Despite the fact that mercury is poisonous, dentists across the nation still use amalgam in their practice, and at least 100 million Americans are walking around with mercury in their mouths right now. This is because the ADA insists that amalgam is not bad for the patient. But mounting evidence is starting to show otherwise. Everyday activities such as eating, drinking and even brushing your teeth, are proven to release bits of mercury into the blood stream. Though the amount released is not enough to harm you, the accumulation of mercury over time is.

If you have amalgam fillings, you may be at risk for mercury poisoning and not even know it. According to experts, the effects can be so slight at first that many people don’t see them as side-effects at all. Many signs of mercury poisoning show themselves in the form of mood swings or anxiety, which are often attributed to a lack of sleep or overwork. Other symptoms can include memory loss, which many individuals blame on age, or auto-immune disorders, which many more blame on poor hygiene. Mercury exposure has also been linked to tremors, fatigue, headaches, skin problems and an inability to concentrate. Mercury is so damaging to the central nervous system, that even the smallest amounts of exposure should be avoided at all costs. This is why more and more dentists are giving up amalgam for safer, less controversial materials. I am one of those dentists.

To hear what the experts have to say about amalgam fillings, and why they’re still being used despite the growing body of research proving their hazardous effects on the patient, click this link to watch the Dr. Oz recording: http://droz.me/11zRd7r

Here are some good reasons why a collaborative effort might be worth a shot:

·        90% of our state’s dentists are in private practice, and are accepting fewer Medicaid patients each year – this puts a lot of pressure on the Department of Health to provide the healthcare that so many desperately need

·        80% of dental disease occurs within the disadvantaged population

·        The Department of Dental Health provides help to more than 150,000 individuals each year; 75% of those are children

·        As of August of last year, there were 35 dental vacancies in Florida, while the average used to be THREE. This leaves a lot of people – many of them disadvantaged – unsure of where or who to turn to

·        Only about 20% of Medicaid recipients receive any dental care each year

Private practice is definitely a necessity in today’s world, but public health can complement it—especially in Florida—by providing services to individuals that don’t have access to private services. Also, despite what many people may think about public healthcare, and despite the fact that yes, it is often taken advantage of, the benefits of population-based programs are exponential. However, it is difficult for many people to grasp the purpose of public healthcare, because instead of aiming to cure and fix what is broken, public health professionals focus on prevention and control. They aim to preserve the public’s overall health and welfare through education, information and teaching personal accountability. Providing these three things to the public doesn’t cost much money – it just requires the right people. But they can’t do it alone.

Public healthcare professionals are already doing so much for Florida’s disadvantaged population as it is, but imagine what they could accomplish if they had private practices on their side. To learn more about the efforts being made to get Florida on the path to good health, read this article: http://www.doh.state.fl.us/family/dental/article/shadows.pdf

Bluewater Bay Dental’s new Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bluewater-Bay-Dental/185494584828251 has had a total revamp and not only looks great, but provides useful information on the latest in dental technology and tips to maintaining good oral health. Dr. Broutin and his team regularly release articles, blog posts and videos on their Facebook page as well as their website that provide an insightful look at dentistry in Niceville, OH.

Using Facebook and other social media outlets allows Dr. Broutin and his staff to keep in touch with his patients more than ever before. They can use the real-time platform of Facebook to reveal new techniques and helpful tips on dental care. This kind of outreach helps build a two-way communication between dentist and patient that will further advance the care and service that Bluewater Bay Dental provides.

Oftentimes, patients wonder why I perform the same dental exam and screening on them as their last dentist, and the dentist before that. After all, couldn’t I just have their previous dentist send their paperwork over? Yes, I could just do that, but then I would be eliminating a very essential aspect of the patient-doctor “get-to-know-you” process, a process that I enjoy because it allows us to co-discover your current state of oral health, explore your chief wants and concerns and discuss any issues that you may have, or have had in the past. I use this exam as a way to communicate with you, and to build that relationship I spoke about earlier, so that when it comes time to create your treatment plan, you will trust me to accomplish the dental work you want and need, at your pace and within your budget.

