Keep Everyone Smiling Through Halloween

It may not be your worst nightmare, but Halloween can present many parenting problems in addition to the usual fun and thrills and chills of a haunted house. As your child’s dentist, I hope to provide some guidance on how to navigate through this sticky season.

In my family growing up, if mom took me trick or treating, I came home with very little loot, but if dad took us we had to have the radio flyer to haul it all home! So here you are after the night of trick or treating in the neighborhood that had the reputation for handing out the really good candy. Your children each have at least 20 lbs of candy…what do you do?

Scenario #1: Don’t let them get too much at once, so they can only eat 10 pieces a day and the candy stash lasts well past Christmas.
Scenario #2: They have access to their stash at will and the hoarders make it last through Christmas and the “spenders” have it gone before the week is up.
Scenario #3: Make them eat all of it that very night in hopes they get such a belly ache they never want candy again.
Scenario #4: Throughout the week, you successfully sneak candy out of their stash, and then either eat it yourself or throw it away.

Surprisingly, the best dental scenario is #3, but most physicians and parents won’t recommend this tactic.

What can I recommend? At least 10 days prior to Halloween, come by our office and buy some cavity-fighting herbal lollipops to control the cavity-causing bacteria while they have higher than normal sugar consumption in the month after Halloween. This becomes very important if your child is prone to getting cavities.

What else can you do? How teeth survive Halloween actually depends as much on your child’s risk for cavities as how they eat their candy. Not surprisingly, the basic principles we recommend every other day of the year also apply following Halloween. However, if your child is high risk for cavities, you have to follow these principles more exactly or your child is more likely to experience problems.

Principle #1: Time your sugar with meals when the body’s defenses are best able to keep your mouth in balance.
Principle #2: Don’t spread your sugars out over long periods of time. Consume them as rapidly as possible so your body can get back to fixing the damage.
Priciple #3: Eat your sugars in a form that doesn’t stay in the mouth as long. For example, gummy sugars are worse than chalky candy. Sugar bubble gum is particularly bad if you chew it for a long period.
Principle #4: Clean your teeth BEFORE you eat your sugar. This will remove the plaque that holds the sugar and a large number of bacteria that converts the sugar to the acid that breaks down the teeth.

We hope these guidelines help your family fight cavities throughout the whole year!

Keisha’s Corner: Sports Drinks

This is the time of year many teenagers and youth in the practice tell me about their sports practices and games. In turn, I also have more kids acknowledge they are drinking sports drinks on a regular basis.

While sports drinks can be especially beneficial for replacing electrolytes in children intensely exercising for longer than 60 minutes, adopting particular sports drink habits can sometimes threaten the health of their mouth. Sports drinks are extremely acidic (optimal pH for cavity bugs) and have large amounts of carbohydrates (food for cavity bugs).

Taking the sports drink “off the field” is the most alarming trend to guard against. Once kids and parents get acquainted with the taste of sports drinks, they often start consuming them even when they are not exercising. The sports drinks end up in the fridge where they are consumed on demand and throughout the day.

Like all other sugary drinks, controlling frequency and timing is essential.

Here are some additional practices recommended by the Chicago Dental Society to help protect your child’s teeth from decay:

• Use sports drinks in moderation. Water is the best drink for light workouts when less body fluids are lost


• Dilute sports drinks with water


• If possible, use a straw to reduce contact between the drink and teeth. Do not hold the drink in your mouth or swish it around.


• Do not brush your teeth immediately after consuming a sports drink. The acid in sports drinks makes teeth softer and brushing can cause protective enamel to be lost.

Please keep in mind the 20 ounces of sports drink in your child’s bottle probably contains more electrolytes than he or she will need. Water should still be your child’s primary source of hydration. Most importantly, keep the sports drink reserved for the time your child truly needs the energy and mineral replacement: during intense athletic activity on the field and not for hydration around the house.

I have the privilege of discussing soccer games and football practice with your child twice a year. You are there every kick and tackle along the way. I hope you feel better equipped to coach your child for good oral health during the fall sports season! Go team!

TV Channel 4 Spot: Dr. Gary Likes These Lollipops

Did you see us? Myers Pediatric Dentistry made the news! We were interviewed by Jacksonville’s Channel 4 news on Wednesday, September 26 regarding our use of Dr. John’s Herbal Lollipop. The spot aired on their Friday morning show.

Although they edited my explanation of how the lollipops work to about a five second sound bite, it was very encouraging to hear our message of prevention get out to the Jacksonville community.

