Dental Pain Tolerance & Dentistry for Softies

Volunteer Dentistry in Huatulco Mexico – It

Beautiful place. Beautiful people. Bad teeth.

Most of the people I saw had never been to a dentist before. Looking into their mouths indicated years of suffering. These people didn’t seem the type to ever complain about such things.

In fact they were great patients. No drama in the dental chair. No flinching at injections. Nothing.

What made them so calm and stoic in their manner?  My guess is the day-to-day challenges and hardships they endure. They don’t live pampered lives free of pain and inconvenience.

I found Dental Pain Management to be less of a concern down in Mexico. Overall, expectations and standard of care were  much lower.

Back here in Toronto, Dental Pain Management is at the top of my priorities.

What’s it mean?

My belief is that here in North America, many of us live a comfortable, sheltered existence. We’re far less tolerant of pain and hardship than those in other parts of the world.

We’re softies here…

We live a cushy life and our pain tolerance is lower. Particularly for our children.

Apparently there’s no urgency to grow up these days.

I take one look at my own children and I know this is true.

Now I came from a family of 8 children and compared to my father’s depression-era childhood, I had it pretty soft.

My father would tell those “Back when I was young…” stories about harder times. I do the same to my children and they roll their eyes.

I look at my 5 grown children and they’re living the life of Riley. My four older boys are now in their 20's but still holding on to their teenage ways. Apparently there’s no urgency to grow up these days.

With a soft life, tolerance for pain is less.

Dental pain tolerance is practically zero and that’s understandable. Dental pain is nasty. Besides, people already hate dentists. They don’t need additional reasons on top of that.

Are you a Softie about Dental Care?

If you have grown children still living in your basement, I can’t help you with that. Heck, I could use a few pointers myself.

What I can do is help you and your loved ones with comfortable dental care. Dentistry for softies.

Nowadays, comfortable dental care is the norm. Children can grow up today without fear of going to the dentist. Without the anxiety of expecting things to be difficult and uncomfortable. Adults can finally relax and let go of that anxiety they’ve been feeling for so long.

We’ll pamper you at Royal York Dental. We’ll make things easy for you. Gentle, comfortable dental care with all the modern conveniences.

Spa Dentistry? Perhaps that goes too far. After all, people want FAST dentistry so they can get back to the things they would rather be doing.

If I wanted a full spa experience I would go to the spa. Still, a little pampering at the dentist is always appreciated.

Fast, convenient, comfortable dental care – Dentistry for Softies – that’s what people want.

Stay healthy and keep smiling!

Dr. Joe

Prostate disease linked to gum disease

Approximately 8% of the population suffers from the disease of the prostate or prostatitis. Researchers from the Case Western Reserve University found that patients with prostatitis have a lower level of the (CAL) clinical attachment between gums and teeth. The link stems from the levels of inflammation in patients with prostatitis. Participants in the study with a severer prostatitis showed signs of periodontits, as well. Read the full report in the Journal of Periodontology.

Lasers in Orthodontics: New Technology Provides Results

 At SmileCare and our associated Coast Dental and Nevada Dental Associates practices, we are committed to providing the latest technology to our patients.  Now we're pleased to offer laser technology in some offices to help patients achieve the results they desire.

Here are five ways orthodontists are using lasers:

1. To speed up treatment time. 

Sometimes when soft tissue (the gum) partially covers a tooth, it prevents us from placing a bracket on the tooth.  Previously, we would wait for the tooth to erupt through the gum, which could take several months, or send the patient to an oral surgeon to remove the gum tissue blocking the tooth.  Now, orthodontists can use a laser to relieve the gum tissue and free the tooth.  Once the tooth can be accessed, the orthodontist can place a bracket on the tooth and begin the process of moving the tooth into its correct place.

2. To alleviate canker sores.

Canker sores can become uncomfortable and can last 10 to 14 days.  Previously, patients would have to just wait for the pain to subside, use a mouth gel, or have the canker sore cauterized. Now, a dentist can eliminate the pain from the mouth sore through laser therapy.  The treatment typically takes about four minutes and the relief is immediate.  Best of all, the canker sore should not return to that location again.

