Hello everyone!
Can you believe it is already 2013? This year has flown by! I just wanted to write this blog to share with all of you some of my new hopes and goals for the 2013 year.
First of all, I want to thank you for choosing us for your dental care. We are honored and delighted to be working with each of our patients and look forward to building on those relationships in the years to come.
Secondly, we wish to continue to evolve and grow in the practice, always looking for new ways to make things better for you and for us. Recently we have been making some refinements to our procedures and techniques. We've made some refinements in our laser treatment with regards to root canals and we've also had new and further laser advancements in our non invasive
approach to periodontal health and how that relates to overall health.
This year we will be introducing a new laser into our office, in addition to our Waterlase. This laser is called the Biolase Epic. It is a surgical and therapeutic device designed for a wide variety of oral soft tissue procedures and dental whitening, as well as for use in providing temporary relief of minor pain.
As always we are looking for the most minimally invasive ways to do treatment and to prevent dental disease in any form.
I hope you are all having a great day!
Richard Stickney DDS PS
Showing posts with label Waterlase. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Waterlase. Show all posts
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Laser Helps With Sensitivity
Hello everyone!
I hope this blog post is finding you all happy and healthy! We just returned from our two week vacation, and we are ready to start up our weekly blog again, sharing timely and informative news with you!
This week's blog is talking again about our dental laser! (Boy do we love it!) But this time we are focusing on how the laser can help with sensitivity during and after dental procedures and how it can help with general tooth sensitivity. We've attached a video at the bottom on this post that explains how the laser can help with sensitivity caused by gum recession and exposed nerve endings. These exposed nerve endings can cause sensitivity to brushing, and cold.
This week alone, we've done a couple of composite fillings with the use of our Waterlase. Asking the patients afterwards how they felt during the treatment, all of them said they had no discomfort. No anesthetic was used during either of these treatments. Unfortunately, we cannot use the laser for every procedure, but we do use it as often as we possibly can. Many of our patients prefer the use of our laser opposed to the use of anesthetic and the drill. On the flip side, some people prefer not feeling anything at all and want to be numb, so we definitely respect all of our patients wishes.
If you'd like to see an animated demonstration of how the laser can help with tooth sensitivity, please follow this link to watch a short video.
Please feel free to leave feedback in the comments section or on our Facebook or Twitter pages!
Be well,
Richard Stickney
I hope this blog post is finding you all happy and healthy! We just returned from our two week vacation, and we are ready to start up our weekly blog again, sharing timely and informative news with you!
This week's blog is talking again about our dental laser! (Boy do we love it!) But this time we are focusing on how the laser can help with sensitivity during and after dental procedures and how it can help with general tooth sensitivity. We've attached a video at the bottom on this post that explains how the laser can help with sensitivity caused by gum recession and exposed nerve endings. These exposed nerve endings can cause sensitivity to brushing, and cold.
This week alone, we've done a couple of composite fillings with the use of our Waterlase. Asking the patients afterwards how they felt during the treatment, all of them said they had no discomfort. No anesthetic was used during either of these treatments. Unfortunately, we cannot use the laser for every procedure, but we do use it as often as we possibly can. Many of our patients prefer the use of our laser opposed to the use of anesthetic and the drill. On the flip side, some people prefer not feeling anything at all and want to be numb, so we definitely respect all of our patients wishes.
If you'd like to see an animated demonstration of how the laser can help with tooth sensitivity, please follow this link to watch a short video.
Please feel free to leave feedback in the comments section or on our Facebook or Twitter pages!
Be well,
Richard Stickney
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Dental Seminar: Laser Dentistry
Hello everyone!
About 2 weekends ago I attended a Waterlase dental laser seminar done by Dr. Marshall Golan. Much of this seminar discussed technical aspects of laser dentistry, and some of it I'd like to share with you all today.
I've had my Waterlase for over 5 years now, and I use it as often as I can on my patients. Dr. Golan outlined some suggestions that I've already been putting into practice during the seminar, but one thing he mentioned is that he uses the laser on just about every patient to kill bacteria and decontaminate after decay removal, even if he used the drill. On Dr. Golan's website, he outlines some other advantages of using the laser, such as:
Be well,
Richard Stickney DDS PS
About 2 weekends ago I attended a Waterlase dental laser seminar done by Dr. Marshall Golan. Much of this seminar discussed technical aspects of laser dentistry, and some of it I'd like to share with you all today.