For those of you who did not see the news clip, there is a new sugar-free lollipop on the dental market that can suppress the bacteria that causes cavities for up to 3 months. The active ingredient is an herbal extract of licorice.

I first heard about this product two years ago when it was still in development by researchers at UCLA. About 4 months ago, Dr. John’s Herbal Lollipops made their market debut with some national news coverage. Channel 4 picked up a press release about how they’re being integrated into Head Start programs on a national level, so we called and asked if they wanted to talk to an office using it locally.

In our office, Dr. John’s lollipop is another way to control the bacteria in the mouth that cause cavities. It is not a magic bullet that will allow bad habits to persist, but it can reduce or eliminate cavities when used along with good hygiene and diet. Of course, we still love and recommend Xylitol gum as a way to create healthy bacteria in the mouth and suppress the destructive bacteria for a longer timeframe.

If you or your child has struggled with cavities, please let us know when you visit so we can develop an individualized strategy to get you back in balance and avoid future cavities. You never know – this dentist may hand you a lollipop!

Announcement: Now Accepting Moms and Dads

Parents have asked us for years if we would treat them as well as their kids, so we are happy to announce we can now say “YES” to these requests!

Two weeks ago we rolled out our hygiene program for parents. It has been getting rave reviews thanks to the dedication and time our hygienist Keisha has put into developing the program.

As a pediatric specialist, I had resisted the idea of “seeing adults” for years, because I didn’t want to take away from our primary focus: your children. However, at a recent dental conference I had a revelation that seeing moms and dads will actually enhance our mission: a practice full of cavity free kids. I can remain focused on your child’s health, and you benefit as well. Here is how:

1. The whole family hears about our progressive cavity prevention methods and receives our individualized coaching. If the parents are on board and participating in habit changes, the kids will be more likely to follow their example. I can think of numerous times where we could not get the soda or candy out of the house because one parent was not equally motivated to make the needed changes.
   
2. The added convenience of scheduling the whole family in the same place at the same time.
   
3. Better bacteria control. We can better work to control the bacteria of every individual in the family, so it is not passing from parent to child or from child to child. Once the bacteria established are the healthy strains, it is easier to keep the body in balance and avoid cavities.
   
4. The compassion and understanding that is so important when working with children is also appreciated by adults. You will just have to excuse us if we still use kid friendly terms like Mr. Thirsty and Squirt Gun!
   
5. Our dedication to the latest therapies and research will now apply to adult care and your periodontal health. Overall health is increasingly being linked to periodontal health (i.e. healthy gums and teeth). Full term pregnancies, lower blood pressure, increased heart health, and better controlled diabetes are just some of the benefits being linked to a healthy mouth.
   
6. Our office’s dedication to communication, coaching, education, and individualization will now be accessible to you.

We hope you are excited and will take advantage of this expansion of our mission. Now we not only want to keep the children in our practice cavity-free but their parents as well.

When to Start Flossing

Did you know that most 4 year olds need their teeth flossed? Many parents simply do not think of flossing their young child’s teeth until it is too late. Don’t let this be you!

As soon as your child's teeth "touch," it is time to floss. Most children's front teeth have space between them, but the back teeth rarely have this space. They "touch." My son Graham (who is only 21 months) needs his incisors (the front ones) flossed because they are tight and touch each other.

Flossing is especially important if your child gets any kind of sugar in between meals such as fruit juice, gummy vitamins, or snacks such as fruit roll ups or Scooby snacks.

I know what you may be thinking… “It is hard enough to brush my wild man or princess each night, and now you want me to floss? I won’t have any fingers left after that exercise!"

Relax. We have a good solution that makes flossing easy and maybe even fun.

First, go to the drug store and look for floss helpers. Stay away from the ones marketed for kids (like the animal flossers and such). They have an awkward angle for back teeth and the floss is never very tight, which is important. Reach makes a very good flosser with prestrung inserts.

Then lay you child on a bed with their head hanging off or let them lay on your lap on the couch where there is good light. You will find this makes getting to those back teeth much easier and saves your fingers from being chew toys.

We are always happy to help coach you on proper technique, so if you are having trouble, stop in for a flossing demonstration or technique help.

Board Certified Pediatric Dentist

It seems like some time ago that I took the actual test, but I finally got the results of my board exam back. I passed!

"What does this mean?" you ask. It is basically a “feather in my cap” as my college cross country coach would often say (he was always speaking in clichés).

