Where Will You Take Your Smile Today?

YOU TAKE YOUR CLOTHES OFF and you put different clothes on. But when it comes to your smile, you take it EVERYWHERE you go. Do you like your smile? If you could… Is there some little thing you’d change? Some big thing you’d change?

NEWS FLASH!!
Today’s smile design techniques and materials, combined with the artistic skills of Dr. Jeanette M. Kern, make having a drop-dead-gorgeous smile easier and more affordable than ever. If you’re a little unfamiliar with some of the terminology behind smile design, here’s a short course:

Whitening - Sometimes called “tooth bleaching”, smile whitening is the most common cosmetic dental procedure. While many whitening options are now available—including over the counter products—dentist-supervised treatments remain the recommended procedures for lightening discolored teeth.

Contouring - Contouring is sometimes called “tooth reshaping”. Contouring can sometimes be used to correct minimally crooked teeth, chipped teeth, cracked teeth or an overlapping tooth. It’s a procedure of subtle changes and is commonly used to alter the length, shape or position of teeth.

Bonding - Bonding is a process in which enamel-like dental composite materials are applied to a tooth’s surface, then sculpted into shape and polished.

Veneers - Veneers are thin, custom-made porcelain laminates that are bonded directly teeth. They’re an option for closing gaps or disguising discolored teeth that do not respond well to whitening procedures. Sometimes, tooth reduction may be necessary.

Minimal Prep Veneers - The popularity of prepless veneers is being driven in part by increased patient desire to prevent removal of healthy tooth structure. But not all cases are right for minimal-prep veneers.

The best way to determine what’s right for you and your smile? Simply talk to Dr. Kern. I'm passionate about people’s smiles. Our office has seen beautiful smiles make a huge difference in people’s social lives and careers. It feels good to not be embarrassed to smile. We look forward to visiting with you! Call us at 831-372-8011.

DNA Periodontal Testing

DNA testing for Periodontal disease: Am I Going To Lose My Teeth Just Like My Mother?

My mother lost her teeth at an early age.
Am I going to lose my teeth and need dentures too?

Years ago this may have been the case, but I’ve seen good hygiene and routine dental care do remarkable things in helping people keep their natural teeth over the years I’ve been practicing dentistry. There are some people, however, that no matter how hard they work at their home care, they can’t get quite as healthy as they would like.

There is new technology that allows us to test our patients for genetic predisposition for Periodontal Disease. The risk for periodontal disease increases 3 to 7-fold and for tooth loss 3-fold in individuals who test positive for these new tests. Early detection of patients at increased risk facilitates prevention and early intervention efforts. For those patients already affected with periodontal disease, the PST Genetic Test assists clinicians in creating a personalized treatment plan.

According to the American Dental Association (ADA), an estimated 75% of all Americans over the age of 35 have some form of periodontal disease. It’s a known fact that periodontal disease is the primary cause of tooth loss in adults. Periodontal Disease, or gum disease, is a common condition that varies in severity from person to person and usually starts when people are in their 30’s or 40’s. Symptoms may include:

Red, swollen, tender gums; receding gums; bleeding while brushing and/or flossing, loose or separating teeth, persistent bad breath, dentures that no longer fit, pus between the teeth and gums.

Are you at risk? When might we suggest DNA testing for you?

When you have early signs of periodontal disease, despite a fairly good effort with your home care.

You’re considering cosmetic or advanced restorative dentistry, such as veneers or implants and we want to know that we don’t have any factors “working against us” as we perform treatment.

A new patient or someone who hasn’t seen us in a while and needs a lot of dentistry to get healthy again, and they tell us of a family history of periodontal disease, diabetes, heart disease or stroke.

Clinical signs of infection (red, swollen, or bleeding gums with bone loss around teeth and periodontal pockets) are around important teeth that we critically need to save to keep our patient from having to get a denture.

Have a family history of periodontal disease? Need extensive periodontal care? Have loose teeth? Lost teeth?

Confirmation of your oral health is needed prior to major medical surgery.

You have other medical / systemic conditions that make you more susceptible to periodontal infections.

A screening tool to access your periodontal health and genetic risk to oral infections.

Do you have chronic bad breath even though you’ve done everything we’ve shown you to manage the problem?

WHAT ARE THE TESTS?

MyPerioPath Test: Identifies and measures certain bacteria that can cause gingivitis and periodontitis.
MyPerioIDPST test: Determines if you are likely to be more susceptible to gum tissue infections.

These revolutionary tests deliver detailed information that will enable us to better determine the appropriate treatment regimen for your specific needs. The testing procedures are quick, non-invasive, simple and easy to perform.

If both tests are done, the total cost is around $300, plus the cost of any antibiotics (from the pharmacy) possibly needed for treatment.

Dentistry continues to make some amazing strides in that it’s providing people the opportunity at having enhanced overall health. As I’ve said frequently lately, I’ve been in dentistry for over 30 years, and there’s not been a more exciting time that right now for all the things that dentistry can offer my patients. Whether it’s sedation for the fearful patient, implants for those that have missing teeth or dentures and can’t really chew their food, or DNA testing for those who REALLY want to keep their teeth, I’m thankful for the profession I’m in being so interesting and fun the last few years.

Here is my 7-minute, nightly program to protect the teeth, gums, and throat from infection.

When you are done eating for the night is a good time to do this, so that you have an 8 to 12 hour stretch of reduced plaque. Plaque is the sticky layer of germs and food particles on teeth that leads to periodontal (gum) disease, cavities, and bone damage.

