Your Merion Village Dental hygienist has and will recommend a topical application of fluoride at your recare visits. There are two reasons, and they are easy to understand, as they are factually evidence based.
1. Fluoride, according to The Center for Disease Control (CDC), is one of the top ten great public health achievements of the 20th century (http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/).
Reason #1 needs no further explanation. The dramatic decline in cavities since the introduction of fluoride in the 1950s, as evident in heath care studies, proves that the application is beneficial to all.
Reason #2 for recommending fluoride is more subtle and diverse. The increase in tooth decay in younger adults is due to the significantly increased presence of refined carbohydrates (sugars) in our daily diet (e.g. bottled and flavored waters, soft drinks, highly processed foods, breath mints, etc.). For cosmetically minded smiles, tooth sensitivity, resulting from bleaching, is significantly reduced with the application of topical fluoride.
The increase in tooth decay for older adults results not only because of the same diet as our younger friends, but also as a result of loss of saliva due to age and medications, acid reflux causing a lower oral pH, and the natural recession of our gums that exposes the root surface making that surface susceptible to decay.
FLUORIDE IS EFFECTIVE FOR ALL OF THE ABOVE
After considering the facts, and when your trusted hygienist makes the recommendation, we are convinced that you will join the ranks of the majority of our adult patients who accept fluoride application.
Merion Village Dental has had a long standing and well acknowledged commitment to being a good neighbor. We are now expanding our reach and influence through a genuine commitment to our larger environment. Our practice recycles all our paper, cardboard, plastic, and glass. Our business office is implementing a series of programs to reduce our use of paper products altogether. We will soon offer paperless on-line new patient registration and in-office iPad medical history updates for current patients.
Our practice is joining a program sponsored by the Ohio EPA and ODA (Ohio Dental Association) called Good DEED (Dedicated to Environmental Excellence in Dentistry). This program recognizes dental offices that are making an effort to become environmentally sensitive through recycling initiatives, purchasing environmentally friendly products, and proper disposal of contaminated wastes.
You have chosen Merion Village Dental for a variety of sound reasons. We are proud to be able to offer our environment stewardship as another good reason.
Did you know that inadequate brushing and skipping your 6 month cleaning and checkup can cause severe dental problems that are unseen to the human eye? Join us as Sarah B. and Sarah F. demonstrate the importance of proper brushing and sticking to your 6 month checkup.
Thurber, our ten year old Yellow Lab, died this afternoon. We wanted, and he deserved, more time. Until the end, his smile and his rapidly wagging stubby tail, was irrepressible. As the end closed in on him, his friends and family celebrated his life while the wagging tail belied his terminal cancer. Returning from MedVet after we put him down, I had hoped tonight to write a few paragraphs to immortalize this deserving soul. With genuine humility, I had intended to place him along side Old Yeller, My Dog Skip, and Marley and Me. However, after several minutes of staring at a blank screen and flashing cursor, I realized that Thurber’s immortality was in jeopardy. The fault, of course, was not the subject but rather the biographer. Ole Yeller was a heroic figure, Skip was authored by a Pulitzer Prize winner, and Hollywood teamed Marley with Jennifer Aniston. That is a tough crowd. Poor Thurber got stuck with a dentist at Merion Village Dental.
Let’s be clear, the aforementioned canines were true super heroes, but Thurber’s life was more of a Canine Greek Tragedy. Nine years of suffering, one really good year and then an early visit from the Grim Reaper. Our Boy, days after he was born, developed an infection in his tail that resulted in loss of most of it. It was downhill from there. For the next nine years his true passion and expertise, after eating and wagging, was for chasing and bringing back balls. Unfortunately, this was always accompanied by loud whining when he dropped it at your feet. His stupid master assumed he was suffering from a neurotic compulsion for more of the same and was simply communicating; ”hurry up and throw me another ball you weak armed bipedal slacker.” He was in severe pain, although none of us knew it. There is, however, a happy ending, of sorts.
Almost a year ago to today, Thurber casually spent a summer afternoon chewing and then swallowing a large kitchen towel. Any time a Yellow Lab is not sleeping, food must be involved. Although there was no forensic evidence available, the towel most assuredly was laced with bacon grease, spaghetti sauce, or a fast food of undetermined origin. His abdominal surgeon at MedVet resected his intestine and retrieved the towel, and within a few days the Man and his wagging stub came home and was healed. That is, of course, until the next day when he could not walk. Another trip to MedVet resulted in another surgery. This time his neurosurgeon found and removed several discs that were impinging on his spinal cord. A few days later Thurber and his wagging tail came home. He needed physical therapy for six weeks and chasing balls was over, but he never whined again.