I've had my Waterlase for over 5 years now, and I use it as often as I can on my patients. Dr. Golan outlined some suggestions that I've already been putting into practice during the seminar, but one thing he mentioned is that he uses the laser on just about every patient to kill bacteria and decontaminate after decay removal, even if he used the drill. On Dr. Golan's website, he outlines some other advantages of using the laser, such as:
- It helps remove areas of infection
- Removes gum disease with great precision
- The laser beam sterilizes as it works
- Anesthetic is not needed as often
- Faster healing
- Less bleeding and swelling
- Less noise so less anxiety
- Less post operative pain so less pain medication is needed.
- Gum surgery- we can often treat gum disease with the laser to disinfect deep pockets, remove diseased tissue, and stimulate reattachment of the tissue to the gum without invasive painful scapel surgery.
- Decay removal- the laser can remove decay, disinfect and biostimulate the tooth
- Cosmetic purposes- the laser can re-contour the gums and eliminate a "gummy" smile
Be well,
Richard Stickney DDS PS
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Laser Treatment in Our Hygiene Room Pt. 3
Hello all! Hope you are all having a great week! Here's the final part of our 3 part blog about how we are using our dental laser in our hygiene room! Feel free to let us know what you think in a comment, or on our Facebook or Twitter! Enjoy.
We have begun a new treatment protocol for periodontal disease. In addition to analyzing bacterial samples with our microscope, we now are able to send saliva samples to a lab and see exactly which periodontal pathogens are present and in what concentration, and test for genetic susceptibility for periodontal disease. The sample collection in simple and non-invasive, it involves a 30 second swish with a small amount of saline solution. After analysis, the lab includes a specific antibiotic recommendation for treatment of those who have concentrations of harmful bacteria above threshold. As you know, Dr. Stickney is not in the habit of prescribing antibiotics, so this has been a new leaf for both of us to turn over. One great benefit is that since we know the exact bacteria causing the infection, we are able to target the bacteria with the most effective type of antibiotic available, instead of simply using a broad spectrum antibiotic and hoping it works. Knowing whether or not someone is more genetically prone to periodontal disease, it helps us gauge how proactively we need to address signs of disease. Once we have this information, we are able to plan out our course of action. For those who have results with bacterial concentrations above threshold, typically the treatment includes scaling and root planning, or "deep cleaning", performed in the middle of the eight-day antibiotic regimen. The purpose of this is to attack the bacteria systemically (with the antibiotic) and locally (with the scaling and root planing). The results that we have achieved with the combined antibiotic therapy and scaling and root planing have been amazing. It used to be that we didn't see this kind of healing and recovery unless periodontal surgery was performed. Being a minimally invasive practice, we are happy to have this option for those who show the need for it and are comfortable taking the eight-day course of antibiotics. For those who have results that are positive for harmful, disease causing bacteria but are below threshold, typically antibiotics are not recommended. In these cases the body's own immune system, along with proper professional dental treatment, should be able to overcome the infection. The laser can also be used in conjunction with this treatment protocol for those who would like an option other than antibiotics. You are welcome to have a look at the lab's website, they have great educational resources: www.oraldna.com
Again, we'd love to hear what you think!
Hoping you are all well,
Richard Stickney
We have begun a new treatment protocol for periodontal disease. In addition to analyzing bacterial samples with our microscope, we now are able to send saliva samples to a lab and see exactly which periodontal pathogens are present and in what concentration, and test for genetic susceptibility for periodontal disease. The sample collection in simple and non-invasive, it involves a 30 second swish with a small amount of saline solution. After analysis, the lab includes a specific antibiotic recommendation for treatment of those who have concentrations of harmful bacteria above threshold. As you know, Dr. Stickney is not in the habit of prescribing antibiotics, so this has been a new leaf for both of us to turn over. One great benefit is that since we know the exact bacteria causing the infection, we are able to target the bacteria with the most effective type of antibiotic available, instead of simply using a broad spectrum antibiotic and hoping it works. Knowing whether or not someone is more genetically prone to periodontal disease, it helps us gauge how proactively we need to address signs of disease. Once we have this information, we are able to plan out our course of action. For those who have results with bacterial concentrations above threshold, typically the treatment includes scaling and root planning, or "deep cleaning", performed in the middle of the eight-day antibiotic regimen. The purpose of this is to attack the bacteria systemically (with the antibiotic) and locally (with the scaling and root planing). The results that we have achieved with the combined antibiotic therapy and scaling and root planing have been amazing. It used to be that we didn't see this kind of healing and recovery unless periodontal surgery was performed. Being a minimally invasive practice, we are happy to have this option for those who show the need for it and are comfortable taking the eight-day course of antibiotics. For those who have results that are positive for harmful, disease causing bacteria but are below threshold, typically antibiotics are not recommended. In these cases the body's own immune system, along with proper professional dental treatment, should be able to overcome the infection. The laser can also be used in conjunction with this treatment protocol for those who would like an option other than antibiotics. You are welcome to have a look at the lab's website, they have great educational resources: www.oraldna.com
Again, we'd love to hear what you think!
