When was the last time you had teeth cleanings or x-rays?

Maybe you have graduations, weddings or senior photos coming up and want to have your best smile.

Feeling those cavities? Hot, cold and sweet sensitivity are signs of dental disease.  It could be a cavity and it could be gum tissue.

Summer vacation is coming and you don’t want to worry about having teeth issues.

Is that cracked tooth really bothering you?  Cracks are the most difficult of all dental problems.  Microorganisms are microscoptic and they can work their way through the crack into the nerve long before any symptoms occur.  A cracked tooth when left unattended can lead to much more extensive and expensive treatment. Don’t let a cracked tooth go untreated.

Whatever your reason, come and see us!  We would love to get your mouth all fresh and ready for whatever comes your way this spring and summer.  Not only that, our office is constantly learning new things and introducing new technology so we can make your experience with us better!

We make time for all to come and see us; just give us a call!  By the way, you can see more about our office at www.lauriesteindds.com or at www.facebook.com/lauriesasteindds!

Having regular dental check ups can not only help detect anything wrong with your teeth and but can sometimes point to things that are wrong with your body as a whole.  Loss of teeth can an indicator of Celiac disease which is an autoimmune disease.  It is an allergy to wheat/gluten and when your body is starved of nutrients (the side affect of Celiac), you can lose your teeth due to the effects this can have on the surrounding bone.  This is just one example of an issue that we can watch for with regular check ups.

According to the American Dental Association, “Dental disease is almost entirely preventable and oral health is just as important as the health of the rest of your body. Untreated dental disease can lead to serious health problems such as infection, damage to bone or nerve, and tooth loss. Infection from tooth disease can even spread to other parts of the body and in rare cases, can lead to death.”

Tooth loss is caused by two main factors:  microorganisms (bacteria) and stresses.  Our goal is to help rid you of both.  With both of these factors gone or minimized and you keeping them clean on a daily basis, there truly is no reason to lose a tooth (barring accidents or pathology).  Again, the regular exam process helps us identify pathology early.

Spend a little money up front, save a lot in the end.  Do not let your insurance limitations put you at risk of spending way more money than you should have too.   Prevention is the cure, so start today with a visit to our office so we can make a plan for your dental health!

The Lions Club Carnival is the only fundraiser that we do every year and this year the we have granted almost $100,000 to 14 local organizations including:

-Hospice & Palliative Care of Western Colorado

-GJ Baseball Committee/Suplizio Stadium Renovation

-Western CCC Partners

-Roice Hurst Humane Society

-Mesa Land Trust

-Orchard Avenue Elementary

-Grand Valley Audubon Society

-Western Slope Center for Children

-Grand Mesa Nordic Council

-Pomona Elementary

-Fruita 8-9 School

-Little Sprout Preschool

-Mesa County Pro Bono Project

-Chipeta Elementary

This year’s theme is “Hollyweird” and we all enjoy getting to dress up, parade through downtown and then start the carnival.  If you haven’t been to carnival, you absolutely must!  There are booths with cakes, bacon and eggs, Enstrom toffee, groceries and much more.  For as little as a quarter per game, this is a great family event.  We also sell raffle tickets (books of $5 and up) and there are many prizes to be had including a hot tub!

So, if you want to purchase tickets or come out and play, we would love to see you.  The Parade starts at 1pm on Saturday and the Carnival runs from 5-9pm at Two Rivers Convention Center.  You can purchase tickets at your office prior to Saturday or on Saturday.  Come out and enjoy the carnival!

Hollyweird-GJ Lions Club

In this blog,  I just want to share our joy at being back in our normal office, some technology we upgraded, and some pictures.

The Flood:

As many of you have read and experienced, the office suffered some major water damage in June.  By mid July, we were dry enough to assess the damage and begin the rebuilding process.

At the end of September, we were able to move back “home” even though we still did not have front office furniture.  A couple of desks had to be used, but it certainly was worth the wait.

The Finished Product:

We are now fully operational!!

This is the patient view while checking out.  Cindy was added to the team the week of the flood and had to make due with us over at the temporary office, she is most pleased with the space, and we welcome her home with our team.  This back wall was full of charts and bookshelves that are no longer needed as we are, for the most part, paperless.

Many of you may remember the machine that took up half of the hallway in the back of the office.  Not only has the machine been replaced, but it now has a room of it’s own to call home.  I am proud to say everything is now fully digital.  This particular machine will take several different x-rays.  It will take the x-ray we call a panorex, which goes all the way around your head and checks bone, sinus, and other structures of the whole head.  It will take what we call bitewings, which are the cavity detecting x-rays. It will take a complete sinus view. And it will take two different views of the TMJ.  We are finding this machine to be very useful, easy to use, comfortable, and fast.

