NuCalm, Relaxing with Dentistry

Think about how you feel as you lay down to go to sleep or sit in front of the TV after a long day. Your mind may race about the day's events or something that is happening the next day. Slowly, you begin to relax - you can feel gravity pulling you deeper into your bed and couch, you may have strange mental associations or daydreams, you may experience deep breathing. This experience is the Alpha stage of sleep. This is the exact stage you will be in throughout your NuCalm experience.

With NuCalm, you will be in the dental chair getting treatment, but you will be so relaxed that you will not be focused on the dentistry. You will be in a state of relaxation. Music playing in your ears, and feeling like you are not even in the office. Imagine that, deep relaxation in the dental chair. Then you get up out of the chair and drive home yourself! Come experience that at Suwanee Dental Care.

Two years ago at Suwanee Dental Care, we began our Deserving Diva Makeover program where we invite friends, relatives and coworkers of women in need of major cosmetic and rehabilitation dentistry to nominate them for our Dental Charity. Each year we vote on the finalists, interview them and select a number of the nominees as winners of the contest, being named a Suwanee Dental Care Deserving Diva. This year we feature three deserving women after performing major makeovers for four women last year. Each of our doctors has one patient upon which to work his magic....and the results are coming in strong. Dr. Smith and Golik have basically completed their Divas treatment, putting on the finishing touches.

In just three days, I will have my current Diva, Nancy Reeves, in for her major appointment. We will be making 28 crown and bridge units of teeth, porcelain restorations that will dramatically improve her deep bite / overbite and help her permanently align her jaw in a better position to improve her headaches and jaw pain, not to mention enhance her looks. The dental "face lift" will take 15 years of aging from her face as the vertical height of the jaw is improved.

Stay tuned for some dramatic results in her looks. We'll post the photos here. She has been wearing her mandibular orthotic (mouthguard) for six months or more and has proven the new TMJ jaw position we gave her as a result of her diagnosis in the beginning.

Don't forget also that the Diva Party is scheduled for August 27, a Saturday morning. Plan to join us at the Gwinnett Marriott. Go to Deserving Diva Foundation on Facebook also to see other progress photos and articles by our team. The Divas themselves are posting progress reports on our Diva Blog.

The New Player in Oral Cancer for Men

Human Papilloma Virus, the same STD that causes genital warts and cervical cancer in women, is now the top cause of oral cancer in men, responsible for more cases than either smoking or drinking. About 65 percent of oral cancer tumors were linked to HPV in 2007, according to the National Cancer Institute. While the same uptick isn't occurring among tobacco smokers. An increase in HPV-16 in the U.S. is changing the face of oral cancer to mostly white, male nonsmokers in their late thirties and early forties.

A development in the war on oral cancer is a new, easy test to check for oral HPV. OraRisk® HPV test is a screening tool that allows identification of types of HPV that could potentially lead to oral cancer. Early detection and identification of the presence or absence of oral HPV is important, as early oral HPV infections do not typically cause any clinical signs or symptoms.

Oral cancer has such a low survival rate because it is generally not discovered until it has spread to other areas, according to the CDC. Only half of people who've been diagnosed with oral cancer will live longer than five years.

To help screen for oral cancer our office performs a visual oral cancer exam. We also offer VELscope an advanced screening tool that can help discover problems much sooner than under normal light conditions. Catching oral cancer early is the biggest key to successful treatment.

Dr. Jeremy Smith

Gastric bypass and Sleep

Sleep effects quite a bit more than most people think. How well you sleep can play a part in the ability to lose weight and successful dieting.

Sleep studies were performed in patients undergoing gastric bypass from January 2004 to January 2007. Obstructive sleep apnea was noted as present or absent.

A total of 132 patients were involved. Sleep study results indicated that 64 percent of patients had a confirmed diagnosis of OSA.

In OSA patients, body mass index, neck circumference, and age were higher than with obese patients without OSA. Not only will your weight put you into the category of possibly having sleep apnea, but it may stop you from losing those excess pounds even if you were trying!

Learn more with Suwanee Dental Care!!

The Wind Beneath My Wings is my wife Sheila Williams. She and I have been married 33 years and have two grown sons. She started out as my dental assistant as soon as we got engaged and moved on to every other job in the office over time except dental hygienist.

Now, she is CFO of our businesss and is the Director of the Healing Rooms At Sugar Hill, a prayer ministry for physical, emotional and spiritual trauma. She is also the director of Kenya Medical Outreach, Inc. a Georgia non-profit charity that has annual trips to Kenya for missions and has ongoing projects there throughout the year.

Every doctor needs a supporting cast and every smile maker needs a team. My team is the best in the land and Sheila is the head of our fantastic dental team. She makes me smile so I can help make you smile. She is the wind beneath my wings.

Losing brain power with less sleep

Did you know??
Losing sleep means less brain power...
The association between moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and impaired neurocognitive function is coming under the spotlight.

A new study in the journal Sleep and Breathing examined the association between cogitative function and how severe sleep apnea can be.

The study was published using 290 middle age adults. Fifty-five percent of participants were female. Patients were screened and demonstrated a high-risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Participants’ verbal memory was assessed through testing using auditory and visual cues. OSA severity indicators were measured by using sleep studies.

The results showed a clear connection between the severity of obstructive sleep apnea (using oxygen saturation) and cognitive function. Researchers found that adults at high risk of OSA demonstrated verbal memory and executive function impairments.

Just getting quality sleep helps you tackle your day and make smarter, better decisions! If you find yourself feeling sleepy through the day, or even falling asleep through the day, get yourself evaluated! A simple visit to the dentist could let you know if sleep apnea is playing a part in slowing down your life.

Are you concerned about your kids having dental x-rays?

Let us help calm your fears! We are concerned about radiation too, so we want you to have the facts you need to make an educated decision when it comes to your children.
We want you to know the truth about dental x-rays. Just to break it down for you, below is chart of the radiation doses you receive from different x-rays.
An annual maximum occupational exposure for radiation workers in the United States is 5,000 millirems (measure for radiation). When you spread low doses out over a period of time, it’s not as destructive to the body because it has time to recover.

High dose group includes:
Mammography 1000
Pelvimetry 875
Lower spine 450
Middle spine 347

Medium does group includes:
Abdomen 147
Ribs 143
Pelvis 133
Skull 78
Hip 72

Low dose group:
Neck 52
Femur 21
Full mouth dental series (digital) less than 1
Dental bitewing (digital) less than .05

To put this in perspective, you would need to have 2,000 dental x-rays to equal the radiation in 1 mammogram. To reach that maximum safety dose, we would have to take approximately 10,000 dental x-rays.

On average people receive 3 dental bitewings worth of radiation a day just from being outside in the sun, around concrete buildings or roads. There are some studies produces by radiologist saying that low doses may actually reduce cancer risks. Knowing how low the dose is, let’s talk about the benefits of dental x-rays.

Here are just a few:
• Detecting hidden decay
• Detecting the presence of a cyst or tumor
• Determining the presence of permanent teeth
• Detecting oral cancer problems
• Detecting root involvement with the sinuses
• To help determine whether or not to remove primary teeth
• To determine if extra teeth are present

The list goes on and on. I hope you feel safe and secure when your child gets his or her next set of dental x-rays!