Perio Dentist Hopewell Junction | Cosmetic Dentistry Hopewell Junction

Preventive Services

HOLISTIC GUM CARE

The starting point of all successful dentistry at CDE is its periodontal therapy program. Whether you are receiving a routine six-month hygiene recare appointment, or advanced periodontal rehabilitative therapy, your periodontal health will provide the solid cornerstone for all the quality dental care you receive at CDE. You will learn how to be in total control of your oral health with the revolutionary approach to holistic gum care at CDE. Ever since his dental school experiences, Dr. Prus has understood the importance of perfectly healthy gums which is achieved by active patient involvement. They learn and perform a simple protocol that keeps bacterial plaque off the teeth every day. Call CDE and you can learn it too.

WHAT IS PLAQUE?

Plaque is a byproduct of the presence of bacteria in a warm and moist environment. It is constantly forming and must be constantly removed. It is a sticky slurry of mucopolysaccharides (the sticky part) created by the bacteria, bacterial byproducts and toxins, microscopic food debris (not chunks of food), and inflammatory response materials from the body (crevicular fluids from the damaged tissues). It is an acidic material that degrades the soft and hard tissues of the mouth and facilitates further bacterial intrusion. It is the source of periodontal disease. Remove plaque completely on a daily basis and periodontal disease will disappear. Once in the bloodstream bacteria in plaque are able to travel all throughout the body creating additional damage there also. This is referred to as the Mouth-Body Connection (see below).

There is a definitive connection between the bacteria of the mouth and other problems in the body. Dr. Prus learned this many years before it became scientific fact. In his very first year of dentistry he treated his father's less than ideal gum health. Once that healed his dad reported that his long standing 'tennis elbow', a tendon inflammation in the joint, disappeared and did not return. Dr. Prus knew right then there was a connection between gum health and body health; it only took 30 years for science to catch up and prove it. In fact there is no part of the body, including a mother's fetus, that is safe from the bacteria of periodontal disease. Each person suffering from any inflammatory or healing process should be aware of their gingival health and make certain it is perfect. Periodontal disease is a disease of the body that starts in the mouth.

Why not be healthy every day when it is so easy!

The Center for Dental Excellence has created the most comprehensive and revolutionary gum therapy program for its patients. CDE gum care has these special features:

No matter how severe or advanced your state of gum disease is when you walk in, you will be dramatically healed in a relatively short period of time.
The key to the success of the periodontal program, called Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy, is the active education and involvement of the patient in achieving the best dental health possible for them. From that start it is not surprising that many teeth previously deemed hopeless and non-savable, are renewed to health.
By keeping them completely clean and bacteria out of the environment, the gums heal themselves of periodontal disease.
Disease cannot exist along side of cleanliness.
Preventive periodontal treatment is as precise as all the other care at CDE.

Just saying phrases such as "brush better, clean the gums better" does not register well with most patients."How?" Is the mental question they all ask. Without specific instruction they do not know exactly what that means. Once patients understand the nature of their teeth, how they are shaped and fit in the mouth, they can start to determine for themselves how to clean them. That is the reason so many patients are so healthy at CDE. Surprisingly it is amazingly simple to have perfect oral health after that.

Call our office today to find out how you can have it too.

PATIENT BENEFITS

CDE non-surgical, holistic periodontal therapy has these effects:

An enthusiasm on their part that facilitates its adaptation into a self-beneficial lifestyle.
CDE patients fully recognize the problem is theirs and fully accept that they own the solution.
Patients learn an entirely new mindset about teeth and what it takes to clean them. If fact, a most important detail is to focus on each surface of the tooth and what it takes to reach each one and remove all the plaque from the surface.

Patients learn a simple daily protocol in which no extra time is required above the norm for most people and they learn the details of how to totally care for their mouths. It is in these details that patients begin to understand why the technique they used before was not working and why the approach taken at the Center for Dental Excellence is so successful. This is very empowering for the patient because they now can control their oral health.
Increased efficiency with which they perform their home care routine that makes the results so good.
An awareness that each person’s mouth, and even each tooth, is different and they each require their own set of personalized techniques which they can determine and implement because they now understand how teeth 'fit' in their mouth.
Dr. Prus and his highly skilled hygienist explain the technique in a unique way that patients can truly understand what they have to do. They can then determine for themselves exactly how to accomplish the task of keeping their gums healthy, no matter the shape or position or condition of their teeth.
Nutritional oversight and guidance helps sustain great bodily health as well. Many food substances have noxious components that can damage teeth rapidly: sodas, candy, energy drinks, any refined sugars present in many foods, as well as medicaments that can have deleterious effects on oral health (dry mouth, reduced immune resistance, etc.).
Increased health and happy smiles are always the end result when the instructions are carefully followed.
In this age of awareness of the interactions between the oral bacteria found in gum disease and their effect on the rest of the body, it is becoming even more important to ensure the pathogenic bacteria of gum disease (periodontal disease) are thoroughly removed from the mouth. CDE non-surgical periodontal therapy will make certain that is the case.
With dental care at CDE the disease process is ended. Future dental care and its costs will be dramatically reduced.
A total restructuring of your dental care from reactive need based to proactive want based. You will effectively eliminate dental breakdown allowing you to reduce your dental expense budget. This is prevention at its best.

