How to prevent cavities.

So your laying in the dentist chair and you hear those dreaded words, "You have a cavity".  AHHHHHHH!!!  NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!! Ok so you probably don't really scream that in the dentist chair but I know your thinking it! 
That means you have to come back and get the SHOT.  You know the SHOT.  Then your lip or cheek or whatever part of your face will feel numb for no less than 27 years.  Ok maybe not 27 years but if your like me it sure feels like 27 years.  You have to hear that high pitch whine from the drill.  OH GOODY!!
You leave your dentists office with an appointment or execution date in hand. (Feels like an execution date).  How did I get a cavity?  I brush and floss.  Ok well I dont floss but my dentist thinks I do. (No he doesn't).  What can I do differently?
The obvious answer to that question is brush AND FLOSS.  But most people already know that.  If you really brush and floss thoroughly you will be pretty safe. 
I would like to suggest another weapon you can use in your fight against cavities.  Gum.
Come on be serious gum?
Yes gum but not just any gum.  I recommend you buy and chew a gum with high levels of a sugar called xylitol. 
Xylitol is a natural sugar, the difference between xylitol and the other sugars, is that the cavity causing bacteria in your mouth are unable to process xylitol and produce acid.  No acid no cavities.  I have simplified the process but that is it in a nut shell. 
Where do you get this magic gum?  There are lots of gums in the grocery store aisles that list xylitol as an ingredient but it is usually in conjunction with other sugars.  The best gum I have found is called Epic.  They use the highest concentrations of xylitol in their gum, and they dont use any other sugars.  Xylitol has also been shown to be safe for diabetics as well.
I sell Epic gum on my office website, http://www.dentalexcellence1525.com/ 
I sell the gum directly from the manufacturer.  I dont mark the price up at all.  So you can purchse the gum through our website and you will get the price I pay for the gum.  If your not a gum person they also sell mints. 
Epic gum actually offers a cavity free guarantee. 

So for me its simple.  Eat a meal, snack, anything at all, when your done pop in a piece of the gum, or a mint, and chew/suck for about 10 minutes, and you will go a long way towards preventing cavities.  Or you can keep doing what your doing, keep getting cavities and shots and paying your dentist lots of money.  The choice is yours.
That is all.

One Visit Crowns or CEREC

Time is money.  Or so they say.  At my office I have invested significant amounts of money in some of the latest and greatest technology available to dentists today.  One of my absolute favorite pieces of technology is called CEREC.  CEREC is an acronym that means Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics.  Or in other words a one visit crown machine.  If you have ever had a crown put on any of your teeth, you know it can be an ordeal.  Your first visit you get a shot, and they drill, and they put gooey stuff in your mouth that tastes like a diesel fuel sucker (YUMMY).  The gooey stuff sets up (gets hard) you pry open your mouth feeling like your having all your teeth pulled at once.
Then they make a plastic (yes I said plastic) temporary crown.  Temporaries don't fit very well, they can be very sensitive, they can fall off, and generally are a big pain in the keyster.  Then you have to wait two to three weeks while your new crown is made by a lab.  So if your lucky and your temporary doesn't fall off you come back to the office in 2-3 weeks.  You might need a second injection or shot to get numb.  Most of the time the crown fits but sometimes it doesn't.  If it doesn't you get a second shot no matter what, and more of the diesel fuel sucker, and another 2-3 weeks in a temporary then you will probably be done.  It can take up to 6 weeks just to fix one tooth.  WOW. 

Now I painted a bleak picture about the time frame.  It usually takes about 2 weeks to get a crown made and they usually fit fine.  The CEREC machine eliminates the gooey stuff the temporary and the second or even third visit.  I use a camera to take pictures of your teeth design your crown on the computer and mill it in the milling chamber.  The entire process takes about an hour and a half.  

SO, you tell me, which option sounds more pleasant?  One visit or two?  Plastic temporary tooth or tooth completely finished?