A trusting relationship also opens the patient up to an education. Yes – an education. When patients feel comfortable with me, they ask questions about the procedures and tools that I use. For instance, how would a patient know that the laser I use in the screening – the DIAGNOdent – can detect up to 50% of decay that is invisible to x-rays, without ever subjecting them to radiation, if they’re too afraid to ask me? How would they know that every year, 37,000 Americans are diagnosed with some stage or oral cancer – a cancer that can easily be avoided with regularly scheduled cleanings and screenings – if they don’t speak up? There are so many interesting, useful tips that I can share with patients—and that I do share—when they are comfortable enough in my chair to talk to me.

As your dentist, I feel that it is my job to educate you, and to create a comfortable, relaxing environment for you. I don’t want you to hesitate to come to me either, or to be afraid that I might mess up one of your defining features—your smile; rather, I want you to trust that I’m going to enhance it. To learn more about what I do to get to know you as a person before I treat you as a patient, check out our General Dentistry section at: http://www.nicevillefldentist.com/patient-information/

However, for all those skeptics out there, I will say that a majority of the time, I use Botox as more than just a means to erase wrinkles; believe it or not, but I often use it to manage pain. Many of my patients experience chronic facial pain, TMJ disorder and stress induced bruxism – or grinding – while they’re undergoing a full mouth restoration. Botox helps to relax those facial muscles, and therefore reduce painful muscle contractions and spasms. If they happen to have less wrinkles and a more vibrant smile as a result, then they’re all the happier.  On the other hand, I do offer Juvederm simply as a means to rejuvenate your natural appearance, so that when you leave my office, you will look relaxed and happy – or how you would look had you just returned from vacation!

I offer these facial rejuvenation services not because I don’t feel my patients are beautiful as is, but because for some people, this is a way to enhance the stunning smile I’ve created for them. Some people may say that Botox and Juvederm are a bit extreme, but I just say that they’re just a way to celebrate a patient’s natural shine.

Getting cosmetic work done should not be taboo – you should not feel guilty for wanting to look your best, or for wanting to enhance your natural beauty. I believe that you should feel beautiful and confident at every age, which is why I offer the cosmetic services that I do. Restore Your Confidence – Enhance Your Smile – It’s Your Right.

Implant Breakdown

For more than 25 years, implants have been changing the face of dentistry, and they are continuing to surprise and amaze us with all that they continue to do for the dental field, and even more so for your dental health. That is why I feel it is important to educate you on everything I continue to learn about dental implants. I know that I’ve already covered the basics, such as what implants are, who can get them and what the success rates are (see Blog Post, Dental Implants: Out With the Old, In With the New) – and you can check out any webpage or blog to learn how they’re placed, what they’re made of, and who can benefit from them, but, through the ICOI course, I learned that there is so much more to implants and implant placement than information such as “A dental implant is a replacement for the root or roots of a tooth with a nearly 100% success rate.” And like all great advancements today, there is a little bit of history to be learned – history that better helps us understand what we’re dealing with.

The History

Implants as you know them today have been used since the early 70’s, but a large body of scientific research indicates that earlier civilizations used dental implants as well—and to great success. In fact, the first dental implant dates back to 600 AD, and is attributed to the Mayans. One of the most notable discoveries came in 1931, when an archeologist in Honduras found a mandible with three tooth-shaped seashells inserted into the pockets of where her teeth would have been. For nearly forty years, scientists and researchers alike believed that the seashells had been placed post-mortem; but in 1970, one scientist took a closer look and discovered that the bone had grown around the seashells, and therefore, would had to have been placed before she (for the mandible belonged to a young woman) died. Upon this discovery, the scientist concluded that the seashells must have been put in place to serve as tooth replacements – and he was right.

Since that first discovery, “dental implants” were found everywhere—Ancient Egyptians were unearthed with gold wire implants – skeletons were found in the Middle East with ivory implants – and, more recently, a Roman soldier was discovered with an iron implant in the jawbone. So, even though it seems as if dental implants have been tried since the dawn of tools, it is a wonder that it took this long for implants to “stick,” so to speak. And why is that? you might wonder. It all has to do with something called Osseointegration.

