Office News
Our office staff took a road trip in February to Chicago! The Chicago Dental Society Mid-winter meeting is our destination for learning and fun with our staff. This is one of the largest gatherings for dental education in the United States. We returned a bit more refreshed, reenergized, and a little bit smarter.
We are offering a new service this year. We are now equipped and trained to administer nitrous oxide sedation duing dental procedures. This will benefit patients who have anxiety or stress during a dental appointment. We also have been trained to administer oral sedation to patients who experience higher levels of stress with their dental appointments. Ask us about these new options for a more comfortable visit!
Dr. Blogin and the office staff have been busy upgrading the computer system. The new changes will allow for us to provide more information and visual images to help describe treatment options for patients in a more understandable way. We have also started using a small video camera to take pictures inside the mouth. We can demonstrate conditions inside your mouth on our computer screen and store the pictures for comparison in the future. This is wonderful for observing subtle changes within the mouth over long periods of time.
An article in “The Ann Arbor News” warned about the toxicity of products containing the chemical bisphenol A, or, BPA. The article mentioned that this chemical is found in some dental materials. We searched through all of our product descriptions to make sure that we are not using any materials that contain this chemical.. Good news, there is none in our office.
We are continuing our efforts to reduce our consumption and increase our recycling efforts in order to do our part for improving our environment. Our rain garden and underground water collection system help to reduce stormwater runoff in our neighborhood. We are recycling all office waste through the city of Ann Arbor’s weekly trash pickup. Metals, oils, batteries, fluorescent bulbs and hazardous materials are being separated from the general waste stream for recycling or proper disposal. We are using compact fluorescent lights in most locations, with the lowest possible wattage. Our HVAC system is programmed to operate only when we are in operation. As a result of these changes, we have seen our energy usage decrease by one third! We will continue to evaluate and implement other methods to reduce our impact on the community.
A hot topic among Ann Arbor dentists is the recent article on tooth brushing after meals. The article reported that you should not brush for at least 30 minutes after you have eaten some food. There was a concern that acids in the food would attack the teeth and cause demineralization of the teeth. The teeth would be more susceptible to abrasion from toothbrushing during this time. The article suggests that it would be better to wait 30 minutes to allow for minerals in your saliva to remineralize your teeth. Intellectually this seems to make sense, but, in most instances, I feel that this may be an over reaction. The biggest problem is getting someone motivated to regularly brush their teeth. I am not going to stand in the way of anyone willing to perform their daily oral hygiene regimen. Most foods are not so acidic that demineralization should be a big concern in the short time for contact with the teeth. The acid attack on teeth that is most worrisome, occurs after food remains on the teeth for an extended time period. As bacterial plaque forms, the bacteria feed on any carbohydrates near the teeth. The byproduct of this process is acid, which will attack teeth as long as the plaque is present on your teeth. So I say brush on!
