Questions About Current Dentistry?
- How do I know when it’s time to come in for a check up?
- My gums bleed after I brush. Is this something to be concerned about?
- I brush every day but my breath just is not fresh. Is there anything I can do?
- Do I have to floss every day? Is it really that important?
- I do not like drills. Are there any options?
- My spouse snores and keeps me up at night. I have heard that a dentist might be able to prescribe an appliance that prevents snoring. Can you help?
- My child plays contact sports, is there anything better than the “boil and bite” mouth guards that I see at the department and sporting goods stores?
- Can you show me what my smile can look like ahead of time with imaging software?
- How can I safely whiten my teeth?
- Crowns, veneers, onlays, and inlays. Where can I learn more about these dental procedures?
- I have some crowding of my front teeth and I want them to look better, but I do not want to wear braces. What would you recommend?
- What are smile design and smile analysis.
- I see advertisements for “No Prep Veneers”. What is the difference between a “No Prep Veneer” and a “Prepped Veneer”? Is one better than the other?
This is a good question. First of all we realize that you could choose to go anywhere, so if you choose to have us provide your dental care you are placing a very high level of trust and confidence in us. We take that level of trust and confidence very seriously. We appreciate your confidence in us and we want to not only live up to it but deliver beyond your expectations.
Second, We believe in providing comprehensive optimal care. This is the only certain way to assure you will ever have a chance to experience lifelong dental health. This means that before we provide treatment, other than emergency care, we will complete a detailed interview to address any concerns or desires you may have about your dental health needs. We want to know where you are, where you want to go, and how you would like us to help you. We also complete a very thorough and comprehensive examination. We evaluate your teeth, gums, and occlusion(bite) recording any neuromuscular issues that will influence the longevity of the treatment you may be provided. We evaluate your TMJs(jaw joints), your facial and chewing musculature, your lymph nodes, and do a thorough oral cancer screening. We complete an xray evaluation as needed and complete a full series of digital photographs to aid in diagnosis and treatment planning and to serve as an educational tool when presenting you with treatment options.
Third, we believe whole heartedly that you deserve to hear about optimal treatment, the treatment that will provide you with the best chance to enjoy optimal dental health for your lifetime. We will also provide alternatives so that you can make your treatment decisions based on knowing all the facts that could influence your choices. We believe we should be unbiased and nonjudgmental in our treatment presentation.
Finally, we want you to be comfortable with us at all times. If something is wrong we w
Absolutely! We often receive referrals from our existing patient base as well as from other dentists, because of the advanced aesthetic dental treatment we are capable of providing. Through our association with the continuing education programs we have attended, distant dentists will refer their patients who relocate to our area, because these dentists want to find a similar minded dentist to continue their patient’s dental care.
We want you to be so thrilled with the care and comfort we provide to you, that you wouldn’t want your friends and loved ones to seek care anywhere else. We value your referral and your opinion and will do whatever we can to make sure that your referral of another person to our office earns you praise from that individual. We truly appreciate your referrals.
Dentistry today encompasses much more than just fixing cavities and cleaning teeth. The dental profession is usually the last place people consider turning to for care pertaining to headaches, neckaches, and backaches. We know today, that these conditions, along with TMJ(Jaw Joint) dysfunction, are often caused by a malocclusion or incorrect bite relationship. Neuromuscular Dentistry is the field of dentistry that diagnoses and treats this condition. Neuromuscular Dentistry can eliminate the bite issues, allowing for comfortable, relaxed head and neck muscles. Neuromuscular dental treatment can totally eliminate or greatly reduce the head, neck, and back aches caused by these bite related issues. The "migraine” headaches that are often blamed on stress are the headaches most often associated with malocclusion. Our practice is equipped with a Myomonitor, the primary instrumentation used to diagnose and treat Neuromuscular issues.
We also provide other services such as Fresh Breath services, utilizing a Halimeter to measure the levels of volatile sulfur compounds(VSC), the compounds that cause bad breath(halitosis). Upon determining the cause of the halitosis, if appropriate, we prescribe oral hygiene solutions and instructions that are specifically designed to eliminate the VSCs.