He had a great year. But last Monday he woke up unable to walk. His neurosurgeon at MedVet, of course, remembered him, advised us both that he was terminal and sent us home after they boosted his blood count. Within a day he regained his strength and had more energy than he displayed in years. It was miraculous or simply the rare steak-burgers that my wife was feeding him. Suddenly, Sunday afternoon he refused to go outside, and we knew his time was up. His family carried him into MedVet where even the weekend staff knew him by sight or by reputation.
He went out like a gentleman.
His namesake, the greatest humorist of the 20th century and a Columbus native, James Thurber, would have been proud. And perhaps that will be the immortalization that I had hoped to give him. Therefore, it is only fitting to end this eulogy with my favorite Thurber Dog Quotation:
“If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons.”
On Tuesday, June 14th, The United States and Merion Village Dental became better places. Our newest employee, Karin Xander was officially sworn in and became a U.S. citizen, coincidentally, on Flag Day.
Karin’s enthusiasm and expectation of becoming a U.S. citizen was only exceeded by her emotional and tearful response to her confirmation attaining citizenship status.
Her unbridled passion for her new country serves as a reminder for all of us, including your humble and unashamedly patriotic blogger, that we may take for granted our country and all the opportunities and freedoms that it offers. Karin and her fellow new citizens were moved by a clip of President Obama congratulating and welcoming them. However, the best demonstration of how they felt to become United States citizens occurred when Karin and her fellow new citizens began crying at a video of Lee Greenwood’s “I’m Proud To Be An American.”
Merion Village Dental is proud and honored to have Karin as part of our practice.
Included below, in her own words, is Karin’s bio.
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My name is Karin G. Xander, and I was born in Lima, Peru. I went to the University San Martin de Porres and graduated as a dentist in 1997. I completed my General Dentistry Residency at Trebol Azul Hospital in Lima in 2000. I continued with an Orthodontics Residency at Corpus Dental Clinic in Lima graduating in 2002. I opened my own dental practice in Salvadent in 1999 and worked with my sister who is also a dentist. During my residency I volunteered in different rural areas where people could not afford to have dental treatment. This situation made me think that as a dentist we can provide treatment to patients that are in need.
In 2005, I met my husband Keith who is American. We decided to get married in July 2006 in Lima. My family, his family and our friends had a good time. Tears of happiness and sadness were everywhere. I chose to start a new life and have a family. We have a little boy Kenneth who is three years old and he is our world. My husband and his family are amazing. They opened their hearts to me right away. My neighborhood and people from church gave me a nice welcoming.
I attended The Ohio State University for English classes. At the same time I worked at Nisonger Center at Ohio State as a dental assistant with Dr. Sterling and Dr. Solis. Since 2007 I have participated as a volunteer at the Special Olympics. I decided to go to dental school and took classes for a year before delaying school to have my son. I continued to earn credits and decided to go to Ohio State for EFDA (Expanded Function Dental Assistant) classes and graduated in 2010. Now, I am a CDA (Certified Dental Assistant), and licensed EFDA, and currently working at Merion Village Dental. It is a beautiful place to work and the quality of dental work that Dr. Vesha, Dr. Janikian, Dr. Voyles, Dr. Lauer and Dr. Weaver offer to patients is amazing. The staff members always are smiling to me. I am very happy to work here.
On June 14, I became a citizen of America. I am so proud to have become a citizen because this country gave me great opportunities and has been welcoming. I am so thankful to have had my husband and his family to celebrate with me at the court house for the ceremony.
This month, we celebrate the birth of Ian Michael Kidding, the unofficial founder of cosmetic dentistry. Bondings, veneers (Lumineers), and teeth whitening, although very recent innovations, owe their development to this 16th century Elizabethan English painter. Ian was a very talented portrait painter and a part-time inventor at the Queen’s Court. Although a commoner, Ian was a fixture in the Greenwich Palace and developed an eye for the young women at Court. By all accounts, Ian struck a handsome figure and dazzled the ladies-in-waiting until he smiled. His front teeth were badly broken and heavily stained. Elizabethan England was a flourishing time for science, literature, art, and beauty in general. Alas, Ian was coming up short until he developed a rudimentary form of dental veneers.
Ian was consumed with his gruesome smile and lack of success with the girls, so he labored until he had a cosmetic dental solution. He grew his toe nails to considerable length and then trimmed and shaped them to the contour of his upper front teeth. With his considerable artistic and painting skill, he was able to achieve a brilliant smile. The record is murky at this point, but it appears that his first efforts were of a “snap on” variety. The resulting lack of ability to function with these removable veneers led Ian to some form of permanency through cementation.
