Christmas Morning with Dr.D's girls

Cute video from this weekend - just click the title. No tomboys in my household. They are girlie-girls all the way.

Bye Bye 2010

2010 brought a couple of milestones for me personally. One was my 5th year anniversary of opening my practice here in Redmond. That took place in October. AND, my oldest daughter Sophia celebrated her 5th Birthday on December 22.

Changes wrought in our office this year are numerous. We have implemented CariFree products in our office (www.CariFree.com), meaning we can actually cure the bacterial infection that causes cavities. We are selling WaterPiks from the office so we know when you leave you are taking big steps in improving your gum health. We are making Emax porcelain crowns with our new porcelain sintering oven, which are as strong as metal crowns. These are still completed in a single visit, saving you a 2 week wait and the need for a temporary crown. We can even fabricate veneers for cosmetic rejuvenation of your smile.

I can't believe how time flies. We have enjoyed the ride, with all the ups & downs. If these past five years are any indication, then the next five will go by even faster.

Happy Holidays to everyone, and have a safe New Year's Eve. We will see you in 2011!

Project Connect - Dentistry Giving back to Central Oregon's Needy

This past Saturday, I had the privilege to work alongside some amazing people at the Deschutes County Expo Center. The event was Project Connect (formerly known as Project Homeless Connect) and it was a great effort on the part of many local medical care providers, veternarians, pharmacists and many other organizations. All of this was provided to people free of charge. I worked in one of the Dental Vans helping people with severe tooth pain and infections, providing extractions. The line of folks waiting to be seen by dentists was probably the longest one I saw there. I worked from noon until six and some of these people had been waiting there since 10 in the morning. Everyone was SO appreciative of our efforts on their behalf, and it was truly rewarding to lend them our talents and training for one day. Thank you to everyone that participated and made such a huge impact on the lives of so many in such a short amount of time.

"I floss" Bumper Stickers

I had some "I floss" oval-shaped white and black bumper stickers printed up if anyone wants one. Just stop by the office and ask for one. They're only 4 inches long and look good on the window of your car, or anywhere else you care to put them.

Typhoon Restaurant Teams with the Opportunity Foundation

If you love Thai food, you can help raise money for the Opportunity Foundation. On the first Tuesday of every month, Typhoon donates a portion of their lunch and dinner proceeds directly to the Foundation. The Opportunity Foundation supports those with disabilities, so this is a very nice gesture on the part of Typhoon. Go eat some great food on Tuesday, September 7 and make a difference in someone's life at the same time!

Movie of the Average Dental Patient

Click the title above to watch this hilarious movie. A dentist somewhere put this together after dealing with a patient. I can relate to this SO well it's scary. Let me know if it strikes you as funny (or offensive), but I had to post this to let you see what we as dentists deal with on a weekly basis.

Dr. Bill Robbins in Central Oregon

What a great two days of lecture at the Riverhouse Convention Center! Dr. Bill Robbins and his family flew out here to lecture to 40 lucky dentists and their staff for two days. Some of our area specialists, including Periodontists, Oral Surgeons & Orthodontists were there as well. What this means to our patients is a more streamlined approach to smile design and cosmetic outcomes. As a dentist, no one else can put the teeth in the smile. No amount of plastic surgery, Botox or Restylane can improve the smile without your cosmetic dentist! So if you have cosmetic needs or know anyone who does, have them come see me for a complimentary aesthetic evaluation of their smile.

No new cavites - For LIFE!

How much would you pay to stop getting cavities? There's an amazing new company based in Salem, OR called CariFree(Oral BioTech). Click the Title of the post above and it will take you straight to their website. I've been directing a lot of my patients to check out their Treatment Rinse, Treatment Kits and for kids they have great products like Xylitol Lollipops, gums, mouth sprays, etc. Use these to shift the balance of 'bad' bacteria back to 'good' bacteria. Your mouth will become acid-neutral, so no way you can get cavities. Couple this with the hardening properties and anti-cavity potential that Fluoride gives to enamel, and you would only have to worry about gum disease. See, there would still be a reason for you to come see your dentist, even if you never had a cavity again.

How many of you would like the convenience of purchasing these products directly from my office? I have hesitated to do this, as I don't want people thinking I'm selling stuff just to make a profit. But, if I can offer prices that are less than the CariFree website and their shipping charges, I'm glad to do it.

Volunteer Dentistry at COCC

Last Friday, I finally made it over to the COCC Dental Assisting Clinic, where Dental Assisting students get live patient experiences. Volunteers in Medicine screens patients in need, and they are seen for emergency dental care (aka extractions). We treated approximately 10 patients from 8am until 2pm, and the students were AWESOME! This wasn't their first rodeo, as the term is coming to an end. I have heard from reliable sources that it is very chaotic in there when they first start seeing patients as the year begins for them. It is a small clinic with four treatment chairs. We are very excited to see the new facility when the Allied Science building is completed in the next couple of years.

A big thank you to Lynn Murray, Kristi Hammerquist and Deb Davies for all of their hard work with these students. They will be working on Central Oregonians in the near future and our dental practices are better because of their program. Kudos!

