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Spend Less Time and Money at the Dentist

Let's face it - NO ONE likes getting dental work done.  After nearly 15 years of being a dentist, I promise - I've heard every reason there is, but it usually comes down to 1 of  3 things: Time Fear Money So what if your dentist uses some technology that can decrease at least two of those?  How about if the 2 that this technology decreased were TIME and MONEY?  Think you would like to know more?  ......................................  Hmmmmmmm, yeah, I thought you would!  So what is this technology? The Least Invasive Yet Most Precise Tool a Dentist Can Use What is it?  It's a Dental Operating Microscope, or DOM for short.  It's exactly what it says - a microscope used by dentists, obviously to see at very high levels of magnification.  And why is this good?  For several very simple, but very good reasons, including the following: Teeth are pretty small, so it's not easy to see and work on them in the first place; Cracks in teeth and cavities can be super small, but if they penetrate deeply enough into the tooth, they can cause terrible pain; Seeing at high magnification helps a dentist find problems earlier rather than later High magnification means a dentist can remove exactly the right amount, no more and no less - it's less invasive! Bright light - the mouth is a dark place, but the bright light and clear vision help a dentist with a scope see extreme detail in every dark corner of your mouth. Teeth are Really Small and Hard to Work On Just take a look at these photos, which are in order from least magnification to the highest, and imagine your dentist fixing [...]

By | 2017-06-09T20:34:52-04:00 December 5th, 2012|Family dentistry|0 Comments
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Bonding to Fix a Broken Front Tooth

If you have chipped a front tooth, often playing sports, you know how embarrassing it can be to smile.  However, you may be worried that the tooth will need a porcelain veneer or dental crown to fix it, and you might be worried about the cost.  The good news is, for patients of our Charlotte dentist office, there is a very affordable, conservative (meaning we don't drill the tooth away), and completely natural-looking way to fix broken front teeth with composite bonding. Fixing a Broken Front Tooth with Bonding This young lady came to us as a new patient recently, wanting to know what could be done about fixing her chipped front tooth, which she'd broken playing sports some time ago.  A very attractive young lady, she was embarrassed to smile big because the chipped tooth was right in the very front. Because the broken part of the tooth wasn't small, it wouldn't be unreasonable for a dentist to suggest a very thin porcelain veneer to repair this tooth.  Her teeth have a lot of character to them - a noticeable shift from darker at the gums to lighter at the edge, some whitish spots and lines, etc. - which make it very difficult to match believably with bonding.  However, even a very conservative veneer would require removing more healthy enamel than necessary, and conservative tooth-colored bonding, or composite resin, is also strong and long-lasting, you just need a dentist skilled at matching all those details. Can You See The Filling? Matching a single front tooth is usually considered the greatest challenge in cosmetic dentistry, so many dentists will recommend fixing the 2 front teeth at the same time, because it's easier to make a [...]

By | 2017-06-09T20:34:55-04:00 November 28th, 2012|Cosmetic dentistry, Family dentistry|0 Comments
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Year-End Dental Benefits and Flex Dollars Disappear Soon

It's that time of year again, when our phones start ringing off the hook with requests for last-minute appointments to get dental treatment before the money disappears.  So fair warning - CALL NOW if you don't want to lose out! Dental Insurance and Flex Dollars Disappear December 31st If you're a procrastinator-type person when it comes to dental care, no worries, you're not alone!  Unless there is pain involved, dental work doesn't seem very urgent, but not getting treatment done before the end of the year can result in a totally different pain......the pain of throwing away money! No one likes to lose money, but that's what happens when your insurance year runs out, or when you don't use the flex dollars you already set aside.  Insurance benefits don't roll over to the next year, and crazy as it seems, even though flex dollars are YOUR money that you set aside, if you don't use them, your employer gets that money back, not you. Flex Accounts to be Cut Drastically in 2013 Regardless of your politics or what you think of Obamacare, the simple fact is that the amount you can set aside for a Flex Account in 2013 will be cut by HALF.  I don't understand the reasons behind this in the least, but that's what is going to happen.  So this is the time to use what you have, because next year you can't set aside as much. Our End of Year Schedule is Already Filling Up! With so many people waiting until the last second, our schedule gets incredibly full by around December 10th, and after that, you'll have to hope someone else cancels, which doesn't happen often.  So rather than wait [...]

By | 2017-06-09T20:34:57-04:00 November 26th, 2012|Dental Insurance|0 Comments
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Do Nightguards Work?

