Fluoride is poison. And why I will give it to my kids everyday.

Fluoride can be poisonous. 

But I will keep giving it to my kids every day.

And will also continue to recommend it to my patients.

Why???!!! You may ask. 

Because, as one of the famous fathers of the field of toxicology,

 Paracelcus, once said, "The Dose Makes the Poison."

It's all about the DOSE.

ANYTHING can kill you if taken in the wrong dose. 

Water Toxicity is a condition where too much water is  ingested, 

 bringing on hyponatremia. Water can then enter the brain

leading to severe electrolyte imbalances, brain swelling, and death.  

And that's just water. 

So ....... water ........ can be poison!!!!!!!

But just like you wouldn't stop drinking water please don't stop 

using fluoride to assist in keeping your teeth healthy and strong. 

Fluoride, IN THE PROPER AMOUNTS, has been proven, 

in thousands of studies, to be completely safe and effective.

Don't be like this guy.

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Can too much fluoride kill you?

You bet it can.

But, ANYTHING taken in too great of quantity can kill you!

Take water for instance.

Water is a necessity for life.

However, you drink too much water too quickly and

you will soon find yourself dead from water toxicity.

People take Tylenol for headaches.

Take 3 bottles of it.

You won't be with us much longer.

People take iron supplements.

Take 3 bottles of that stuff.

See how healthy you feel.

And the list can go on and on and on.

ANYTHING that is taken in the improper quantities can harm you.

Fluoride can absolutely have harmful effects.

That is why it is prescribed by a clinician who is trained

on how to prescribe the drug according to a strict set of

guidelines that take into account the area in which a person lives,

their age, their size, what other drugs they are taking, etc. etc.

"All substances are poisons; there is none which is not a poison.

The right dose differentiates a poison..." Paracelsus (1493- 1541)

I give my children and my patients children fluoride supplements.

I would encourage anyone who is nervous about fluoride to read

up on the subject from CREDIBLE sources and then make

whatever decision they feel comfortable with.

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Need to hear from you.

This blog receives about 20,000 visitors a month.

Today I would like to open things up to your questions. 

Is there anything that you would like to know?

Any topic that I have not covered in the past?

Anything about dentistry?

New trends, how to become a dentist, concerns about dentistry

that you have received, fluoride, cosmetic dentistry, 

your kids, dentures, etc, etc.

Let me know and I will address them in the coming week.

You may stay totally anonymous if you wish.

Thanks in advance.

Dr. Jim Ellis

 Okay. So my tooth had this HUGE metal filling in it. 

Well, now most of what was left of the tooth broke off.

What now?!

Well there are a couple of options.

One of the best options to to do an implant.

There are a number of reasons for this but that

would take more time then we have right now.

First step is to extract the broken tooth. 

In this case we placed a bone graft and waited a few weeks 

but that doesn't always have to be the case.

After the healing time we place a titanium implant.

Looks scary? 

It's not.

It's basically just an artificial tooth.

If we can replace hearts and hips then why not a tooth?

O

In about 6 weeks we will put a beautiful white (no metal)

crown on this implant and the patient should have no more troubles.

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Which Dentist Is Right For You?

Well, that's kind of like asking if all apples are the same. Apples come in different colors. Apples come in different sizes. Apples come with a variety of flavors.

So what apple is right for you? That depends on the situation. Is it a hot summers day and you just want an apple that will taste good? Or are you looking to make a pie and need an apple that is good for baking? The answer to these two questions would lead you to two very different varieties of apples. Yet they are both still called apples.

The same can be said for dentists. Every dentist has had to go to a qualified dental school to get his/her degree. Every dentist has had to take the same national examinations to prove that they are proficient at certain types of dentistry. Therefore, anyone that legally can be called a dentist is pretty much the same thing.

So what dentist is right for you. Like the apples, that depends on what you are looking for. If you want convenience then do an internet search for dentists and you can find the absolute closest dentist to you by mileage. If you want the cheapest dentist then call dental offices and ask what their cost is on a certain procedure. You can then find the cheapest dentist out there.

These factors are the easy ones. But what if you want a dentist that is good with kids. What if you want a dentist that has a good cosmetic eye and can not only fix your teeth but make them look attractive as well. What if you want a good bedside manner, etc. etc. etc.

These are some of the tougher ones. For this you need to do a little more homework. Go online and read reviews. Ask neighbors, friends, and family. Ask to see before and after pictures of work they have done. Ask if they have gotten any extra training in any particular aspect of dentistry. Ask if there are procedures that they choose not to do. Even though every dentist can do a root canal, some choose not to.

Once you have found all of this out you can choose which dentist is right for you. Last thing you want is to take a bite thinking you have a golden delicious and end up with a granny smith.

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Cosmetic Bonding - Before and After

Cosmetic bonding is such a wonderful treatment.

