Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Who's famous?
Well great stuff went down last week... On Friday Dr Keller was invited to be a guest on 750 The Game. A Portland area talk show all about sports and anything else dude related. He got to be on the 5:30pm show with Chad Doing and it was AWESOME! Dr Keller had such a great time, talking dentistry, getting to hang out with Chad, see a few "big wigs" in the sports arena and generally just be chill. He had about a 20 min discussion on air with Chad and didn't stumble over his words.. not even once! ;) that's good work Doc! They discussed bad breath, where it comes from, how to avoid it (I think the answer was to stop eating smelly food! ;) ), mini implants, flossing, and Chad kept referring to his mouth as his "pie hole" UGH! I had to remind myself that this is a talk show for dudes, which means dudes are listening, which means pie hole is perfectly acceptable. One more reason I'm glad to not be a dude.. LOL! But.... even with the "dude talk" and the funny stuff said, what was most important was opening communication with guys regarding their oral health because let's face it, from a girls perspective, a nice looking, nice smelling, well taken care of pie hole is a huge plus! ;) (and yes, I just used that term) I can't wait for the next installment of Chad and Dr. Keller, wonder what new word I will learn next...
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Who's on the other end of the phone line?
Well here we are! Granite Dental's very own blog ;) How cool is this? We will try to update our blog as often as we can. But...we are super busy at the office everyday, helping people.
It's interesting really working in the front office (this is Vicki btw) and answering the phone each day. I never know who's on the other end of the phone and I never know what they are going to ask for or need. Its fun in a strange way ;) At Granite Dental our focus is to help everyone whom we come in contact with. Sometimes that's by simply making an appointment for them to come and have some time with one of our hygienists to polish up their pearly whites. Sometimes it's to help a person get in to see Dr Keller ASAP to help relieve them of pain or discomfort. and.... sometimes it's to help talk them through a financial worry and help them understand that we are here to help in what ever capacity we can! But what ever the reason for the call, we are glad you called! ;) If you don't call, we can't help. OR if you don't stop in , we can't help. Just yesterday we had a gentleman walk in and tell us that he got a piece of fingernail stuck between his two teeth. He was pretty upset that he couldn't remove it himself. He had tried floss, tooth pick, brushing, etc. He just wanted it out. He was an older gentleman and I could by his body language that coming in to our office was not on his list of favorite things. Sooo... like any good Dental Assistant, Rhonda (this is Dr. Kellers assistant) took the gentleman to the back operatory, sat him down, chatted a minute, then helped him with his "fingernail." It was awesome!
Turns out though that he didn't have a fingernail in there after all... his crown (that had been placed back in 1943 he says) had finally worn a hole in it. Time for him to come back and get that fixed ;) But see how one good deed can turn someones otherwise stressful day into something way more pleasant. ;) (Well pleasant that he didn't have a fingernail stuck.. unpleasant that he needs a new crown.. but pleasant that he learned that his original crown had lasted him 70 years.. ;) How's that for longevity!?!!?
OK well that is all for now. Time to get back to work....
It's interesting really working in the front office (this is Vicki btw) and answering the phone each day. I never know who's on the other end of the phone and I never know what they are going to ask for or need. Its fun in a strange way ;) At Granite Dental our focus is to help everyone whom we come in contact with. Sometimes that's by simply making an appointment for them to come and have some time with one of our hygienists to polish up their pearly whites. Sometimes it's to help a person get in to see Dr Keller ASAP to help relieve them of pain or discomfort. and.... sometimes it's to help talk them through a financial worry and help them understand that we are here to help in what ever capacity we can! But what ever the reason for the call, we are glad you called! ;) If you don't call, we can't help. OR if you don't stop in , we can't help. Just yesterday we had a gentleman walk in and tell us that he got a piece of fingernail stuck between his two teeth. He was pretty upset that he couldn't remove it himself. He had tried floss, tooth pick, brushing, etc. He just wanted it out. He was an older gentleman and I could by his body language that coming in to our office was not on his list of favorite things. Sooo... like any good Dental Assistant, Rhonda (this is Dr. Kellers assistant) took the gentleman to the back operatory, sat him down, chatted a minute, then helped him with his "fingernail." It was awesome!
Turns out though that he didn't have a fingernail in there after all... his crown (that had been placed back in 1943 he says) had finally worn a hole in it. Time for him to come back and get that fixed ;) But see how one good deed can turn someones otherwise stressful day into something way more pleasant. ;) (Well pleasant that he didn't have a fingernail stuck.. unpleasant that he needs a new crown.. but pleasant that he learned that his original crown had lasted him 70 years.. ;) How's that for longevity!?!!?
OK well that is all for now. Time to get back to work....
How often do I NEED to go to the dentist?
How often do I NEED to go to the dentist?
The nation is buzzing about the recently released study,
reported in The
New York Times and other large, popular sources, as well as in the Journal
of Dental Research, that indicates that patients may not need to go in
to see their dentist every six months.
This is ABSOLUTELY TRUE! But let
me explain more about what’s got everyone talking (finally).
Dentistry has always been the forerunner in all disciplines of
preventive medicine. The more disease
your dentist can identify and prevent, delay, or slow down, the more likely you
are to have a healthy, attractive smile your entire life. As so many have found out, once we let our
mouths begin to fall apart, it becomes very expensive and time consuming to try
to get back to healthy, pain free, and happy.
We encourage patients to come in for exams and cleanings as
frequently as they need, but that frequency is both unique to each individual
and changes with time. It is based on
the idea that there are some things that make us have a higher risk for
problems in our mouths and some things that make our risk lower.
In general, there are four main issues we deal with in
dentistry:
1.
cavities, and the consequences of cavities, like
fillings, crowns, root canals, and extractions
2.
periodontal (gum) disease (gingivitis, bone
loss, bad breath, exposed roots)
3.
bite issues (crooked teeth, painful joints,
grinding and clenching)
4.
ugly teeth (Being unable with the way our teeth
look and feel is a choice because we are blessed in America with being able to
do something about it!)
So, what the article reveals is what we have long been
trying to teach our patients. If you are
a honey bear and eat lots of sticky, sugary foods and don’t brush your teeth,
or already have fillings or crowns in your mouth, your risk for growing cavities
is much higher than if you’re a brown bear and eat lots of vegetables and
meats. So you need to come in for exams
and x-rays more often. If you smoke and
have diabetes, only floss right before your next cleaning, or fall into the
estimated 50-80% of Americans who have some form of periodontal disease, you
need to get your teeth cleaned more than twice a year or you will eventual lose
bone around your teeth and then lose your teeth completely.
Coming in on the recommended interval allows us to provide
optimum care, improving your health together.
The greatest benefit to doing what is recommended: as your health
improves, the frequency of your exams, x-rays, and cleanings goes down. We are just as excited as you are when we can
skip an exam or forego x-rays or switch from cleanings every four months back
to every six months because your improved health through the therapy we offer
now justifies less need of monitoring.
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