3. To treat puffy gums.

People with braces sometimes develop puffy gums because they can't get the toothbrush beneath the bracket to effectively clear debris and bacteria from the gum line.  That bacteria build-up leads to gum infection, which causes the gums to swell.  Orthodontists can relieve puffiness with a laser so patients can start brushing and flossing effectively again.

4. To treat excess tissue attachment.

Sometimes the tissue attachments that connect the lips or the cheeks to the gums can bulge into spaces between the teeth.  These tissue attachments are called frenums and the procedure to relieve the excessive tissue is called a frenectomy.  Before lasers, oral surgeons would remove the excessive tissue with a scalpel, which would require sutures to stop the bleeding and could lead to scar tissue that would prevent the gap between the teeth from closing properly.  With laser technology, there's no bleeding, sutures, or special post-operative care.  Also, the procedure is painless, the healing time is faster, and there's no scar tissue.

5. To even out the gum line. 

Imagine the day you finally get off your braces.  You're so excited to see how straight your teeth are.  It can be disappointing if your gums are uneven and some teeth appear shorter than other teeth, even though they're all in line correctly.  Your orthodontist can use a laser to contour the gum tissue to achieve symmetry and make the teeth look the same size.

Laser technology gives us another way to help patients smile more, through less-invasive treatment and faster healing time. Lasers are being used in many medical procedures including eye surgery, brain surgery, heart surgery and skin cancer treatment.  It will be exciting to see how they can be used in even more areas in the future!

 

TNT Dental Congratulates Dr. Jeff Dalin on Article in Dental Economics Magazine

TNT Dental offered a great big “Well done!” to Dr. Jeff Dalin this week, congratulating him on his recently published article “My Web site makeover”. The story appeared in the September 2010 issue of Dental Economics magazine and has the dental community buzzing. Over the years, Dr. Jeffrey Dalin has published many great articles in DE magazine, but this particular piece struck a collective chord among dentists.

With much debate in dental circles on whether or not to Web 2.0, Dr. Dalin, a St. Louis dentist, said in his article that he strongly believed in walking the walk, not just talking the talk. And so, using his own website as a case study, Dr. Dalin dove right into a re-skin of his old, stagnant website, hiring TNT Dental to lead the SEO charge. He also gave the go ahead to optimize his new site into a mobile friendly format for display on smart phones, such as the iPhone, Blackberry, and Droid mobile devices.

Besides being more visually appealing, what is Dr. Dalin’s goal with the new website? According to his article, it’s to place higher in search engine rankings, drive new traffic to his site, generate leads that will become new patient conversions, as well as keep his existing patients consistently engaged. Dr. Dalin also plans a series of follow up articles to appear in DE magazine over the coming months chronicling his website’s success. We’re certainly eager to see the results!

The Longer You Wait, The Higher The Cost

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The number one reason people delay dental care is because of the cost, according to a Consumer Reports survey published in February 2012.

But delaying dental treatment just allows decay and infection to worsen, and the damage becomes more extensive and more expensive to fix.

Here’s a quick look at retail costs of common procedures, based on the 80th percentile of the National Dental Advisory Service Comprehensive Fee Report® for 2012. 

The bottom line is that by brushing and flossing properly and visiting the dentist regularly, you can keep your mouth –and your wallet – in good shape.

For the Original National Dental Advisory Service® (NDAS) Fee Information: Copyright © 2012 Yale Wasserman, DMD Medical Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Halloween Candy Buy Back

The Halloween season is upon us. The aisles are filled with costumes. Kids are getting excited about Trick-or-Treating and the bucketfuls of candy they’ll be hauling home. We all know that sugar is bad for teeth and warn parents and children alike against the dangers of tooth decay. But around this time of year, we might as well throw up our hands and give in. After all, if we can’t beat them, join them! Right? YES!

