Are You Not Entertained?
This is the time of year that we are preparing for New Year's goals and resolutions. I want some of those goals to involve your teeth and oral health. I want this review to educate and motivate you in your endeavors.
Of course, as a reader, you are aware that 406 Woman Magazine hits the newsstands six times a year.
That means every two months I, along with the other contributors, need to figure out how to entertain our readers for two pages or so. I have been contributing to this great publication for over three years now and I'm going to say I have written north of 20 articles. Articles about dentistry to be specific.
While I am passionate about the Art & Science of Dentistry, it can be difficult to write original content every two months &...wait for it...be entertaining. I sit down and I first think of my audience:
The smart and savvy women of Northwest Montana
I think of my wife Juli
I think of the amazing women I work with on a daily basis
What do they want to read? What questions do they have?
As we approach the end of another year, I would like to review some of the best advice that I've given in this column over the past three years. This is the time of year that we are preparing for New Year's goals and resolutions. I want some of those goals to involve your teeth and oral health. I want this review to educate and motivate you in your endeavors.
Being Informed
Having a well-informed approach to your oral health care is a major focus of my writing. We have been told our whole lives to brush, floss, see the dentist regularly, etc. I want to tell you why you do these things.
Acid is Not Cool While is the direct cause of traditional dental cavities. Caust Understand that any source of carbohydrates will give acid-producing bacteria found in dental plaque the ability to well, produce acid. So, not only will candy and soft drinks cause cavities, but so will milk and bread if inadequate oral hygiene is present. Under normal conditions, every time we eat fermentable carbohydrates the acid levels sugar is often touted as the enemy, acid rise in our mouths for approximately 25 min- utes before our saliva can neutralize things back to healthy levels. Understand that if you snack frequently, or sip Big Gulps all day you are drastically increasing the exposure time of your teeth to destructive acid levels.
Dental X-Rays are Safe
Dental X-rays, or radiographs, give your dentist a significant amount of information concerning not only your dental health, but also the health status of the supporting structures of your teeth, mainly your bone. To keep things brief, the average background radiation that humans are ex- exposed to on an average day equates to about two Dental X-rays. In a five year period we take 40 dental radiographs give or take.
Baby Teeth are Important
As I mentioned in my April 2013 article titled Healthy Smiles!" Baby teeth are the "Raising dress rehearsal for their permanent successors. Also, they hold space in the developing jaw for the permanent teeth to reside. Premature loss of baby teeth will likely cause orthodontic complications later. Go to 406Woman.com and read that article...it's really good if I say so myself.
A Healthy Smile can Open Doors
I could also call this one, "An Unhealthy Smile Will Close Doors." much as we don't like to admit it First Impressions are very important social interactions. Bad First Impressions become First and Last Impressions. How often do we read that clickbait on our Facebook feeds called something like "10 Traits of Irresistible People" to read "bright and healthy smile" in the first two or three? There is truth in this. For my article on this matter I did a little experiment where I Googled "First Impressions" to find that 18 of the first 20 results directly mentioned a good smile.
Emerging Dental Technology is Seriously Awesome
I recently discussed dental implants in an article titled something like "nothing better than the real thing...yet." We are doing fully guided implants now where we start with a fully 3-Dimensional Cone-Beam. We then plan the entire procedure digitally based on the available bone and surrounding anatomy. Next, we take a 3-D scan of the patient's teeth and gums and fabricate a precision surgical guide on our in-house milling unit. Finally, after the healing phase we are placing beautiful crowns made in less than an hour while you watch Top Gun. We are operating in the micrometer world; a millimeter is a mile to a dentist. All this while never putting any goopy stuff in your mouth. BOOM!
Never Easier or Cheaper
What I mean is saving your teeth will never be easier or cheaper than it is right now. I say "saving" because pulling teeth is actually cheaper in most cases. Dentistry is expensive. I'm not going to sit here and say that is isn't. Your mouth is just like any other intricate machine. It needs maintenance. You could skip putting oil in your car if you don't mind replacing the engine eventually. It would be much easier and less expensive to just do the routine maintenance. It's no different with your teeth.
Wow. I could go on forever. Maybe I will do a part two to this one.
I just want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I just feel extremely blessed to not only live and mingle among you, but to be able to contribute to this area as a Dentist and community member.
Read Are You Not Entertained and other Smile Montana articles by Dr. John F. Miller, DDS, in 406 Woman magazines.