Periodontal disease is primarily a disease of neglect

That does not mean patients with periodontal disease intentionally neglect themselves. It often means they were never taught how to take proper care of themselves. CDE patients learn that they can effectively control it throughout their lives and have healthy, comfortable and beautiful smiles for a lifetime. It is a matter of making it happen. CDE makes it happen.

It costs more to fight disease than it does to prevent it

We want to save your teeth and your money

CDE Prevention: avoid the repeated pain of treating diseased tissues
CDE Prevention: eliminate the fear of going to the dentist. You are healthy!
CDE Prevention: the most cost effective path to oral health. Stop spending money repeating the treat disease process
CDE Prevention: with a healthy environment dental care becomes 'do it once and you are done'. Breakdown rarely occurs.

Insurance plans become less important when you don't need them

Enjoy what is possible at CDE:

gum disease does not have to exist
there is no cause for decay
teeth can be in balance
extra-ordinary dental costs can be eliminated.

Come to CDE and Learn the valuable tools to be in control of and achieve total dental health now.

IDENTIFYING HEALTHY

What does 'HEALTHY' look like?

Health is a state of the body in which it does not have disease or its effects; (Wikepedia): the condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit; especially : freedom from physical disease or pain

Dental Health is a state of the mouth when it does not suffer from the presence or effects of bacterial or viral action, nor the deteriorating effects of physical trauma, either acute or chronic. These effects can be on soft or hard tissues. Many people are not aware of any problems in the mouth yet they can exist. Having no pain and being unaware of oral disease is not an indication of being 'healthy'.

Healthy gums are not:

red, inflamed, glassy looking or swollen
spongy and loose to touch
blanching when pressed
sensitive or painful in any way at any location
bleeding to any extent when probed and/or cleaned
have a bad odor

Healthy gums are:

light pink
lightly stippled on the surface (no shine)
uniform in color
fit snugly around the necks of teeth
never bleed or have any sensitivity

Healthy gums do not have to be:

balanced in appearance between left and right sides or with adjacent teeth
do not have to have ideal, minimal pocket depths (1-3mm). They are just easier to maintain in health if they do. Pockets must be maintained 'in health' to be classified as such. Tissues will markedly recontour themselves over time if kept constantly free of bacteria and their toxins. Total pocket elimination, if needed, may require the assistance of a periodontal specialist.
without recession around the necks of teeth; gingival margin location is not a characteristic of health. Health is the absence of infectious processes.
void of periodontal pockets (>3mm). Pockets are not, by themselves, an indicator of periodontal disease; they are a historical record of the disease process. With CDE techniques they can be cleaned; if not, the patient is referred to a periodontal specialist. The existence of the body's response to disease, inflammation and bleeding, is the criterium CDE uses to determine the state of health.
A healthy periodontal pocket can exist if it is cleaned properly on a daily basis. The deeper the pocket the more difficult it is to achieve. Certain locations (molars) are more challenging to maintain than others.

ROUTINE PROPHYLAXIS

Besides thoroughly removing all bacteria and debris from the teeth, at a routine recall appointment each patient will have these benefits:

CDE wants all patients to know how to thoroughly and completely remove plaque from their teeth continuously and daily. Total control over preventing plaque formation through detailed and individualized educational instruction is the goal.
With each succeeding hygiene recare opportunity, CDE patients gain total control over their dental health. It is all in the details of understanding how their teeth function and fit together and how to clean each surface.
This is a highly effective means of controlling dental disease, tissue breakdown and eliminating unnecessary dental costs.
Subsequent hygiene recare appointments become easier, quicker and more comfortable.
Enthusiastic support and participation by CDE patients creates an environment of success in home care maintenance. They truly enjoy their appointment. Instead of an atmosphere of fear and guilt for not accomplishing their tasks, patients look forward to learning how to do it better each time they visit CDE.
As a result patients are as free from bacterial plaque buildup walking in for their appointment as they will be when they leave (see photos of typical CDE patients BEFORE their hygiene appointments: Gums of Steel Photo Gallery )

PERIODONTAL CHARTING

Periodontal charting is a process during which the level of health of the gums is evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively (6 locations per tooth). Records are taken for

the amount of recession of the gums on the root
the amount of loss of attachment of the gums to the tooth (a patient will hear numbers called out representing how deeply the periodontal probe, a thin calibrated instrument, sinks under the crest of the gums. (Normal is from <1 - 3 mm.);
any spots that bleed upon probing; a visual recording of the status of the gingival tissues (inflamed, red, swollen, glossy, etc.)
amount of plaque and debris sticking to the surface of the tooth.

ROOT PLANING AND SCALING

Root planing and scaling is a cleaning process by which mineral deposits (calculus) that form on tooth surfaces are carefully and meticulously scraped from all the crown and root surfaces, including those under the gum line. It is a precise procedure done by our skilled hygienist to initiate the healing process. In addition, if you apply the home care techniques you learned from earlier hygiene recare appointments, your soft tissues (gums) will be less inflamed by this appointment and the entire procedure can be much more comfortable than when the gums are often inflamed. An added advantage of periodontal care at CDE is our hygienists know how not to create pain during the process. Gentle, skilled hand movements and the use of ultrasonic scalers, which use minute, super fast vibrations to scrape off calculus, are the reasons it is as comfortable as it is. Anesthetic numbing is used routinely on several levels as is needed to keep each patient comfortable.

