Iowa Falls Family Dentistry Smiles

Iowa Mission of Mercy 2011

2011-11-22T05:22:00.001-08:00

This past Friday and Saturday, the 4th annual Iowa Mission of Mercy was held in Sioux City. If you're not familiar with it, IMOM, as it's called, is a two day free dental clinic that travels to a different city each fall to help serve people in need of dental care.

Typically around 100 dentists participate along with another 100 or so dental assistants, about 40 hygienists and hundreds of lay volunteers. Roughly 1500 patients receive care over the two days.

This year was the farthest we have had to travel for an IMOM (previously it was held in Waterloo, Newton and Cedar Rapids), but strangely, there were far more volunteers from Iowa Falls than ever before. There were over 20 people from our little town who traveled nearly 200 miles to help people they did not know.

My experience started at 5:30 am Friday, when we arrived at the arena to hundreds of soon to be patients waiting. By 7:00 we were seeing patients. I knew it was going to be a good day when I finished my first patient and got a big smile and a hug. Throughout the day people filed in and out and all were extremely grateful for the work they received. I worked until 3:30 when things were winding down. In talking with my patients I found that they all worked, but none had insurance and they could not afford dental care.

I always come away from IMOM feeling good that I've helped some people who were in great need of the skills I have. However, I also feel really bad that there are people out there with this kind of need all the time and we are only doing this one weekend a year. I was able to fix a few bad teeth on the patients I saw, but most of them had five or six more teeth just as bad. I've been thinking about what else I could do. Although I know I'm not responsible for every person in Iowa Falls who can't afford dental care, I feel like I could do more. So, look for future blogs and Facebook posts about my ideas and plans to help the less fortunate here in Iowa Falls with their dental care needs.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving and be thankful for all you have, even the dental work you hate to receive.

Dr. Brad

Can Your Toothpaste Do This?

2011-10-20T18:52:00.000-07:00

We recently had a visit from our friendly Crest/Oral-B sales rep. Of course, as with any salesperson, he had a glowing reports about the latest Crest products. But this one really has some substance behind it. The newest member of the Crest toothpaste line-up is Crest Pro-Health Gum Protection. The difference is in the active ingredient of stannous fluoride. This is a different form of fluoride than most toothpastes use. It has the ability to protect against gingivitis, plaque, decay, sensitivity and bad breath. It is the only toothpaste to receive every American Dental Association Seal of Approval possible in a toothpaste.

We found the research to be so convincing that we are encouraging our patients to try it. We will have samples available in our office at your next appointment and anytime you would like to buy a regular tube of Crest Pro-Health Gum Protection just stop into the office. For our patients we are selling the regular sized tubes for $2.00. These normally retail for about $4.75. We're not making money on this deal, we just want to see our patients with healthier gums.

If you really want to go the whole 9 yards, we also have the Oral-B Professional Care Smart Series 5000 power toothbrush, which comes with complementary Pro-Health Gum Protection Toothpaste, Pro-Health Mouthwash and Glide Floss. This system sells for $79 and makes a great Christmas gift while the toothpaste alone is a perfect stocking stuffer.

Of course the old phrase, "It only works if you use it" still applies. So be sure to brush twice a day for 2 minutes each time and floss once a day to remove all of the plaque on your teeth and provide the best environment for a healthy mouth.

What type of toothbrush should you be using

2011-09-17T16:40:00.000-07:00

You may be using the toothbrush you got from our office at your last recare appointment and that's great if you are. It's a very good, soft manual brush. But people often ask us if it's better to use an electric toothbrush. The truth is, you can do a great job with a manual toothbrush if you know how to use it properly and take the time to brush with it the way you should. That means brushing for 2 minutes each time you brush. For many people this is where they fall short and get less than the best results. With a power toothbrush the technique is simpler and the time is automatically measured for you. The brushes we recommend and have available for purchase in our office have built-in timers that alert you every 30 seconds to change to another quadrant of your mouth. In between the beeps all you need to do is hold the brush against your teeth and slowly move it across each surface pausing for a few seconds in each area. No vigorous movement is needed, the brush does the work. The top-of-the-line Oral-B that we sell even tells you when you are putting too much pressure on the brush. This is a great feature, especially if you have problems with gum recession.

Research has shown a decrease in bleeding after 6 weeks of brushing with a power toothbrush compared to manual brushing. So there is an advantange in health of tissues with the use of a powered brush.

The brushes we have available at our office are the top-of-the-line models from Oral-B and Sonicare. Both have automatic timers, replaceable heads, rechargeable batteries with a recharging stand. The Sonicare has a UV holder that helps to keep the brush heads disinfected in-between uses and sells for $100 (about $30 under retail). The Oral-B brush comes in a kit with 4 brush heads, Pro-Health Mouthrinse, a tube of Pro-Health Toothpaste and a package of floss for $89 ($71 under retail).

These models are not available at the Iowa Falls Walmart, they only carry the lesser models from these brands. If you're interested in purchasing a brush for yourself or as a gift for someone you know could use it, let us know at your next visit or stop in anytime. There is no tax added to the purchase price.