If you haven’t been a part of the Halloween Candy Buy Back, it’s a great cause worth checking out. The Halloween Candy Buy Back enlists dentists across the United States to “buy back” all that extra Halloween candy that kids don’t need and parents don’t want. Dentists hold events to collect the candy in the days following Halloween and then donate it to Operation Gratitude as well as other military support groups. Operation Gratitude uses the candy to fill holiday care packages that will be sent off in December to our troops
overseas. This year, Operation Gratitude is set to deliver 60,000 care packages to service men and women who aren’t going to make it home for the Holidays.

Dentists are in a unique position to effect positive change in their patients’ oral health, and in their communities. Joining the Halloween Candy Buy Back as a participating dentist presents several opportunities for you and your practice. Not only will it give you a chance to further patient education on healthy habits and good oral health, there’s the opportunity to promote your practice though a candy collection event. Best of all, you’ll be helping to put smiles on the faces of our troops!

For more information on becoming a Halloween Candy Buy Back participating dentist, visit www.halloweencandybuyback.com. You can also learn more about

Treating Dental Injuries

It can happen in an instant.  Your child is running around on the playground, field or basketball court, and suddenly - wham! - he collides with another child and breaks a tooth - or worse.

Dr. Jeffrey May, a Coast Dental dentist in Riverview, Florida, has treated all sorts of dental injuries.  "I have five kids myself and I know the kinds of injuries you can get from tripping over a toy or running into a wall or bumping heads.  I've seen kids on the playground catch a ball in the face or fall off a swing.  If they're playing sports, they can catch an elbow in the face or get hit with a racquet."

It's not just kids who injure their mouths.  A squirming toddler may knock mom's chin hard, causing her to chip a tooth.  An adult who trips or who hits a patch of sand while biking might dislodge a tooth or even knock it out.  And the number one cause of broken teeth in adults is decay.  What began as a small cavity can spread, weakening the tooth so much that it cracks when you bite into food.

So what should you do if you chip, loosen or knock out a tooth?

"Call your dentist immediately," said Dr. May.  "A dentist will be able to see if the tooth is fractured and may be able to stabilize the tooth through bonding so it will reintegrate with the bone.  The best thing you can do is come in and get it checked."

Timing is important.  Click here for a field guide to dental injuries that shows when you need to take immediate action, when you need urgent treatment within six hours, and less urgent situations where you should get checked out by a dentist within 12 hours.

Why does the timing matter?

If you've knocked out a tooth, you have a small window of about 30 minutes to try to get it replanted.  The field guide shows the steps you should take as soon as the tooth comes out.

If the tooth is pushed out of alignment, your bite will be affected and the swelling and inflammation could worsen if it's not treated quickly.  "Most of the time, if you don't do anything, you'll end up losing the tooth," Dr. May said. "Definitely call your dentist's emergency number and get it checked.  The dentist can hopefully bond it or apply a stent to stabilize it and save the tooth."

The cost of stabilizing a tooth is less than the cost of a root canal.  If you wait so long that even a root canal can't save your tooth, then you'll need to have the tooth extracted and replaced with a bridge or dental implant – and that costs even more.

So take a minute to print out this field guide to dental injuries and put it into your car or hang it on your fridge - someplace where you can easily access it should you need it! 

Jeffrey May, DMD, provides general dentistry services to patients age 10 and up. Special services include bone grafting, laser crown lengthening, dental implant restorations, dental implants, extractions, gummy smile treatment, veneers, Lumineers, periodontal disease management, ridge augmentation, root canal therapy and retreatment, soft tissue graft, and laser therapy.  Dr. May has extensive training in cosmetic dentistry and in the advanced use of digital imaging, which enables patients to preview their smile prior to the start of treatment. He is also skilled in the use of digital x-ray and intra-oral imaging.  Dr. May is fluent in English and Spanish and has traveled to the Dominican Republic to provide free dental care on mission trips.  He practices at Coast Dental Riverview, 10625 Big Bend Road, Riverview, FL 33579.  The phone number is 813-549-0931.