We've got the smallest waiting room I've ever seen in a dental office. 

It's a very nice waiting room.  It's very colorful.  We've got a TV, lots of magazines and most importantly we have the friendliest and most entertaining front office ever.  All of which I'm quite proud of.  None of those things are the best part, though.

What I'm most proud of is that our patients spend so little time in there.  We only see one patient at a time.  If you have an appointment with me you'll be the only patient that I'm seeing right then.  We run on time, often ahead of time.  So you probably won't get to enjoy our comfortable reception area.  There are exceptions.  Sometimes patients have emergencies and we make sure to see those immediately.  But mostly it's all about you.

Kind of like the TV's in the treatment rooms so you can watch whatever you want.  Or that Shelly saw your sister at Meijer the other day.  Or that Kristy wants you to know how good your little one was for their first cleaning.  You're the most important person at our practice and we make sure you know it!

I really love our cozy little reception area.  But you probably won't get to enjoy it very long!

Let's face it...no one likes needles.  Dental work is dreaded by many and for lots of them it's all about the shot.  As a dentist I'm supposed to talk about "adequate anesthesia" and "profound numbness."  I'm not supposed to mention the shot.  Good dentistry requires good pain control and that almost always means an injection of local anesthetic.  Which means...the needle.

I pride myself on being able to deliver anesthesia well.  But no matter how good I am there are some spots in the mouth where delivering anesthesia can be painful.  I think I've found the solution to this problem.  Enter the "STA."

This computer controlled anesthesia unit works by delivering anesthetic so slowly that it sneaks in under the patient's pain threshold.  I would be lying if I told you I wasn't skeptical of this technology at first.  The company was so so sure of their product that they allowed us to try the unit out before getting one of our own.  My loyal staff/guinea pigs allowed me to give them shots with this machine to prove to ourselves that it really was painless.  To our surprise...it works as advertised!  I actually remained skeptical until I was able to have another dentist give me a shot with it just this weekend.  I can say from experience that I couldn't feel when he was numbing me.  The other cool thing about being numbed by the STA is that your lip and tongue don't get numb along with your tooth!  I've found a lot of technologies that haven't really panned out for dentistry, but I have to say this one really delivers!

We think that the Mead Family Dental experience is pretty special.  This new technology is truly icing on the cake!  We'd love to have you come experience how comfortable and enjoyable taking care of your teeth can be!

Call us for an appointment at (989) 799-9133 or email me at: alan@meadfamilydental.com.  We'd love to hear from you!

I have a 15 month old boy.  He's got himself a mouth full of teeth and it makes his dentist father proud!  The dentist in me wants him to never eat a sweet and limit his eating to only meal times.  The dad in me wants him to be happy and sometimes wants to give him a bottle to get him to nap!  So what's a guy to do?

There's some pretty interesting research out there that's answering the questions about the best way to start junior's oral health out on the right foot.  Here's some of the high points:

• Tooth decay is a transmissible disease caused by bacteria in the mouth.
  • Just like a cold, a child can get cavity bugs from someone else.
  • Transmission is through "salivary contact."  Yup, that's pretty gross but lets face it, sometimes you share a spoon with your little cherub or you kiss on them. It happens!
• There is a strong (but not perfect) relationship to the bacteria that colonize a child's mouth and the bacteria in the mother's mouth.  Usually a child gets their cavity bugs from Mom. 
• Frequent exposure to sugary foods is the main dietary cause to tooth decay in children
  • Highly processed sugars like sucrose and high fructose corn syrup are the most easily metabolized sugars by cavity bugs(found in candy, soda, and most problematic...juice!).
  • Some research claims that cow's milk promotes tooth decay the least of sugars tested and there is some evidence that cow's milk has some protective capacity.

What does it all mean.  Here's what I take away from it:

• Mom and Dad need to take care of their teeth.  If Mom or Dad have cavities, they should take care of them quickly.  If you don't know if you've got cavities, you need to find out!  How can you find out?  We've got appointments available immediately!  Call us at: (989) 799-9133. 
• Stay away from sugary drinks and snacks.  Even fruit juice or processed fruit baby foods are high in sugars that can cause cavities.  Some of these foods have added sugar and many of them have concentrated the natural sugars through processing.  If you've ever had a drink of apple juice from the bottle you'll know what I'm talking about. 
  
  • One 8 oz. serving of apple juice has 26-30 grams of carbohydrates ("sugars") vs. one 8 oz serving of Coca Cola has 27 grams of carbohydrates ("sugars")
• Water down juice given to a child. 
• Give your baby/children milk to drink.  It has the least "bad sugars" and may even be protective of teeth
• Don't get in the habit of having your children snack a lot between meals.  When they do, limit their snacks to non-sugary things
• Don't give your baby a bottle to go to bed!

Love those babies, but love their teeth, too!  If you have any questions or comments feel free to comment at the bottom of this entry or email me at alan@meadfamilydental.com.

For some more reading on the subject I highly recommend this article from the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Here's wishing a very happy and healthy new year to you and yours!  I want to personally thank our patients for a fulfilling 2008 and we hope to hear from you soon!

One of my resolutions for 2009 is to update this blog much more regularly so I hope that you check back often.  If you like what you see or have questions I'd love any comments you might have for me!

Again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!