Ian, thanks to his new smile, was successful in attracting a bevy of young women at Court. His career, however, as the young handsome painter at Court was short-lived. The historical records are unclear, but it appears he developed an oral fungal infection that spread to lungs, and he died in 1589. At the time of his death, his toe-nailed front teeth were still straight, but they again became badly discolored this time due to dermatophytes.
In the four hundred years since I.M. Kidding’s death, veneers at Merion Village Dental now fulfill his promise of a beautiful, white, and straight smile.
In keeping with the mission of the Merion Village Dental Blog, we are going to have some fun with the history of dentistry. We will trace advances in dental cosmetics, teeth whitening, implants, and even follow the process of Egyptian orthodontics to 21st century Invisalign. Admittedly, history puts most us to sleep, so we will do our best to make you smile and keep you reading.
Our topic today will be tracing the history of the toothbrush. You will probably be surprised to learn that the toothbrush has been used by man longer than any invention except the wheel. It all started about 5000 years ago, thanks to the Babylonians. When they finished inventing math and astronomy, the Babylonians took a break for a couple of hundred years and then they created the first toothbrush. It was actually more of a stick with frayed edges, but it was effective. Unfortunately, further advances in oral hygiene practices died along with the Babylonians. Now all that is left of their civilization are a couple of mud huts in Southeastern Iraq and a handful of their chew sticks in a museum in Baghdad.
The Babylonian chew-stick toothbrush would remain the standard for 65 centuries before finally getting an up-grade. In the 15th century, China developed the prototype of the first modern toothbrush. The handle was bone or bamboo and the bristles were the short hairs from the back of wild Siberian boars. It was an instant success for those affluent enough to afford one. Its popularity moved westward to Europe where it received a slight enhancement. The European gum tissue did not tolerate the coarse boar bristles so they replaced them with the softer hair from the neck of horses. Whether boar or horse hair, these early dental care items were expansive and smelly. Imagine, one bacteria-logged brush made of animal hair being shared by everyone in the household!
Toothbrush technology would again stagnate and remain unchanged for another 500 years. Finally, in 1938, our chemistry friends at DuPont invented nylon and promptly made bristles and introduced Dr. West’s Miracle Toothbrush. It was a success by historical and economic standards. However, still only about 30% of American households had a toothbrush. Remember, in 1940, the average annual household income was well under $2000, and at 50 cents a brush, it was an expensive item.
Daily brushing and individual ownership of a toothbrush can be traced to World War II and the U.S. Army. Every G.I. received a toothbrush and was given oral hygiene instructions. At the end of the war, over 15 million veterans returned home with a toothbrush and the habit.
One last historical breakthrough occurred in 1959 when Squibb Pharmaceutical introduced the electric Broxodent brush in the U.S.
We hope we provided you will a little knowledge and entertainment. The next time someone compliments you on your smile, thank a WWII veterans–the Babylonians are gone.
Our patients and bloggers ask us more questions about fluoride than any other topic. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has referred to fluoride as one of the ten great public health achievements of the 20th century (CDC, “Ten Great Public Health Achievements–United States, 1990-1999″). Now that is a singularly powerful statement.
In spite of this, and the fact that the dental health benefits of this naturally occurring element have been researched virtually more than any other public health issue, confusion resulting from anti-fluoridation propaganda persists.
The benefits of fluoridated water and fluoride in general are not up for debate among accredited experts. The information that we will be providing herein is sourced through accredited scientific associations and journals.
If you are an FD’er (Fluoride Denier), save yourself some time and please stop reading. If after fifty years of research and analysis, the scientific community has not convinced you of the benefits, I have no chance.
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In keeping with the mission of our blog, we hope to make you more informed, put a smile on your face, and create a desire for you to return for more of the same.
In an attempt to untangle the fluoride knot, I will address questions posed by our patients and blog readers:
1. Melissa G. asks: I read recently that too much fluoride has been put in the drinking water. Is that true?
Answer: In 1962, the CDC set recommended guidelines for the amount of fluoride permitted in the drinking water at 0.7-1.2 parts per million/liter of water. Their new recommendation now limits that amount to 0.7ppm. The CDC reasoned that, since their initial recommendation, fluoride is now available from more sources than ever, and is thus, lowering the water supply standards. Since 1969, the Ohio Legislature has set its minimum requirement at 0.8ppm. At this point, it is unclear if the legislature will reconsider it current standards.
