Dental Blog for Charlotte NC Dentist

The Great Halloween Candy Buy Back 2014

Can you believe the Halloween candy is already on the shelves of every store around? Are you dreading the sugar highs and crashes of your children on Halloween and the next couple of days as they shove all that candy down as fast as they can? Do you wish you could find a way to make all that candy mysteriously disappear - AND have your kids actually excited about it?!?!? Would you even like to do something support our troops abroad and brighten their day? Then it's time to mark your calendar for the 2014 Great Halloween Candy Buy Back! What is the Halloween Candy Buy Back? The HCCB (for short) was started in 2005 by Dr. Chris Kammer in his own community, and since then it has grown dramatically, eventually partnering with Operation Gratitude, a non-profit organization that supports our troops serving abroad in various ways. Here's how Operation Gratitude describes it's mission (as found on it's website) Operation Gratitude annually sends 150,000+ care packages filled with snacks, entertainment, hygiene and hand-made items, plus personal letters of appreciation, to New Recruits, Veterans, First Responders, Wounded Warriors, Care Givers and to individually named U.S. Service Members deployed overseas. Our mission is to lift the spirits and meet the evolving needs of our Active Duty and Veteran communities, and provide volunteer opportunities for all Americans to express their appreciation to members of our Military. Each package contains donated product valued at $75-100 and costs the organization $15 to assemble and ship. Since its inception in 2003, Operation Gratitude volunteers have shipped more than One Million Care Packages. How Does it Work? This is the best part - all you have to do is bring your [...]

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By Charles Payet| 2017-06-09T20:31:43-04:00 September 20th, 2014|ANNOUNCEMENTS|0 Comments

The NC Missions of Mercy Charlotte 2014 Event

The North Carolina Missions of Mercy, aka NC MOM, regularly holds multi-day events around North Carolina, at which dentists and their teams, as well as many community volunteers, come together to provide free dental care for people in need. This year, our dental assistant Rosie, dental hygienist Megan, and I participated, and let me just tell you, it was an experience unlike any other. Free Dentistry for Charlotte Residents in Need To get a good idea of what NC MOM is all about, you can watch this video. It's a few years old, but it does such a superb job of describing the challenges facing people who need dental work, but lack the dental insurance or good jobs that will help them afford it, it's well worth watching. I first participated in a Charlotte NC MOM event back in 2012, but was unable to do so in 2013 due to family conflicts. This year, we planned much further in advance, and to tell the truth, after doing it this year, I plan on going to even more of these events around the state, not just in Charlotte. As I'm only licensed to practice dentistry in North Carolina (licensing in dentistry is very different from physician licensing), I can't do events in South Carolina. However, the only times I'll do the over-night shift, as we just did, will be in Charlotte. I truly have no idea how some people worked full days on Friday, then drove to Charlotte, worked overnight, and then had to drive home on Saturday. I'm writing this on Sunday afternoon after working the Friday evening/Saturday early morning shifts, and I'm STILL trying to recover, and I only had to drive 25 minutes home. And [...]

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By Charles Payet| 2017-06-09T20:31:45-04:00 September 7th, 2014|ANNOUNCEMENTS, Taking Care of Your Teeth|0 Comments

Tooth Tip: Eat Well for Healthy Teeth

If you've been reading my blog long enough, you may have seen these 2 articles on some big changes to my diet that I wrote in response to learning that my cholesterol was much too high: OMG I'm Dying! Hooray, I'm Not Dying as Fast! To quickly summarize, though, back in June 2013, my physician told me that my cholesterol level was 244, and that unless I wanted to start medications soon, I'd better make some serious changes to my lifestyle: more exercise, less meat, less dairy, more seafood and vegetable/fruits, etc. And because I knew that I could do it, I did. But the lesson for today's blog post, though, is not so much about overall health, but the simple idea that eating a healthy diet of seafood and lots of raw or minimally cooked vegetables and fruits is not only going to keep your body healthy, but that same diet is good for your teeth. Benefits of Vegetables for Your Teeth Raw fruits and vegetables of any kind are good for your teeth, because the firm texture helps clean the teeth, they don't provide the bacteria in your mouth with easy-to-use sugars to produce enamel-destroying acid, they tend to not stick to your teeth, and of course, they provide necessary vitamins and nutrients. Lightly steamed vegetables are just about as good, because they still retain most of the texture. Once you get vegetables really cooked, not only do you lose a lot of the nutrients, but you lose the texture that provides a physical cleaning action while chewing. Juicing is Great, but Watch Out for Sugars and Acidity Sure, "juicing" has long been the rage in alternative medicine, and certainly conventional medicine (and dentistry) [...]