It means I climbed the mountain because it was there. It means I am a glutton for punishment. It means I love pediatric dentistry so much I am willing to study over 200 scientific articles and then take a test on my ability to recall their publication date, authors, and content just to qualify. Then I studied hard (again), went before peer examiners, and took a two hour oral exam to demonstrate my mastery of pediatric dental concepts.

It means I am proud to be one of the the members of my profession crazy enough to subject himself to such a thing and pass.

EMG Muscle Awareness Training

We finally did it. Now we have a way to measure muscle activity and visually show children what a correct swallow and tongue position should be.

For young children with improper muscle function, we anticipate this new training program will greatly reduce time in braces, sometimes avoiding significant orthodontic needs altogether! It will also make retaining the corrections we achieve with braces more likely and much easier. So what is this new technology?

Electromyography Muscle Awareness Training. Think of it as physical therapy for the mouth. Surface leads measure muscle impulses allowing us to devise a workout for your mouth muscles and retrain the muscles using biofeedback. Every new ortho patient will be screened, so we can assess if your child will benefit from this program.

You see, muscles and muscle patterns are often the root cause of crooked teeth. They exert forces on the teeth and if those forces are not taken into consideration, they will make the braces take longer. Eventually these forces may even cause a smile to relapse to some degree of crookedness if retainers are not worn for life…and who wants to deal with that! If we can correct dysfunctional muscle activity when children are young, then a child may not need braces at all, or at least a much simpler (and shorter) case.

So the question now becomes this: "Do you want to go somewhere that will just straighten your child's teeth, or do you want to address the root cause of why they aren’t straight in the first place?"

Jenna is Back!

We are also excited to welcome back Jenna H. Jenna worked with us back in 2006 as an intern, and we liked her so much we kept her on until she returned to hygiene school. Now that she is done with FCCJ's dental hygiene program and has passed her national boards (way to go!), she will be working two days a week while she plans her upcoming wedding in September. Feel free to tell her all your fun wedding stories while she tends to your child.

Our Newest Team Member: Stacey J.

We are excited to welcome the newest member to our team: Stacey J. She has extensive experience both in pediatric and orthodontic offices, and she came through our door at the perfect time, an answer to our prayer. She has almost seamlessly stepped into the void left by Elaina, and we are thankful to the Navy for moving her from San Diego to Jacksonville.

Stacey has two children of her own and can be seen out on the town looking for good Italian food with her family. So far nothing in Jacksonville touches what they enjoyed while on their military tour in Italy.

Please give her a big welcome when you see her and make her feel at home down here in the South.

Seeking Exceptional Dental Assistant

It is always fun (and fulfilling) when an employee is with you a long time and you get to watch them grow in both their personal life and what they are able to bring to the office environment and patients. 

To see them really embrace the mission and vision of the practice, the heart and soul of the practice and the reason we get up each day and do what we do. To see them learn new tasks and face new responsibilities and challenges. It is also tough to say goodbye when they move away. 

Such is the case with Elaina who has been our main operative and sedation assistant for these last five years. Her house finally sold; I've written her letter of recommendation. So she's packing the van and moving to Indiana. And so here we are looking for another dental assistant to calm a fearful child or reassure an anxious parent. 

It is our mission to go above and beyond what is considered normal for a dental office. In the level of communication with the parent, in the accommodations we make for the parent or child, in the new techniques we employ for keeping a child from suffering from dental decay. To do this on a day-to-day basis requires exceptional staff. They have must have more than just the basic skills to do their job. They must be able to communicate with children and adults. They must be able to show compassion. They must be teachers. They must be comforters. They must work together with a higher purpose. 

Currently we are seeking applications from dental assistants with at least two years experience for an operative assistant position. Our office performs oral sedations for children who are overly anxious or pre-cooperative so the necessary dental procedures can be performed without unnecessary stress on the patient or the staff. Exceptional assisting skills are required, as well as the ability to work quickly and efficiently. A comfort level with young children and the ability to tolerate and have compassion for difficult or anxious children is essential. An understanding of basic sedation protocols and BLS can be acquired through training if needed. Successful candidates will have a stable work history.    

Please visit our web site to learn more about our practice purpose and beliefs.

Our Core Values:
We will provide great value in our services. 
We will strive to go the extra mile for our patients.
We will never take advantage of another's situation.
We desire to treat others with care and compassion.
We cherish the relationships we build with our patients and each other. 
We work hard!