Additionally, we provide a smoking cessation program, nutrition counseling, and oral cancer screening and early detection utilizing the OralCDX Brush Biopsy System, a very conservative approach to early diagnosis.
The DDS System, which is a behavior modification program that retrains you to eat slower and to eat less is available at our office if you have a desire to lose weight.
We are well versed in anti-snore appliances and sleep apnea appliances for our guests who have been diagnosed with sleep apnea in a sleep clinic. If you feel that you would benefit from any of these services, please ask us about them at your next appointment or give us a call at 570-345-3495 for more information.
We know that understanding your insurance benefits can be quite confusing. Have no fear, we have been dealing with dental insurance for over 25 years and have a tremendous understanding of how to help you get the best use of your benefits.
We feel, however, that dental insurance is a means of payment, not a means of treatment. We will always treat you in a way that is best for your dental health, not in a way that is best for your dental insurance. If you have any questions about your dental insurance plan, please call our office at 570-345-3495. We will be happy to answer all your questions.
We offer a variety of payment options. Of course we accept cash and checks. We also accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. For larger, more involved treatment plans we offer Care Credit, CitiHealth Card, and Dental Fee Plan. Several of these companies offer interest fee financing programs. Our goal is to help you afford the dentistry that you want now.
Additionally, we are excited to offer our "VIP Express Checkout Service”. This will allow you to save time. Future treatment can be scheduled chair side and, with our VIP service, it is not necessary for you to stop and pay at the front desk on your way out. We will be happy to discuss these payment options with you in greater detail.
We believe that your dental health is very important and we take our professional obligations very seriously. Current research continues to find new links between dental/oral disease and many systemic medical conditions. Once a diagnosis is made and a treatment plan is agreed upon, we are committed to be here for you to complete your treatment.
When we schedule an appointment for you, we are committing to you that we will be here to provide your care. We do not over book our schedule. We believe that you deserve our undivided attention. We want your dental treatment to be unique and dedicated to your specific needs. Likewise, we feel that if you choose to schedule an appointment to receive care in our office, that is a commitment, as well.
As a courtesy, if you feel that you need a reminder call, we will be happy to provide it, but we consider your appointment confirmed when it is scheduled.
Having said all of this, we know that there will be occasions when your schedule will change abruptly. Please try to give us at least two full business days of notice so that we can make your appointment time available to another person. The larger the block of time you had scheduled, the more time we will need to fill it. If you cancel within 48 hours, we reserve the right to collect a cancellation fee from you prior to scheduling any future treatment.
The interval of time between check-ups’ or "re-care appointments” as we call them, is a very individualized period of time. While 6 months or even 12 months may be appropriate for many guests, a significant portion of our guests require a shorter interval between these visits. Depending on the overall condition of one’s dental health and the reason for the "recare”, 3 or 4 months may be a more appropriate interval to prevent dental disease progression and monitor your dental health.
The frequency of "recare” that will be appropriate for you will be decided by you, with input from Dr. Joo and his dental hygiene team. We recommend that your next "recare appointment” be scheduled at the completion of your current "recare appointment” so you always have one reserved in advance. If this is not possible, we will send you a notice by mail, one month prior to the recommended "recare date” and ask you to call to make an appointment at your convenience.
Yes! You should be concerned about bleeding gums, especially if you haven’t had dental hygiene care in a while. While it may seem harmless, bleeding gums may indicate a variety of serious medical/dental problems, including periodontal(gum) disease, which is a bacterial infection that starts in the gums and moves into the rest of the body.
Periodontal disease has been linked to coronary artery disease, stroke, low birth weight babies, and most recently a link between periodontal disease and infertility is being studied. Other medical conditions, including various nutritional deficiencies and certain blood diseases can cause bleeding gums.
If your gums are bleeding, call us as soon as possible to schedule an appointment so we can determine the cause and recommend the appropriate care.
