Dental Flossing

As an Orlando Dentist I just examined a new patient and asked her how she was referred to our office. She told me there were over 500 dentists in the Etna insurance book to pick from when she picked our office because we blog. She read my profile and liked reading my blog. I told her I was running out of things to write about ,and she asked me to write about flossing. So here we go.

You should floss every time you brush your teeth. Flossing removes the bacteria that are at the contact points of your teeth. This is the area that can not be reached with regular brushing. Brushing will not disrupt the bacteria at the contact point. When you floss you should make a "C" shape with the floss as you go through the contact and then slide down the tooth making a up and down motion. Using your hands is the best way to do this. I have big hands and trust me I can do the whole mouth properly and it only takes two minutes. You have to give it some practice. If you have a disability you can always use a floss aide like the "Humming Bird" or the reach flosser. These can be bought easily at your local drug store. You can now buy floss with whitener on the floss as well to get those areas white that the bleach does not reach.

Flossing at bed is the most important. I have patients tell me that they do it waiting at a red light or they like doing it in the shower. Doing it any time is great for you overall health. Keeping down the plaque bacteria is good for your heart as well.

Dental Insurance

As an Orlando Dentist we get phone calls each day about dental insurance . We get asked if they can buy dental insurance and which one to get. Unfortunately, buying private dental insurance is almost impossible and if you can find it without long waiting periods for major work it is expensive and then the maximum for year is only a thousand dollars. It is better than paying for this insurance premium, to just pay at the dentist for what you need done. This insurance is not really helping you. The insurance also does not cover veneers or teeth whitening or crowns.

The best insurance you can get is from your employer, and when they put on the seminar you want to select the PPO not the HMO. With the PPO you can choose your dentist and usually they have higher maximums and cover more things. You might pay out of your check a couple penny's more, but it is worth it. You definitely want to get all your work done when you have this type of insurance, and use the whole maximum each year giving you updated dental work. In your life time you will need your dentistry replaced about 3 times. Everything wheres out including dentistry.

We will be happy to tell you what your insurance covers and all your benefits. We do what we call a blue sheet that gives my staff all your insurance information. They tell us everything that is covered and at what percentage. We would be happy to help you also. Our office takes most insurance and all PPO's.

Getting ready for an Interview?

It has been surprising lately all the phone calls the office has been getting regarding getting ready for an interview. I know in different parts of the country it can be a little different , but as an Orlando Dentist I can tell you having your teeth fixed and in good condition is a must. I treat a lot of Disney patients, and they have to have their front teeth without cavities. Disney is all about image and so are the rest of the parks, as well as potential employers. This is the exact point I wanted to make today in my blog; is when going on a interview there are multiple things you can do to show yourself off. Along with the outfit and the cloths your teeth and smile are the most important.
I would recommend before going for the interview to get your teeth professionally cleaned with a good prophylaxis by the hygienist. With this you are removing all the stain and making the teeth whiter to show off at the interview. Next get any cavities filled that you can see, and that are visibly noticeable. You don't want to show up with holes or brown spots on the front teeth. Lastly, if you can get your teeth whitened with strips or trays filled with the bleach. This will approve appearance and overall perception.
Having the teeth straight is also a plus, but I know after you get the job they will have benefits for orthodontics and you can get your teeth straighter if need be.
Hope this helps and good luck with you future employment.
Thanks Dr. Aschacher

Teeth Whitening

I am most frequently asked when I am at work or just out having dinner about teeth whitening. There are so many new things on the market that can help with teeth whitening. I am sure you have heard on the radio and TV about Zoom Bleaching. The way this is done you come into the dental office for a couple hours and have your teeth isolated with a rubber dam protecting your gums and then the bleach is applied to your teeth. The bleach sits on your teeth while we move a special light that activates the bleach and shines on your teeth for a period of time. Some people need a couple of treatments and some just one.

As an Orlando Dentist I don't recommend this to many of my patients even though it can be profitable for your practice. I have found many of the patients have extreme cold sensitivity after this procedure. There are products you can use before and after this treatment to help but they can still stay sensitive to cold. I have found in my practice I like making my patients professional laboratory custom trays. In all the research you can get the teeth as white as with the zoom Bleaching without the sensitivity. I start the patient at a lower concentration and make sure they use the fluoride I recommend. I will work them up to stronger bleach as long as we do not get sensitivity. This is my favorite way. Also in the future if they want to touch up they have the trays and just add the bleach. This is ideal if you are going to a Wedding and want a little extra white. My patients when they follow this regimen have minimal to no post op sensitivity.
A simple way to get started is to buy Crest White strips which are not real strong but you do still get results. Follow the directions and if you like what you see you can go to the next level of bleaching with the trays. There are other ways to get the quick boost, but with those your risk is sensitivity.