The cameras we use to take pictures of teeth, although excellent quality, were replaced due to software incompatibility.  I am proud to say we love the new ones as much as the old, and have the added capability of using light waves as a cavity detection aid. This by no means takes the place of diagnostic skills, and good x-rays, but it is a great aid in those “questionable” areas.

Some of the office is the same as before, but with a few decorating tweaks it is looking new and refreshed.

None of us miss the 70′s office space, but we do miss the eye doctors and their team in that building, and we so very much appreciate the availability of that space.  We appreciate everyone who went above and beyond to allow us access and use of the office.

Again, I would very much like to thank you all for your patience, willingness to endure the 70′s, and encouragement.  I hope we can always provide you with “Dental Health for the BEST of Your Life”.

The office experienced a flood the middle of June which has put the blog and web page changes far behind what I would normally like.

The Story:

I received a call, from the building maintenance manager, on a Sunday afternoon sounding something like this:  ”Dr. Stein, I am standing in your lobby looking through your mail slot and there is water dripping from your lights.  Can you come let us in so we can assess the damage?”

Come to find out the water had run from Thursday night until it was discovered Sunday.

The Damage:

Ceiling tiles all over the floor, computers full of water, a warped front desk, warped bamboo flooring, a lab full of waterlogged equipment, and the vision of much work to come.

The Result:

We packed like mad to remove what we could save and get it into storage.  The damaged equipment was left for evaluation.  The office was cleaned out of furniture, carpet, and flooring.  We feverishly looked for a dental office we could use to treat patients during the rebuild period. After about one month of drying, we were able to start rebuilding and assess better the damaged equipment.

The Progress:

The damage was discovered June 12, 2011, and as of today August 22, 2011, we are still waiting for the drywall and flooring to be completed so we can get equipment and supplies moved back in to our office.  It is getting closer, and we are hoping to be back “home” within the next month.

The Team:

I have to hand it to my team.  They all went above and beyond getting us back up and running.  We had two days of patients that needed rescheduling while we cleaned an older office that was sitting empty.  Once the office was cleaned we were up and running relatively well again.  It is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it works, and we are so very thankful it was available.  They endured the sweltering heat due to no AC and having to use our cell phones for the first month. They have made the best out of the cramped space, the supply shortage due to storage space, and the micro mini front office with only one phone.  I so appreciate the professionalism the whole team has shown during this time of crisis.  Thank You!!!!

The Patients:

Thank you all so very much for making the trip to the different location.  Your belief in great dental care and unwillingness to put it off for any reason is refreshing and a welcome breath of fresh air during this jostling time.  I hope we have done everything we could to make that decision a great one for you. We have teased many of you about bringing the 70′s theme back with us just for you, but I am afraid you may have to do without the disco and the wallpaper.  The main office is coming along too nicely to go back in time, so I think we will just have to keep moving on into the future of modern dentistry with more modern surroundings.  I hope you will be pleased.

Home Again!!!!

We are hoping to be back home again by the end of September.  There is still a lot of work to be done, but I am confident we can get it done.  You all know we will give it our best effort.

Look for a follow up blog once everything is back in order.  I will try to include pictures, new technologies, and any other exciting changes we are able to incorporate in the “new” space.

Thank You All

First and foremost let me say: I am so proud to be a part of this wonderful organization.

In 2010 we raised over $100,000.00, and in the year 2011, we have managed to raise nearly $150,000.00.  Every penny of this money goes back into our community to help those organizations that strive to better our community and our humanity.

The Grand Junction Lions Club works hard to help raise this money, and we all have a ton of fun doing so.  If you have ever wondered about the strangely dressed men and women parading down the street every February, this is your answer.  The funner the costume and the bigger the smile the more money we can put right back into our community.  The motto “Doing the most good while having the most fun” is in the heart of every Grand Junction Lion.

I personally want to thank everyone who bought tickets, brought their kids to the carnival, and attended the parade.  It is you who make this all possible.

The carnival theme for 2010 was “Mardi Gras”.  Here are a few of our wonderful Lions.

The Whole Family Gets Involved

Goofy Fun

Fabulous Costumes

The carnival theme for 2011 was “Out Of This World.

Emily and Daniel Roberts

Community Commitment at its BEST

Lacy Days

We certainly have fun doing what is right.  I am glad to be a part of it and hope to keep sending more fun and fabulous pictures your way.  You can see more on my Facebook page.

For example:

If the insurance company pays half of a crown with root canal, your half is still nearly double what you would have paid out of pocket for a smaller restoration, cleaning, exam, and x-rays.   By waiting for insurance, the cost actually went up because the procedure became more extensive and expensive.