If there's one main reason many people don't wear a nightguard, it is this: most nightguards are so big and bulky, people can't stand putting them in! At our Charlotte NC dental office Smiles by Payet Dentistry, that's why we don't use them any more, but offer a more comfortable and effective alternative - read on for details! Think about those "boil 'n' bite" football-player type nightguards you get at the pharmacy - they're huge! And even a lot of custom-made nightguards (the kind you usually get from your dentist) are big, hard, and uncomfortable.   A Small Nightguard Works as Well or Better Years ago, I used to make nightguards for my patients that looked like this; in fact, this is one that I made, and remarkably, this patient actually wore it fairly consistently.  You can tell because of all the deep teeth marks in it!  But that's another problem with this kind of nightguard - most people still clench like crazy on them.  At least they're damaging the acrylic instead of their teeth, but these things really don't help stop teeth-grinding.  Same with the "boil-n-bite" type you get at the drug-store. But there is an alternative, and there are a couple real benefits to it: It's small and therefore much more comfortable to wear, which means you'll actually wear it, and Because it only lets the front teeth touch, it's impossible for your muscles to clench as hard (I'll explain this more in a minute), so you actually decrease your clenching or grinding, and None of the back teeth can be damaged or worn at all, because they just don't touch. The NTI-tss Nightguard is Comfortable to Wear Want to know just how comfortable the [...]

By | 2017-06-09T20:34:59-04:00 November 3rd, 2012|TMJ Problems, Migraines and Headache Relief|0 Comments
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Halloween Candy Buy Back for Operation Gratitude

It's that time of year again: stores are filling their shelves with unbelievable loads of candy in preparation for Halloween.  And here at our Charlotte dentist office, we are getting ready to take it off your hands for some Cash or a sweet prize! Together with Operation Gratitude, we will be accepting candy donations on November 1st and 2nd at our convenient South Charlotte dental office.  In exchange, we'll be paying $1 for every pound of UNopened candy, OR you can be entered into a raffle for a super-cool 16GB Apple iPad Mini. Call our office for more details, or just come on by after Halloween!    

By | 2017-06-09T20:35:02-04:00 September 23rd, 2012|ANNOUNCEMENTS|0 Comments
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Crowns Shouldn’t Make Gums Bleed

One thing that patients can't stand, and understandably so, is getting a crown done, and after it's put on, the gum around the crown turns red, sore, and it bleeds easily when brushing and flossing.  After all, a crown should FIX a problem, not create one, right? Why Do Some Crowns Make the Gums Red and Bleeding? There are some important rules dentists must follow when doing crowns: Make sure the lab (or CEREC Same Day Crown System, as in our case) has a crisp, clear edge so the fit of the crown is accurate; Make sure the tooth is dry and not contaminated with blood, saliva, or water when the crown is cemented or bonded; Make sure the final crown is the right size for the tooth; i.e. that it is not too bulky; Make sure the edge of the crown is not too close to the bone, or it violates the "Biologic Width." Reason #4 is the most common reason for crowns to end up causing red, bleeding, and sore gums, but for patients, it is a harder to understand why, and why some minor gum surgery is really an easy and long-term fix to avoid an aggravating problem. What is Biologic Width, and Should You Care? Basically, you need a minimum distance between the edge of a crown and the bone.  For most patients, for most teeth, it's about 3mm.  Sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less. Now, if you put the edge of a crown closer than 3mm, your body doesn't like it; it becomes a "foreign body," and your immune system is triggered, thinking that it needs to get rid of that foreign body.  Naturally, it can't, but that [...]

By | 2017-06-09T20:35:04-04:00 August 26th, 2012|Gingivitis|0 Comments
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One Dental Implant and 2 Crowns to Smile

Can a Dental Implant Look Natural in a Smile? Are you missing teeth in the front and thinking about a dental implant  to replace it?  If so, are you concerned that the new tooth might not look as natural as your other teeth?  If so, then read on and see how terrific Tim’s smile looks with a dental implant and 2 crowns done in our Charlotte dentist office. Dental Implants Are Cosmetic Dentistry, Too When Tim first came to see us, he was worried about a front tooth that had suddenly become loose and dropped down.  The tooth had a root canal and crown down nearly 35 years ago (pretty impressive!), but unfortunately, the root of the tooth itself had fractured below the bone and could not be fixed, so we ended up extracting it.  Because the crowns were so old and didn’t match his other teeth, we decided to redo the one next to it so his smile would match. When doing dental crowns on front teeth or implants, it automatically becomes a cosmetic dentistry case, so we have to work with a really excellent dental laboratory to create an artistic smile, especially in a case like Tim’s.  If Tim had wanted to do porcelain veneers for his whole smile, this would have been a lot easier, but he was otherwise happy with his smile. Matching Natural Teeth with Dental Crowns is Hard […]