Hoping you are all well,
Richard Stickney
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Laser Treatment in Our Hygiene Room Pt. 2
As we brought out in our last post, there would be 3 parts to this topic of using the laser in our hygiene room. This is Part 2. Enjoy.
As some of you may have seen, we have a microscope in our hygiene room. We have been analyzing plaque samples that we collect from periodontal pockets, pockets that show signs of gum disease and inflammation. Signs of disease include pocketing of 4 millimeters or greater, inflammation, and bleeding. It is amazing to see how much bacteria is in even the tiniest of plaque samples. I haven't been this excited since my Microbiology and Histology courses in college! Some results have been surprising. For example one sample was from a moderately healthy pocket, three millimeters deep with only a little evidence of inflammation, but upon analysis of the plaque, there were harmful spirochetes evident on the slide. The spirochete family is a nasty one. This is actually the same type of oral bacteria involved in Alzheimer's disease, and here is a link that has research on this: Alzheimer's and oral bacteria
This bacteria is tissue invasive in cooperation with other bacteria, which means that it cannot only live on the surface of your gum tissue, but actually invade and live within gum tissue. It's DNA is found in artherosclerotic lesions of the aorta and is associated with pre-term low birth weight. Those are the systemic effects of this particular oral bacteria. Connections like these reinforce how important diligent daily flossing, proper brushing and regular professional dental care is when caring for our overall health. Those little bugs go non-stop. When I analyzed my own plaque sample and was thankful to see my white blood cells working hard to combat the bacterial onslaught. I felt such affection for the hard working little guys! It is amazing to see what goes on in our bodies without our being aware and how our own beautiful immune system is waging war on harmful microbes. It motivates me to do my part in supporting my immune system and my industrious little white blood cells.
Hope you enjoyed reading part 2 of this blog post! Stay tuned next Monday for the last part of this interesting subject!
Richard Stickney
As some of you may have seen, we have a microscope in our hygiene room. We have been analyzing plaque samples that we collect from periodontal pockets, pockets that show signs of gum disease and inflammation. Signs of disease include pocketing of 4 millimeters or greater, inflammation, and bleeding. It is amazing to see how much bacteria is in even the tiniest of plaque samples. I haven't been this excited since my Microbiology and Histology courses in college! Some results have been surprising. For example one sample was from a moderately healthy pocket, three millimeters deep with only a little evidence of inflammation, but upon analysis of the plaque, there were harmful spirochetes evident on the slide. The spirochete family is a nasty one. This is actually the same type of oral bacteria involved in Alzheimer's disease, and here is a link that has research on this: Alzheimer's and oral bacteria
This bacteria is tissue invasive in cooperation with other bacteria, which means that it cannot only live on the surface of your gum tissue, but actually invade and live within gum tissue. It's DNA is found in artherosclerotic lesions of the aorta and is associated with pre-term low birth weight. Those are the systemic effects of this particular oral bacteria. Connections like these reinforce how important diligent daily flossing, proper brushing and regular professional dental care is when caring for our overall health. Those little bugs go non-stop. When I analyzed my own plaque sample and was thankful to see my white blood cells working hard to combat the bacterial onslaught. I felt such affection for the hard working little guys! It is amazing to see what goes on in our bodies without our being aware and how our own beautiful immune system is waging war on harmful microbes. It motivates me to do my part in supporting my immune system and my industrious little white blood cells.