Things that people have been dealing with for years can

be corrected in a matter of minutes without any shots and 

at relatively low cost when compared with the alternatives.

This is Nancy.

Nancy had always hated the gaps in her front teeth.

Nancy has 3 kids and did not want to go through braces.

She also did not want to spend gobs of money on crowns or veneers.

So we did a procedure called cosmetic bonding.

Cosmetic bonding simply means placing a small white filling

on the side of each tooth that makes up the gap.

The fillings simply glue on, like all other fillings, 

and are very durable.

Nancy Before.

 Nancy After

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GAG!

What is gagging?

Gagging is simply a defense mechanism that your body has to keep you from chocking.

Now this is typically a good thing. No one wants to get something down "the wrong pipe".

This however, can cause problems at the dentist office.

Having a bad gag reflex can make it almost impossible to get certain dental work done.

The picture below will show several items.

The soft palate is what we are interested in for this discussion.

When something touches the soft palate the bodies natural reaction will be

to close your throat off and prevent whatever it is that just touched the

soft palate from continuing down your throat and choking you to death.

Another spot where the gag reflex comes into play is tongue.

This can be a little more problematic then the soft palate gag reflex.

Not much will ever touch your soft palate but your tongue gets touched

all the time as you eat or whenever you go to the dentist.

Not much can be done for the soft palate gag reflex but there is help for the tongue.

Take your tooth brush and find the spot that makes you gag.

Start brushing your tongue at a spot that does not make you gag and

work your way toward that spot. Keep doing that day after day until you

can brush anywhere on your tongue without gagging.

Another trick would be to place a little bit of salt on your tongue, where it

makes you gag, before going to the dentist. That will, hopefully,

distract that spot long enough for you to get done what is you need done.

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I just broke my front tooth. Now what?

Okay so you, your child, your mom, your brother, etc. etc. just fell face first into something, over something, under something, etc. etc. and broke the corner of your/their front tooth off.

What do you do now?

Well, that depends. Lets break this down into 3 simplified categories.

The nerve of a tooth is in the middle of the tooth.

#1 If you just broke off a small corner of the tooth and it didn't reach the nerve then a simple filling is probably all you would need.

#2 If you broke off a larger corner but still didn't reach the nerve then you more then likely would need a crown.

#3 If you broke your tooth so severely that you got down into the nerve then you will need a root canal AND a crown.

And although all of this may be a traumatic experience don't worry. Your cracked and broken smile can be completely repaired and have you back to being the model you know you were born to be.

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Tooth Replacement in a Day?

"Painless tooth replacement"

"Teeth in a day"

We have all heard these claims and typically they are accompanied by promises that the doctor can,

almost magically, take out all of your teeth, put implants in, and place crowns on the teeth

with little to no pain, in just one day.

They may even show the patient biting into an apple right after the procedure.

In very rare and unique circumstances this MAY be the case. But for the other 99.7% of us, its not.

Anytime you have surgery of ANY kind you need to heal.

The picture below shows a site where a tooth was recently extracted.

This site will be very tender for several days while the body heals.

That's just the way it works. Blood will rush to the site of any injury thus

creating inflammation (swelling) and moderate discomfort.

If implants are placed that too will cause some type of discomfort.

To say that teeth can be extracted and implants placed and that you can begin

eating right away with no pain whatsoever is just not true. What is typically

happening is that these people are trying to suck you in and then sell you on something else.

Simply do lots and lots of homework before letting these places touch your mouth.

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Can too much fluoride kill you?

You bet it can.

But, ANYTHING taken in too great of quantity can kill you!

Take water for instance.

Water is a necessity for life.

However, you drink too much water too quickly and

you will soon find yourself dead from water toxicity.

People take Tylenol for headaches.

Take 3 bottles of it.

You won't be with us much longer.

People take iron supplements.

Take 3 bottles of that stuff.

See how healthy you feel.

And the list can go on and on and on.

ANYTHING that is taken in the improper quantities can harm you.

Fluoride can absolutely have harmful effects.

That is why it is prescribed by a clinician who is trained

on how to prescribe the drug according to a strict set of

guidelines that take into account the area in which a person lives,

their age, their size, what other drugs they are taking, etc. etc.

"All substances are poisons; there is none which is not a poison.

The right dose differentiates a poison..." Paracelsus (1493- 1541)

I give my children and my patients children fluoride supplements.

I would encourage anyone who is nervous about fluoride to read

up on the subject from CREDIBLE sources and then make

whatever decision they feel comfortable with.

Dr. Ellis on Facebook

Dr. Ellis Website

I don't have dental insurance

I have people come into my office all the time with a really bad toothache.

I ask these folks why it is that they didn't come in sooner.

The answer that I get, a lot of the time, is that they didn't have dental insurance.

Now, this answer does have its merits.

Dental insurance does in deed help with the cost of dental care.