Bad breathe, aka halitosis, can have many different causes. Dietary factors can play a large role, such as consuming onions, garlic, and alcohol along with a host of other foods. Smoking is a big culprit in bad breath and in periodontal disease, which we will address in a second. Certain medical conditions and nutritional deficiencies such as diabetes and fasting diets can also cause bad breath. Certain medications can cause a "dry mouth”. Saliva has natural anti bacterial agents that help to control bacterial levels. If saliva flow is decreased, bad breath can occur. Morning breath is a prime example of the results of dry mouth. During our sleep our saliva flow decreases for 6-8 hours and we all experience morning breath because of the unchecked growth of bacteria and the Volatile Sulfur Compounds they produce.
The biggest cause of bad breath that we see and treat is periodontal disease. Periodontal disease is a bacterial infection. The over population of the mouth by bacteria leads to an increased level of Volatile Sulfur Compounds(VSC) which are the breakdown waste products of bacterial and normal human cell breakdown. Elimination of the periodontal bacterial population through proper treatment will eliminate the bad breath.
Proper oral hygiene should include flossing, brushing, tongue scaping and an effective oral rinse. Our office recommends the Oxyfresh line of oral health care products, including Oxyfresh Tooth Paste and Oxyfresh Mint Mouth Rinse with Zinc(a proven odor fighter), and the Oolitt. The Oxyfresh products contain Stabilized Chlorine Dioxide, a potent disinfectant and deodorizer. This ingrediant can completely deodorize an onion left soaking in a jar of Oxyfresh Mouth Rinse over night. We actually performed this experiment with several of the leading mouth rinses on the market, and Oxyfresh was the only one that worked.
We believe that every tooth deserves 5
seconds of brushing front and back. That is 10 seconds per tooth. There
are 28
teeth in a full complement of teeth, not including the wisdom
teeth. That is 280 seconds or about 4 ½ minutes
total brushing time. Flossing is critically important to
preventing bad breath. There is a certain fetid odor that appears
about 24-36 hours after meat and plant proteins begin to
breakdown in between teeth. As soon as we detect it, we know that
it is a flossing issue. Please refer to the previous question
on the benefits and
methods of flossing.
The Oxyfresh Oolitt is a tongue cleaner. You could not pay me to give up my Oolitt. The Oolitt look like a skinny 6 inch flexible plastic ruler with a ripple along the edge. The Oolitt is folded in half and pulled across the tongue from the back to the front and gently "rakes” or sweeps the tongue. The surface of the tongue is like a carpet. Brushing it is helpful but the Oolitt cleans deep into the taste bud surface. Keep scraping until the Oolitt comes out clean. I think it even improves taste sensation.
The home care routine we recommend is floss first. We recommend Glide dental floss, but you should choose whatever floss you like. Brush your teeth, gums, roof of the mouth and tongue next with the Oxyfresh tooth paste, which is available in fluoridated or nonfluoridated. Rinse with a mouthful of water. Clean your tongue with the Oolitt until the tongue is pink and clean and the Oolitt has no debris on it after the last scrape. Then swish with a capful of Oxyfresh Natural Mint Mouthrinse with Zinc. Your mouth has never felt so fresh!
Oxyfresh is a direct marketing company from Spokane, Washington. Our Dental practice is an active distributor for these products. For further information on the Oxyfresh products or the company, please visit the Oxyfresh link on our "Favorite Links” page on this website, or call our office for information or to schedule a Fresh Breath evaluation.
In a word? YES!!! The only way to effectively prevent decay between your teeth and the bacterial buildup that causes gingivitis is to floss. If left unchecked gingivitis will lead to bone loss and eventually to tooth loss. I know it seems difficult to add another step to your daily routine but flossing is worth it. Did you ever eat a sandwich and look in the mirror right after you ate it? Your front teeth were probably packed with bread. If you brushed immediately, you were able to take all the VISIBLE food debris off your teeth, but what about what was between your teeth, packed into the crevices? A toothbrush just can’t reach there. And it’s worse in the back of the mouth where the teeth are fatter. Think of dental floss as a single bristled toothbrush. You should floss after every meal just as you should brush after every meal. We’ll settle for once a day on the flossing, at least as a starting goal.
