In the past, people found their dentist by simply choosing them from a phone book or solely based on insurance coverage. Today, there are many options. The search for the right dentist might take a bit of work but the results include better health and progress toward the perfect smile—making it all worthwhile.

The best way to find a reputable general dentist is really by referral from a friend or family member. They can tell you the good and the bad, and then you can make the final determination. However, what if you don’t get an informative answer from people? Maybe you’ve moved recently to a new neighborhood? Perhaps, like many Americans, you’ve simply put off going to the dentist for so long that you don’t know where to start.

For starters, finding the best dentist for you is really on individual and family preferences. In the end, it’s a personal choice. Your friend’s dentist may not have the personality or bedside manners that you or your children prefer. Nevertheless, asking your neighbor for a referral of a family dentist is an ideal place to start your search. Then visit the doctor and ask questions.

Aside from asking people you know, the internet is a great source of information. There are a myriad of dental sites and directories. A dentist’s website can tell you a lot about their practice from the type of insurance they take, to the doctor’s background, to the type of procedures to even what the waiting room looks like. They may even have a testimonials with recommendations from people and businesses.

If you are in the Plymouth area, visit our dental office at Wayzata Dental & SmileSpa. We offer an array of dental treatments including cosmetic dental work. If you have questions you can call and email us too.

Often, the best approach is to arrange to take an afternoon off work and to get everything done in the one visit. Dentists can perform a wide range of services in one visit, and this includes multiple tooth fillings and multiple extractions. For the patient, there are a lot of benefits to having as much done as possible in one visit. Consider these points:

• One afternoon (or morning) off work
• One recovery period
• No ongoing pain
• No further damage to your teeth
• You leave with all your teeth repaired and the damaged teeth removed
• Cost – it can be less expensive to have multiple treatments at the one time

There is an important consideration in that list – no further damage to your teeth. Every day you delay treatment, decay digs a little deeper into your teeth. The one recovery period is also an important issue. Every time you have a tooth extraction, there is an interruption to your routine. By having several teeth removed at the same time, the recovery period is virtually the same as one tooth.

Our suggestion is simple. Don’t wait years to have your teeth seen by a dentist. The longer you wait, the more damage and the more expensive the treatment. If your dentist suggests multiple fillings and/or extractions, ask if they can do the work in one visit – you’ll be surprised how much a dentist can do in that one visit.

“Say What?”, I hear you ask. It’s true. If you spend a little money and visit a dentist twice a year, and spend a little more on toothbrushes and toothpastes, you will save a small fortune later in life when it comes to the costs involved with restoring or replacing lost or damaged teeth. Brushing your teeth several times a day, at least in the morning and again before bed, with a good toothbrush and toothpaste will help to protect your teeth against decay.

Visiting your dentist twice a year is also important. While brushing your teeth will remove much of the plaque that collects on them, your dentist has the right tools to help remove the solid plaque that slowly builds just below the gum line. By removing this plaque, your teeth are getting the complete treatment. Your dentist may also detect small pockets of decay that can be treated quite quickly and easily during the same visit. Left untreated, those small pockets will soon develop into much larger pockets that may involve major expensive restoration treatment.

We are all looking to save money and it can be very easy to push aside dental checkups as being an unnecessary expense. Don’t – a dental checkup should be considered a necessary expense, one that will, in the long run, save you a lot of time, money, and perhaps even pain.

The biggest benefit is the long-term plan you can develop with your dentist. Dental treatment can be expensive, especially if you have to pay for it all up front. However, dental treatment can be stretched out over a period of time. A good example is teeth extraction, implants, and dentures. Your teeth can be removed over a period of weeks, depending how comfortable you are in having multiple teeth extracted.

Often, an implant can take up to six months to fully settle before it is ready for a denture – and if you have had teeth removed, it’s often a good idea to let your gums fully heal and settle before having any dentures made. You and your dentist can sit down and work out how this treatment regime is completed, taking into account your budget and your comfort levels.

Dentists become familiar with your mouth and your teeth and they are often able to pick up on potential problems early, simply because of that familiarity. By picking up on problems early, treatment can be undertaken that prevents any of these problems from developing and so creating bigger problems. If you find a dentist you are comfortable with, develop a long-term professional relationship with them – you’ll certainly gain a lot from the relationship. If you “dentist hop,” making an appointment with the first available dentist, you’ll miss that relationship, and to every dentist, you’re a stranger with a mouthful of teeth that they have to learn about – and that makes life more difficult for you.

• You are pregnant
• You have a communicable disease
• You have recently had a major illness (stroke, heart, cancer)
• Recent overseas travel
• Your current medications (both prescription and over the counter)
• Any work carried out by another dentist

While you may think that some of that information is personal, this knowledge could be vital to your own ongoing health. Pregnancy, for example, means that care should be taken around radiation equipment. If you are on medication that thins the blood, then care needs to be taken around any bleeding events such as a tooth extraction.

Why overseas travel? In most cases, there is nothing to worry about, however, the medical profession (including dentists) are often alerted if there are problem areas (note the current e-coli scare from Europe). There are times when your dentist may need to discuss ongoing dental treatment with other health professionals. For example, if you are on chemotherapy for cancer, you may need to wait until that treatment has stopped before having teeth extracted.

