More and more often we have had people call and ask if we do regular dentistry, or if we could recommend a regular dentist. A little confused because we are that kind of dentist, we ask questions. It turns out that people hear about the amazing smiles we have helped patients create for themselves, or that we have walked with patients through the process of rebuilding their bite and then helping them to re-restore their mouths to one that fits and functions and looks amazing – the smile they had always wanted and also being freed of chronic head and neck pain. Or, people who have can’t remember the last night of good sleep they got, but aren’t able to wear a CPAP will talk about how we have helped them transform their lives! We are blessed to be able to be a part of that transformation for people, but the reality is that if someone is looking for ‘just a dentist’, we are that kind of dentist too!
For well over a decade, Aesthetic Dentistry of Georgetown has been providing high-quality care to the community and we have worked to be a team you can count on for regular dental needs. Things like fillings and crowns and cleanings are the backbone of the care we provide, but with everything we do, we have worked and studied and invested time and energy in providing the highest quality and most predictable care possible. Given the quality of improved technology, we are metal-free and have been able to offer significantly better options than mercury-metal amalgam fillings and traditional crowns, and this has lead to healthier gums and longer lasting teeth!
Part of our commitment to you, as part of our dental family, is that we will work with you to provide the treatment options that fit your long-term plan. Even more to the point, your New Patient Experience is to designed work with you to build a plan that starts with your goals, and then we go on a journey of co-discovery to see what is healthy and what might not be. Knowing what your goals are and the current condition of your health, we work together to create a plan for you that fits your goals. Our role is to be a guide to help you to create a life free of dental worries and pain and to help you transform your life to a high-quality worry free one where you can share a powerful smile!
1) The New Patient Experience is comprised of six screenings and each is laid out to protect the decisions you are making for your care. The first screening is a Risk Assessment where the review of your health history helps to uncover at-risk things that often fall between the cracks of typical health care. For instance, it is quite common to find a patient on multiple medications for high blood pressure, and while we aren’t physicians, our training has helped us recognize that there is a very serious issue of Obstructive Sleep Apnea that leads to the need for blood pressure medication. The amazing thing is once the airway is better managed and the quality of sleep improves, the number of daily medications needed often drops!
2) The second screening is a thorough head and neck hard and soft tissue Cancer Screening. It is frightening that in the United States, one person dies every hour from head or neck cancer and the key to improving survival is early detection. We utilize multiple methods including the VelScope UV light system to detect tissue changes as early as possible and get the appropriate care when the problems are still early and easier to manage.
3) The next two screenings overlap as the structures involved are the same. The screening for TMJ problems or ‘Bite Disease Screening’ is looking from the mouth out at the surrounding tissues. These sorts of bite problems have been more or less ignored in dentistry because we simply didn’t have the tools to understand the system. They can show up as anything from little to no wear with intense pain to massive amounts of wear and no pain. Regardless of the symptoms, when the bite isn’t right, there is a significant risk of much more than migraine-type pain and chronic headache. It also impacts blood flow to the brain and is directly connected to airway and sleep and breathing.
4) The Airway Screening looks at the area around the mouth. What we know is that the roof of the mouth is the floor of the nose, and problems with your upper jaw are also problems with your nose. It is exceedingly common today for people to have underdeveloped upper jaws, and the consequence of that is that they have a decreased ability to breathe through their nose. This is a more significant problem when we are asleep as that’s when your body recovers and repairs itself, and if there isn’t adequate breathing you won’t adequately heal. It turns out that it is absolutely essential to have the right quantity and quality of sleep to stay healthy.
5) The Restorative Screening is what most people think of when they think of the dentist. It is focused on the teeth and health of the teeth themselves. Today we tend to see more issues with old dentistry than we do new cavities, but we will screen for both. The most common problem is mercury-metal fillings as they tend to crack the tooth, and left in the mouth long enough, often end up breaking the tooth. The reality of conventional metal fillings and cemented crowns is that they tend to break down faster. The metal fillings last about 6-8 years and old cemented crowns tend to last about 7-10 years. Fortunately, today there are significantly better options. With a plastic bonded filling, you will likely see it last from anywhere from 10 years to decades. It is a wear and tear part so, like tires on a car, it is subject to the stress and strain put on it. For that reason, if there isn’t as much healthy tooth structure left we will recommend a porcelain restoration. Usually, these will be designed to replace only the failing filling and broken tooth, keeping as much of your natural healthy tooth as possible. This is what people think of when they talk about regular dentistry, and yes, we are that kind of dentist! The difference is that at Aesthetic Dentistry we have brought Georgetown much better options and an exceptional quality of care!
6) The Periodontal Screening is all about the gum tissues. If those stay healthy, the bone under them stays healthy. If that bone stays healthy, you keep your teeth! We fully expect that when properly cared for, our patients will keep their teeth forever. The days of growing old enough to need a denture are in the past, and we have a number of powerful and comfortable tools at our disposal to keep your teeth, bone, and gums healthy! Our hygienists are trained in laser periodontal therapy and the use of micro-ultrasonics to help your body manage the biofilm and bacteria to protect your health. What had to be managed a few years ago with surgery is now a simple and comfortable laser periodontal therapy session. The results continue to amaze us, and if needed, will amaze you too!
These six screenings allow us to uncover a wide array of dental issues that can be dealt with at their earliest stages. Dentistry is the arm of health care that is more a game of prevention. That prevention is easier and better when it is done systematically and thoroughly. Tony Robbins teaches that if you want to improve your life, improve your standards. Those improved standards have led us to some amazing and eye-opening revelations! It has long been said that the mouth is the window to the soul. Helping people discover their smile and transform their lives into one of laughter, confidence and joy led us to adhesive approaches. Turns out those are vastly better for the teeth and gums and the quality of our regular dentistry jumped because we were helping people transform their smiles. That led to learning more about who people are and making sure we started the process with a solid relationship first. In doing that, we discovered many people were dealing with chronic pain and although it was written off as non-dental, we were able to help them with paying attention to the muscles in the face and the health of the bite and joints. Being able to ‘cure’ migraine-type pain opened our eyes to the way we also happened to improve their sleep. Recognizing that connection led us on a path of discovery about airway and whole health.
We have become known as the dental office that can completely reconstruct your mouth, rebuild an amazing smile, help you get a good night of sleep, and end your chronic pain. We love being able to guide people through that transition and are always blown away by how much it means to them! To see people smile on purpose and with confidence because they feel great and love their smile is an amazing treat as a dentist, but we also still love being able to help protect your teeth and gums. Your teeth are meant to last a lifetime and having a great relationship with an exceptional dental team helps you to keep your smile as healthy and beautiful as it should be. We always have been that kind of dentist!
If you are already a part of our dental family, thank you! It is a pleasure to be a part of your healthcare team! If you are looking for a new dental home, or know someone who is, we’d love to have a chance to talk…