J. Peter St. Clair, DMD, PC

Your Health & Safety Are Our #1 Priority

June is recognized as National Safety Month, and here at J. Peter St. Clair DMD, PC we want our patients to know that your safety, comfort, and well-being are always at the center of everything we do.

Behind the scenes, our team is continuously training, learning, and staying up to date to provide the safest and highest quality care possible.

🌸 May This Spring Bring You Better Sleep… Not More Mouth Breathing

Spring is here—but along with flowers and sunshine often comes allergy season, congestion, snoring, and mouth breathing.

Did you know the way you breathe while you sleep can affect your teeth, gums, energy levels, and overall health?

Many people deal with mouth breathing, snoring, or sleep apnea without realizing how much it impacts their body. Waking up tired, dry-mouthed, foggy, or with headaches is often a clue that sleep isn’t as restorative as it should be.

 😮‍💨 How Mouth Breathing Affects Your Mouth

Your nose is designed to filter, humidify, and warm the air you breathe. When… (Read More)

🌸 Spring Into April With Us! 🌸

April is all about fresh starts—and we’re excited to bring that energy into your dental care experience! This month, we’re highlighting some exciting new technology in our office and answering a common question we hear all the time: “Do I really need X-rays?” (We promise… we don’t love them either 😅).

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✨ Step 1: A Fresh, Gentle Clean with Our Air Polisher ✨

We’re so excited to now offer the PRW Hu-Friedy Air Polisher as part of your hygiene visit!

What is it?

A modern polishing system that uses a controlled stream of air, water, and fine powder to gently… (Read More)

Hi Everyone,

March Madness is here  — and while brackets are being busted, let’s not overlook something important: oral cancer awareness.

 Your hygienist does more than clean your teeth.

At every visit, we perform an oral cancer screening, including:

• Feeling the neck and jaw (extra-oral exam)
• Checking inside the cheeks, gums, and floor of the mouth
• Carefully examining the tongue and back of the throat

Hello from your Hygienist! 

Happy February! 

Most of us think of pink and red this month—Valentine’s Day, hearts, and love.

In the dental world, when we see red, we think something different… 

For our very first hygiene newsletter together, I wanted to create a space where I can share important information with you that we don’t always have enough time to fully discuss during your appointment. As much as I love catching up, an hour can go by fast—and there are so many key things about your oral and overall health that matter.

Of the 1048 Brighter Smiles columns published over the last 19 years, I will admit, I repeated a few. Trying to think of new things to write about, other than the importance of an electric toothbrush, water pik, and consistent professional care was challenging after a while. Sometimes I would re-write them completely, and other times I would just tweak them. I would often change the title, depending on how I changed the content.

One of my favorite columns, which was repeated a few times over the years, always went by the same title; 5 Reasons People Avoid the Dentist. There are no valid reasons not to avoid seeing a dentist on a… (Read More)

Happy New Year! So, how does it feel being back at work? Or, if you are retired, does today feel like any other day? For many people, the New Year is time for resolutions. Gym memberships go up and so do sales of healthier food. I don’t know about you, but I have trouble sustaining many of my “resolutions”. Change is difficult.

During the time I had off this past week, I re-read a book I read a few years ago. It is called “The Slight Edge” by Jeff Olson. One of the main points in this book is that change or improvement in our lives comes one day at a time. It… (Read More)

At the end of each of the past 19 years, I have used this space to publish these 21 Suggestions for Success authored by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Cut this out and put it on the refrigerator. Read this list often and take these suggestions to heart.

1. Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.
2. Work at something you enjoy and that’s worthy of your time and talent.
3. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
4. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
5. Be forgiving of yourself and others.
6. Be generous.
7. Have a grateful heart.
8. Persistence, persistence, persistence.
9. Discipline yourself to save money on… (Read More)

This is a phrase we hear far too frequently when patients call to cancel or change their dental hygiene appointments. When the patient is told that there are no open hygiene appointments for 4-6 months, the response is often, “Oh, that’s okay, it’s just a cleaning.” This lack of concern is only partly to blame on the patient; most of the accountability falls in the lap of the dental team.

If you read this column with any frequency, I am sure you have seen me report that 75% of the population has some form of periodontal (gum) disease. I’m sure you have also read that periodontal disease has been linked to heart disease, stroke, pre-term,… (Read More)

If you missed Part 1 and/or 2 of this series, you can find it at www.thetowncommon.com.

The past couple weeks have been about the growing evidence that links oral and systemic disease, and the need for more collaboration between dentists and physicians. All of this, of course, is in the best interest of the patient.

The body is a complex system – and everything is connected. The health status of an individual’s mouth can absolutely play a role in systemic health or disease.  In addition to the need for dentists and MD’s to collaborate more on the oral/systemic connection, we also need to collaborate better about our patient’s sleep problems. 

As part of a… (Read More)