Chewing in a Tough Economy 

  Chewing our food well is very important. In fact, our teeth are important because are smile says a lot about who we are. Teeth are used not just for digestion but for communication, defense and status. If a picture says 1000 words then a smile must say one million. But how do you preserve a million dollar smile in a tough economy? Here are two ideas.

Keeping Gums and surrounding anchor bone healthy

  Homecare and regular visits to a dentist who has a dental hygienist are likely to be very important. Prevention is key to keeping your smile healthy and fit is paramount. A good hygienist is difficult to find. They treat teeth and gums by removing hardened deposits of plaque and they provide homecare education. Top hygienists are trained in Arestin Therapy. Arestin is a time-release carrier for Minicycline antibiotic. Arestin has become a wonderful adjunct in periodontal therapy and in some cases mitigates the need for expensive periodontal therapy and/or dental implants. Periodontal charting is an important way to make sure your gums stay healthy. Does your dental hygienist or dentist do this regularly? 

Arestin Therapy is affordable. The material is often covered by prescription plan insurance. Placement is not uncomfortable and the results can be well worth it.

Belleglass is NOT your typical white filling -Top material & most insurance pays!

  Another excellent way to make your dental visits cost-effective is to choose treatment modalities that deliver fine dentistry and may be paid for by any dental insurance coverage you may have. One such modality is Belleglass. Belleglass looks like your average everyday white dental filling but it is absolutely not! It is not a chairside paste material but a laboratory fabricated restoration. The big advantage is that it expands and shrinks at the same rate that tooth structure does and is very durable so over time it holds up much better. By avoiding "do-overs" you are more likely not to need costly root canal, post and crown treatment in the future. The best part is that many insurance companies pay for Belleglass! Make sure your dentist is able to provide Belleglass service! The bad news is that not many are. Belleglass requires additional training and special equipment that not many dental labs have. To learn the secret of what makes Belleglass special check this link to this article's contributor. Be sure to click on the links to the supporting scientific documentation. Click here to go to page.

In the BEFORE photo above unsightly dental amalgam is present. The filling in the first molar has a visible fracture and there is decay underneath the filling close to the nerve of the tooth. If this was not intercepted and a new Belleglass restoration placed it might well have proceeded to involve the nerve of the tooth. this would have meant expensive root canal, post and crown for the tooth. The amalgam filling in the last molar is pitted and corroded. It is possible that mercury, a toxic substance, could have been slowly released. Statements that these metals have caused cases of autism and other neurological problems have never been proven.

In the AFTER photo above beautiful new restorations have been placed. They no longer contain metal and are quite functional.

Belleglass is a registered trademark of KerrLab, a Sybron Corporation. "The Belleglass NG indirect restorative system is clinically unique for a number of reasons. First, it is extremely wear resistant as determined in a controlled clinical study over an eight-year period. Second, Belleglass NG is characterized as highly esthetic and in fact, is indistinguishable from porcelain. Its outstanding clinical performance can in part be attributed to the curing process that includes the use of an inert atmosphere during polymerization.” - Karl Leinfelder, DDS, MS
Chapel Hill, NC

If you are interested in learning about Belleglass or Premise Indirect contact one of the following dentists:

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Last modified: May 01, 2008