The CEREC allows me to keep costs down for my patients and to save them time.  The crowns fit like a glove.  It is really quite amazing.  I have done hundreds of these type of crown and I am still amazed at how great they fit and how nice they look.  On Monday I had a lady who lives in Alaska come into my office.  She had a cracked tooth and every time she bit on something it hurt.  She was in town for one week visiting her daughter and she doesn't have a dentist at all in her home town.  In one visit I made her a crown and she was out the door with a smile on her face.  It would have been impossible for me to help her had I not had a CEREC in my office.  

So if you love to waste time and have numerous shots and suck on diesel fuel suckers keep having crowns done the old way.  If you want to have convenience and a fast reliable crown done for less look for a dentist using the CEREC machine.

That is all

Thought provoking quotes.

Just a few things to think about today.  I have a couple of quotes that I really love.
My dad always used to tell me "It is easier to do it right the first time."
I also love the quote "Good is the enemy of Great"  From the book Good to Great by Jim Collins.
"Faith in GOD includes faith in his timing"  Neal A. Maxwell
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Albert Einstein.

I hope you enjoyed some of my favorite quotes.  If you have any favorite quotes I would love to see them.
That is all

How to save THOUSANDS of dollars

I am going to tell you a secret.  I know how to save thousands of dollars over a lifetime.  Now I know thousands over a lifetime doesn't seem like that much but this method is so simple so easy that anyone can do it.  Are you ready?  Its called floss.  There I said it.  Floss.  I know what your thinking, is this guy doing sniffing his own nitrous?  How will flossing save me thousands of dollars?  Let me explain.
Why does your dentist tell you to floss?  Two reasons.  It will help prevent cavities between your teeth and will help prevent gum disease.  Ok I know really scarry huh.  A few cavities and some swollen gums what is the big deal?  Well gum disease has been linked to several other major systemic diseases, including but in my opinion not limited to, heart and respiratory diseases; preterm, low birthweight babies; stroke; osteoporosis; and diabetes. 

What about cavities?  Cant you just put a filling in and be done with it?  Sure we can put a filling in.  But how long will that filling last?  They can last a long time many years to just a few years.  So once the filling wears out just do another filling.  Well it isnt always that simple.  Sometimes the new filling will be too big to last very long at all and the recommendation will be to put a crown on the tooth.  Crowns in my town cost anywhere from $700 - $900 each.  Most people have 28 teeth so if every tooth in your mouth needed a crown today it would cost you $25,200.00 in my town.  I am guessing in your town the fees are higher.  So you get crowns on every tooth.  Now your done.  WRONGO!!  Like everything else we do in your mouth nothing will last forever.  So it is quite possible that in 10, 15, 20 years you will need to have some if not all those crowns redone.  But the price then could very well be about 4000.00 per tooth, or $112,000.00 to fix your mouth again.  For a grand totals of $137,200.00.  You can buy a lot of floss for the price of just one crown today.  Flossing will help your fillings and crowns last longer.
So floss dont floss the choice is yours.  But that is a lot of money.

The legal system or BS for short.

Now I don't know how many of you have ever been involved in a trial or any other type of legal proceedings, but lucky me, I just finished a little legal issue. 

Let me just say, if you ever find yourself in a position where you are required to go to court and you can get out of it, do!!!  I had a little legal dispute and was sued.  My attorney and I opted to go through a process of mediation.  I am glad we did because at least now the misery is over. 

All that resulted from this legal matter was a lose lose situation.  We both paid our attorneys a bunch of money and neither one of us got what we hoped for.  Wonderful!!!  I don't know about you but I love to throw money away.  I hope the sarcasm came through in that last sentence because my screen is wet from the sarcasm dripping off.

I never in my wildest dreams wanted to go to court for any reason at all.  But somethings are beyond our control.  Long story short, a little forgiveness and a little bit of compassion along with owning up to ones mistakes would save this world millions of dollars in legal fees.  I really don't see how people can not take responsibility for their own actions and how so many people think that the world owes them something.  Messed up if you ask me.  But alas the phrase is true, no one likes attorneys until they need one.

