Dentally SpeakingDentally Speakingc2-preview.prosites.com/227620/wy/docs/Winter-08... · A bridge is a combination of crowns and artifi cial teeth that closes a gap left by a missing

fromthedentist

Winter 2008/2009Produced to improve your dental health and awareness “We Care About Your Smile”

Season’s GreetingsWith thanks, tooWith thanks, too

As the year comes to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your thank all of you for your loyalty over the past year. I speak for loyalty over the past year. I speak for everyone in our practice in telling you how much we appreciate each and every one of you.

We enjoy your visits and sharing your news about family events and activities. It’s important to me and to the staff that you enjoy those visits to our offi ce too. Your oral health is our fi rst priority and we are committed to providing a comfortable and friendly atmosphere so that you, our patients, enjoy a relaxed, positive experience.

As the busy holiday season approaches, I would like to extend sincere wishes from all of us for happy celebrations with your family.happy celebrations with your family.

Happy holidays, Happy holidays,

Alan L. Mazer, DMDAlan L. Mazer, DMDAlan L. Mazer, DMDAlan L. Mazer, DMDAlan L. Mazer, DMDAlan L. Mazer, DMD

Dental Resolution for 2009 ... Visit our offi ce regularly for excellent oral health!

Dentally SpeakingDentally SpeakingDentally SpeakingDentally SpeakingDentally Speaking......... with Dr. Alan L. Mazer .........

Happy holidays, Happy holidays, Happy holidays,

Alan L. Mazer, DMDAlan L. Mazer, DMDAlan L. Mazer, DMDAlan L. Mazer, DMDAlan L. Mazer, DMDAlan L. Mazer, DMD

Special thanks to our patients and community

friends who donated food for our Annual Long Island

Cares Food Drive. You brought SMILES to the faces

of the many recipients!

Ahhh yes, the holiday season is upon us, with all those wonderful family get-togethers, terrifi c meals, parties, snacks, more great meals, and then all those great leftovers, and more cakes, cookies, and pies. You get the picture! Unfortunately, so does your body, including your teeth and gums. This sudden nutritional change can put you and your dental health under serious stress.

The key is nutritional balance. The real problem is the constant bombardment of sugars and starches in the mouth that combine to fuel the plaque-producing bacteria that attack your tooth enamel. Saliva, your natural bacteria cleanser, becomes overwhelmed, and the plaque takes up permanent residence. So here are some

helpful hints to get you through to the New Year happy and healthy.

Along with all the holiday goodies, make sure you eat good amounts of green, orange, and yellow vegetables and fruits for their high vitamin A and D content. Your body will also give thanks for regular high-fi ber breakfasts and snacks. Citrus fruits, yogurt, and other dairy products will provide plaque-fi ghting vitamins and minerals. Also try to avoid constant sugary snacks, and drink water instead of sugar-fi lled sodas.

Have a wonderful holiday, but please make sure you give your oral and nutritional health a helping hand. Take the occasional time out from all those temptations and always brush and fl oss after every meal.

Holiday Fare…Love it or Leave it?

Set The TrendSelect your cosmetic veneer option

There’s a defi nite trend among men who choose to revitalize their appearance in the competitive workplace. They’re opting for non-surgical procedures that increase facial volume and require only minimal or no downtime. For many, veneers are the non-surgical cosmetic option of choice. Here’s why.

When veneers are bonded to your teeth, they can be matched to both the color and natural contours of the rest of your smile, and you can...

Look younger by adding volume to the lower third of your face and minimizing fi ne wrinkles.

Camoufl age exposed roots and restore esthetic proportions to your smile.

Close gaps between your teeth. Repair chips and cracks. Straighten slightly crowded or overlapping teeth without braces. Brighten your teeth and cover even severely stained teeth.

Veneers are hand sculpted from beautiful ceramics by trained technicians. Built-in translucence mimics natural enamel and allows some of the inner light to shine through.