The Key to Success

Osseo means “bone” – Integration means “fusion,” or “join with.” Therefore, Osseointegration means, “Bone-Fusion,” or “Join with Bone.” Despite spectacular efforts on the part of our ancestral dentists, the primitive methods and materials used for implants were only temporarily successful – in order for an implant to be truly successful – in order for it to take the place of a tooth completely, it had to fuse with the jawbone—and again, despite their best efforts, our ancestors could not find a way to make this happen. That is, until 1952.

In 1952, a surgeon named Per-Ingvar Branemark noted that the titanium cylinder he placed in a patient’s bone for healing could not be removed. Though he did not know it at the time, his “mistake” was the start of something great – a life-changing “invention,” BECAUSE, the titanium fused to the bone—this – the Osseointegration – later became the basis for success for the modern day implant.

Branemark could not have known that his research on Osseointegration would have had such a profound effect on modern day dentistry, but if it weren’t for his inquisitive mind back in the early fifties/sixties, implants wouldn’t be nearly as successful as they are today. Implants are great for people of all ages: Those who have lost all or some of their teeth – those who have chipped or broken teeth – those who have difficulty tolerating dentures – those who have lost so much bone that their jawbones can’t support dentures – or even those who just want to look and feel better about themselves. Whoever they are, however old they are, implants today are so advanced—and knowledge of them so great—that they can’t help but be successful.

Modern implants come in all shapes and sizes, and each individual comes with different wants and needs, which is why the ICOI and implantologists across the nation are continuously learning, and working towards finding better ways to improve and enhance the Osseointegration process. We want to better serve you, and to make this process as smooth, simple and perfect as possible. I want to better serve you, which is why I went for Mastership status. To learn how I can better serve you, check out my ­­­–Implant Dentistry page at http://www.nicevillefldentist.com/implant-dentistry/ or give us a call today.

For years, this has plagued dentists, as there was absolutely nothing they could do about it. I myself found that no matter how gentle I was with particular patients, and no matter how much I tried to eliminate potential phobia inducing sounds and techniques, a dental phobic patient would always squirm, making it impossible to get to and fix the root of their problems. That is, until sedation dentistry.

What It Is

Sedation dentistry has been letting dental phobic patients undergo treatment—sans fear and anxiety—since its introduction to the dental industry. Not only does it get these normally fidgety patients to stay still in the chair, but it actually reduces the number of visits required for treatment to just a couple of sessions. How is this possible, you wonder?

To begin with, sedation dentistry uses sedative medications to produce a 100% relaxed patient. The result is phenomenal. The use of these sedative medications, which include tranquilizers and anxiolytics, affect the Central Nervous System (CNS) in such a way that produces a sleep-like effect. Because of this effect, sedation dentistry is often erroneously referred to as “sleep dentistry.” However, while you are likely to feel sleepy under the medication, chances of you actually falling asleep are very slim.

Types of Sedation

For many of you dental-phobes reading this, you are probably (rightfully) wondering how the medication is administered. After all, you’re terrified of all my probing and prodding already, so what makes me think that you will be okay with me, say, sticking a needle in you? I honestly don’t expect you to be, and neither did the mastermind behind sedation therapy. Rather, you have several options when it comes to the administration of the drugs. The three most common types are:

· Oral Conscious Sedation
· Inhalation Sedation
· Intravenous (IV) Sedation

Oral Conscious Sedation:

Oral conscious sedation is exactly what it sounds like—oral sedatives that are given to you before you undergo dental treatment. This type of sedative relieves any of the stress and anxiety you may feel about dental treatment, without making you sleepy or unconscious; instead, you are able to follow any directions your dentist gives you.

Unlike other sedation methods, which are administered in office, oral conscious sedation is to be taken before you go to bed the night before treatment, and again when you wake up in the morning. Though these sedatives have a similar effect to anesthesia in that they diminish your ability to filter or respond to sounds, smells or pain, they are not a pain reliever, so you will need a local anesthesia as well, if the procedure calls for it.