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By Charles Payet| 2017-06-09T20:31:47-04:00 August 29th, 2014|Family dentistry, Taking Care of Your Teeth|0 Comments

Closed for the Labor Day Week

Just a quick announcement that Smiles by Payet Family Dentistry will be closed from Friday, Aug. 29th through Sunday, Sept. 7th 2014. As we do have a daughter in 2nd grade in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, we are doing a "stay-cation," which means that I will be available for genuine dental emergencies (for current patients only) during the period that the office is close. Otherwise, please don't hesitate to call the office and leave a message, and we'll contact you as soon as we're back in the office on Monday, Sept. 8th.

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By Charles Payet| 2017-06-09T20:31:49-04:00 August 27th, 2014|ANNOUNCEMENTS|0 Comments

Porcelain Veneers for a New Smile

It's been a little while since I posted any of our Cosmetic Dentistry cases, as I've been pretty busy with learning more about social media, blogging on other topics, etc., so it's time to start showing off again what we do here. After all, if you can back it up, it's not bragging, right? :-) 2 Porcelain Veneers to Fix a Smile When K.C. first came to our office, he was unhappy with the bonding on his 2 front teeth, as he'd had it done multiple times, but it kept chipping and staining. Overall, he was pretty happy with his smile - didn't want to make any big changes, was happy with how bright the teeth were, etc. But he wanted a better solution for the 2 front teeth. While bonding is a great solution to fixed chipped and worn teeth, for patients with the highest esthetic demands AND who want the work to last as long as possible, I'm still a believer that porcelain veneers or crowns are the right solution. Of course, for patients who keep chipping their teeth, we highly recommend a NTI nightguard to protect against teeth grinding at night. Since K.C. didn't have concerns about any other teeth, the right choice was just 2 porcelain veneers, and in about 3 weeks, he went from having stained, uneven, and chipped teeth to a smile he loves again. How Many Porcelain Veneers Do You Need? As mentioned, K.C. was only interested in 2 veneers, because he was pretty happy with the rest of his teeth. The number of veneers you "need" is really dependent on a bunch of questions, though, so I did a video to help answer many of [...]

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By Charles Payet| 2017-06-09T20:31:51-04:00 August 15th, 2014|Cosmetic dentistry, Porcelain Veneers|0 Comments

Kids Tooth Tip #3: Spaces Between Baby Teeth are Good

We had a mother in with her 3 children today, and she was concerned that her (almost) 6-year old son doesn't have any wiggly baby teeth. We took a couple x-rays and they didn't look quite right (almost like the adult teeth were overlapping under the gums), so we took a panoramic x-ray to get a bigger picture of the young man's overall development. What we found was that his adult teeth, as they're forming under the gums, are EXTREMELY crowded already, and there's no way there will be enough space for them to come in. Perfectly Straight Baby Teeth with No Spaces is Not Good Indeed, it's very simple - baby teeth are a LOT smaller than adult teeth, so if there are no spaces between the baby teeth, where will the adult teeth fit? As much as we all love to see our kids with perfectly straight teeth, it's really not the best. Sure, as they grow, the jaws will also grow, but they don't grow fast enough, or just big enough, to accommodate those grown-up teeth. Should Your Child See an Orthodontist Early? While we usually take a "wait-and-see" approach for kids, this was a case that I chose to refer to one of our orthodontic offices, Webb Orthodontics. I'll try to remember and update this page with their recommendations. Our next Kids Tooth Tip will be coming soon, and it will be either about Flossing or Your Child's First Dental Visit.....whichever I happen to finish first. :-P If you'd like to schedule a check-up and cleaning for your child, we see kids as young as 1 year old, so please call us 704-364-7069 or Request an Appointment Online. And hey - if [...]

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By Charles Payet| 2017-06-09T20:31:55-04:00 August 13th, 2014|Family dentistry, Taking Care of Your Teeth|0 Comments

Just How Bad are Sodas for Your Teeth?

