J. Peter St. Clair, DMD Blog

Do you have any problems with dental decay (cavities), gum recession, and/or dental erosion (the chemical breakdown of tooth structure)? These dental problems are complicated multifactorial diseases of epidemic levels affecting both children and adults. A healthy mouth sometimes requires more than brushing, flossing, and “fillings”. With current scientific evidence and new technologies, patients and practitioners need to begin to look at these problems not just from a drilling and filling approach but also from a medical (preventive/therapeutic) approach.

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I was at a continuing education seminar last week and one of the topics being discussed was mouthguards. Although it seems basic, and you would think that everyone who should be wearing one does, this is far from the case. I still see far too many sports related dental injuries in every season which could have been prevented.

Any sport that presents the chance of contact or collision with another person, object, or surface can potentially cause injury to teeth, jaws, and oral soft tissue. These sports include, but are not limited to, football, baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, field hockey, pond hockey, boxing, lacrosse, biking, inline skating, and skateboarding.

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The most common reason people lose teeth is periodontal “gum” disease, which is a destruction of the bone and other supporting structures. The most common way to replace teeth today is the use of dental implants. Dental implants replace the roots of the teeth and also rely on the bone as a supporting structure.

Dental implant technology has improved steadily over the past few decades as materials and the understanding of bone integration has advanced. So, when does it make sense to abandon treating a natural tooth and replace it with a dental implant?

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Thanks again to the The Town Common for another great year. At the end of each of the past 11 years, I have used this space to publish these 21 Suggestions for Success authored by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. It is the perfect time to reflect on the year past and prepare for any changes we need to make for the year to come.
How was 2016 for you? While reflecting on the past year is important, thinking forward to the year to come is even more important. The past is in the past.
I thought last year might be the final year for posting this list. However, knowing that readership continues to grow for The Town Common, and realizing how powerful these words can be, I decided to republish. So, cut this out and put it on the refrigerator. Read this list often and take these suggestions to heart. They will be sure to make your 2017 great.

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If you missed Part 1 of this series you can check it out at www.thetowncommon.com. We were talking about what separates the good from the great businesses……no matter what business you are in. This was derived from my recent re-reading of Jim Collin’s classic book “Good To Great: Why some companies make the leap….and others don’t.”

The key currency for any business is not the paper kind; it is intellectual capital. For any business to be successful, intellectual capital must be unleashed. When people are asked how much of their brainpower they actually use, a common response is 20%. The actual percentage is estimated to be much lower. Leaders understand this. They recognize that one of their major challenges is to unleash the latent intellectual capital that already resides within every employee in their organization. In part, this is accomplished by establishing a culture of learning within a business.

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I thought that I would end this year with some stuff that everyone could benefit from. I am honored and humbled to be given this platform each week to bring you information (usually dental in nature). This column and the next may not be “dental” per se, but it is in the sense that it pertains to every business, every employer, and every employee on the planet.

I recently finished re-reading a classic book called “Good to Great: Why some companies make the leap…..and others don’t”, by Jim Collins. No matter what business you are in, whether it is a garage or a dental practice, there are distinct things that separate the average from the great. Number One: a great leader.

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Here is the scenario: You haven’t been to the dentist in a few years. You decide on a dental office and go for a cleaning, x-rays and examination. The dentist hasn’t told you yet, but you have relatively extensive treatment needs. How do you want to hear the news? Do you want the dentist to tell you everything she finds and present a comprehensive treatment plan to get you back to health, regardless of whether you have any kind of dental “insurance” plan? Or, would you rather her tell you the most significant issues that need to be dealt with first, and break the rest of the news to you at a later date?

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Every once in a while someone will say, “There must be a lot less cavities today than there were years ago because of improved home care, fluoride, etc., right?” There are. However, there are still way too many people that present with decay and most of them could use some major improvement in home care and diet.

Yesterday, I went into one of my hygienist’s rooms to check her patient, a 13-year-old boy, and asked the hygienist as I always do how his home care was. She said to me, “Jack, why don’t you tell the doctor how often you told me you brush your teeth.” The boy answered, “About once a week.” ONCE A WEEK?!?! Not to mention the fact that he is in braces too, which makes it even more important to keep the teeth clean.

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Dental hygienists love it when they make suggestions to patients about home care and their dreams are answered when the patient returns 6 months later with noticeable improvement. It might be as simple as adding a good electric toothbrush or waterpik to the patient’s regimen. I would like to say that we are amazed daily by the fruits of our counseling, but that isn’t the case. For whatever reasons there are, changing routines is often difficult.

Nearly 10 years ago I wrote a column aboutan article I saw in a magazine, which is apparently also a book, entitled “Change or Die”. What if you were given that choice? What if the doctor said you had to make tough changes in the way you think and act – or your time would end soon? Could you change? Here are the scientifically studied odds: nine to one. That’s nine to one against you. I don’t think we have made much headway on this over the past 10 years.

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In the last couple of columns I discussed how dental insurance works. If you missed them you can read them at www.thetowncommon.com. In this column, I will discuss the best strategies to get the dental care you need.

I hope the message was clear – you are not missing much if you don’t have dental insurance. Because of the way dental “insurance” is set up, having it is equivalent to a discount on certain items at a store. Just because you don’t have it, doesn’t mean you can’t choose something that fulfills a need or desire. While there may be a few reasons to consider purchasing an “insurance” policy on your own, it usually does not make sense.

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