Blog Entries

Healthy Gums Look Like This

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 02:00:00 +0100

Saw a patient today with excellent home care. Here's someone who knows how to brush and floss.

Notice how the gums wrap tightly to the teeth like spandex. Note the bright coral pink color. (people of darker skin may have harmless patches of pigmentation in covering some of the pink areas) They are not red and puffy from ging [...]

Obamacare May Tax Dental Crowns, Implants, Bridges, and Dentures

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 02:00:00 +0100

A legal analysis of the healthcare reform bill has found language that imposes a tax on medical appliances that likely applies to dental appliances as well. These could include crowns, implants, brides, dentures, orthodontic brackets, retainers, nightguards and more.

Dr. Le's Opinion:

Most doctors in our area are under contract with PPOs...a popular form of manag [...]

Consumer Alert: Dihydrogen Monoxide

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 02:00:00 +0100

We have found an alarming rise in the use of dihydrogen monoxide in dental offices in the Orange County area. This tasteless, odorless solvent, commonly used by the military, runs through the coolant plumbing most nuclear reactors. If ingested rapidly, it can lead to hypoxia and death. At sufficiently high temperatures, it can cause severe burns all the way through the skin. Our undercover investigation has shown that dentists are using it to prepare teeth for fillings an [...]

We're going Xtreme and Elite, Sonicare, that is

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:00:00 +0100

We've noticed over the years that almost everyone with healthy gums had a power toothbrush. While it's no substitute for flossing, anything that gives you better results with less effort is worth it. Our office is now carrying the Sonicare Elite and Xtreme power toothbrush models.

Gum disease, like diabetes, is incurable, but very treatable. Most of our patients get better after treatment, but a few don't. Here's the three most common reasons people can't beat gum disease...

1. Poor oral hygiene - let's face it, sloppy home care gets you into this mess, and those same habits will not get you out. Gum disease results from the accumulation of bacterial toxic waste, and the only w [...]

Formocresol: CDA Journal Says Ban It, Good Enough for Us

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:00:00 +0100

In the current issue of the CDA Journal, Dr. Bradley Lewis calls for a worldwide ban on formocresol, a dental medicament commonly on children during pulpotomies (baby root canals). We have never stocked this at our practice, and after reading this thorough literature review, we never will. All the component ingredients are carcinogenic, and what's worse, we place it DIRECTLY on the live inner cells of your child's teeth, where it's free to circulate throughout [...]

Do dentists need my social security number?

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:00:00 +0100

With all the identity theft going on, a lot of people are legitimately asking, "Do I need to give out my social security number at the dentist's office?" If dental insurance is involved, the answer is ideally no, but the reality is sometimes different for some carriers.

All dental insurance claims require a subscriber identification number, a group number and a date of birth. The social security number, because it is universal and unique, became the de facto i [...]

Nightguards Aren't Always Sexy, But Sometimes Necessary

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 02:00:00 +0100

Okay, dental appliances are not the best for your love life. But for many of us, nightguards are the best way to prevent damage from clenching and grinding, also known as bruxism. For others, they also help with TMD related jaw pain.

Bruxism is basically chewing, clenching, or grinding too much. There are many symptoms, including muscle pain (sore jaw muscles, especially in the morning), premature tooth wear (flat or short teeth), notches in the sides of the teeth, and [...]

Sinusitis: It's not always the tooth

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 02:00:00 +0100

Sometimes a recent cold or flu can cause sinusitis, an inflammation of the lining of your sinus cavities. Swelling and irritation are often symptoms. The maxillary sinuses happen to be directly over the upper back teeth. The swelling can bear down on the teeth, creating a dull toothache. Sometimes the sinus literally elevates the teeth a tiny bit out of socket, creating a high bite and chewing difficulties.

If your dentist is not careful, you can end up with an u [...]

Can a Dentist Be Too High Tech? Or Just High Pressure?

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:00:00 +0100

Yesterday I spoke with a gentlemen who left his previous dentist. From what I gathered, this doctor had all the highest tech gear imaginable: intraoral cameras, digital xrays, 3D patient educational videos. When asked whether he liked it, my new patient said, "No, it just seemed too slick and salesman like. I felt like I was at a car dealer."

