If you have read these columns in the past, you have seen me write about periodontal (gum) health and its relationship to systemic health. There is a slew of scientific evidence that poor periodontal health is not good for you systemically. It has been linked to heart disease, stroke, low birth weight babies, diabetes and more.

Gum tissue health is an easy thing for patients to be lax about, or even ignore. Why? The main reason is that gum problems do not hurt, unless they are so severe that tooth loss is inevitable. It is the chronic inflammation in the gum tissue, regardless of whether it hurts or not, that has the potential to affect… (Read More)

Dental practices are as different as people are different.  Some practices may feel clinical and efficient, while others feel somewhat more home spun and laid back.  The dentist’s personality is reflected in his or her treatment preferences as well.  The fact that different dentists will suggest different plans to treat your condition does not necessarily mean that one plan is better than another. 

As I ended last week, the most important thing any health care provider can give is their time. Listening to patient desires and expectations is the key to a long-lasting dentist or other health care provider relationship. Patients who feel comfortable with their provider are able to be better participants in health… (Read More)

I attended a continuing education course a while back entitled “Hit Man or Healer?” The course was given by a well-known leader in the dental profession. The basic premise of the course was the notion that we have a lot more science, studies and data available today to be able to make better decisions about the treatment that we dentists recommend to patients. The concept is called evidence-based dentistry.

The idea is that if a very structured examination and diagnosis is done, treatment recommendations can be made based on science. The problem is, all too often the diagnosis leads to suggestions that without the proper dialogue can make the dentist look like a “hit man”… (Read More)

I attended a continuing education seminar before COVID entitled, “Making it Easy for Patients to Say Yes”. The name of the seminar is a bit deceiving. You might think that it was about how to “sell” people into dental treatment. It was quite the opposite.

I am a firm believer in educating patients about their own dental health with the help of things like photography, which I discussed last week.  I also think it is important to spend as much time as necessary to bring the patient’s dental I.Q. to a level that allows them to make more educated decisions about the degree of dental health they wish to achieve. Some people require more time… (Read More)

Most of us like a sweet treat or beverage every once in a while, even though we have always been told that sugar impacts oral health. But how bad is it? It seems like sugar is added into everything these days which makes it incredibly difficult to avoid. Continue reading to learn exactly what sugar does to your teeth, what you should cut out of your diet, and what you can use instead that won’t cause harm to your smile.

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