On a happier note, this weekend was General Conference for the Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  An event where we are able to listen to the leadership of the Church speak to us.  I always look forward to this bi-annual event.  It is amazing to me how much the messages that are shared are just what I need to hear.  I am grateful for small blessings.  The conference was a great comfort to me.  If you are interested in more look at LDS.org for more information.

That is all.

The Diet Coke heart ache

I love Diet Coke.  I love the taste, especially when it is on ice.  Not too much ice but just enough to keep it cold.  YUMMY. 

Let me tell you a story about a fat man who loves diet coke.  Surprise the fat man is me.  Shortly after we moved back to Idaho I bought a mountian bike and decided it was time for me to get back in shape.  I love to mountian bike by the way.  Just up the hill from my house are some trails that are great to ride on.  I love it.  I can get in a quick ride get a great workout and it only takes 30-45 minutes.  It is perfect.  I am not the most consistent when it comes to exercise.  One day I decided to go out and push myself, now keep in mind it has been months since I've done more than sit on the couch eating myself into a coma, but I dont start exercising the smart way, I do it the have a massive heart attack way.  I get on my bike and push myself and say I am going to get to the top of this hill no matter what I nearly make it.  I get almost to the top and I have to stop.  My heart is racing so fast I am getting dizzy and feel on the verge of vomiting. (I know! I am an idiot sometimes.)  I actually got a little scared that I was on the verge of a heart attack.  I stand nearly at the top of the hill breathing so hard people in the neighboring county could hear me and I let my heart slow down.  Now I dont feel so hot so what does a genius like me do?  Turn around and go home?  Nope not this rocket scientist I walk my bike to the top of the hill.  Then I ride down hill to my house.  I felt wiped out the rest of the evening.  

What does this have to do with caffine??  Simple, ever since that fateful day if I drink too much caffine my heart acts up.  I have had an ekg and had it looked at by my doctor and he says I am fine.  He said that it is fairly common to experience what I do when I drink too much of my favorite beverage.  So now I drink caffine free I dont like it as much but I guess it is better than nothing.  What is the moral of the story?  Dont be a maniac when you start an exercise regimine, work into it so you dont endanger your life, most of all dont be a massive idiot like myself.  But do exercise regularly you will feel better as your body gets in shape.  

The Diet OH NO!!!!

I am on a diet.  Ok I am on an eating plan.  I dont really like the word diet.  A couple of months ago I was a swim meet with Avery and my wife Kristi.  I was curious how many calories I ate on a regular basis.  I down loaded two apps for my phone one that is like a food journal the other has a ton of resturants listed so I can look up nutritional information when I eat out.  I was horrified to see how many calories are in one of my favorite fast food combo meals.  I love to go to Jack in the Box.  I would get a combo meal there and would add some stuffed jalapenos.  I would go there for lunch more often than I would like to admit.  I tabulated the calories and just about passed out.  It was over 1800 calories.  My food journal tracks exercise water intake etc.  It also will ask how much weight you would like to lose and will tell you how many calories you can eat and lose the weight you want. 

That one combo meal was more than my daily allotment of calories.  No wonder I am getting bigger by the second.  I think that if I listened really closely after consuming that meal I could hear my arteries clogging.  So now I am on an eating plan and it is actually working nicely.  I dont refrain from any foods except really high sugar things like cake cookies etc.  I have lost 9 pounds so far and have been really working on it for about two and a half weeks.  I take it a little easier on the weekends but try not to go overboard.  In addition to an eating plan I am exercising regualrly now as well.  If you dont know and would like to find out there are many ways to see how many calories are in your favorite meals.  I think that if your look into it you will be quite surprised.  Am I done with Jack in the Box?  No way.  I have set goals and when I reach one I am allowed to go there for a meal.  But I certianly wont be there nearly as often as I used to be.