Veneers really are super natural! Once applied, they act as a shield for your teeth. Porcelain material is highly resistant to oral bacteria and to permanent staining from smoking, coffee, tea, and food.

Men and women who want to look more successful and more energized in any environment can enjoy the advantages of even, straighter-looking, whiter teeth!

Please come and see us at our practice for a cosmetic veneer consultation.

Here’s how...Chances are you will be affected by gum disease at some

point in your lifetime. Initially it often appears without symptoms, but it is progressive and is the leading cause of

tooth loss in adults. Furthermore, without treatment, bone loss in your jaw is inevitable and can alter your facial appearance, speech, and diet over time. What We Can Do

Perform regular exams and cleanings to remove plaque, the disease-causing biofi lm that builds up on your teeth and can harden into tartar.

Provide brushing and fl ossing instruction and explanations about your oral health needs.What You Can Do

Schedule and keep regular dental examinations and cleanings to ensure the health of your smile! Remember,

with early diagnosis, gum disease can be reversed!Commit to a smile-saving routine of proper brushing,

fl ossing, and healthy eating at home.

veneerslook younger

close gaps

repair

straighten

brighten

camouflage

AvoidHere’s how...

Gum Disease

2

BEFORE

AFTER

You know, when even one of your teeth becomes severely damaged or is lost altogether, it can affect more than your appearance and self-confi dence. With time, your speech can be affected and your food choices limited. That’s why restorations including fi llings, crowns, bridges, and implants were invented. They can restore natural-looking form and function.

Here’s how restorations work.A fi lling is a restoration that repairs part of a damaged tooth. When modern

composite or ceramic materials are combined with precision techniques, fi llings can fi t and fi ll most types of cavities without removing large amounts of healthy enamel. And they can be color-matched to look completely natural.

A restoration that strengthens and protects the tooth is called a crown and you may have heard it called a cap because it actually caps the entire tooth.

A bridge is a combination of crowns and artifi cial teeth that closes a gap left by a missing tooth (or teeth), restoring your smile and redistributing the workload.

An implant is an artifi cial crown and root which is permanently implanted right into your jawbone. Once placed, it acts like a natural tooth to avoid bone loss and prevent drifting of surrounding teeth. Different implant types and techniques are available to provide individual solutions, from replacing one tooth to anchoring dentures securely.

Whatever your need, restorative treatments can save time, money, and your smile!

Suit Yourself!You know, when even one of your teeth becomes severely

4 ways to restore your smile

ML0

8-4

3

Smile savers!Brushing and fl ossing to remove

yellowing plaque is an essential strategy to keep your brightest smile. But for at least some of the time, start dining white... and light!

Add low-fat milk to sugar-free coffee or substitute

with skinny lattés.Swap black tea

for green which has benefi cial antioxidant

properties.Switch from stain-

producing desserts like blueberry or cherry pie to

fresh or baked apples, pears, or gooseberries.

Rethink soy and Worcestershire sauces and consider yogurt or trans-fat-free oils fl avored with white vinegars, herbs, or garlic.

Replace red wine with white, and dark berry juices with light.

Avoid... hot and cold liquids that expand and contract tooth structure, creating fi ne lines and cracks into which stains can penetrate; regular consumption of acidic

foods and drinks that can soften enamel and encourage staining.

IMPLANT & VENEERS COMPOSITE FILLINGS

Your face is the most looked-at part of your body. And your mouth is the fi rst feature that everyone looks at! Dramatically enhancing your smile can instantly lift your self-confi dence, and you can even get transformative results over your lunch break.

These two tried and tested procedures will let you see a new you in no time and without invasive surgery...

Whitening – We can design and supervise whitening that may lighten your teeth by up to eight shades! Safe, reliable, and predictable teeth whitening technology may even remove stains caused by illness or medication.

White Bonding – We can cover the deepest stains by bonding material directly onto your teeth, and we can use it to replace older stained or silver fi llings!

Choose one technique or two ... it’s up to you!

Quick Fixes2 Ready? Set. Go!