Hope you enjoyed reading part 2 of this blog post! Stay tuned next Monday for the last part of this interesting subject!
Richard Stickney
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Introducing: Laser Treatment in Our Hygiene Room
We are happy to be able to offer laser services in our hygiene room as well as Dr Stickney's treatment room. Our hygienist, Annika, received additional training in using our laser for the treatment of periodontal disease. She would like to share what she learned and how we are integrating this into our treatment.
This is Part 1 of 3 blog's we will do on this subject:
The course started with the physics of lasers and laser safety, and it always good to have those reminders. We went on to learn about all the applications of lasers in gum tissue treatment, from surgeries to biostimulation. We reviewed which types of procedures I am licensed to provide in the state of Washington, which include treatment of apthous ulcers (canker sores), herpetic lesions (cold sores/fever blisters), laser bacterial reduction, which reduces the amount of live bacteria in the mouth prior to cleaning. This helps to reduce the bacterial cascade that enters the bloodstream upon the manipulation of gum tissue during cleanings. Some types of oral bacteria are linked to upper respiratory tract infections, so it is a great tool to reduce the risk of spreading harmful bacteria to the rest of the body. We also learned the specific steps associated with laser assisted periodontal therapy, which is augmenting our periodontal disease treatment. Biostimulation means activation and regeneration of damaged cells. These non-active cells are stimulated and new cells are regenerated to get proper cell metabolism. This supports the function of the immune system and thus promotes the healing functions.
We are already implementing new treatment protocols in the office I am very excited to be able to provide these services. Our experience is that diseased gum tissue heals much faster and more completely after treatment with the laser. A simple topical anesthetic gel is all that is needed to prepare the tissue and treatment is typically very easy. In certain cases, we are adding laser treatment to our scaling and root planing (also called deep cleaning) procedures. The laser is not needed on every visit but it is wonderful to have such a practical tool at our disposal.
Stay tuned for the rest of this information in the coming week!
Hope you are all doing well,
Richard Stickney
This is Part 1 of 3 blog's we will do on this subject:
The course started with the physics of lasers and laser safety, and it always good to have those reminders. We went on to learn about all the applications of lasers in gum tissue treatment, from surgeries to biostimulation. We reviewed which types of procedures I am licensed to provide in the state of Washington, which include treatment of apthous ulcers (canker sores), herpetic lesions (cold sores/fever blisters), laser bacterial reduction, which reduces the amount of live bacteria in the mouth prior to cleaning. This helps to reduce the bacterial cascade that enters the bloodstream upon the manipulation of gum tissue during cleanings. Some types of oral bacteria are linked to upper respiratory tract infections, so it is a great tool to reduce the risk of spreading harmful bacteria to the rest of the body. We also learned the specific steps associated with laser assisted periodontal therapy, which is augmenting our periodontal disease treatment. Biostimulation means activation and regeneration of damaged cells. These non-active cells are stimulated and new cells are regenerated to get proper cell metabolism. This supports the function of the immune system and thus promotes the healing functions.
We are already implementing new treatment protocols in the office I am very excited to be able to provide these services. Our experience is that diseased gum tissue heals much faster and more completely after treatment with the laser. A simple topical anesthetic gel is all that is needed to prepare the tissue and treatment is typically very easy. In certain cases, we are adding laser treatment to our scaling and root planing (also called deep cleaning) procedures. The laser is not needed on every visit but it is wonderful to have such a practical tool at our disposal.
Stay tuned for the rest of this information in the coming week!
Hope you are all doing well,
Richard Stickney
Monday, April 2, 2012
Laser Dentistry
Hello!
We wanted to talk today about our laser and our continued success with using it. At this point, most of our patients prefer it to having anesthetic on procedures where we can use it. We use the laser for many different procedures including: decay removal, extractions, disinfection, root planning and scaling, gingivalplasty, gingivectomy, and biostimulation. We enjoy being able to use this helpful tool for periodontal and other surgical procedures. One of the advantages to using the MD Waterlase is that the recovery time for invasive procedures is less, and most of our patients report little to no pain after soft tissue procedures.
Here are some interesting comments that some patients have made about the Waterlase, taken from Biolase's official website. (http://www.laserdentistry.com/testimonials.html)
97% of patients who experience Waterlase treatment
Richter 7 Survey
"I would definitely recommend it.