There are a couple of considerations to successfully integrate flossing into your daily routine. First is the actual skill of flossing. We can instruct you on the actual technique and if you practice it, you will have it down within a week. I promise. There are flossing aids available if you suffer from arthritis or another ailment that might prohibit regular flossing.
The second issue is making it a part of your routine. I floss every evening at bed time prior to brushing. That works for me because I have made it a routine. I have the floss on my sink right next to my toothbrush. I automatically pick up the floss prior to brushing. If you focus on this regimen, within 2-3 weeks, it will be routine. Another method to incorporate flossing into your routine is to choose a time everyday when you usually do the same thing. Maybe it’s watching "Wheel of Fortune”, maybe it’s the news, but there is probably some time during your daily routine when your hands are free. Decide that you will floss during that time. Then it is not like you have to find "extra time” during which to floss. No one has "extra time”.
In many situations involving the removal of tooth decay, a technique called air abrasion is useful for removing decay without the use of a drill. Dental lasers are also useful for removing decay, but there are instances where a dental drill is the only alternative and, for these situations, we have several wonderful techniques for providing a comfortable and relaxing experience.
We have outfitted our dental suites with electric dental hand pieces (drills). They are much quieter than conventional air-driven hand pieces which operate with a high pitched air turbine. The electric hand pieces also operate more smoothly and you will experience less vibration. Although they are called electric, they are not plugged into a receptacle and there is absolutely no risk of electric shock.
We want your dental experience to be different from anything you’ve ever experienced before. For your comfort during any procedure that requires the use of a drill, you can choose to listen to music on our Apple iPod which has a music library with over 750 selections or bring your own compact disc music selection to listen to on our portable CD players. We have had guests bring everything from Enya to Ozzie. We also have several popular selections that you may choose from.
Each of our treatment suites is also equipped with a DVD player and TV monitor so, for longer appointments, you can view a movie of your choice. We have several selections available or you can bring your own. If you’d like, you can watch TV and catch up on the news or your favorite soap or cartoon.
"Can we fix it?” As Bob the Builder always says, "Yes, we can!”(You can tell Nick Jr. plays on our TV a lot”. There are several dental laboratories that make very effective anti snoring appliances. We have had tremendous success with the "Silent Nite” appliance fabricated by Glidewell Laboratories. The "Silent Nite” is an affordable, custom made snore prevention appliance that is thin and comfortable for the patient. An estimated 80 million people in North America snore and if you take into account the snorer’s spouse and children, as many as 160 million people are negatively affected by snoring.
For the much more serious and unhealthy sleep apnea sufferer, we fabricate the TAP2 appliance, also available from Glidewell. This is a more complicated appliance to make and requires some detailed measurements but is an approved treatment modality for sleep apnea and has great success. If you have been positively diagnosed with sleep apnea by a sleep clinic, the TAP2 is the appliance you should consider. Our "Favorite Links” page on this website has a link to Glidewell Laboratories.
These questions are best answered by seeing a digitally enhanced photo in which the concerns you have for your smile’s appearance can be addressed and corrected digitally, giving you the opportunity to preview your new smile. The digitally enhanced photo is "tweaked” until you like what you see. This photo then serves as the blue print that Dr. Joo and the dental lab use to create your beautiful, captivating smile. Our "Smile Gallery” has several examples of cosmetic imaging and the final results that were artistically created. If you would like to see other examples of cosmetic imaging please click here.
Tooth whitening is the most popular and conservative cosmetic treatment available in dentistry today. The first step is an evaluation to determine the overall condition of your mouth. This will help us determine which method of whitening will be most effective for you. Results may vary depending on several factors, such as the pre-existing shade of your teeth and the condition of your teeth and gums.
There are several methods of tooth whitening available today. Over the counter products can be effective if used for an extended period of time. They are applied directly to the teeth and care must be taken to hold them in place for the recommended time period. While inexpensive, they are not as comfortable, convenient, or effective as in office "dentist-supervised” methods of whitening.