Smile savers!

What’s On Your Menu?

Information included is not dental or medical advice. For your specifi c information be sure to consult our offi ce. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please contact us directly.

officeinformation

Contents may not be reproduced without permission from the publisher. © PATIENT NEWS PUBLISHING (800) 667-0268

27933-W82-41446 ML08-4

Alan L. Mazer, DMD, FACD, FICDCecilia Diggin, DMD140 Terryville RoadPort Jefferson Station, NY 11776-1330

Office HoursMonday 9:00 am – 6:00 pmTuesday 2:00 pm – 9:00 pmThursday 9:00 am – 5:00 pmFriday 9:00 am – 12:00 pmSaturday 8:00 am – 2:00 pm

Contact InformationOffice (631) 473-0666Fax (631) 473-0679Email [email protected] site www.dralanmazer.com

Office StaffEsta, Debbie ...............Dental HygienistsBeth ..................Scheduling CoordinatorPat, Olga .................... Dental AssistantsLois .................... Practice Administrator

understanding!As you know, we pride ourselves

on individualized care for all our patients. Your appointment times are reserved specifi cally for you and our treatment rooms are set up to meet your unique requirements. That is why last-minute cancellations and “no shows” are detrimental to both you and our dental offi ce.

Missed appointments can adversely affect your health, either by delaying necessary treatment or interrupting a series of treatments which jeopardizes the ultimate outcome.

Besides taking time to realign our timetable, there is usually insuffi cient time to schedule other patients who could really benefi t from the now available appointment. Please keep your appointments. If you absolutely cannot, please give us at least 48 hours notice. Thank you!

Thank you for understanding!

It’s All About It’s All About It’s All About It’s All About It’s All About It’s All About It’s All About It’s All About It’s All About It’s All About It’s All About It’s All About It’s All About It’s All About It’s All About It’s All About It’s All About It’s All About Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Time…Why Radiographs?Why Radiographs?

It’s been over 100 years since the “birth” of dental radiographs (x-rays), a major tool in the practice of dentistry. Radiographs show us the condition of your teeth, their roots, jaw placement, and the overall composition and health of your facial bones. They reveal abscesses and abnormal growths such as cysts or tumors, and help us exactly locate impacted teeth and pinpoint the location of cavities. They can also determine the presence and extent of periodontal disease.

Occasionally, patients raise concerns over the safety of x-rays. According to the American Nuclear Society, the dose of radiation in dental radiography is very small compared to radiation exposure from everyday environmental sources such as air, water, the ground and even the food we eat. When properly used, dental radiographs are one of your best allies in achieving and maintaining your dental health.

Root canal treatment is one of those dental terms that is often talked about, but less often understood. Many people think it’s a painful and mysterious dental procedure. The truth is that modern root canal treatment can be performed with little or no discomfort and can be credited with saving more teeth than almost any other treatment in our office.

The part of your tooth under the gumline is called the root. Inside each root there is a channel called the root canal system that contains the nerves and blood vessels that bring nutrients to your teeth.

Sometimes gum disease, a fractured tooth or decay under very old fillings can cause these nerves and vessels to become painfully infected and die. Years ago this condition often meant extracting the tooth. But today we use root canal therapy (endodontics) to treat the infected canal and save the tooth.

We usually administer a local anesthetic to prevent any discomfort. Then we make a small opening in the tooth to clean and medicate the inflamed root canal system. When the infection is gone, the canal space is filled with an inert rubber-type material. The treated tooth functions normally, although a crown or cap is often required to protect the damaged tooth from fracture or improve the aesthetics should the tooth discolor after treatment.

Successfully treated teeth last just as long and look just as good as normal teeth. In other words, root canal treatment is a real smile maker!

The Root Of The Matter Winner of our M&Ms Trick or Treat Contest, Alexa Murray holding the jar containing 1,427 M&Ms. Congratulations on winning a Simon Mall gift certifi cate.

“M&M Trick Or Treat Contest Winner”