If you are interested in applying for the operative dental assisting position, please e-mail drgary at tooth2tooth dot com or fax your resume to 505 dash 2011. Please also include a cover letter stating why you are a good fit for the position and include three references. Only applicants submitting all three items (resume, cover letter, and references) will be considered. 

Give Kids a Smile...a day of free dentistry

Wow, I can't believe it has been so long since I've blogged. February is now over, and the highlight of the month was our Give Kids a Smile (GKAS) event that took place last Friday, February 22.

It took me a whole week to recover and get around to writing about it. GKAS is a national program aimed at helping serve children who might not otherwise have access to dental care as well as bringing publicity to the problem of access to dental care in lower socioeconomic populations.

It was our fourth time organizing a GKAS program, and I am always amazed at how hard it is to find patients and have them show up for the free care. Last year we had to cancel the event for lack of patients. The few we had signed up, we worked into our normal schedule the remainder of the month.

This year we made a strong effort to really shake the bushes and get the word out and find patients. We sent staff to screen in neighboring counties, we contacted private social agencies as well as schools and the health department. And we prescreened patients in our office so that we could spend more time providing care on the day of our event. It worked so well, we had to call in reinforcements two weeks prior, and again one week before the event.

A great thanks to Dr. Greg Archambault and Dr. Robert Rosenblum (two local General Dentists) for agreeing to come to our office and help us provide dentistry for some of the teenagers that showed up. We also pulled Dr. Bill Nipper, a local endodontist, to do a few root canals before the event for one special teenager so she would be ready to get her smile back on our GKAS event. She had previous root canals done on her front teeth which were half broken and failing, and she was building up her front teeth with over the counter denture relining material to try and keep some sort of a functional smile.

And there is no way we could have been successful without our great staff (Nesia, Keisha, Farah, Cindy, Linda, Katie, Trish, Sharon, Andi, and Elaina) who volunteered to work and some extras we pulled from around the community (Thank you so much Shelly, Debbie, Cherie, and Audrey).

This was by far the biggest event of this kind we have ever had. The final numbers showed we saw 57 patients on Friday the 22nd, and we screened an additional 15 that for some reason did not show up. The value of dental services that we provided on the 22nd of Feb was $26,262 !!!

That is an amazing amount of dentistry in such a short time. But more amazing were some of the children who came through and were so brave, so mature, and so sweet.

I am proud that we were able to organize the event to provide more than screenings. Often times, children will be screened on free days, but then there is nowhere to go to take care of the problems that are found (again, the access to care problem).

We found ways to get children out of pain, keep children out of pain, improve their function, improve their appearance, and coach them on ways to improve their oral health and avoid future cavities. All in all, it was a very good day. And most all the volunteers went home and took a two hour nap!!!!

Bedtime Routine Troubles?

While we may not like to watch Barney, who isn't thankful for the "clean-up song?" The same musical motivation that miraculously makes your child pick up a messy room can help with brushing at bedtime. We picked two of the best for you!

Brushing

(to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star")

Here's my toothpaste
Here's my brush
I won't hurry, I won't rush.
Working hard to keep teeth clean
Front and back and in between
When I brush for quite a while
I will have a happy smile.

The Toothbrush Song

(to the tune of "Row,Row, Row Your Boat")

Brush, brush, brush your teeth
Brush them everyday.
We put toothpaste on our brush
To help stop tooth decay.

Floss, floss, floss your teeth.
Floss them every day!
Using the string to clean between
Keeps the plaque away!

Clean, clean, clean your teeth.
Clean them every day!
Your teeth will sparkle for years to come
In the most beautiful way!

Brush, brush, brush your teeth.
Brush them every day!
Happy, healthy teeth you'll have
If it's done this way.

Appointment Reminder Improvements

Greetings once again. We have arrived...after much searching and gnashing of teeth (so to speak). We can finally confirm appointments and communicate with our patients via email and text messaging. Every teenager in America can do it, and now we can too. And it all happened so quickly once I found the right person. Thanks Allen from Lighthouse PLZ!

Allen has a very neat story, and you can read all about it on his company's web site. While you are there you can get a preview of our new recall campaign by checking out some of our samples.

Let's face it, life today moves at the speed of a computer binary codex and it's hard to keep track of it all. So our goal is to help you along a little. With the help of this computer-generated program, we can rely on e-mails, texts, and/or post cards to confirm an appointment or alert you it's time to schedule.

