10 THINGS YOU MUST KNOW TO SLASH YOUR DENTAL COSTS! 

·        Just Because Your Teeth Don’t Hurt, Doesn’t Necessarily Mean They Are Ok.

Heart attack victims don’t experience pain until the problem is potentially lethal.  Pain in our teeth means something’s not right.  It’s serious now. You wouldn’t neglect your heart.  Why neglect your teeth?  We see people almost every day who say, “I was just eating a piece of bread and my tooth broke off.”  Most bread won’t break your teeth.  What really happened was that the tooth was already breaking and biting the bread was the last straw.  What if you could know whether or not your tooth was going to break before you ate that piece of bread? 

·        Your Mouth Is Unique.

Many different diseases and disorders affect the mouth:  cavities, gum disease, oral cancer, TMJ issues (jaw, bite, muscular and headache problems), and excessive tooth wear.  Your genetics, personal oral hygiene habits, diet and physical health all affect whether or not you’ll experience the problems caused by these disorders.  You will be likely to experience some problems and maybe not the others.  You need to learn which trends you have and how to stop early changes from becoming big problems.  You should have gum measurements, an oral cancer exam, a TMJ screening, and a bite analysis.  Some problems in your mouth are caused by your physical health. For example, high blood pressure medication can dry your mouth and make you prone to more cavities and worsen gum disease. 

·        Here’s The GOOD NEWS:  Most Oral Problems Can Be Prevented. 

For example, if you’re highly prone to cavities a program of using prescription strength fluoride during your regular cleanings is necessary.  In addition, we are now putting our cavity prone patients on ACT, a liquid calcium paste that helps re-solidify teeth.  If you clench your teeth, (many people don’t know they do) you can have a small shock absorber made to offset the damage.  If your teeth are sensitive, there are desensitizers that can be applied in the office or at home.  If  you are prone to a dry mouth,  you can use mouth-wetting solutions to increase comfort and improve gum health. Diet, medical conditions and current medications will also affect a cavity prone patient’s outcome. 

·        Once A Problem Begins, It Will SPREAD, It Will Get WORSE, And It Will Get BIGGER.

Once you know there’s a problem, get it fixed as quickly as you can.  If you wait too long to take care of that cavity it may require additional procedures, which means more of your time and money.  What is a cavity today can easily become a broken tooth needing a crown next year.  Small problems can be handled predictably, often with just one appointment and without pain or complications. 

·        Have Your Teeth Cleaned Every 6 Months – No Matter What.

Make the decision to take care of your teeth with regular dental cleanings, even if you don’t have dental insurance.  You don’t have insurance for your haircuts, your car tires, or your clothes, yet you maintain them regularly.   Make the same commitment to your teeth and gums.  You can buy new shoes, but your natural teeth shouldn’t have to be replaced. *If you’ve been diagnosed with gum disease or are prone to gum problems, you’ll need a periodontal cleaning every 3-4 months. 

·        Brush Your Teeth Well.

Some patients simply don’t clean their teeth well enough.  Data shows that the average person brushes their teeth for 37 seconds.  What can you possibly clean in 37 seconds?  I regularly use and recommend the Sonicare™ electric toothbrush.  One of the best features about the Sonicare™ is that it has a built in timer that runs the brush for 2 minutes, then it shuts off.  Using this feature, your teeth will be 4 times cleaner without your having to think about it!  I recommend brushing two, preferably three times a day. 

·        Clean Between Your Teeth And Watch Your Diet.

One of the main cavity and gum disease prone places in your mouth is the area between back teeth.  You can get 2 cavities any place that your teeth touch, this is why you hear so much about flossing. Cavities between teeth are bothersome to fix, often requiring a porcelain restoration instead of a simple filling.  Almost all serious gum disease occurs between the last molars.  Clean well here and you’ll avoid both cavities and gum problems.  Diet can have a profound effect on your teeth.  Sweets, soda or constant snacking can produce an acid rain assault on your teeth, producing damage that could require crowns instead of just fillings to repair. 

·        Regular X-rays Are A Must.

Did you know that it takes two years for a cavity to start eating away at your tooth before it even shows up on an X-ray?  Regular X-rays actually identify small cavities before they progress to bigger problems.  I have seen countless patients who want to put off their X-rays, only to find later that their cavities have spread extensively, and at that point treatment becomes significant and often expensive.  Prevention saves discomfort and dollars. 