Inhalation Sedation:

Inhalation sedation, aka, laughing gas, is basically nitrous oxide. It is colorless, smells nice and can bring on a warm, fuzzy feeling within 5 minutes of breathing it in. It also eliminates pain. Many patients like it because its effects kick in really fast, and they are able to recover from it quickly (or as quickly as your dentist wants you to).

IV Sedation:

Intravenous sedation, or IV sedation, is administered through an injection. For you people who don’t like the whole poking and prodding aspect of dentistry, this may not be for you. IV sedation has the effect of making you feel as if you’re asleep, but you’re not; rather, you are able to follow all directions from your dentist, while remaining so relaxed that by the end of your appointment, you won’t remember much of what happened.

The sedation drug is administered into a vein using a very thin needle that is encased in a soft plastic tube. When the needle is removed from the vein, it leaves the plastic tube behind, and this tube is used to administer the drug. IV sedation, when it is administered and supervised by an experienced and trained dentist, is extremely safe.

More Options:

If you are not comfortable with any of the three main ways of administering the sedative drug, there are other, less conventional ways of dulling the pain. Intramuscular sedation is done by injecting the sedative drug in the upper thigh or upper arm muscles. It’s not commonly used, but it’s an option in some offices. Local anesthesia is another option, but this is used for minor dental procedures only. Local anesthesia is a numbing gel that affects only the area it was applied to, and lets you stay conscious and cognitive throughout the entire treatment process. General anesthesia is used in oral surgery, and is only an option for people who are not eligible for sedation dentistry. This is because general anesthesia can lead to a state of unconsciousness, and the side effects will remain with the patient for several hours following treatment.

Are You Eligible?

Now, the big question is, are you eligible for sedation therapy? If you have an extreme fear of the dentist, or if you get overwhelming anxiety before coming in, then you will no doubt benefit from its use. However, if you are currently on other medications, have a history of allergic reactions to other medications, are terrified of sedation in and of itself, or are just plain scared of your dentist, then sedation therapy probably won’t help you. However, other than those four reasons I just mentioned, sedation therapy is a safe way for dental-phobes to finally get that treatment they’ve been wanting and needing.

Many people come to my office in pain, embarrassed to smile and really just not living up to their full potential because they either don’t want to undergo a cosmetic procedure, or they haven’t even considered it. But spending day in and day out unable to eat the foods you want, or unable to smile freely, is really no way to live at all. At Bluewater Bay Dental, we don’t want you to live with this broken, damaged smile, and nearly non-existent self-confidence, anymore. We know that there is a beautiful smile hidden under all that pain and embarrassment, and we make it our job to uncover it.

For those patients who hesitate at the idea of cosmetic dentistry, we want to let you know that the benefits it offers are much greater than beauty. With our cosmetic treatments, we are giving people their lives back. We are restoring hope, and instilling confidence, and making their lives simple and pain-free once more. That’s not to say that we don’t make every smile beautiful—we pride ourselves on creating a beautiful smile for each of our patients—but for us, every smile should feel as good as it looks. Because what use is a beautiful smile if you can’t do anything with it?

Find out what our cosmetic treatments can do for you—visit our website: http://www.nicevillefldentist.com/cosmetic-dentistry/

The wax-up is created by taking an impression of your teeth with a putty material. In the mouth, the temporaries are contoured and customized to your facial features. Once this is done, occlusion and phonetics can also be evaluated, and when these, along with aesthetics, are deemed satisfactory, an impression is made to communicate the proper size, shape, length and form to the laboratory ceramist.

The wax-up is used by many cosmetic dentists today because of the “almost glimpse into the future” it can provide (and because it eliminates the communication meltdown between your dentist and the laboratory ceramist). The Dental Diagnostic Wax-Up is a 3D model of your ideal smile. Once your cosmetic dentist has the wax-up prepared for you, you can evaluate and discuss every aspect of it together. You will be able to see exactly what your smile will look like, before your dentist does any work. This is great for you and your dentist because, instead of going in to a cosmetic dental procedure nervous about the results, you can go into it knowing that you will come out of it with the smile you’ve always wanted.

To find out why wax-ups are important for you, check out our website: http://www.nicevillefldentist.com/cosmetic-dentistry/