We can send you an email to remind you to write down the appointment you made while at our office but didn't have your calender in front of you. We can e-mail you several weeks before your appointment, so you can reschedule if a conflict has arisen. And we can e-mail you a few days out, so you can put some dental floss on your finger, so you won't forget. You'll also get an e-mail the morning of your appointment. And if we don't hear from you, we can text you (or your teenager) one hour before the appointment. And for your birthday.....well, we won't spoil the surprise.

Now all we need is your e-mail. Click here to contact us. Or call us up. Or if you forget do those things (remember how busy your life is and your child is being a little too quiet as you read this blog), when you get the postcard reminding you about your appointment, it will also remind you to give us your e-mail address. AIN'T TECHNOLOGY GREAT!

Going Chartless in 2008!

Wow! Where did January go? I haven't even become accustomed to writing 2008 in the date field, and we're already a month in!

The big new change at Myers Pediatric Dentistry is that we are now operating with a computer system that allows us to be chartless. We can chart, record information, treatment plan, and photograph all from the computer now. We keep pressing forward for better ways to track information, add efficiency, and add value to our services and this is just the latest development.

In the short run, however, it does just the opposite. We are troubleshooting so many minor issues and developing new systems built around the power of the computer system. I am so not the IT whiz, and I know we are in trouble when I am handling all the glitches and network problems throughout the day. We are still in the process of sorting out the glitches, but we are very lucky to have such understanding, excited patients and parents as well as a very flexible and tolerant staff.

So if you are reading this and you are a patient, have one of us show off our new technology next time you are in for a visit. And if you are reading this and you are not yet a patient, I can't wait to show you how cool our new programs work together to make sure you get in and out on time and how we take care to prepare you and your child for a lifetime of cavity free living and easy dental visits. :)

When to bring the baby?

Dr. Gary contributed this article to the 2nd edition of the Oakleaf Village Journal:

“When should I bring my child to the dentist?”

This is one of the most common questions a new mother will have once her baby starts teething. And the answers she receives will depend on whom she asks. Pediatricians often say 3-5 years of age, as do many general dentists. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and most pediatric dental specialists will recommend a child be seen before the 1st birthday. Grandpa, who has had dentures for 30 years will say “I didn’t go to the dentist until I was 12, and I turned out just fine. They are just baby teeth, they’ll fall out. Did I mention I walked 6 miles to school?” So what is best? Who to believe? Probably not Grandpa on this one.

I would like to make a case for the infant exam, as I firmly believe it gives parents the tools they need to keep their child in excellent dental health. But all infant dental exams are not created equal. Read on and learn what to ask for with an infant exam.

Ask the office what age they like to first see children. While this may seem intuitive, many offices will perform an infant exam if you ask for it but still prefer to see older children. You really want an office that is passionate about seeing infants.

Ask how long the exam will take. Let’s face it, there are only between 2 to 8 teeth in a one-year-old. It can’t take all that long if all they are going to do is look at the teeth. The value and focus of an infant exam is more about the parents and less about the child. It should be at least 15 minutes of actual communication as there are a lot of topics that should be covered.

Ask about cost. The infant exam is a value at the cost of a basic exam. This will generally be under 100 dollars. If it is more, ask what is being done. Dental X-rays and cleanings are rarely necessary for an infant. Depending on the eruption pattern of the teeth and the risk for future decay, a fluoride varnish application may be performed.

Ask what will happen during the exam, and what topics will be covered. The primary focus of an infant exam is not to examine the infant. It is coaching mom and dad how to care for the infant. Some topics to look for include helpful ideas for teething; important diet patterns to establish like not going to bed with a bottle of juice or milk; how to properly use a sippy cup and when to transition to a regular cup; infant brushing tips and hints; how to breastfeed without putting the teeth at risk; when and how to use fluoride; and most importantly, how to prevent the bacterial infection that causes cavities in the first place.

Ask what will happen if the child has a dental emergency after hours. One of the most important things an infant exam will give you is peace of mind to know that if your baby should fall into that coffee table while learning to walk, you have someone to call right away for help. You won’t waste time thumbing through the phone book (or village journal) to find a dentist who will see your child. And you won’t waste time and money at the ER for a dental problem the ER is not equipped to solve.

As you hopefully see, the infant dental exam is a valuable tool for creating healthy and beautiful smiles. Parents are given the information they need to care for their child before trouble starts. Did you know the #1 predictor of future cavities is how early and how many baby teeth had cavities? So it makes sense to get the right information early and not wait for a problem to see the dentist. Good luck, and start that search today!