There are two "dentist-supervised” methods of whitening.
- Power bleaching, also known as In-Office Whitening, is performed in the dental office by a dental team member. Your teeth are treated during a one hour visit using a concentrated hydrogen peroxide solution. The results are immediate!
- Take-Home or At-Home Whitening is performed by you, in the convenience of your home using whitening trays fabricated from models of your teeth and using a hydrogen peroxide solution similar to the Power Bleach solution but having a lower concentration.
Both of the dentist supervised methods are very effective. The Take Home method is more cost effective and gives you more control of the results. Once you have whitening trays fabricated, these can be stored and re-used. The whitening solution can be purchased separately allowing you to whiten anytime you would like a "touch-up” such as for a wedding, class reunion, or other special occasion.
The two methods are similar in cost, so the advantage goes to Take-Home whitening because it gives you the opportunity to continue whitening at your convenience by purchasing a refill package of the whitening solution. This solution has a 1-2 year shelf life if kept refrigerated.
The Power Bleaching and Take Home method can be combined for a very quick and effective result.
The most common side effect of any tooth whitening procedure is temporary tooth sensitivity. This is caused by bleaching gel coming in prolonged contact the gum tissue and/or the roots or tooth dehydration. It is temporary and if it occurs, you should discontinue the whitening process for a day or two until the sensitivity goes away.
In a nutshell, these are dental procedures that offer aesthetics, strength, and durability when used to restore your teeth. The most aesthetic versions utilize durable ceramic materials as opposed to metal or porcelain fused to metal materials.
If you have specific questions pertaining to treatment that may have been recommended for you, we will be happy to provide a second opinion during which we take digital photographs of the teeth or tooth in question and discuss very specifically what choices are available to you, and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
For more general questions, we direct you to our "Dental Library” page on this website where you will find more detailed information about these procedures.
We have an excellent computerized patient education system (CAESY) in our office that describes these procedures along with many others. We’ll be happy to provide you with an appointment to tour our office and view any educational information you’d like. We can even burn it to a CD for you to take home and share with your family.
We have a number of options available for you to consider. If you have minor crowding, we can provide some minor tooth movement using a series of removable clear plastic appliances that are worn for 2-4 weeks each and straighten the teeth as well as braces do. We usually can accomplish the desired movement with between two to six appliances. This approach takes 3-6 months to complete.
If the appliance approach is not for you we can provide a number of different aesthetic dental procedures that can straighten your teeth non-orthodontically. These approaches can be as simple as cosmetic recontouring and conservative composite bonding, a procedure that requires minimal recontouring of the teeth to open up and reshape the crowded overlapped surfaces of adjacent teeth. Once the teeth have been reshaped, we often will add tooth colored bondable composite restorative material to provide a more aesthetic shape to the teeth. The end result is a straighter, more attractive smile, completed in one visit with no braces or appliances.
For more complex cases, that involve more severe crowding, staining, wear, and chipped or damaged teeth, we will recommend "Empress” crowns, veneers, or a combination of both. "Empress” is a Leucite reinforced ceramic material that can restore teeth aesthetically, functionally, and with tremendous durability. It is very decay, stain and plaque resistant and provides excellent long term results. For more on "Empress” and "Empress Esthetic” visit Ivoclar through our "Favorite Links” page on this website. While we most frequently do aesthetic restorations of this type with "Empress”, we will also use feldspathic porcelains for more conservative cases requiring minimal tooth preparation. In certain cases, we may also consider using "Captek” crowns, see our "Favorite Links” page.
Smile design and smile analysis allow us to evaluate your present smile, taking into consideration not just the teeth, but also the display of your teeth in relationship to each other, your gums, and your lips. Consider that your smile is a picture of a beautiful scenery. Your teeth are the actual scenery or subject, your gum are the matting, and your lips are the framing. All of these details must be considered in order to provide the best overall result. We are looking for symmetry, proportion, balance, and beauty.