New Porcelain Oven in our office

At the Oregon Dental Conference, I finally purchased a Porcelain Furnace! This allows me to customize our CEREC single-visit crowns with stains and glaze for even more gorgeous effect. For our teeth-grinders, I can fabricate eMax Lithium Disilicate crowns in office now. These eMax crowns are so hard that you can strike them with a hammer and they won't break. (Not recommended doing this in your mouth, by the way).

This has been an investment that I've been looking forward to for some time now. It allows me to incorporate so much artistry in my restorations. This is why I became a dentist and this new technology is incredible. If you need a crown, ask me to show you the oven and how we customize your crown with shades, Stains and gradient chromas to give natural, life-like character to your teeth It will amaze you to see how much detail goes into one crown.

Proof that even Dental Personnel see the Dentist

Here's proof that Jessica has dental needs too. Doesn't that make everyone just have a warm fuzzy to see her on the receiving end of a dental impression? Puts a smile on my face.

April is National Stress Awareness Month

There must be a reason that National Stress Awareness Month and National Humor Month go hand in hand. After all, the first day of the month is April Fool's Day. I debated on whether to saran wrap the door to my bedroom this morning to get my wife to walk into it, but decided this was not a battle I would win. It would have only been funny to one of us!

To bring attention to this month's theme in our office, I'll pose the following question: Do you wake up in the morning feeling fabulous? Not many do, and I've found great success with a night guard system that I use to reduce the clenching and grinding activity in many of my patients. Check out the website, www.HeadachePrevention.com. It shows some excellent illustrations about how our NTI-TSS night guard works to reduce muscle tension and headaches. What better gift to give to your husband or wife than reduced headaches? We see about a 70% reduction in symptoms after 8 weeks of use of the NTI-TSS system. This is a great treatment for National Stress Awareness Month.

March is Nutrition Awareness Month in our office

Heidi and Jessica have come up with some entertaining monthly themes for 2010. This will give us a reason to discuss certain things, and hopefully add some fun to your visits with us.

This month is Nutrition Awareness Month. We've put some samples of 100% Xylitol gum on the front counter of the office. This is truly one of the best ways I know of to help reduce the acids in your mouth that cause cavities. Chewing 8 grams of 100% Xylitol a day (2 pieces, four times a day) is proven to reduce decay. Great stuff for parents with little ones. When you share forks, spoons, etc, you are transferring the bacteria from your mouth to theirs. Did you know that infants have "sterile" mouths - meaning they are not prone to decay until inoculated by someone else. Chewing Xylitol gums or sucking on mints has been shown to prevent the transmission of the bacteria that cause decay to your kiddos.

Obviously, good healthy foods, like apples, lettuce, celery, carrots, etc will have a natural cleansing ability due to their fibrous nature. Green Tea has been shown to improve gum health, via antioxidants.

All in all, just good information to have for you and your family. Check out the Academy of General Dentistry's website for the public: www.KnowYourTeeth.com for more information.

No Patients...No worries

Slow day at the office, so went for a hike at Smith Rock to blow off steam today. Man, I had forgotten how amazing that place is. Only 10 minutes from the office to boot.

Great day for a hike

Going to put in a strenuous 2 mile hike today with Sophia. ;) I think her little legs can do it - she did 2 miles last week, and I sure don't want to carry her. Great day today - 50 degrees, sunny, and new snow on the mountains.

Two Front Crowns In One Visit. . . Just a Good Feeling.

We just completed two brand new front crowns this morning in a single visit for the nicest little old lady. Utilizing CAD/CAM, I was able to fabricate and customize two gorgeous all-Porcelain crowns for her. I love my CEREC. Otherwise, she would have waited 3 weeks to have the lab-made crowns sent to us, and possibly not have a good color match which would send the crowns back to the lab again. Not to mention, a goopy impression and two plastic temporary crowns in order to give the lab all the information they would need.

I know a lot of patients hate coming to the dentist, but I gotta say - Modern Dentistry is amazing! I just love what I get to do every day.

Dr.D organizes Fly Fishing Trip on the Upper Deschutes for July

What could scare fish more than a group of 15 dentists? In July, a fantastic clinician and wonderfully entertaining lecturer will be visiting Bend for a two-day Continuing Education Extravaganza. Bill Robbins will be sure to "wow" our local and over-the-mountain dentists the weekend of July 23. On Sunday, July 25, I'm organizing fly-fishing walk-in trip to the Upper-D for $150 each. Scott Cook at Fly & Field Outfitters will be hooking us up (pun intended) with all the gear and licenses, not to mention streamside lunch. As we say in Texas, "Hook 'Em!"

Give Kids a Smile in our office Friday, Feb 5th

Thanks to Vicki and all of those people behind the scenes, we will be providing free dental care ro local children for the 5th year in a row!  Typically we donate about 6 or 7 hours of our staff and doctor's time and roughly $4,000 worth of care.   A great cause with great people working together.

Happy New Year!

Here's to 2010 being a great year, and great start to the next decade! My youngest daughter Olivia turns 1 tomorrow, so it's already starting off good.