My apologies to our readers for the gap in our blog. Between attending to my late Mom and helping to design the new future of the AACD (including becoming its new President), my staff and I adding new and improved technologies to better serve you, as well as your family and friends. Therefore, over the next few blogposts, I’ll share some of the latest and greatest and invite you to share your thoughts as we go “where few dentists have gone before”.

Let’s start our journey talking about new advancements in porcelain.

Back in the 50’s and 60’s dentistry had finally figured how to adhere porcelain to metals for crowns. In the 1980’s came the advent of bonding porcelain to teeth. Both of these steps were huge and employed “feldspathic porcelain” similar to quartz glass. Despite the layered beauty, these porcelains had limitations.

Fortunately, scientists developed better and stonger  materials that while promising , they were found to be less reliable. The good news is that these challenges led to innovation and the development of Emax porcelain (lithium disilicate).   Intensive research around the world led to great conclusions by Dr.Van Thompson and his team at NYU Dental School  .

Reading through the data has been summarized in an Executive Report. What’s most important to you are the advantages:

• Lithium disilicate provides outstanding esthetics while ensuring greater strength
• Due to its strength and multiple translucencies, e.max lithium disilicate can be used for a wide range of indications
• Based on the research, it appears that the flexural strength is 3-4 times as strong as previous porcelains.

Bottomline: we are able to use materials that allow  us to make more beautiful and believable smiles that are designed to last longer. The world of smile enhancement continues to enjoy the benefits of new technology.

Looking forward to sharing more advancements. Feel free to comment on them or suggest others.

Keep smiling,

Hugh

Comfortable Dental Care, Technology, smile makeover AACD, e max, Esthetic, flexural strength, nyu dental school, porcelain, smile enhancement, van thompson

Just got back from the International Federation of Esthetic Dentistry Meeting. Quite a learning experience meeting and listening to dentists from throughout the world. It’s amazing the level of interest and talent from places near and far. Can’t wait to visit my new friends in the future.

I received an email recently from my friend David Merriman Scott. We were comparing notes on dentistry and he mentioned a great E-Book called Healthy Mouth, Healthy Sex by Helaine Smith DMD of Boston, MA.

Of course the title is very intriguing. What I really love about it is the focus of dental care at different stages in life. Dentistry is truly becoming a resource for long term health but also an important link to enjoying life more fully.  You and others should find this information to very helpful.

Please share your comments or share with others.

Keep smiling right,

Hugh

Comfortable Dental Care, Dental Health, Mouth Body Connection David Merriman Scott, Esthetic, Helaine Smith, Sex

Sitting here in Chicago at the world famous Chicago Midwinter Meeting, helping plan the future of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. I feel very inspired that when we plan new vistas of learning and helping our members serve their patients even better.

Just read an interesting article on pain management that explains why a relaxing environment can make dental visits more pleasant.

Thank heaven for satellite radio!

It sure makes everyone happier when we give our Flax Dental patients their Bose surround sound noise elimination headphones and let them chill. Even better, when you know you have science recommending that we allow people to choose their own personalized music channel. We usually try to note which one(s) they pick–saves time in letting people relax. Some people are “surfers” ( like me) but most settle into their comfort zone.

Of course I miss the days when we were playing endless streams of comedy like Seinfeld. But when I know that we are giving our patients a more valuable ( and perhaps more entertaining ) dental visit, we are helping in ways that dentistry never dreamed possible.

It’s truly a blessing that I get to help dreams come true on a daily basis–as well as in the future.

Until next time, keep smiling right,

Hugh

Comfortable Dental Care american academy of cosmetic dentistry, chicago midwinter meeting, Flax Dental, FlaxDental, Seinfeid