Our office, because it's only four years old, has much more high tech gadgets than the dental office you may [...]

Follow theSimpleTooth on Twitter

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0100

Follow theSimpleTooth on twitter: learn what's new in dentistry in manageable 140 character bites. Our dental office has its first dedicated twitter feed.

For every new twitter follower we get between now and the end of the year, we'll donate one toothbrush to a child in need. Pass it on.

More Dental PPOs accepted: Now Accepting Blue Shield, United Healthcare, Secure Horizons, more.

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:00:00 +0100

Our office now accepts Blue Shield, United Healthcare, Secure Horizons and several other new plans:

Advantage Health Solutions Dental
AIG American General (US Life)
Blue Shield of California
Denal Benefit Providers of California
Encore dental / Stonebridge Life
HealthNet - Arizona
HealthNet Associates
HealthNet of California
HealthNet of Oregon
Morgan White
Optum Health Allies
People's Benefit Life Insurance Company
Secure Horizons
Summacare
UNIQ [...]

Bruxzir vs PFM: New Zirconia vs Old Tried and True

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:00:00 +0100

This is the first comparison case I am doing to test a new crown technology. Glidewell Labs has a new type of crown for back teeth made out of zirconia, a high strength ceramic. Like gold crowns, they are virtually unbreakable, don't require a lot of tooth height. Unlike gold crowns, they are tooth colored.

Many pe [...]

ACP fortified milk remineralizes teeth

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 02:00:00 +0100

The Australian Dental Journal reports that milk fortified with amorphous calcium phosphate (marketed here in the US as ACP or Recaldent) remineralizes enamel 81-164% more than your standard milk. I've seen firsthand how amorphous calcium phosphate can remineralize damaged teeth . If ACP-fortfied milk ever makes it to the states, it could have a greater effect on preventing cavities than any municipal water fluoridation effort. (and with less angry anti-fluoride comme [...]

FDA confirms amalgam is safe

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:00:00 +0100

The FDA just released an updated statement declaring that amalgam is safe and effective as a filling material. While we routinely place white, composite resin fillings, Dr. Le keeps amalgam around for the specific (and very rare) situations where it's still the filling material of choice. It is Dr. Le's position that amalgam is a safe, viable, long lasting material when used properly in the right situations. Amalgam is also a necessary material to maintain the low c [...]

Can Power Toothbrushes Wear Away Your Enamel?

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 02:00:00 +0100

Some people have concerns about new power toothbrushes wearing away enamel excessively. Most of our high-end powerbrush users have excellent gingival health, so we highly recommend the faster, more powerful brushes. The slower power toothbrushes (the $30 and under crowd) simply don't have the RPM to make a big difference above brushing by hand. For OralB and Sonicare, the high speed motors start around $60. You can find excellent family packs for these two bran [...]

Nitrous Oxide Joins Prop 65 Warning List

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 02:00:00 +0100

CDA has just issued a statement announcing that nitrous oxide must be added to the Prop 65 list. That means nitrous oxide, otherwise known as laughing gas, is "known to the state of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm." Our office does not administer nitrous oxide, but we want the public to consult with their dentists or specialists before using nitrous oxide, especially if pregnant. For the great majority of people, nitrous oxide has been a s [...]

MI Paste Remineralizes White Spots: Actual Case

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 02:00:00 +0100

Here's a successfully finished remineralization case. We started with non-decayed teeth with white spots. We were going to do veneers, but we thought we would try this conservative non-surgical approach first. This is what they looked like before the treatment:

Enamel Erosion: Toothpaste More Erosive than Brush Stiffness

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:00:00 +0100

Many of our patients wear down the sides of their teeth with a combination of excessive force, abrasive toothpastes, and stiff bristled toothbrushes. A recent Scandinavian study simulated toothbrush abrasion on extracted teeth. They found that the abrasiveness of the toothpaste had the most significant effect on how fast teeth erode. Stiffer bristled toothbrushes had a lesser effect. Our advice still remains the same...

To reduce e [...]

Trident Xtra Care: Xylitol and ACP, Together

vuledds@simpletooth.com — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 02:00:00 +0100
We've been waiting for a gum that combines the cavity fighting sweetener xylitol and the remineralizing power of amorphous calcium phosphate. That wait is [...]