The rough mineral deposits, which are a precipitate from saliva, stick to tooth roots as tightly as barnacles stick to a dock. Without their complete removal, bacterial contamination will continue to attach to the rough calculus surface and keep the periodontal tissues from totally healing.

ANTIBACTERIAL THERAPY

In more resistance cases of periodontal disease, the inflammation process won't subside without the additional applications of antibacterial substances. The most effective antibacterial materials are used at CDE:

Tetracycline powders (Arestin): localized application into resistant perio disease pockets
Chlorhexidine washes (Periogard): oral rinse materials or topically applied solutions that are known to kill perio disease bacteria
Anti-inflammatory medicines (Periostat): doxycycline (20 mg dose); it is too weak to act as an antibiotic but is effective to reduce inflammation
Antibiotics (amoxycillin, doxycycline, etc.): as needed for active infections. Dr. Prus tries to minimize the use of antibiotics.

When combined with the other effective periodontal disease controlling techniques applied at CDE, the improved health of the soft and hard tissues that retain the tooth is almost always assured.

XYLITOL

Xylitol is a sugar that is not digestible (fermentable) by bacteria. Its chemistry is different from common refined sugars such as sucrose. It has a very low glycemic value making it safe and beneficial for diabetics. Xylitol is incorporated into numerous dental products that help remineralize enamel. It is used as a toothpaste, gums and mints. Dr. Prus highly recommends xylitol as the main toothpaste for any person suffering from gum disease. He has found that is helps lower plaque levels even when home care techniques are not sufficiently refined. Ask Dr. Prus or any of his staff about how to use the paste and mints and find out about the benefits of this sugar.

CUSTOMIZED HOME CARE INSTRUCTION

Customized home care instructions are probably the single most important ingredient in maintaining a beautiful, healthy smile. Dr. Prus takes great pride in having created a unique process of instructing his patients at CDE on how to maintain their mouths in total health. What had been so difficult to understand and apply becomes intuitive and self directed as each patient learns a new thinking process to clean their teeth. As so many patients say, "I get it. Now I know what to do." Too bad they did not learn these simple steps years ago.

Bacteria from the gums travel throughout the body and it is important to keep them from forming which they try to do constantly. Once patients have learned the process of effective home care, their gingival health is always maintained in excellent health. The process is easy to understand and do. Each patient receives instructions that are tailored to their specific dental situation. So far no CDE patient has needed to be referred to a gum specialist to correct their periodontal disease. Everyone has healed. Specialists are used to perform tasks beyond curing periodontal disease and other specialized procedures.

At CDE you will learn the techniques of maintaining your dental health and enjoy it for a lifetime.

Things you must know for excellent home care:

Teeth Have Curves: some more than others. Your use of a toothbrush must be used with that in mind
The most difficult areas to reach are the first to break down with disease
A regular toothbrush CANNOT reach all surfaces, neither manual or electric
Dental floss works well for people who have healthy teeth and gums. Dental floss cannot reach every surface between the teeth. It cannot get into side wall grooves between roots or into periodontal pockets which are difficult areas to reach. That is where disease is found, so it must be cleaned regularly.
The best tools will fit between teeth and scrub the side walls, grooves and pockets effectively. These include special picks and brushes.

Use of Advanced Technologies

Because Dr. Prus has found that basic home care is the most effective tool in combating periodontal disease, CDE does not utilize most of the advanced technological devices and protocols that are marketed to consumers to obtain periodontal health. We have learned that in-office therapy and effective home care is the single most effective approach and financially prudent means in defeating gum disease; and without effective home care, nothing else works. When that conservative approach of bacterial control as described above is not totally successful, we refer the areas that do not heal to the most qualified specialists who are trained to and routinely use these tools and surgical techniques. Dr. Prus has not needed to refer a patient to a specialist to cure gum disease for over 10 years. It is a testimonial to the enthusiastic participation by his patients in clearing up their gum disease. The need for specialist intervention, when required, will have been reduced to a minimum, and the remaining soft tissue problems will be much easier to treat. This reduces patient fears, pain and expenses.

Specialist Referrals

When periodontal specialty services are required, Dr. Prus will refer you to his periodontal specialist, who regularly works with all state of the art tools and procedures, to perform the tasks and to ensure optimal results. Some of the procedures are:

Frenectomies
Grafting and flap procedures
Covering gingival root recession with free gingival graft tissue
Periodontal pocket reduction to facilitate home care and healing
Implant placement and uncovering
Tissue Biopsies
Many other cosmetic surgical procedures

As with all procedures performed at CDE, Dr. Prus will only work with specialists who share his desire to excel in patient care.

Please view the Gums of Steel Gallery to see the effectiveness of preventive care at CDE.

Gums of Steel Photo Gallery

Preventive Services

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