There also are many brands of bleach out there and some can cause more sensitivity than others. My favorite bleach is by American Hygienics and I have minimal sensitivity with my technique. I also recommend when you are going to have new crowns made to bleach first, this will get you to the color you want so you can now have the crowns made whiter to match.
Please feel free to email me with any of your more specific questions.

Thanks Dr. Aschacher

Orlando Dentists and the Economy

As an Orlando Dentist, I wanted to talk a little today about the economy which is on every ones mind; and how it relates to treatment. I have been noticing in my practice a 30% lowering in case acceptance due to the economy. This is troubling to me, because the patients I do see are more emergencies lately. Patients are putting off standard of care maintenance issues and are finding out by waiting there are more emergencies. Emergent care is quite more costly to do than getting your regular check ups and taking care of the small things so the dental fillings that are needed don't end up becoming endodontic problems. Root canals are quite more costly. Also there has been a drop with getting the prophylaxis (cleanings) done. It has been show that plaque has been linked to heart problems. This is the bacteria in plaque that is the culprit. If we stay on are normal cleaning schedule you will reduce the chance of heart problems as well. Preventive care is a lot less expensive when compared to emergent care. Please as a Orlando dentist stay on your recall with your hygienist and if you have things that need treatment try to make arrangements like we do with are patients to get it done to avoid costlier procedures like root canals. We have a financing company call "Care Credit" that we can do 6 months or longer with no interest. This has been helping a lot of my patients avoid the big costly bill by waiting.

I have two offices in Orlando. I have one office in Ocoee/Windermere/Orlando area that is great for serviceing my Clermont patients and it also takes care of my downtown patients because it is right off the 408 highway and Good homes road. Real easy and quick access.

My other location is on South Orange Blossom trail and it takes care of my Orlando patients and Kissimmee patients. I even have patients from all the way to Cocoa Beach who come down the Beach line and get off on Orange Blossom Trail. With these two locations access to care is quite easy and availble.

The month of April 2009 I am offering a Economy helper with a dental special. A lot of my patients want whiter teeth and teeth whitening. With a new patient exam and xrays we are offering Professional Made Bleach trays for 50% off the standard price of $600. A $300 dollar value. These are the ones made at the laboratory and can get your teeth as white and whiter than Zoom Bleaching.

Dental Veneers, Porcelain Veneers the latest and greatest

Welcome all you dental enthusiast to my new blog. Today I will be discussing all the types of Porcelain Veneers (Dental Veneers), that are available and the pros's and con's. I have been getting a lot of phone calls due to the interest in the new dental veneers. A type of dental veneer that I get a lot of call's about are the Lumineers. This is just a brand along with Empress, procera, Hera Ceram, Divinci, and all the ones made the same day with the Cad/Cam machine. Lumineers claim to fame is that you do not have to prepare them. This means the dentist does not have to cut the patients tooth. The dentist takes a impression and sends it to the lab and when the veneers come back they are custom fit to the patent's tooth and they are bonded into place. These are nice but to me they look to bulky. When you place a tooth over a tooth it is too bulky. I prefer to prepare the tooth for the patient by cutting the tooth just a little, like 0.5mm. This is so small but allows for the veneer to be exactly seated and you have made room for the dental veneer so it will not be to bulky. The only time I do not prepare the teeth is when the teeth are set way back and you need to bring them out. All my patients who listen to me and let me lightly prepare the teeth are so happy with the natural and good looking result.

My favorite brand of Veneer is Empress when I need a lot of translucency in the tooth. These can be made so life like. If I have to make a dental Veneer on a patient that has dark teeth I use Procera Veneers. These have a coping or cover that blocks out the dark color of underneath and lets you make a nice real light shade on top. All in all I use many types of veneers to customize my care for my patients. You want to make the veneer that best fits the patient. Lumineers are just a brand like Pepsi and Coca Cola that was made popular by the make over TV show(Extreme Make Over.) It was just the brand the cosmetic dentist used.

As of recently dentists are advertising for a one day make over. They are using Cad/cam technology that can make veneers in a day. There are many advantages to saving time and all done in one day. My take on this and with all the ones I have seen and evaluated I don't like the aesthetic results. With my veneers for instance I have a technician that has been doing Porcelain veneers and stacking porcelain for 30 years. It is a real art. With the one day veneers the computer makes the veneer cad /cam generated, but it is up to the assistant or doctor to do the anatomy, color, and design. We do not have the training like my technician with layering porcelain and color. I am a perfectionist with my veneers and want the very best. They are OK, but for my money stay with the brands I previously recommended.

Another trick with dental veneers is teeth Whitening. You want to have trays made and have your patient have there teeth whitening done before the veneers are made. You want to get the rest of the teeth in the same shade zone as you want your veneers.
Look for my next Blog on Teeth Whitening.

Dr. Aschacher