Unfortunately, cavities do not stop progressing just because we know they are there.  Cracks in teeth are the same way, the crack lets bacteria in that can lead to the need for root canal, or the tooth can break beyond repair.

We try to look at each situation as a whole and come up with the best treatment, a treatment that will last the longest, and a treatment that will be the most cost effective in the long run.

We treat every patient to the highest standard of care whether they have insurance or not. And many patients find they may be put in a position of having to compromise on treatment just to get the full benefit of their plan.  Then when the treatment needs to be re-done (because it wasn’t the strongest longest lasting option to start with) the insurance company denies payment for the treatment on the tooth.  They already paid for a procedure, and it doesn’t matter that is wasn’t the longest lasting procedure; their obligation is over.

The same thing happens with periodontal disease:  The insurance company will pay for deep scales then deny payment on the more extensive cleanings required to keep the teeth healthy.  When the patient needs deep scales again they deny payment because they paid already.  The best and least expensive thing to do is pay for the two visits they don’t pay for and keep things healthy, so no future deep scales are needed again.

What does dental insurance do for the dental office? The answer to that is mostly nothing.  It is difficult to get most insurances to pay in a timely manner, it makes costs go up to have someone sitting on the phone trying to get claims cleared up, they always reserve the right to deny payment at any point, and to top it all off when they do deny payment they usually make it sound like the dental office did something wrong.

Doesn’t the insurance company work for the dentist? No.  The dental insurance companies are strictly a benefit to the patient provided by the patients employer.  The contract and coverages are all chosen by your employer, paid by the employer, and can only be changed through your employer.  The dental office has absolutely no say in what will be covered or to what amount it will be covered.  All the dental office does is agree to submit claims as a customer service for our patients.

The most important thing to remember about any insurance:

Dental insurance is a contract between you or whomever is providing the benefit, and the insurance company.  All fees charged in any dental office, medical office, auto body shop, reconstruction, or other situation where insurance may possibly pay are 100% your bill, and the insurance company will look at the situation and decide to pay or not.  We try to give patients the benefit of the doubt and submit their claims for them with the understanding the insurance company may come back with a refusal to pay based of the parameters set up by your employer.

What many insurance companies and employers fail to understand is the dentist or physician are obligated to treat specific situations (periodontal disease and other problems) in a certain manner to stay licensed.  The dentist will recommend a certain treatment based on the standard of care required to stay licensed. The treatment recommended is based on evidence gathered over the years and research showing what is and is not effective.  Any treatment short of that standard is negligence.  The employer and insurance company do not understand that part of the equation.  They pick what they want to cover and what they don’t want to cover based on a certain population of employees or based on overall cost of the plan to the employer.  Not all employees are the same, and not all employees will require the same treatment.

What is the bottom line?

With or without dental insurance, you have to decide how important your teeth, smile, and oral health are to you.

If these things are important, dental insurance is just a bonus you get back for having your dental health needs addressed.  You will make time and save up for what you want done just like you do in every other area of your life. And we will continue to do everything we can to get you what is due you from the insurance company and phase what we can for maximum benefit to make your care as affordable as possible.  If you can say yes to the question “Would I do this if I had insurance or not?”, you value your smile and health.

If these things are not important, dental insurance or lack of dental insurance will become a reason to delay or deny treatment with the understanding that the problem will continue to grow and will continue to become more expensive.  Once a tooth is lost the complications become exponentially more problematic and can be extensively more expensive.

Your dental health care is a personal choice and when left untreated can become that “snowball” we all try to avoid in life. I hope I have answered most of the questions or concerns you may have had about dental insurance.  Let me know if you have other questions.

As members of the public, you should not be expected to know how we as dentists and specialists are supposed to define ourselves. In this blog, I am hoping to help you weed through the so called alphabet soup that follows many names in dentistry.

What do they really mean? How do you know you are seeing someone who  has proper credentials?  How do you know the credentials are actually a recognized credential? 

A general dentist can do all of the following specialty procedures, but there are times when a very complicated procedure is best to send to the specialist.  One reason is they have the instruments on hand, and secondly they are trained and most likely have seen something similar.  Remember that not all procedures are complicated and need specialty care.

What do they really mean?

Dentists are licensed through a  board.  This means a dentist must pass the required graduate classes, pass the board examinations, and apply to the board for license approval.  Once approved a licence number is issued.  Different states have different requirements for continued education, but they all have certain ethical rules that a dentist must abide by to continue being a licensed dentist.

One of the ethical guidelines we must abide by is using only proper credentials. This means we can not add any letters (alphabet soup) to our name that is not properly approved or earned.  At this time, the only properly approved credentials are those earned in a properly accredited program.