In addition to determining your desires for your smile, we will take measurements of your teeth, especially your upper front teeth. Using these measurements and applying certain universally accepted formulas discovered by Leanardo Fibanacci many centuries ago, we will design a smile for you that is both beautiful and functional. For more information on Fibonacci sequences and Golden Proportion visit our "Favorite Links” page and click on Beauty Analysis.
Before beginning a more complex smile makeover or smile rejuvenation, we recommend a cosmetic imaging be completed. This involves taking a series of digital portraits and completing a smile analysis and smile design with you. Upon completion of the interview and photos, we enlist the imaging services of Smile Art Communications in California to complete a digital enhancement of your portrait to the specifications we decide upon during your smile analysis and design. We usually have the results within 24 hours and can provide you with a hard copy or an email version of your proposed smile enhancement. Changes can be made until you love what you see. This final image becomes our blueprint to creating the smile you’ve always dreamed of. Visit our ‘Smile Gallery” to see several examples of the use of digital enhancement.
Upon completion of the digital enhancement, we provide our lab with a set of accurate diagnostic models of your teeth and they create a waxup that mimics the Smile Art enhancement. They also make a number of different templates and matrices that aid us in properly preparing the teeth and in fabricating beautiful provisional(temporary) restorations.
We will be happy to show you before and after photos of many of the cosmetic treatments we have completed. We should be able to show you at least a few that are similar in nature to your own situation. Some examples are presented on our "Smile Gallery” page.
A veneer is a thin ceramic facing that is fabricated to fit onto the front of your tooth. It is most frequently used on upper and lower teeth that are visible in the smile zone. The smile zone is simply the teeth that show when you smile your happiest fullest smile. Veneers are bonded right to the surface of your teeth and are used to correct shape and color discrepancies. They can also be used to repair chipped or decayed teeth and to non-orthodontically correct minor crowding situations.
As the name implies, the "No Prep” veneer requires no alteration of your existing teeth in order to fabricate the veneers. All that is required is an accurate set of polyvinylsiloxane impressions, bite records, and a desired shade selection. The dental lab fabricates the veneers and returns them for delivery. At the delivery appointment, the teeth are cleaned and disinfected, etched with an etchant that prepares the tooth surface for bonding, and the veneers are bonded onto the teeth.
The "Prepped” veneer requires at least some minimal preparation of the tooth surface with a drill. I’m already know what you’re thinking, but often with a minimal prep, the enamel of the tooth is only lightly altered to create a definitive finish line for the veneer, to remove surface stains, or to round off sharp edges caused by fracture or wear, and this can be done very comfortably without any anesthesia.
More often than not, a moderate to a more involved preparation is needed because of crowding, advanced decay, severe
wear and bite discrepancies, severe internal staining, and a number of other situations.
The deeper preparation usually requires
anesthesia for comfort but very rarely is there any post treatment
discomfort.
Our practice has over 25 years of experience with both the "No Prep” and the "Prepped” veneers. While the advantage goes to "No Prep” for conservation of tooth structure, chair time, and cost, the "Prepped” veneer wins for final esthetic result, durability, and hygiene. The "No Prep” veneer is an added layer on the tooth, so all of its edges are slightly raised, more subject to stain, and more difficult to keep clean. The teeth will usually take on a slightly bulky appearance because of the added layer. The best situation for the use of the "No Prep” is when the front teeth are smaller than normal and have small spaces between them with no decay and a shade that is already satisfactory or needs only slight changes.
The "Prepped” veneer provides more strength, more depth of shade and characterization, and more control of shape and size. Because the edges blend seamlessly with the prepped tooth, they are easier to keep clean, are more plaque resistant, and look more natural even at very close range. Non orthodontic tooth straightening is much easier to accomplish using even a minimal prep, in most instances.
Each situation is special. We will always gives you all the available options, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. If the "No Prep” veneer is a viable choice for you, we would prefer to use the more conservative approach. In either case, we always remove only enough tooth structure to give us the optimal aesthetic results we know you desire.