MOST people know by know that sodas are bad for you. Not as many people know that diet sodas are just about as bad as regular sodas, simply because of how acidic sodas are. Yes - sugar is bad for your teeth, but acidity is even worse, and when you combine sugar and acidity, you're talking Tooth Decay Bonanza! I just recently came across this really awesome infographic that spells out for you just how bad it is. Check it out, and at the end, I've included several links to previous articles about how to prevent cavities, repair early cavities, and some suggestions on recommended products to keep your mouth healthy. For more information on "soft teeth," how to prevent cavities, choosing dental products, and more, check out the following articles: There's No Such Thing as Soft Teeth How to Reduce or Prevent Cavities Think the Dentist is Expensive? Then Brush and Floss! My Baby Stole the Calcium from My Teeth What Does Heartburn Have to Do with Cavities? To make an appointment: Request an Appointment Online or call us at 704-364-7069. We'll look forward to meeting you soon!

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By Charles Payet| 2017-06-09T20:32:02-04:00 August 6th, 2014|Cavities, Family dentistry, Taking Care of Your Teeth|0 Comments

Hooray, I’m Not Dying As Fast

Yup, another attention-grabbing headline for ya. :-) But I'm serious, and here's why....my cholesterol is down! A little over a year ago, I wrote an article about how healthy teeth and healthy living go hand in hand. I had just learned that my cholesterol was alarmingly high - 242. Given that I was only 41 years old and thought that I was pretty healthy, it was definitely alarming. Since then, I've made big changes to my lifestyle through an improved diet, increased exercise, meditation, and more frequent time off to recharge. At my recent 1- year follow-up, I was rewarded with good news: while my total cholesterol only dropped to 233, my good cholesterol went up, and the bad cholesterol went down, so the overall ratio showed a solid improvement. Conventional and Holistic Medicine & Dentistry Agree - Eat Well, Sleep Well, Exercise, Good Hygiene If you've been reading my blog for the last year (or following us on Facebook or Google+), you'll have seen a trend in the subjects: that I am really NOT a fan of so-called holistic/alternative medicine or pseudoscience. For reference, here are a few of the articles: Holistic, Alternative Medicine is Usually Wrong Can Cavities be Cured? Do Silver Fillings Poison You? Heck No, Dr. Oz! Dr. Oz is Called before Congress for his Quackery (on Google+) Nor do I have a problem with GMO food; I don't believe in chemtrails; I don't believe in miracle cures for cancer that only some people know; I think the whole "Big Pharma" and "Big Medicine" conspiracies are full of crap. Now that I've surely pissed off a lot of people and will get a lot of angry comments, let's get to the one [...]

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By Charles Payet| 2017-06-09T20:32:10-04:00 August 4th, 2014|Family dentistry, Taking Care of Your Teeth|0 Comments

Believe in Yourself!

As people who know me can attest, I'm very open about the struggles of my early dental practice, as well as my ADD diagnosis, which happened when I was about 33 years old. It took a lot of hard work to learn how to deal with the ADD, especially in my day-to-day business work; dentistry was never the problem, it was leading, managing, accounting, all that other stuff. Very early on in my career, I even suffered through a period of deep depression, which I later learned was related to the ADD and all the frustrations in life that came from it. But I don't intend this to be a post about the struggles; it's meant to be an inspiration to those who struggle as I did, and who fear that they can't, or won't succeed. It's Not Talent - It's Hard Work and Persistence That Matter As I grew up, I really struggled to find a creative outlet. I did swimming and tennis, and I played trumpet in the high school marching, concert, and jazz bands. I was reasonably good and could have done even better, but was never able to stay on task long enough to really excel. In college and dental school, and eventually into the "Real World," I continued to struggle, and I often got really down on myself for not living up to my potential. Same thing with my business - lots of people told me I was a very good dentist, but if you looked at my bank account, you'd see I sure was a lousy businessman! But beyond that, I thought I had zero artistic talent. I could barely draw a stick figure, struggled to paint a sunflower, [...]

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By Charles Payet| 2017-06-09T20:32:14-04:00 July 12th, 2014|ANNOUNCEMENTS|0 Comments

Hate Your Smile? We Can Fix That

We know that a LOT of people are unhappy with something about their smile. Whether it's crooked teeth, gaps, uneven or excessive gums, chipped and worn teeth, stains from coffee/tea/soda, broken teeth from trauma....you name it, we can fix it. We offer so many different options to help you LOVE your smile instead of hate it. If this is the kind of dentistry you'd like, Request an Appointment Online or call us at 704-364-7069. We'll look forward to meeting you soon!

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By Charles Payet| 2017-06-09T20:32:19-04:00 June 24th, 2014|Cosmetic dentistry, Dental Braces, Porcelain Veneers|0 Comments