For example:

John Smith DDS, MS would have taken his dental school classes and also taken additional courses earning him not only the Doctor of Dental Surgery credentials but the Master of Science credentials in what ever field he chose to study.  In many cases this means he is a specialist, but be careful.  This may also mean he has a masters in science not related to dentistry and his DDS. 

Jane Doe DDS, FAGD would have taken her dental school courses earning the Doctor of Dental Surgery and has taken enough continuing education to earn a Fellowship with the Academy of General Dentistry.  Although it is an incredible accomplishment, it is not approved for use as a credential in this manner.  She should use Jane Doe DDS alone and list FAGD in her list of accomplishments.

There are many dentists who focus on an area of dentistry.  This is a focus not a specialty.  What it really means is that particular dentist spends most of his/her time studying and practicing in the field of their chosen focus.  It may not be a recognized specialty and should not be advertised as a specialty, but the skills gained from continuing education and focus are very important to the continued improvement of all dentists.

How do you know when you are seeing someone with the proper credentials?

The ADA (American Dental Association) has a list of all proper credentials and specialties tied to those credentials.  The state board in your area will also have listings however, in most all cases it is appropriate to ask the dentist.  We are never offended when asked where we went to school and what degrees we earned.  In most cases the degrees are posted in the office as is the license. 

The take home message of this is don’t be afraid to ask and clerify those things with which you are confused.  We do not know you are confused unless you tell us.

How do you know what credentials are recognized?

The ADA web page has a very detailed description of how each specialty is defined, but here are a few short hand versions.  They are most commonly known for something, but that may not be everything they do.  For example, the periodontist and the oral surgeon place implants.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology.  Most commonly known as the Oral Surgeon.

Endodontist.  Most commonly known as the Root Canal specialist

Orthodontist.  Commonly known for doing braces.

Pedodontist.  Commonly known for treating all kids.

Periodontist.  Commonly knows for gum surgery.

Prosthodontist.  Most commonly known for dentures and partials.

Dental Public Health. 

This link will take you to a more defined definition of each specialty.  http://www.ada.org/2555.aspx

 This address is a pdf file that describes how a specialty comes to exist. http://www.ada.org/sections/educationAndCareers/pdfs/requirements.pdf

This address is the ADA website.  http://www.ada.org/aboutada.aspx

A dentist should be open and honest about his/her training.  You will find most of us are open to questions.  If it is nagging at you, ask.

I started in dentistry as a volunteer dental assistant for the Red Cross in 1985. When I moved back to Colorado and found out Mesa State had an accredited dental assisting program, I signed up and started a life long career.  I love dentistry. Dental school was just the next step in furthering my knowledge and abilities in a field I so love. 

I am here to provide great dental care to my patients.  Nothing more and nothing less.  I do not want the biggest, fanciest, busiest, highest producing practice in town.  I want the down to earth, pay the bills, and meet great people practice.  I want to keep up with technology not lead it.  I prefer to let the first and second to buy a particular product find out what the bugs are before I buy.  

Dentistry is about team work.  The team here in the office and the teams in other offices I refer to must work together for the betterment of the patient.  I have a great rapport with my specialist teams, and know my patients will be taken care of to my standard of care.  I appreciate them all so very much. 

I spend my free time with my family and pets.  And make time to do what I can with the Grand Junction Lions Club.  If you do not see me out at a function, it is because we are on some family adventure.  Orchestra concerts, band concerts, marching band, Lake Powell, the dog park, Cedaredge, or any number of other fun adventures. 

That is me in a nut shell.

The end goal is to have the dead nerve tissue gone from the tooth and have the tooth sealed up with a physically inert material to block new bacterial formation.

Anesthetic is used to completely numb the area. The tooth is isolated from oral bacteria.  Because decay is a bacterial infection, all decay is removed from the tooth.  The canals where normal nerve tissue live are then found, cleaned, rinsed, and dried.  They are then sealed with an inert material, and a temporary restoration placed to seal the tooth until your visit for restoring the tooth.  If you would like more specific detail about the procedure, let me know.  The bottom like is getting the canal clean and sealed, so it can be restored to a strong healthy tooth again.  A tooth with no nerve tissue becomes very brittle, so a crown coverage may be recommended to strengthen the tooth. 

I have a specialist do most of my root canals for two reasons.  The specialist I use has a microscope to see your tooth.  Under this kind of magnification, he/she can work faster and see any potential problems.  By having the specialist keep all of the specialized instruments in his/her office, we can both can keep costs down in by not having to throw out expired materials. 

My father always told me to  pick one thing and be the best at it.  I have chosen to become great at restoring both cosmetically and functionally.  I will forever strive to be the best.