Columbus Dentist

ORAL BACTERIA IS LINKED TO SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITIONS

Research studies show a connection between gum disease and serious health concerns including inflammation, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, blood clots and strokes and preterm or low birth weight babies.

How the Disease Starts: When food, bacteria or tartar are not sufficiently cleaned from the teeth, a community of bacteria called a biofilm can develop and cause infections in the space or pocket between the teeth and gum tissue. The Perio Protect Method ® is a technique that you use at home to help manage oral bacteria on a daily basis. Using a custom-formed prescription tray, doctor-prescribed medication can be placed into the periodontal pocket.  For most people following the Perio Protect Method® treatment requires just minutes each day.  Scientist determined that after 17 days of this treatment 99.98% of the disease-causing bacteria were killed.  Patients describe this treatment as comfortable and report a positive side effect of fresher breath and whiter teeth.

Communicate...express yourself...enjoy!

Why do you smile? Is it because you're greeting someone...trying to reassure...sharing joy...covering embarrassment, sadness, or anger...putting a good face on things, so to speak?

We'll guess you answered yes to all of these! And you're probably surprised at just how often you do smile! Today we not only communicate with our smiles, we express ourselves with them. Like our clothes, hair, job, and home, smiles convey who we are. We seek recognition from others, and smiles are one of the ways we find it. A smile is so important that it's the only facial feature humans can identify across the distance of a football field. Smiles make us feel good in another way...They release endorphins to give us a natural high. That's a lot of good reasons why we want you smiling. And it's our pleasure to have just the smile solutions that will give you the feel-good recognition that a warm smile can provide.

Lightens the color of teeth that have darkened due to age, smoking, coffee, tea, medication, or endodontic treatment.

*2 Crowns

Cover broken, cracked, poorly shaped, severely discolored teeth to restore natural appearance and color.

*3 Veneers

Cover front of tooth to mask discoloration and improve tooth shape through esthetically pleasing contours.

*4 Implants

Replace one or more missing teeth with an implant that will look and act like a natural tooth.

*5 Invisalign

Correct crooked or crowded teeth with clear, virtually invisible aligners

*6 Composite fillings

Restore and strengthen decayed areas with tooth colored filling material.

*7 Bonding

Mask discolored teeth, and can camouflage other flaws while straightening slightly crooked teeth or closing spaces.

Many times a person will come into our office concerned that they have a cavity because a tooth or area in their mouth has become senstive to temperture.  In many instances this is actually due to recession of the gums or exposed root surfaces from brushing too aggressively.  This condition is very easily treated and doesn't require drilling.  A quick dab of some concentrated fluoride on the exposed root and a few other brushing suggestions from your hygienist is usually the cure! As always, it is best to see your dentist or hygienist to make sure that your sensitivity is not something else that requires further treatment.  However, may times it is not as bad as you think.  Feel free to call us if you think this may apply to you!

The end of the year is fast approaching. And, with the end of the year comes the end of insurance dollars available to you for your dental care. Many people don’t realize that dental plan benefits do not “carry over” into the next year. This means hundreds of dollars of benefits you’ve earned could be wasted.

Each year you pay your dental insurance company to cover dental procedure that we offer here in our practice. From cleanings and checkups to more complex, long-term procedures, those dollars are for your benefit. If you forget or get too busy, time runs out and you miss out and lose those dollars. Worse than that you could miss out and lose good dental health!

Many times, you will be able to save money by completing your treatment before year’s end and avoid paying a new deductible next year. To make sure your benefits don’t go to waste, though, you need to act fast, because you aren’t the only one looking to have work done while your insurance will pay for a large part of it. Every year there’s an end of year rush for appointments at our office-and some folks lose out and end up watching their unused benefits (often as much as $1000 worth of benefits or MORE) go down the drain. I hate to see that happen-which is why I’m reminding you now, In November, while there’s still time to make the most of your hard-earned benefits.

If you have any questions about how much actual coverage remains on your insurance, please call our office so we can check for you.

Call today to schedule an appointment so we can USE your benefits to protect your health, your budget and your smile.

In our continuing efforts to provide the most advanced technology and highest standard of care available to our patients, this practice is proud to announce the inclusion of the Velscope exams as an integral part of our annual comprehensive oral screening program.

One person dies every hour from oral cancer in the United Stated- and the mortality has remained unchanged for more than 40 years. Late detection of oral cancer is the primary cause that both the incidence and mortality rates of oral cancer continue to increase. As with most other cancers, age is primary risk factor for oral cancer. Though tobacco use is a major predisposing risk factor, 27% of oral cancer victims have no lifestyle risk factors. According to the American Cancer Society, more women in the United States will be diagnosed with oral cancer this year (12,000 cases) than will be diagnosed with cervical cancer (<10,000 cases), and there are as many cases of oral cancer caused by the human papilloma virus HPV (16/18), a sexually transmitted disease, as there are HPV-related cases of cervical cancer.

Clinical studies have determined that using Velscope after the standard oral cancer examination improves the dental professional’s ability to identify and evaluate suspicious areas at their earliest stages. Early detection of pre-cancerous tissue can minimize or eliminate the potentially disfiguring effects of oral cancer and possibly save your life. Proven screening technologies such as mammogram, Pap smear, PSA and colonoscopy offer the same type of early detection of cancer. Velscope is an easy and painless examination that gives this practice the best chance to find any oral abnormalities you may have at the earliest possible stage.

Oral cancer risk by patient profile is listed below:

Increased Risk: Patients age 18 – 39

                             -sexually active patients (HPV 16/18)

High Risk: Patients age 40 and older; tobacco users younger than 40

Highest Risk: Patients age 40 and older and lifestyle risk factors (tobacco use); patients with a history of oral cancer;

Dental insurance might not cover this advanced oral cancer screening as an addition to the standard visual examination. This office will provide you with a medical insurance form for you to use to file this procedure with your medical insurance.

This practice prescribes the Velscope exam for all patients at increased risk, high risk and highest risk for oral cancer (adult patients age 18 and older and tobacco users of any age). We will be performing the Velscope exam annually following the standard oral cancer examination of the oral cavity for a fee of $32

Dr. Bowen  has established an excellent periodontal program that has helped many patients avoid tooth loss and maintain healthier bone levels. He offers gentle, comprehensive nonsurgical gum care and a soft-tissue program that has helped restore many smiles over the years.

Visit our practice to make sure this disease does not affect you. Click here for more information on proper gum care.