Tooth whitening.

So you have all seen commercials for tooth whitening products.  I will give you my opinion about which one work the best.

First of all we need to get a couple things clear.  Bleaching your teeth only works so well.  Bleaching will remove surface stains from your teeth, such as coffee stain, soda stain, wine stain, smoking etc.  Bleaching will remove those stains it will not change the true color of your teeth.  Teeth are usually either brown, yellow or gray in color to varying degrees.  This color comes from the dentin of your teeth which is under the enamel.  So bleaching works really well for some people (smokers wine drinkers etc) and for others it doesn't do much at all. 
You can think of bleaching in three categories.  In office (laying in the dentist chair) at home (purchased from your dentist but used at home) and over the counter (bought at the store).
There are pros and cons to each method.

In office:  The in office method is the fastest way to bleach your teeth but is also the most prone to cause sensitivity and is the most expensive.  Fees for this method of tooth whitening are usually $300.00 or higher.  Also each time you want to touch up or get your teeth whitened you will be hit with the bill again.  If your first treatment doesn't yield the results you want then you may require a second treatment and have to fork over another $300+.  I don't use in office bleaching.  The other thing you should know is that the "light" they use for the in office bleaching does nothing to bleach your teeth.  Studies have shown that the light has no effect on the bleaching outcome.  But you do get to wear some really sweet old lady sunglasses so that is a plus.

At home bleaching:  This is the bleaching that I use in my office and like many dentists I don't charge you anything for the service as long as you come in and get your teeth cleaned every 6 months.  With this method you will have some impressions taken and custom bleach trays will be made for you.  You will be able to bleach when and where you like.  You can do it as much or as little as you like as well.  I like this method because it gives you complete control over the bleaching process and saves you money (well at least in my office it does)

Over the counter:  This method is the slowest method.  It includes strips that you place on your teeth and whitening tooth paste.  These methods will work but it may take a long time requiring you to purchase several sets of whitening strips.  Plus the strips aren't the cheapest things in the store by any means.  Whitening tooth paste has very little whitening ability because it doesn't sit on your teeth long enough.

Really with all the tooth whitening products out there you can find the right fit for you.  It all comes down to how much you want to spend and how fast you need your teeth whitened.  Unless of course you want to wear some really cool old lady sunglasses, then the in office whitening light is for you!!

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Breakfast of champions

Diet Coke (caffeine free of course) and a crunchy peanut butter granola bar.  Ok that is a very typical breakfast for me.  Usually because I am running late. 
On the days I have time though I love to make a breakfast burrito.  I will tell you how I do it.
Scramble two eggs with a little milk.  Don't over cook.  Scrambled eggs should look silky not chalky when they are done.
Get one tortilla burrito size of course.
Bake some tater tots or something akin to that.  Make them crispy!!!!
Cook a strip of bacon and cook two sausage links.  I use turkey bacon and links but feel free to use what you like.
Lay the bacon and sausage on the tortilla.  Place the tater tots on the tortilla about 6 per burrito is adequate.
Cover the bacon sausage and tots with the eggs.
Sprinkle some colby jack cheese over top.  Now my wife likes the cheese melted on the eggs, but I like the cheese cold to contrast the heat of the eggs tots and meats.  Try both see what you like.
Last I put on a healthy dose of Cholula hot sauce.  My wife prefers ketchup.  Roll it up and enjoy.
If you use the turkey meats and stick to the directions I gave you each burrito is about 400 calories.  Not too bad in the calorie department and SOOOOOOOOO Tasty!!!!!!  My mouth is watering just thinking of it. I feel like a baby and need a perma bib because I am drooling.
Give it a try and see what you think.  Any comments are welcome.

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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.
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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.

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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.
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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.

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