Your dentist needs a good picture of your overall health when determining a treatment plan for you. This ensures the outcomes are successful while not compromising any other health issues. In the case of communicable diseases, especially those that can be transferred via blood and saliva, your dentist will take special precaution to ensure that they, and no other patient, comes into contact with those fluids.

A dentist is a health professional and as such needs to be a part of your health professional team. This is especially so if you are suffering from any serious health issues. Work with your dentist and they will work to ensure you receive the best outcomes possible.

• Gum Numbing Agents – in the past, having a local anesthetic to reduce pain was in itself a painful process. Today, your dentist can apply a gum numbing gel first – this almost totally removes the pain associated with a local anesthetic.
• Whisper Quiet Drills – I can well remember my first visit to a dentist many years ago. Sitting in the waiting room, all I could hear was the drill, and it really set my teeth on edge. Today’s drills are whisper quiet – so quiet you can hardly hear them when they are being used on your own teeth.
• CEREC Technology – the use of procedures and products like CEREC allows a dentist to produce custom fit veneers, crowns, inlays, and onlays while you wait. In the past, you had to have a mold taken and to wait a week to ten days for a technician to make those products.
• Digital Technology – from x-rays to tiny cameras, the use of digital technology allows a dentist to replicate your teeth on a computer. You can even sit with your dentist and apply restorative or cosmetic changes on the screen – you can see and approve the changes before they are applied to your teeth.

The modern dental office is one of relaxation and, dare I say it, almost pleasure. Most patients now look forward to their next dental visit rather than fearing it.

There are two main problems with piercings that involve areas around the mouth. Teens often ‘play’ with their piercings – rotating, moving, or just sucking on the jewelry used. The recommendation is for surgical grade stainless steel jewelry. However, while sterile and safe to use, stainless steel is rock hard.

I mentioned two problems with piercings. The first is through contact with the jewelry and the tooth as the wearer moves that jewelry around in their mouth. The second comes from accidentally biting on the jewelry, either in an accident or while eating. Over the last ten years, the number of patients seeking treatment from a dentist due to cracked or chipped teeth has jumped dramatically, and one of the leading causes are piercings in the mouth area.

Body piercings are an individual decision and we don’t take a critical line on whether you should or shouldn’t have them done. Rather, if you do have piercings and jewelry that come into contact with your teeth, then our recommendation is to visit your dentist on a regular basis to check on the state of your teeth. If cracks or chips are appearing, your dentist can at least restore those teeth before the problems become major ones.

Dentists spend a good part of their working life offering advice. An examination may take ten minutes, but discussing a viable plan of action may take twenty minutes. Modern dentistry has seen a real shift in the patient-dentist relationship.

In the past, a patient would come in for a checkup and the dentist would advise on the procedures necessary to maintain the teeth in prime condition. These days, a large proportion of patients come in telling the dentist what treatments they would like. The dentists time is then spent evaluating the merits of that request.

These evaluations involve examining teeth, perhaps taking x-rays, and in most cases, having a hygienist clean the teeth. If the patient’s request is viable, for example, teeth whitening, or the use of veneers, then a treatment plan can be put in place to fulfill that patient’s request. There are other times when a dentist may need to make alternative suggestions – but only because they are in the patient’s best interest.

If you need dental advice, or would like a particular treatment, see your dentist. They are the only people who can provide you with the right dental advice.

Sorry to break your disillusionment. There are just as many women becoming dentists as men, and we are all normal, fun-loving people – just like you.

So why are people so afraid of dentists? Many have been to the dentist at different times during their lives, and most will admit that the experience wasn’t all that awful – yet they are still afraid of their dentist. The big problem often is perception. Many people grew up with their parents talking about the ‘dreaded dentist’. In fact, there are still parents today that talk about dentists in this way.

People fear pain, and dentists have long been associated with pain. Today’s dentistry is almost no pain. There is discomfort, but if you visit a dentist because you have a bad toothache, the discomfort you may feel is minimal in comparison. If you are worried about pain, then don’t be – our aim is to make dentistry as pain-free as possible.

Cost is the other factor that worries many people. Dental treatment is not cheap. However, preventative dentistry is much cheaper than restorative dentistry. Compare the cost of having your teeth cleaned properly every six months to having crowns, bridges, and eventually full dentures every two or three years, and I think you’ll agree that prevention is much cheaper.

If you’re afraid of your dentist for any reason, don’t be – we’re on your side and here to help as much as possible.

Chewing gum is not really sticky when it comes to teeth; at least, not like toffee or many of the other sugar-based sweets. If you are chewing gum that is sugar-based, then those sugars will certainly stick to your teeth. However, the extra flow of saliva will help to wash some of that away.

If you really want to look after your teeth, then you can chew on dental-approved gum. This uses xylitol as the sweetening agent, a product known to help build stronger teeth. If gum isn’t a product you generally use but you still have a sweet tooth, then you can obtain sweets that are based on xylitol rather than regular sugar – check out your specialist health store for any xylitol-based products (it’s even available as a powder for use in hot drinks in place of regular sugar).

Although sweets, including gum, are generally considered bad for your teeth, there are products around that are good for your teeth. Chewing gum is not all bad. Apart from producing saliva, it exercises the jaw and helps to gently massage the gums. Find the right products and your teeth can actually benefit from chewing gum. Now, hands up everyone, who’s mother said that chewing gum was bad for them? Now you can prove her wrong – your dentist said so.