However, there is another side the story.

Say you have a small cavity.

This cavity would cost, lets say, $100 to fix.

If you let that small cavity go however, you may need a root canal.

A root canal would cost about $500.

If you needed a crown after the root canal then we need to add another $800.

So what would have cost you $100 will now cost you $1,300.

You still have no insurance but now you do not have a choice to

fix the problem because it is killing you.

The far better solution would be to come in and get the

problem fixed when it is small.

Financial arrangements can easily be made to accommodate anyone

who may be struggling to come up with the funds.

Say time, money, pain, and multiple trips to the dental office.

If there is a problem PLEASE do not put it off.

Your teeth and your wallet will thank you.

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Clear, Removable, Braces.

Everyone calls these types of braces Invisalign.

However, another product is out on the market that

does the exact same thing except less expensive.

This product is called Clear Correct.

The trays are still clear.

Your teeth still move.

You can still take them out.

If you have orthodontic insurance you are still covered.

The bottom line is you simply pay less.

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What is a sealant?

A sealant is a protective covering that is placed over a tooth

so that it is harder for the bacteria to attack it and cause a cavity.

Material is flowed into all of the cracks and grooves to protect

them and then the material is cured to a hard state.

99% of the time the teeth that are

sealed are the 1st and 2nd adult molars.

These teeth come in at ages 6 and 12 respectively.

Any tooth can be sealed but it is typically these two teeth

because they are the most likely to get cavities and they

are the ones the the insurance companies will pay for.

You children don't need sealants but it sure does help.

Adults can get sealants on their back teeth but you will pay for it all yourself.

If you are interested, talk to your dentist.

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But I brush?

Happens everyday.

I tell people they have cavities and they look at me

with this questioning and confused look and say,

"How do I have cavities? I brush my teeth."

This is probably just an eternal battle for me as a dentist.

For a person to say...

"How can I have cavities? I brush"

Is like saying...

"How did my engine overheat? I put water in the radiator."

Good job on the water.

That is a very necessary part of helping keep your engine cool.

However, so is adding oil to the engine itself.

Adding the water is nice but its not enough.

Just as brushing is nice but it is not enough, on its own, to prevent tooth decay.

Moral to the story.

Brush AND Floss

Brush AND Floss

Brush AND Floss

Brush AND Floss

Got it?

Good.

Now have a wonderful day.

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Yet another reason to go to the dentist.

Say someone kidnaps you.

Say they then put an end to your life.

Say they don't want anyone to be able to identify you.

Say they cut off your fingers so no fingerprints can be taken.

Say they then set you on fire so you can't be visually identified.

This may seem extreme but it happens.

If you have been watching the news you will know they have found

about 13 bodies on a beach in New York dumped by a murderer.

So why is this on a dental blog?????

Because, one of the last lines of identification for

otherwise unidentifiable remains is the teeth.

No murderer thinks to take someones teeth out and

they will not typically disintegrate in a fire.

Forensic dentists will do a visual exam of the teeth and x-ray them as well.

They will look at how many teeth you have, which ones are missing,

how many crown you have, how many root canals, how many fillings, etc. etc.

These will all help the police find out who the victim is

and help reunite the body with the family.

And help bring the murderer to justice.

However, if you have not gone to the dentist for years and years no one

will have any records of you. No x-rays, no records of crowns, fillings, or anything.

The more often you go the more exact the records will be.

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How long will it last?

When I inform people that they need a crown due to their

tooth cracking I usually get the same response.

How long will it last if I don't get the crown.

The answer to that is usually the same.

It depends.

Your tooth is cracking because of the pressure being placed upon it during chewing.

Therefore, if you went on an all liquid diet ( thus no longer chewing )

your tooth will last for a long time.

However, if you like to eat nuts, carrots, or anything else that is a

little hard then your tooth could fracture tonight.

There is no way to tell.

If all depends on how you use your teeth.

Cracks will not heal themselves.

They will continue to progress as you use the teeth to chew.

The eventual result will be a fracture.

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Are fluoride supplements important for your child?

In my humble opinion the answer to that is, yes.

Below you will see an artistic rendering of the skull of a child

between the ages of 2-5. The baby teeth are fully

erupted into the mouth and are in white.

The adult teeth, that will erupt later, are in blue.

As you can see the adult teeth are still in the process of forming. At this time the body is looking for the building blocks needed to form strong healthy teeth and placing those building blocks in an appropriate configuration. If the body can not find the proper materials that does not mean that the teeth will not be formed. It simply means that the teeth will be formed in an inferior fashion. The teeth will be more prone to decay and fracture over time.

Fluoride is an important part of the forming tooth.

Whether or not you get enough fluoride naturally is up to you to find out.

Check you local city or county to find out where your water

comes from and what the natural concentrations of fluoride is.

Then check to see if they are adding fluoride to it.

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