Special Reports

Our Dental Library Special Reports are listed below and in the drop-down list to the right. We believe patient education plays an important part of making wise decisions about general and dental health. Please enjoy these articles, but remember that diagnostic and treatment decisions should be made with the help of competent professional advice. You can make an appointment for a new patient exam or for a brief free consultation by clicking here.

Bad Breath - Halitosis

Bad breath is caused by volatile sulfur compounds called hydrogen sulfide (30%), dimethyl sulfide (10%), and methyl mercaptan (60%). These compounds are found in the highest concentration on the top of the tongue and secondarily in and around the gum line. These compounds arise from the death of cellular matter such as bacterial plaque, and are usually related to periodontal disease.

Dental plaque, decaying teeth, food trapped under dental restoration such as bridgework, oral ulcers, or other problems allow the growth of bacteria that can produce bad-smelling chemicals. Decayed and broken teeth, broken fillings and failing dentistry, and certain foods also contribute to bad breath. Advertising would have us believe that rinses and pastes are a cure-all. However, these products only act to cosmetically cover up the underlying problem. Mints and mouth washes may improve the situation for short periods of time, but eventually only treating the underlying causes will rid the sufferer of this embarrassment. Good oral hygiene, regular check ups and necessary treatment are important parts of insuring good oral health. Back to Top

Cosmetic Dentistry

When it comes to dentistry, as you look in the Yellow Pages you will find that every dentist claims to be a cosmetic dentist. There has been such an influx of “cosmetic dentists” that anymore, being a “cosmetic dentist” is cliché – even (yawn) passé! Why? Because these days, any dentist who does teeth whitening or white fillings can claim to be a cosmetic dentist! Read More... | Back to Top

Cosmetic Smile Design

What makes an attractive smile? Why are some smiles better and younger looking than others? Why are some smiles radiantly beautiful while other’s are average? While “Mother Nature” gifted some people with great smiles, many are left wishing that they hadn’t been overlooked. While you may know a nice smile when you see it, it’s harder to explain exactly what makes a nice smile.

This Smile Design Report will help you better understand why some people have a great smile while other’s don’t. It will help you analyze the state of your own smile, and will show you the principles of smile design used and taught by world class cosmetic dentists like Dr. Ostler.
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Cracked Teeth Report

If you have ever had the unpleasant experience of breaking a tooth you may likely relate to the common belief that it always seems to happen on weekends or after-hours. It is one of “Murphy’s Laws” – or so it seems. Like heart attacks and car accidents, it’s never planned or looked forward to. The usual explanation is “I was just eating Jell-O” – (or something soft like it). You feel victimized knowing that if you had been eating ice, nuts or bolts, then you might have deserved it. You might even ask “how could it happen when your last dental check up found that everything was just fine?”
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The Big Decision About Dentures

From time to time we have people approach us desiring to have their teeth removed and dentures made for them. Sometimes these requests are without merit from a dental perspective and are motivated by money concerns, fear or ignorance. There are situations when we are left with no other options other than to recommend dentures due to advanced dental disease problems. However, not always are dentures the best treatment alternative. Read More... | Back to Top

Four Levels of Care

We understand that choosing a new dentist can be difficult. To help in this process, this section will assist you in understanding how our society and people in general, approaches healthcare. This may help you better determine which model of healthcare you are most comfortable with.
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Headaches

According to the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke, there are 45 million headache sufferers in the USA. Migraine sufferers amount to 28 million strong, with nearly everyone (90%) experiencing a general headache each year. Due to the biomechanical, neuromuscular and musculoskeletal inter-relatedness of the back, neck and head, headaches are very often correlated with neck, back and shoulder pain.

Whether the headache is daily or more infrequent, pain in and around the head, face, jaws, neck and ears, can be anything from a major annoyance and inconvenience, to downright painful, to disabling. Headaches are usually classified as either: Sinus, Tension, or Vascular (including migraines). While there are other types and variants, these major classifications represent the most common types.

How to Choose a Dentist

Today more than ever, the choice of a dentist for you and your family is a critical decision that should be made with the utmost care. So how do you choose a dentist? There is more to selecting a good dentist than simply throwing a dart at a listing. The truth is that there are a number of factors that must be considered in making the right choice for the right dentist. Read More... | Back to Top

How to Choose a Great Cosmetic Dentist

It takes more than slick marketing, cute slogans, and “cosmetic dentist” listings in the Yellow Pages to be a skilled cosmetic dentist. To make sure your smile is in the best hands, consider the following guidelines for choosing a great dentist: Read More... | Back to Top

