Perio Protect: Periodontal Exam

When you come in for your periodic hygiene appointment (notice we didn’t call it a cleaning), a lot happens before we even pick up “the scraper.”  The exams begin the moment we call you back to the chair.  We are assessing your gait, symmetry, and even your speech. All of this gives us clues to…

Read More

Alzheimer’s and Oral Health

If you aren’t caring for someone with cognitive impairment, chances are you know someone who this debilitating disease has touched. An estimated 6.7 million Americans 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s, according to the most recent data from the Alzheimer’s Association. And I think we can all agree that Alzheimer’s and other cognitive diseases…

Read More

Think Twice Before Requesting Antibiotics

Antibiotics save lives. They have increased our life expectancy and helped us recover from major and minor infections. But just like reaching for that fifth slice of pizza, too much of a good thing can be bad. We are proud that our office stays on top of current science, but sometimes that means our recommendations…

Read More

A Letter to Patients from the Dental Office

Dear Patients, Dentistry has come a long way in the last thirty years.  It’s a profession that requires constant learning because science and technology keep evolving.  To think it wasn’t that long ago that we performed dentistry without gloves and maybe with a cigarette hanging out of our mouth.  But now we know better, and…

Read More

There’s an Easy Way to Treat Gum Disease…and It’s Not Antibiotics

Periodontal disease can be treated easily and effectively at home without the downsides of antibiotics If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re among the 80% of American adults living with gum disease. In its earliest stages, gum disease develops as gingivitis, which is characterized by inflammation—most patients can’t tell that they have the…

Read More

A Better Way to Battle Biofilm

Successful treatment of periodontal disease requires effectively managing the root of the problem: biofilm. However, by exploring the nature of oral biofilm, it becomes clear that this is no easy task. Dental plaque is a type of biofilm, a slime-enclosed community home to hundreds of species of bacteria and other microorganisms, both infectious and innocuous.…

Read More