Here’s what I recommend:

1. Water pik all surfaces of your teeth to rinse out larger food particles and increase circulation to your gums. The water pik that does the best job for me is made by WaterPik.

2. Floss your teeth to remove plaque from under the gum line. Do not snap the floss into the middle of the ‘V’ of the gums between two teeth, as this can damage and compact the gums. Move the floss as far as possible under the gum surface at the base of each side of the tooth. Once you are under the gum, scrape against the tooth surface on the way out to remove plaque. Use a mirror and keep scraping until all the plaque that can be seen is off. Use clean sections of floss as you move around the mouth.

3. Use a Sonicare toothbrush (Sold in our office --- we have the one with an Ultraviolet container to kill germs on the brushes.) to brush remaining particles off the teeth, gums, and tongue. (The tongue usually has more germs than other parts of the mouth.) Sonicare is the toothbrush least likely to lead to gum recession as it is the most gentle yet effective toothbrush.

4. Put your Sonicare brush head into the UV box and turn it on. Or, once a week, pour 3% hydrogen peroxide into a small glass and soak your toothbrush in it over night.

5. Sometimes, bacteria and food particles can slip under a filling. To reduce bacteria in these areas and help whiten teeth, hold a mouthful mixture of half water and half 3 % hydrogen peroxide in your mouth for a minute. Spit out the mixture and rinse out with water.

Reducing infection in your mouth helps reduce stress on your other organs, such as your heart and gut as well!

The word ‘LASER’ is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. A laser device emits a powerful, highly-concentrated beam of light. (Didn’t we all love the amazing laser weapons in ‘Star Wars?)

Lasers are used in hundreds of applications in almost every California industry including communications, researching, manufacturing, entertainment and medicine.

Lasers are now used in some technologically-advanced Peninsula dental practices on both hard (tooth) and soft (gum) tissue. Lasers allow a cosmetic dentist a degree of precision that was previously impossible.

How does laser dentistry benefit our dental patients?

•Fewer stitches (some surgical procedures require no sutures)

•Shorter healing time

•Decreased chance of infection

•Less damage to surrounding tissue/bone

•Increased patient comfort – anesthesia is often unnecessary

Dentists use lasers in crown lengthening, decay detection, bacteria removal in root canals, gum recontouring, biopsy, lesion removal, and tooth whitening.

If you are interested in any of these procedures, call Jeanette Kern, DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry at (831) 372-8011. Our practice has been providing unsurpassed general and cosmetic dentistry since 1995.

The latest dental technology is useless without the skill and experience necessary to deliver the best possible outcomes. Let us show you some photos of the results we routinely achieve.

Dental Cavities- Prevent Them

Dental cavities are infections in your teeth. They are avoidable. If you had regular bladder or lung infections, you would work to prevent those. Your teeth are no different.

Cavity-prevention suggestions:

1. Keep your diet alkaline with a large volume of raw vegetables. An alkaline pH is unfriendly to infection.

2. Avoid highly processed, sugar and flour products, as they strip away the minerals and vitamins that keep teeth strong.

3. As soy demineralizes the body and teeth, it should be avoided.

4. Make your mouth an unfriendly environment for infection. Keep your teeth
brushed and flossed daily.

5. Follow your dental hygienist’s advice on care of your teeth.

6. Above all, know that, regardless of anyone else’s viewpoint, teeth can be cavity-free.

Strong, healthy teeth are a joy!

Dr. Kern

Mercury is an extremely toxic and destructive substance.

Symptoms of excess mercury include mental dysfunction, fatigue, poor memory, decreased senses of touch, hearing and vision, depression, emotional problems, neurological and muscular disorders, kidney and gastrointestinal problems, infertility and heart disease. Effects can include coma and death in some cases.

Research has shown that "Early signs of mercury poisoning in adults are nervous system effects, including narrowing of the visual field and numbness in the extremities. Exposure to mercury in utero and in children can cause mild to severe mental retardation and mild to severe motor coordination impairment."

Some sources of mercury include silver dental material, vaccines containing thimerosal, seafood, some fish oils, some water, some hemorrhoid preparations, skin lightening chemicals, instruments (thermometers, electrodes, batteries), some fertilizers and the paper and gold industries. Mercury is used for the manufacture of industrial chemicals and electrical devices. An increasing amount is used as gaseous mercury in fluorescent lights.

Suggestions:

1. Remove all silver dental material from your mouth ASAP.
2. Eat these fish once a month or less: tuna, orange roughy, sea bass, mackerel, marlin, shark, swordfish, tilefish, bluefish and grouper. Alaskan salmon can be eaten frequently as it has the lowest level of mercury.
3. Use mercury thermometers with a protective plastic sheath sold in drugstores. 4. Make sure any fish oil you take has been tested by an independent lab for mercury.

It turns out that tongue piercings can be bad for one's teeth. While this is hardly a surprise to any dentist, it's been confirmed by a recent study from New York's University of Buffalo.

Researchers had previously found that teens with pierced tongues tend to "play" with the barbell-shaped piercing, often pushing the end of the stud against their front teeth — a habit that might leave them needing braces to fix the damage.

In this particular case study, a young woman who had had her tongue pieced for seven years developed a gap between her front teeth from pushing the barbell into the space between the teeth.

It's already known that a tongue piercing can increase the risks of chipping or cracking teeth, wearing down tooth enamel, receding gums, and more — now it's time to add orthodontic damage to the list.