Mercury Amalgam Fillings 1

There is little debate today that mercury is a potent neurotoxin and a significant problem in both biologic systems as well as in the environment. But in dentistry the use of mercury in fillings represents one of the most hotly debated subjects. Those opposed to using mercury in dental fillings claim that mercury is released from fillings and can be toxic to the human biological system. Defenders cite its 150+ years in use as evidence of its safety. Those opposed to using it in fillings say that the debate should be settled by medical toxicology, and defenders easily dismiss any toxicology information as irrelevant, claiming that the mercury is “bound” in the amalgamated filling material, and again citing its “long successful” track record and the fact that more people aren’t “sick.” Read More... | Back to Top

Mercury Amalgam Fillings 2

The ADA has long been a strong advocate for using mercury amalgam fillings. It is cheap, quick, and requires minimal training. It has been used since the early 1800’s when barber/dentists filled holes in teeth. The ADA claims that its long track record is safe, strong, and not harmful medically. These points are hotly debated today with a very strong lobby of dental, medical, environmental, and toxicology groups opposing its use. While technically “the jury” may still be out, the defense of mercury in dentistry is highly questionable especially with the many much more bio-compatible materials available now which make its use obsolete. Read More... | Back to Top

The Perio/Heart Connection

The evidence linking periodontitis to heart disease began in 1989 by a study in Finland, which observed that patients who had heart attacks had more severe oral conditions including periodontal disease and tooth decay. Several studies since then there have shown that a preexisting periodontal disease results in an increased risk for a heart attack or stroke.

These studies suggest that periodontal disease is not only associated with cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke, but it is also associated with subclinical evidence of atherosclerosis including thickening of the vessel wall. These controlled studies indicate that periodontitis remains an independent contributor to heart disease. Caution is in order because these associations do not establish causality. Read More... | Back to Top

Resin Sealants

These developmental grooves and pits are a normal part of the tooth. They are formed as a result of how the tooth develops inside the jawbone. These grooves and pits can and will attract bacteria and debris which will cause staining and/or decay to form deep down in the grooves and pits of this tooth. When this occurs it becomes necessary to drill out the decay and to "remove" the groove with a dental drill.
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Sedation Dentistry

Most people can manage a trip to the dentist with not much more than a little anxiety. After all, it isn’t like a picnic in the park! But for some people, going to the dentist can be very stressful. Whether this is because of a bad experience at the dentist as a child, or because of other issues, dental phobia is a fear that often makes it very difficult for some people to properly take care of their dental needs and to protect their oral health and their beautiful smile. Read More... | Back to Top

Silver Mercury Fillings

Are mercury fillings bad?

You’ve seen them! Perhaps still have them! Those ugly, black, silver-amalgam mercury tooth fillings on back teeth. If you still have them, consider the following:

Amalgam fillings do not “bond” to the tooth. Instead, undercuts are made deep into the tooth so that the filling can lock itself into place. Often these undercuts can seriously weaken the tooth.

With time there is a very slow expansion that occurs in the filling. The metallurgists call this “creep and flow”. The net effect of this gradual expansion is that over time the stresses it creates in the tooth must be relieved, and as this pressure builds, the tooth can begin to crack and fracture. While decay can happen more rapidly in these cracks, these cracks and broken teeth represent the number one reason dentists do so many crowns – to repair broken teeth that have silver fillings. If not repaired immediately, teeth will break, become infected or even worse; the entire tooth will be lost.

All amalgam fillings will corrode or rust over time. And as they do, saliva can leak around the filling. This can often set up new decay around the fillings. Newer white tooth-colored filling materials have superior bonding qualities and therefore do not require a cavity with an undercut. They actually help strengthen the tooth. They also don’t expand like silver mercury fillings do, so they are safer for the tooth structurally. And, since they don’t have any heavy metal mercury, gone is the worry about whether there is any adverse health problems associated with these fillings. Given the advances in dentistry and the uses of porcelain materials, there is really no longer any reason to use mercury alloy fillings. Besides, they are ugly!
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Smokeless Tobacco

The comeback in popularity of smokeless tobacco products, snuff, and chewing tobacco has caused a dramatic rise in the number of people with oral, head and neck cancer. Smokeless tobacco contains a variety of cancer-causing agents. In the past, head and neck cancer was considered a disease primarily for men in their 50's and older. However, epidemiologists are beginning to find a change in the pattern. As the number of young men, women, and even school age children who use smokeless tobacco rises, the ages of patients suffering from cancer of the mouth, head and neck gets higher. In essence, what thousands of people have done by switching from smoking tobacco to chewing it is to simply switch one possible cancer site for another.