It was much easier than I thought it would be."
- S. Pruitt, California
"After having this procedure done with a Waterlase MD, I would never want to have another procedure done with your conventional drills, and knives, and sutures, and everything – there’s no need for it."
- M. Roybal, California
"Before, they would get me numb, they’d leave the room, and I’d be sitting there, waiting for myself to get numb, and then they’d come back. This, they started right up."
- T. Flagler Oregon
"I saw a Waterlase® dentist just this morning, after a seven-year absence from the dentist. I belong to an online community and happened to mention how much I despise the dentist. One woman had heard about the Waterlase® and suggested I look into it. I made an appointment and then paid the price for my procrastination--four cavities and one crown (for a horrendous root canal done previously--I've been walking around with a temporary crown for seven years!) Today I went in to have two of the cavities filled and the crown prepped. The dentist used the Waterlase® on both cavities and it was the procedure I've been waiting my whole life for!"
- S. Hogan, California
"You can just have your treatment done, no anticipation. So I do think it’s going to change how people feel about coming to the dentist."
- N. Seyler, Oregon
"I just wanted to comment on the Waterlase®. I lost a crown (pin and all) and figured that the tooth couldn't be saved and I'd have a painful procedure to look forward to. My dentist recently purchased a Waterlase®, I noticed it as soon as I sat in the chair. He asked me if I was willing to have him use the Waterlase to cut back the soft gum tissue so he could reattach the crown. I have to say, even though he said he's only been using it for about 3 days, I had no pain beyond that I get from flossing. It was a wonderful experience and I should know, I've had extensive dental work performed over the last 10 years. I still can't believe I came out of today's visit without any pain or numbness. Thank you Biolase!"
- C. Stevens, Colorado
I hope you are all doing well!
Take care,
Richard Stickney
We wanted to talk today about our laser and our continued success with using it. At this point, most of our patients prefer it to having anesthetic on procedures where we can use it. We use the laser for many different procedures including: decay removal, extractions, disinfection, root planning and scaling, gingivalplasty, gingivectomy, and biostimulation. We enjoy being able to use this helpful tool for periodontal and other surgical procedures. One of the advantages to using the MD Waterlase is that the recovery time for invasive procedures is less, and most of our patients report little to no pain after soft tissue procedures.
Here are some interesting comments that some patients have made about the Waterlase, taken from Biolase's official website. (http://www.laserdentistry.com/testimonials.html)
97% of patients who experience Waterlase treatment
would recommend it to their family and friends.
Richter 7 Survey "I would definitely recommend it.
It was much easier than I thought it would be."
- S. Pruitt, California
"After having this procedure done with a Waterlase MD, I would never want to have another procedure done with your conventional drills, and knives, and sutures, and everything – there’s no need for it."
- M. Roybal, California
"Before, they would get me numb, they’d leave the room, and I’d be sitting there, waiting for myself to get numb, and then they’d come back. This, they started right up."
- T. Flagler Oregon
"I saw a Waterlase® dentist just this morning, after a seven-year absence from the dentist. I belong to an online community and happened to mention how much I despise the dentist. One woman had heard about the Waterlase® and suggested I look into it. I made an appointment and then paid the price for my procrastination--four cavities and one crown (for a horrendous root canal done previously--I've been walking around with a temporary crown for seven years!) Today I went in to have two of the cavities filled and the crown prepped. The dentist used the Waterlase® on both cavities and it was the procedure I've been waiting my whole life for!"
- S. Hogan, California
"You can just have your treatment done, no anticipation. So I do think it’s going to change how people feel about coming to the dentist."
- N. Seyler, Oregon
"I just wanted to comment on the Waterlase®. I lost a crown (pin and all) and figured that the tooth couldn't be saved and I'd have a painful procedure to look forward to. My dentist recently purchased a Waterlase®, I noticed it as soon as I sat in the chair. He asked me if I was willing to have him use the Waterlase to cut back the soft gum tissue so he could reattach the crown. I have to say, even though he said he's only been using it for about 3 days, I had no pain beyond that I get from flossing. It was a wonderful experience and I should know, I've had extensive dental work performed over the last 10 years. I still can't believe I came out of today's visit without any pain or numbness. Thank you Biolase!"
- C. Stevens, Colorado
I hope you are all doing well!
Take care,
Richard Stickney
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