J. Peter St. Clair, DMD, PC

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 regular schedule.

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 is the… (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)

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

I ended last week with a statement that I have used numerous times before – just because it doesn’t hurt doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem. We keep learning more and more about the link between the mouth and the rest of the body. It is essential that dentists and physicians do a better job at co-managing patients, and learn more about the relationship between oral and systemic disease.

And if we’re being completely honest, there also needs to be a disruption in the insurance industry. Dr. Robin Davies (Byfield) said recently, “It just seems like common sense to me.… (Read More)

The connection between oral health and systemic health is well-established and ever-evolving. One thing we know for certain; we are living longer, but with more chronic diseases and medication than ever before.

The latest statistics are alarming. Forty-seven percent of US adults who are age 30 or older – an estimated 64.7 million Americans – have either mild gum disease (8.7%), moderate gum disease (30%) or severe gum disease (8.5%). As the population ages, the prevalence rises with 70% of individuals over the age of 65 exhibiting some level of gum disease. And, since we are on statistics, by 2030, it is estimated that the number of people over 70 years of age will have… (Read More)

I think it is safe to say that our healthcare system has some flaws. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a healthcare system that realized that everything in the body is connected? Unfortunately, there are no reasonable solutions for this in the near future. Therefore, it is important for you to take your health into your own hands and plan appropriately.

Patients will sometimes balk at treatment not covered by their dental insurance. Dentists will often hear, “Just do what my insurance covers. I don’t want anything extra.” In fact, a recent ADA poll showed that a lack of dental insurance was the #1 reason most patients gave for not visiting a dentist. Here are… (Read More)

Last week was teenager sleep patterns and issues. This week we start a conversation about how our sleep needs and potential issues as adults.

We all do better when we get good quality sleep. For some people though, sleep quality is consistently poor. There are many folks out there who “get by”, but are not functioning at full capacity due to poor sleep. Many of them think they sleep fine, but they don’t.

Insomnia, difficulty with falling asleep or staying asleep for more than 3 nights a week, is the most common sleep disorder. Sleep “hygiene” improvement, along with cognitive behavior therapy, is the first course of action to treat this problem.

There are many… (Read More)

When we were all young children, most of us got plenty of sleep, and for that matter, we didn’t think much of it. Our parents told us it was time for bed and we went to bed. We slept until the morning at which time we were woken by our parent’s gentle touch.

As we progressed into our teenage years, our responsibilities increased. This typically led to staying up later and getting up earlier to be able to keep up with these added responsibilities. Today, it seems that getting enough good sleep is even more of a challenge for our teenagers.

One of the contributing factors of this teen sleep crisis is that parents are… (Read More)