2. Kaylea S. asks: Our house has well water, but I understand how important fluoride is for my children’s teeth. I want them to have natural fluoride. What can I use?
Answer: Very thoughtful question. Unfortunately, Mother Nature does not make it easy for you. Fluoride naturally occurs in rocks and soil, and can also be found in canned sardines. Having some experience in this matter, I had limited success getting my sons to eat vegetables let alone offering them dirt and a side of sardines! Fluoride supplements from your pharmacy are your best choice.
3. John C. asks: I am in my sixties, and my hygienist recommends fluoride when I see her. Is it really good for older people?
Answer: Your hygienist is right on the mark. Significant tooth decay, once limited to youngsters, is now becoming rampant with older patients. The combination of medications, reduced flow of salvia, and too much sugar is pushing post-sixty patients into the “cavity prone years.” Fluoride is not simply a good idea, it is an essential element of your current dental health.
4. Maddie M. asks: Does fluoride actually stop cavities even after they have already started?
Answer: Absolutely! A topical application by your hygienist, and using fluoride containing toothpaste, can stop active tooth decay and actually re-mineralize the decayed tooth. However, brushing, flossing, and reducing sugars are part of the recovery process as well. Sorry Maddie, no avoiding the basics.
5. Emma G. asks: I have heard people say fluoride causes serious illnesses from autism to Alzheimer’s. Should I be worried?
Answer: Unfortunately, there exists a tiny group of anti-fluoridation zealots with a political agenda that is totally unsupported by scientific facts. There is not one peer-reviewed scientific article supporting such claims. The CDC, FDA, ADA, AMA, is but a small representation of organizations that have researched fluoride and its effects on people for over fifty years, and all of them have endorsed both the safety and effectiveness. If it were not for the fact that these groups un-necessarily alarm and worry people, we could dismiss them with the same comedy and alacrity as the Flat Earth Society, those who believe that the United States faked the Moon landing and those who believe Elvis is retired in Del Boca Vista Florida. The Earth is indeed round, Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon, and Elvis is, sadly, dead. Fluoride is your friend.
Welcome back blog readers. This week, we hope to answer and debunk a few of the most common dental myths. We'd hoped for the Top 10 List, but sadly, we don't have the David Letterman staff of writers. Our blog readers will have to settle for Dr V's heroic efforts at humor and information. Should he fall short, all complaints regarding content and attempts at humor should be directed to his editor, Alissa. For serious inquiry on content, please call our office and one of our highly trained associates will gladly answer any of your questions.
Myth: If I have a toothache, placing an aspirin next to my tooth will help ease the pain.
Truth: This is, perhaps, the oldest of dental myths. Aspirin is a great painkiller and anti-inflammatory drug, but works only if you swallow it. If you don't believe me, the next time you have a headache place two of them on the top of your head.
Myth: It is best to avoid dental procedures during pregnancy.
Truth: This myth is a close #1. If you break your arm, ask your OB if you should wait until after you deliver to have it treated. Untreated dental disease can lead to serious systemic complications whether you are pregnant or not.
Myth: If one of my teeth is knocked out, I should place it in a glass of milk to help preserve it.
Truth: Good one! Yes, even chocolate milk will work. However, saliva soaked gauze is better…or keeping it inside the cheek on your way to your dentist or ER. Whatever you do, do NOT clean the tooth!
Myth: Chewing gum after a meal is just as effective as brushing.
Truth: Chewing gum as a substitute to brushing is about as effective as when Homer Simpson instructed Bart to rinse his mouth with soda if he was too tired to brush.
Myth: X-rays taken at dental offices can harm my body.
Truth: A serious question deserves a serious answer. Radiation occurs naturally and is cumulative. Although dental x-rays are very, very tiny exposures of radiation, MVD is sensitive to the issue. Our office is equipped with advanced digital x-rays, and a complete series of films exposes our patients to less radiation than they would absorb on a sunny day in Central Ohio.
Myth: If there is no visible problem with my teeth, I probably don't need to see a dentist.
Truth: Only Superman can see between his teeth and under his gums. Everybody else needs to visit the dentist or risk ignoring serious problems.
Myth: Braces are the only effective way to straighten my teeth.
Truth: There is nothing funny about crooked teeth and their effect on self-confidence, so it warrants a humorless answer. In addition to conventional braces, Dr Janikian offers Invisalign clear aligners.
Myth: Dental care is too expensive for me to afford.
Truth: Let's end this blog on a serious note. MVD can, has, and will make your dental health affordable.