·        Stop Smoking.

Smoking worsens any type of gum disease and slows the healing of oral tissues.  If you have any type of gum problem, stop smoking.  Smoking also seriously lowers the success rate of surgical treatments, including implants.  Chewing tobacco, which contacts mouth tissues directly, is a major cause of oral cancer. If you’re interested in quitting, we have many tools available to help make you successful. 

·        Losing Your Teeth Is Worse Than You Think.

With modern dental care, you rarely need to have a tooth removed.  However, if you don’t follow these steps for prevention, you’ll eventually have problems.  Small problems progress to bigger ones - ones that hurt or show up unexpectedly.  When patients ignore small problems, by putting off treatment or only doing what their insurance will cover, and the big problem erupts, they are at a crossroad.  The easy way appears to be removing the tooth.  The better way is to properly restore the tooth, even if it means major rebuilding. Unfortunately, the same forces that were at work on that problem tooth are also progressing on other teeth.  Soon, you’re faced with either fixing or having another tooth removed.  With missing teeth, you have lessened chewing force, more pressure on the remaining teeth, and unbalanced chewing.  You should have a replacement made for the missing teeth, which could require dental implants, a bridge or a partial denture.  Great replacements for one or a few teeth are straightforward and can be very natural.  When you are missing many teeth, treatment becomes more expensive and time consuming.   Don’t let yourself get to this point!  In 17 years of practice, I’ve found that 10% of denture or partial denture patients are actually fine with their prosthetic teeth.  Nothing hurts, and patients can eat whatever they want.  Unfortunately, the other 90% can’t chew well, their prosthetics are loose, and they’re embarrassed to eat in public.  They hate their prosthetic teeth, so they wind up in a drawer.  I’ve noticed that having to use prosthetics can change a patient’s personality, their social life, their diet and they don’t know how awful it will be until it actually happens. The same problems that cause you to lose one tooth cause you to have the others removed.  When people start down this path, they usually end up with partial dentures replacing multiple missing teeth, or even full mouth reconstruction.   

So, What Should You Do?

You need to make sure that your dentist discusses your general health with you, examines you for oral cancer, signs of TMJ problems, and gum disease, and reviews your X-rays thoroughly, providing clear information about what’s happening in your mouth.  

Here’s What I Do:

·        I review your medical history, any medications you’re taking and discuss how either affects the health of your mouth.

·        I discuss any anxiety you have about visiting the dentist and I’ll discuss options we can use to make sure you will be comfortable.

·        I walk you through your X-rays so I can explain to you what I see.

·        I do a thorough head, neck and oral cancer examination.

·        I examine your TMJ, jaw muscles and your bite.

·        I examine all your teeth carefully to check for cavities.

·        I look at and talk about how you like your smile and what you can improve if you want to

·        I take photos of your teeth and show then to you to illustrate any particular problems that you have.

·        I give you a summary of any problems I’ve found and explain them in a way that makes sense to you. 

·        I present options and make suggestions about which options would be best for your unique situation.

·        I give you an estimate on the cost of your treatment before I start and offer you a number of different payment options.

·        I provide information and answers that somehow most people haven’t heard before.

·        I take the time to tell you how I’ll fix your problems in a way that will keep you confident, pain-free and healthy.   Many of my patients tell me, “I wish somebody had told me this a long time ago!”  

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To visit Dr. Greenhalgh’s office website click www.arbordentalgroup.com//doctors_lakewood.htm  

To receive a free subscription to Dr. Greenhalgh’s “How Do You Know?” Ezine click howdoyouknow@aweber.com.  

To make an appointment for a dental visit with Dr. Greenhalgh, email my office manager, Momi at:  momi@westwooddental.net  

To contact “Dr. Know” regarding speaking opportunities or your specific questions, email me at:  Dr.Know@howdoyouknow.info    

Best wishes,  Dr. Scott Greenhalgh, DDS (“Dr. Know”)Sustaining Member, American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry    

Member, Academy of Laser Dentistry

3190 S. Wadsworth Boulevard

Suite #300Lakewood, CO  80227

Office (303) 988-6110

Fax (303) 988-8307 

You are welcome to reprint this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the” About the author” information at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to Dr.Know@howdoyouknow.info.  

Copyright Dr. Scott Greenhalgh 2006, all rights reserved.