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.