Unfortunately, the advertising for smokeless tobacco products are aimed at the young, and there is little knowledge of how dangerous it is. Most users assume, as you did, that chewing tobacco will help you avoid cancer, but that couldn't be further from the truth. In a study last year sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, nonsmoking women who used snuff had increased their risk of oral cancer fourfold. Another study with men showed the same increased risk. Smokeless tobacco also causes a host of other health problems. The nicotine in chewing tobacco has similar adverse affects to that in cigarettes. Users have elevated blood nicotine levels and this can cause a rise in blood pressure, heart rate and certain blood lipids. Addiction is another side effect of using smokeless tobacco. Dependence and withdrawal symptoms are the same from the chewable tobacco products as they are from cigarettes.
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Snoring & Sleep Apnea

Anyone who travels in airplanes or subways, or has a spouse that snores, understands the annoying frustration that goes with being around a snorer. Despite the frustration involved, it turns out that snoring may not be the innocent annoyance it was once thought to be. Few things are as stressful or unnerving as to have to watch a sleeping partner repeatedly struggle for breath through the night.

Snoring is just one of the more noticeable signs of a deeper problem called Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Often during sleep the muscles of the tongue and throat can relax enough to close off the airway in the back of the mouth, creating a vibrating snoring noise as well as preventing normal breathing. When this happens repeatedly during sleep, the lowered oxygen levels (hypoxia) in the brain trigger an arousal or awakening sufficient to contract these relaxed muscles so that the airway in the throat opens and breathing can be restored – until it happens again.

This creates a pattern of restless sleep which leads to daytime tiredness, lack of energy, diminished cognitive (thinking) function, and eventually to increased medical problems such as heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and other medical disorders.

Diagnosis and treatment is now available. If you or your spouse snores, or experiences excessive daytime tiredness, then talking to your physician or a dentist trained in Dental Sleep Medicine can be a life-saving experience. They can help you begin the healing and healthful process of restoring normal restful sleep, along with eliminating snoring and any underlying sleep apnea.
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Sterilization and Safety

The past several years has seen a significant upsurge in interest and activity in the area of infection control in medical and dental offices. Tuberculosis, hepatitis and the AIDS virus have taken center stage and have caused the medical/dental establishments to focus on infectious diseases like never before.

We are especially concerned about protecting you and us from infectious diseases. We know you place a very special trust in us when you receive care. Your peace of mind is important to us. That is why we are committed to providing maximum protection against any kind of infectious disease. We have invested much time and energy into the design of an infection control system, and we are constantly evaluating and updating our state-of-the-art procedures and systems. This makes prevention and protection a way of life at your dental office, and adds greatly to your peace of mind. Read More... | Back to Top

Teeth Whitening - Deep Bleaching

Over the past few years there has been major advancements made in the science and techniques for teeth whitening. Originally, it was discovered quite by accident that certain chemicals had the ability to whiten enamel tooth structure. This discovery quickly evolved into what is now a very sophisticated industry involving both professionally directed techniques and over-the-counter methods for whitening teeth. Almost all whitening products whether over-the-counter or professionally performed or supervised, contain the active ingredient carbamide peroxide. Read More... | Back to Top

Teeth Whitening Summary - What You Need to Know

The popularity of teeth whitening has become something of a phenomenon around the world. What at first started out as a tightly controlled in-office professionally applied cosmetic procedure, is now widely available in many over-the-counter (OTC) products, and in most dental offices today.

The strong media and cultural spotlight on white teeth has brought with it an abundance of good information as well as some mis-information. Contrary to popular marketing there is no such thing as a fast over-the-counter or one-visit bleaching technique that whitens teeth to their very whitest. Teeth vary from person to person in their ability to become whiter, and not all bleaching attempts or results are predictable. Read More... | Back to Top

TMJ/TMD

Does your jaw ache?
Do you get headaches?
Does your jaw pop?
Any ringing ears or other ear problems?
Sore or tense neck muscles?

If so, you may have TMD or Temporomandibular Disorder
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Understanding Dental Insurance

Is dental insurance a good thing?

Yes! Insurance has helped millions to achieve a higher level of dental health. But it must be used correctly. Some people believe that if they don’t have insurance that they can’t afford dental work. Some people with insurance believe that if their insurance won’t pay for dental procedures, then they must not need it, or they believe it isn’t important. Others won’t spend beyond its limitations.
THE TRUTH is that dental insurance provides help with getting dental work you would do anyway (you just budget differently). Not having insurance doesn’t make your teeth less important or necessary for health, social/career success, or self-confidence. Besides, you only get a limited amount of coverage anyway! Dental insurance is a good thing if you don’t let the insurance company make your health decisions for you, or think that without it you can’t afford dental care.
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Why Choose Us

What makes a great dental office? Choosing a dentist in this modern age of dentistry requires a bit more care and concern than simply throwing a dart at an open Yellow Pages book. Yet that is often all that some people rely on. Other people use their friend’s recommendation who believes their dentist is simply the best. Others research the internet learning what they can about their dentist. Perhaps this report will give you some additional information that will build perspective and give you the ability to make a better and more informed choice for yourself and your family. You may also find the report “How To Choose a Dentist” available on this web site in the reports section, to also be helpful in knowing what to look for in choosing the right dentist. Read More... | Back to Top