By | 2017-06-09T20:35:07-04:00 April 14th, 2012|Cosmetic dentistry, Dental implant(s)|0 Comments
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Invisalign Express = Fast Invisalign

Until now, InvisalignTM has always been the clear alternative to braces with brackets, for patients who need complete orthodontic treatment.  If you only wanted to move a few teeth on just the top or bottom, it was impractical and too expensive; but not any longer.  If you're looking for an Invisalign dentist in Charlotte, then read on. What is InvisalignTM Express? Invisalign has just announced the release of their new system of clear aligners for very limited cases, where even Six Month Braces might be less practical, and it's called Invisalign Express, and we are really excited to offer this affordable and fast option at our Charlotte dentist office. The biggest advantage of this new system is that it is much less expensive, because we can treat just a few teeth. Before, we pretty much had to do Invisalign for the whole mouth, or at least we had to charge that much because that's the way Invisalign charged us.   How Does Invisalign Express Work? That's the easy part - it's exactly the same way regular Invisalign works!  Here's how it happens: Schedule a Complimentary Consultation for Braces (since we offer several options, we'll be sure to recommend the best one for you) If you choose either Invisalign Express 5 or Express 10, we take molds of your teeth and send them off About 4-6 weeks later, you get your first set of practically invisible aligners We see you about every 4 weeks (after 2 sets of aligners) to make sure everything is progressing You're done in just 10-20 weeks! Of course, not everyone is a good candidate for this, but the good news is that we offer several other options to help you get a straight, [...]

By | 2017-06-09T20:35:09-04:00 March 4th, 2012|Dental Braces, Invisalign|0 Comments
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2012 – Exciting Changes Ahead!

As our Charlotte NC dental office closed out 2011 and opens for 2012, there are some exciting changes and additions ahead, which we hope will lead to more comfortable, faster, longer-lasting, more esthetic, and even more successful outcomes for our patients of all ages.  So here's a preview of the 2 biggest changes/additions: Dental Implants Of all the plans for the year, I am most excited about starting a 9-month long dental implant continuum of really intense training on all aspects of planning, placing, and restoring dental implants.  From March through November, it's 216 Hours of in-depth training by world-renowned specialists.  Once completed, I will be fully trained and qualified to do the following procedures: Single-tooth replacement with an implant and crown Replace 3-14 missing teeth with a dental implant-supported bridge Rebuild bone in areas that need it before an implant can be placed Do additional gum grafting in areas where needed for implant success Place multiple implants to support a "snap-in" denture Use the most modern 3-D x-rays to plan and finish the most complex cases Better One-Day Porcelain Dental Crowns and Onlays Shortly before Christmas, we received the newest and biggest software update EVER for our CEREC CAD/CAM system, which we absolutely love already. Totally redesigned to make it easier and faster to get natural-looking, all-porcelain dental crowns in just one day, we can now do multiple crowns and onlays all at once, even in different parts of the mouth. If all goes really well (fingers crossed!), will be adding a new 3D Cone Beam X-ray machine that integrates perfectly with CEREC.  This combination will let us plan dental implants and crowns or bridges all together!

By | 2017-06-09T20:35:11-04:00 January 3rd, 2012|ANNOUNCEMENTS, Dental implant(s), Porcelain Crowns|0 Comments
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A New Way to Stay in Touch: Google+

Have you jumped into Google+, the newest and fastest-growing social media platform online, yet? If not, it's remarkably easy to get started, and after using it on a personal level for the last 2 months or so, I must say, it's turning into a wonderful way to stay in touch with people. There are some very noticeable differences when compared to Facebook, and FB is still the dominant player, no doubt about that, but I like it! Find this Charlotte NC Dentist All Over! And as of Monday November 7th, 2011, now we have a Google+ Business Page, too! As a bit of a techie and Web geek, I was fortunate to get an early opportunity to create one, and I'd like to share it with you: Smiles by Payet Dentistry on G+.  Now, it's still pretty basic, as I'm learning how they work, and Google is still adding features on a regular basis. Of course, there are a gazillion different websites out there, and it's basically impossible to maintain a presence on all of them, but there are certainly a few that we use, if you'd like to keep in touch with us beyond our Monthly Newsletters or emails.  Check us out!       

By | 2017-06-09T20:35:14-04:00 November 20th, 2011|ANNOUNCEMENTS, Cosmetic dentistry, Dental Braces|0 Comments
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