Latest Dental News

Hello again!!  I have some exciting news.  On August 20th I traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia for the World Congress of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists (ICOI).  This is a yearly meeting that provides ICOI members continuing education on the latest techniques dealing with dental implants and bone grafting techniques.  The ICOI is the largest dental implant organization in the world and also the largest provider for dental implant continuing education. The information at this years meeting was great and it is always fun to learn from the the leading dentists in the field of dental implants.

At this years meeting I was honored to receive my Fellowship status in the ICOI at an awards banquet Friday night.  In order to qualify for Fellowship status there is extensive continuing education requirements as well as patient care requirements.  The patient care requirements consist of documented successful implant cases that are presented to the ICOI.  I was presented the award by Dr. Carl Misch and other leading dentists.  Dr. Carl Misch is one of the most respected clinicians and educators in the field of dental implants and bone grafting techniques.  

Myself and Dr. Carl Misch

I am passionate about providing the best possible care in the field of dental implants and have made a commitment to learning and mastering the most up to date techniques.  Over the past two years I have spent more than 200 hours of continuing education solely on dental implant and bone grafting training.  From my experience patients do not like being referred to many different offices for specialized care.  While this cannot be avoided in all instances my ultimate goal is to provide the majority of our dental implant and grafting procedure in our office.  This saves our patients time, money and the anxiety of going to a different office.  

I have seen first hand the loss in self confidence and function that comes with missing teeth.  Having the ability to restore this confidence and function is an exciting and gratifying experience for only for patients but for our office as well.  One young man's story always stands out in my mind.  At the time I saw him he was 27 years old and had full upper and lower dentures for 3 years.  He lost his teeth at such an early age due to methanphetamine use.  He was able to get clean from the drugs but was left with complete tooth loss as a result.  He was unable to eat normal foods which is a common problem among denture wearers.  He was so handicapped by wearing dentures he did not eat dinner with his family and was losing hope for living a normal life.  In order to improve the fit and support of his dentures 6 upper implants and 4 lower implant were placed.  Now his dentures are much smaller and actually snap into the implants providing a very secure and comfortable fit.  He is able to eat anything he wants and now enjoys sitting down with family for dinner every night.  His attitude and confidence have changed dramatically since I first met him and his life will be forever different due to this amazing technology.  

If you or someone you know would like more information on dental implants contact my office Advanced Dentistry by Design and request a free implant consultation.

Keep Smiling,

       

Advanced Dentistry by Design is Northern Nevada's first authorized dental office to provide Under Armour Performance Mouthwear.  This patented technology is designed to improve athletic performance and protect teeth from injury. 

Who knew your jaw could help you perform better?  Hundreds of years ago ancient Greek athletes used to bite on leather straps to improve athletic performance.  Roman and Viking warriors would clamp down on leather bits to improve their focus on the battlefield. They knew it worked but until now the concept never evolved.

Under Armour Perfomance Mouthwear has been designed and engineered to unlock abilities that are inside you but can be blocked by the human body's reflex system- teeth clenching. When people train or compete, the natural reaction is to clench your teeth.  This leads to excessive amounts of stress hormones such as cortisol, that sap performance and produce fatigue, stress, and distraction.  

This new technology, developed by the company Bite Tech, specializes in performance mouthwear which prevents your teeth from clenching and pivots your jaw forward.  This position relieves pressure on the jaw joint, keeping excessive negative hormones from being produced.  This jaw position also improves airway opening.  

Research has shown that strength is improved by an average of 17% and lactic acid build-up is decreased by 25% by wearing the Under Armour Performance Mouthwear.  Studies also show an improvement in responding to auditory and visual cues which could speed reaction time.

It is amazing something as simple as a custom mouthguard could actually increase physical performance.  This technology is backed by some of the biggest names in professional sports, and recommended by professional trainers and strength coaches.

So what is involved in getting started?  All we need are impressions of your teeth and a bite registration.  The whole process takes less than 10 minutes.  Once the impressions are sent to the lab it typically takes 10 days to get the mouthwear delivered to our office.  We then make sure it fits correctly and that's it!!  

If you or someone you know could benefit from this technology contact us.  The regular price of the Under Armour Performance Mouthwear is $520; however, we are running an introductory offer of $320 through December 31, 2009.

Keep Smiling,

First, it is important to realize what causes cavities.  Cavities are caused by acid that is excreted by bacteria in your mouth.  The plaque and tartar that collect on your teeth are actually colonies of bacteria.  This bacteria feeds on sugars and carbohydrates.  The waste by-product of these cavity producing bacteria is acid that demineralizes the tooth surface which can lead to a full blown cavity or hole in the tooth.  

When teeth are decayed, it is necessary to repair the tooth with either a filling or crown (cap), depending on the amount of damage.  

The long term challenge is preventing the teeth from getting cavities again.  It is common to find new cavities around existing fillings and crowns.  The picture below shows the progression of tooth decay.  The teeth on the left are healthy and the further you look to the right the more damage has occurred.

                                

The traditional methods for preventing tooth decay have focused on removing the bacteria from the teeth and hardening the outer tooth enamel with fluoride.  These methods include brushing, flossing, and professional teeth cleanings. It is important to note that these methods still apply and are very important.  

The challenge is that these bacteria attach to the teeth again shortly after they are removed and continue to produce the decay-causing acid.  

Here is an analogy that I hope will make sense:  Imagine you have termites destroying your home.  If you killed only the termites that you could see, and then went ahead and repaired the damage, you would still have the problem of having termites.  Other termites are still lurking in areas that you cannot see. The logical solution would be gettig rid of all the termites first, and then repairing the damage.  

Treating teeth is very similar.  If we just repair the damage without getting rid of the harmful bacteria we have not truly solved the decay problem.  So what can be done?

At our office we use CAMBRA (Caries Management by Risk Assessment ) as a way of preventing cavities and treating early cavities before they need surgical removal and restorations like fillings or crowns.  We use a series of steps to evaluate the current dental disease and determine risk factors that can lead to future cavities.   

When evaluating your mouth, we do a full dental exam and use a very easy and painless test to determine the level of acid producing bacteria on your teeth.  A special cotton swab is rubbed along the teeth and then put into a testing meter.  In less than a minute we get the results that tell us the level of harmful bacteria that are present.  

                                                     

If you are determined to be high risk for dental decay, we use a system developed by a company called Carifree to treat the bacterial infection.  The products are designed to kill the harmful bacteria and create an environment in your mouth where only healthy bacteria can live. In three months we test the bacteria again to make sure the treatment was successful. Once the bacteria levels are determined to be healthy, a maintenance mouth rinse is then used to keep the bacterial levels within the healthy range.  

         

                  

So what does this mean to you as a patient? It is well known that preventing disease is much less expensive that treating disease.  By adding this service we are confident we can keep your teeth healthy for a lifetime.  It is now clear that you cannot brush or floss this disease away, and that different techniques and protocols are needed.  

For more information on Carifree click here. 

Keep Smiling,

Dr. Clint Euse