conscious about their smile is fixed they seem to smile more easily and more frequently. There are plenty of articles proposing that happy people are probably healthier. Stress and worry can cause us to lose sleep, weaken our immune systems and develop health problems. If having an attractive smile encourages us to smile more then just possibly we will experience more happiness. If minor tooth movement, whitening or minor bonding might help, why not go ahead and treat yourself to a better smile this year.

Healthy Snacks!

The average 17-year-old in this country has more than three decayed teeth!

How do sugars attack your teeth?

Invisible germs called bacteria live in your mouth all the time. Some of these bacteria form a sticky material called plaque on the surface of the teeth. When you put sugar in your mouth, the bacteria in the plaque gobble up the sweet stuff and turn it into acids. These acids are powerful enough to dissolve the hard enamel that covers your teeth. That’s how cavities get started. If you don’t eat much sugar, the bacteria can’t produce as much of the acid that eats away enamel.

How can I “snack smart” to protect myself from tooth decay?

Before you start munching on a snack, ask yourself what’s in the food you’ve chosen. Is it loaded with sugar? If it is, think again. Another choice would be better for your teeth. And keep in mind that certain kinds of sweets can do more damage than others. Gooey or chewy sweets spend more time sticking to the surface of your teeth. Because sticky snacks stay in your mouth longer than foods that you quickly chew and swallow, they give your teeth a longer sugar bath. You should also think about when and how often you eat snacks. Do you nibble on sugary snacks many times throughout the day, or do you usually just have dessert after dinner? Damaging acids form in your mouth every time you
eat a sugary snack. The acids continue to affect your teeth for at least 20 minutes before they are neutralized and can’t do any more harm. So, the more times you eat sugary snacks during the day, the more often you feed bacteria the fuel they need to cause tooth decay. If you eat sweets, it’s best to eat them as dessert after a main meal instead of several times a day between meals. Whenever you eat sweets - in any meal or snack - brush your teeth well with fluoride toothpaste afterward.

It may come to a surprise to you that drinking sport drinks like Gatorade is not better than drinking soda. Here is basically why: Gatorade amongst other sport drinks have acidic content which are bad for your enamel by eroding your dentin and can damage your teeth. According to New York University College of Dentistry, the sport drinks (soft drinks) have high acid content which has a weakening effect on your teeth enamel thus allowing bacteria to get into the cracks and crevices in the teeth. What’s worse is that if you brush your teeth after having a sports drink, you are risking abrasion against already softened enamel, thus irritating the teeth even more. Avoid Soft Drinks/Sodas and be healthy!

Yes! We are taking new patients!

Our practice continues to grow thanks to your kind referrals. We appreciate your vote of confidence in us. Thanks for making our practice successful and yes we always have room for friends and family!

February 9, 2011

Our office is in Portland this week for a dental seminar. It's important to us to stay on top of the latest developments in dentistry so that we can serve you, our patients. It is beautiful here!

We'll be back in the office on Monday, the 14th. Call us if you need that smile tuned up for Valentine's day!

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas to all of our patients and future patients. Thank you for all your support of our brand new practice. We appreciate your confidence in us and helping our practice to grow. May the Holiday season bring many blessings to all of you and your families.

Facebook and Twitter

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Our promotion is cleaning and whitening for $69.00. Come in and get to know us.

(909)790-9300

Hi everyone, I thought that posting our practice philosophy would help our new and existing patients better understand my clinic:

Dear Patient,

We understand that choosing a new dentist and dental health team can be a challenge, leaving you feeling somewhat uncertain. Let us welcome you and share some insights about what we do for our patients. The philosophy guiding our practice is as follows:

"Our purpose is to help people achieve the highest level of dental well-being and in so doing, to enhance the quality of their lives."

In other words, we help you be or become as healthy as you choose. Instead of just telling you how healthy you ought to be, we will try to help you understand your choices about dental health and then let you make a free and informed decision. Your first choice in this regard is how you would like to begin with us. There are five levels on which people may choose to be seen in our practice:

• Level 1...URGENT CARE: People in crisis or with an emergency problem such as pain, swelling, or bleeding that need our immediate help are at this level. We see urgencies immediately, whenever possible.
• Level 2...REMEDIAL CARE: People who choose this level of care desire treatment only when something breaks or becomes uncomfortable. Generally people at this level expect a limited type of examination, focusing on obvious problems. They usually want to correct immediate problems with as little effort and cost as possible.
• Level 3...SELF-CARE: Patients who choose this level of care want a thorough examination and take an active part in the treatment and prevention of present and future disease problems. However, they usually choose repair solutions that are short range in nature.
• Level 4...COMPLETE DENTISTRY: Patients at this level are similar to people described in level 3. They choose to have a thorough examination. However, they decide on a MASTER PLAN to formulate a long-term treatment plan for health and repair. These patients are very concerned about treating the causes of dental disease, not simply the effects. These patients want all dental treatment provided to be completed in the most lasting fashion possible.
• Level 5... LOOK YOUR BEST: People in this group are in level 4 as far as dental health is concerned, but also want to look their best at all times. They know that their smile is one of the first things others notice about them and want to put their best foot (face) forward.

We hope these levels of care make sense to you. It is not uncommon for people to begin at one level and progress to another over time. We are here to help you discover and decide at what level you are most comfortable. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you and provide you with the best dentistry appropriate for you.

What Is ClearCorrect?

ClearCorrect is the clear and simple way

to straighten your teeth without wearing braces

so you can show off your smile!

Prices start at $1499-this is the perfect ortho solution for adults!

We are Open

Come in and meet our staff, Seleste, Cindy and Terrie!

The sign went up today

Microscopes are mounted through the ceiling to the joists.

Carl, the amazing contractor.

Doors, cabinets are on Monday, carpet starts Tuesday.

Drywall!

9 Very Interesting Dental Facts

1) 38.5 days total days an average American spends brushing teeth over lifetime.

2) 73% of American would rather go grocery shopping than floss.

3) A toothpick is the object most often choked on by Americans

4) Every year, kids in North America spend close to half a billion dollars on Gum.

5) The average woman smiles about 62 times a day! A Man? Only 8! Kids laugh around 400 times a day and Grown-ups just 15! Smilers in school yearbooks are more likely to have successful careers and marriges than poker faced peers

6) More people use blue toothbrushes than red ones.

7) Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush should be kept at least 6 feet away from the toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush

The major causes of tooth loss in people under age 35 are sports, accidents and fights.

9) The second most common disease in the United States is tooth decay. The first is the common cold.