Making teeth look like ....... teeth.

Are metal (amalgam fillings) bad?

No. 

And in certain circumstances we still use them. 

But they absolutely do not look like teeth. 

So when it comes time to change them the

transformation can be a thing of beauty.

Here we have an ordinary amalgam. 

It's a very well done filling actually.

But here we have the tooth after the old filling was removed

and the new, white, filling material is placed. 

Patient was very happy. 

This is a lower tooth and she said that she could see it every

time she looked in the mirror and wanted it gone. 

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Cosmetic Bonding.

This was one of the more challenging cosmetic bonding cases that I have done.

Some teeth that we bond are slightly tilted.

Some are slightly rotated.

Some are too long or too short.

This tooth is rotated 90 degrees.

Meaning the tooth is turned completely sideways.

The bonding was tough because the proportions are off due to the rotation.

However, The patient was very happy with the result.

She was told that expensive braces was her only option.

Turns out 30 minutes in the chair.....

no shots

no drilling

and the cost of a filling later she looked like this.

This is simply filling material and it can be done in lots and lots of cases.

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Oil Pulling & Stem Cells

There are a lot of questions out there right now about 

"alternative" dentistry.

I do not say alternative to be derogatory in any way.

I say alternative to simply denote that there is a more classical

view of dentistry and then there is an emerging view that holds

"alternate" views to that classical thought process.

Classic school of thought about teeth is that there 

are bacteria that live inside your mouth.

These bacteria ingest sugar. Their byproducts are acids.

These acids eat away at the enamel of your teeth. 

You keep your teeth brushed, flossed, and avoid ingesting

mass amounts of sugar and you shouldn't have a large 

scale cavity issue on your hands. 

And that school of thought, although very old, still

holds very true to this day. 

But what about the newer schools of thought?

What about using oil pulling and re-growing teeth with stem cells?

Well, here's my opinion. 

First, Oil Pulling.

If it works, for you, then great. I don't do it. 

I don't tell people to do it. 

The scientific studies are not yet what I would like

to see on the subject.

However, I see absolutely nothing negative about it, 

and if it works for you in regards to making your

mouth feel cleaner and you notice a decrease in the

amount of decay that your dentist is finding, then

go ahead. 

Second is re-growing teeth with stem cells.

This one is a little easier for me. 

Would I love to get a bunch of stem cells that I could

simply put into a patients mouth and get a new tooth back?

Absolutely. 

HOWEVER, if people understood what they would have to go

through to get to that point they wouldn't even think about it.

First off, your tooth has to go bad. It has to break, get infected, hurt,

or any other number of things that would be uncomfortable to go through.

Secondly, you then have to have the bad tooth removed.

Oral surgery.

Shots, forceps, blood, swelling, etc etc. 

WHY NOT JUST TAKE CARE OF WHAT YOU'VE GOT?!

You are going to have to brush the newly grown teeth anyway. 

Now, for trauma cases, congenitally missing teeth, etc. then

stem cells will be fantastic.

But for all of the other cases, that are far more numerous, 

stem cells are not all that they are cracked up to be. 

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Electric Toothbrushes

Which is better, an Electric toothbrush or a Manual?

The answer, and overwhelmingly so, is that an electric

toothbrush will get your teeth more clean then a manual

brush (used properly, of course). 

 

How many times the head of the brush moves across 

the tooth is the key. Every brush stroke is a cleaning stroke.

An electric toothbrush can move, up to, 40,000 times per minute.

I don't know how fast your hand is, but it probably is close to that. 

Therefore, the electric brush moves across each tooth more often then a manual. 

So why wouldn't you get one of them?

Some electric brushes can be up to $200!!

If only you could find an electric toothbrush that did a great job,

but was also affordable as well. 

Well............ your search is over!!

"I", Dr Jim Ellis decided to do something about my patients

getting gouged by the big toothbrush companies. 

I designed, tested, and had manufactured a sonic toothbrush

that has all of the high quality components of the leading brushes

but is around half the price.

How is that possible?!

Well, I don't have millions of dollars a year to pay in expensive

television advertising. I have a little blog. 

So, if you have always wanted an electric brush but never 

wanted to pay the expensive price of one then check it out. 

http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Toothbrush-Rechargeable-DENTIST-Designed/dp/B01C6JJAUS/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1461690857&sr=8-1&keywords=electric+toothbrush+dr+ellis

Designed by a dentist, with patients in mind.

Should I cover my toothbrush at night?

There is a decent debate, among the general public, as to 

whether or not you should cover your toothbrush when you are 

done using it, or simply let it air dry.

Those who say it needs to be cover will state that every time you

flush your toilet, germs come hurdling up out of the bowl

and cover everything in site. Thus, if your toothbrush is 

uncovered the bristles will get caked in these germs. 

Well, I sure hope this isn't the case. Because my towels, handles to 

my faucet and soap dispenser all all uncovered all the time.

It would be a shame if I was drying off with a poop germ 

covered towel every morning. 

So I did some research. I looked to see if there were any studies

done on the matter of toothbrushes being less germy in, or out

of a toothbrush head cover. 

And it turns out that the American Dental Association says:

"Do not routinely cover toothbrushes or store them in closed containers. A moist environment such as a closed container is more conducive to the growth of microorganisms than the open air."

 So, according to the ADA, placing your moist brush in an 

enclosed environment actually is MORE conducive to the 

brush getting germy then leaving it out to air dry.

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Technology

I see people with with teeth problems all the time. 

I'm a dentist.

There are many reasons for the problems. 

Some have financial issues.

Some don't care.

Some are from drug, or other abuse.

But the saddest of all the cases is the person who has

bad teeth because they remember how bad it was the

last time and they couldn't bring themselves to do it again.

The problem with most of these people is that the bad experience

happened, sometime, 20 years ago. 

Why is that the saddest case?

Because things are sooooo different then they used to be.

What was your cell phone like 20 years ago?

Your television, car, etc etc. 

Things change over time. Dentistry is no different. 

Those people will tell me, "I can't stand that Novocaine stuff"!

Well .... we haven't used Novocaine in 15 years.

PLEASE do not let the things that happened in the past,

especially the long ago pat, dictate the things that you will do today.

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Crazy Wisdom Teeth

Hare are 3 of the craziest wisdom teeth that I have ever seen. 

And they all happen to be in the very same patient!!

Pointing backwards, completely upside down, and in the 

totally wrong place.

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