This year we celebrate 20 years of serving Atlanta and smiling faces in the Southeast. As we venture forward with remodernizing our office, looking back on our journey makes us appreciate the blessings of our constant commitment to improvement in our service and care for you.
- Opened practice on Memorial Day ,1987 in Dunwoody, GA with a focus on cosmetic dentistry
- 1991- Became one of the first dentists in the world using both an intraoral camera and voice activated technology
- 1993- Attended both the Pankey Institute and the Dawson Center to gain expertise in better and complete patient care ( and got married too)
- 1994- Became a member of the AACD and published first article in the Dental Leader
- 1995- Elected President of the Atlanta Society for Cosmetic Dentistry (and became a dad).
- 1996- Moved to expanded facility to add higher technology
- 1997- Became only the 4th Georgian to become Accredited by the AACD
- 1998- Created concierge type practice to improve service to patients (and second daughter born)
- 1999-Began first major lectures to the dental community (will be speaking in Canada, London, and New Zealand in 2007-2008)
- 2001-2003 Co-Chair AACD Meeting in Orlando
- 2002-2003- Raised $36000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team In Training after wife successfully finished stem cell transplant
- 2003- Introduced laser and sedation dentistry to practice and became a leading authority on conservative laser cosmetic dental care starting the “Be The Future” lecture series
- 2003- Named “Member of the Year” by the AACD
- 2004- Present-Elected to AACD Board of Directors
- 2005-2008- Co-Chair AACD Meeting in New Orleans
- 2005-Started the Disaster Relief Fund to help dentists affected by Hurricane Katrina and other future disasters
- 2006- Founded the Georgia Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry
- 2007- Named to the editorial board of Practical Procedures in Aesthetic Dentistry –one of the world’s leading dental journals
- 2007-Patient featured on the cover of the Journal Cosmetic Dentistry- which has been described as one of the cover photos ever
- 2007-Awarded the “AACD Humanitarian of the Year”
- 2007-Began fully digitizing practice to expand services and comfort-now and in the futur
We thank you and everyone for their support-not just in the past but in the next 20 years.
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Faster, safer, & environmentally friendly radiographs
We learn a lot about your oral health through a visual examination of your teeth and gums. But even with 20/20 vision, there are things that can’t be seen with the naked eye. Technological tools are invaluable in helping us detect potential troubles, to better communicate with specialists to improve care, and by far the most effective of these is the dental radiograph, or x-ray.
We are now able to offer our patients a new type of x-ray, the digital radiograph, which offers benefits beyond the traditional x-ray. We place a sensor that is about the size and shape of a domino on the inside of your cheek. It sends signals to a computer which are translated into large, crisp, electronic pictures of your teeth, supporting bones, and gums. The pictures can be enlarged and colored for clarification and are stored in your file for future reference.
Because digital radiographs require 90% less radiation than traditional x-rays, you can relax … the radiation is so low, you may no longer have to wear a lead apron and we don.t have to leave the room!
The digital radiograph makes it easier and less expensive to detect, diagnose and plan treatment long before problems become visible to the naked eye. We’ll recommend digital radiographs periodically, as you need them. It’s the best and safest way to guard your smile against unexpected problems!
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IMAGINE:
Losing your home- Losing your office and future income
- Losing some of your family and friends
- Losing the culture you grew up with
A humanitarian is someone who not only gives of himself to help those in need, but in doing so, also stimulates others to be generous and caring. Two years ago, when Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast (and Dr. Flax’s former hometown of New Orleans), hundreds of dental colleagues, many friends and their families, had their lives ripped apart. Dr. Flax tirelessly organized the AACD Disaster Relief Fund and has raised almost $100,000 to help them and others affected by future disasters.
On May 20th, Dr. Flax received the AACD Humanitarian of the Year Award to honor those efforts. The statuette is an elegant symbol of his dedication to building camaraderie and compassion not only in the AACD but throughout the world.
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This past Spring , we had the honor of featuring one of our patients, Michelle Sullivan,on the cover of the prestigious Journal of Cosmetic Dentistry–the flagship publication of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. As quarterly journal, creating a cover feature is a rare award given to only the finest in cosmetic dentistry and dental photography. According to the Editor of the JCD, “This was one of finest covershots we have ever published”.
We are quite proud of this distinction in addition to changing Michelle’s and many other patient’s lives. With our upcoming in -office photography studio, we plan to add to our growing gallery of beautiful smiles. Another cover story in the making? You can count on it!
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OK, this isn’t as fun and sexy to talk about as cosmetic dentistry but it’s time to sound the alarm on one of the most common diseases around. It’s GUM DISEASE folks and 75% of Americans have some stage of it.
Sadly, most people think that it’s normal when gums bleed. Well it’s not! If you washed your hands and they started to bleed, wouldn’t you get a little worried? Of course you would, yet most people don’t get worried about bleeding gums because no one is telling them it is serious gum disease that could be deadly!!.
The New England Journal of Medicine has reported that inflammation like you find in gum disease causes the liver to produce C- Reactive Protein which is a better indicator of future heart attack and stroke than cholesterol. Think of all the fuss we’ve heard about cholesterol over the years and now imagine a heightened concern that actually causes people to return to the dentist. It now should be standard protocol for physicians to send their stroke and heart risk patients straight to the dentist to get their gum disease under control as their first line of defense.
And there’s more. Did you know that dentists play a role in identifying the 5 million Americans with undiagnosed diabetes? This is because diabetics are more susceptible to gum disease and that can cause their mortality rate to rise by a factor of 7.5. Patients that don’t respond to our best efforts to get their hygiene under control may have undiagnosed diabetes. Patient with diabetes must keep their gum health pristine to increase their chances of survival.
And there’s still more. According to Time magazine ,University of Southern California researchers have reported that gum disease inflammation can quadruple the risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease and that treating the inflammation could help stave off the disease.
Still more. The Journal of Periodontology (oral gums and bone) showed that pregnant women with high levels of bacteria in their mouth are at high risk for delivering preterm low-weight babies. Doctors believe that the bacteria from the mouth travels to the uterus and interferes with the pregnancy.
And finally…we have always known thet gum infections of the mouth can spread to other parts of the body like the heart and even the brain! The news about gum disease and it’s connection to our overall health continues to come up again and again in research and medicine. It’s time to get deadly serious about the disease that most of the planet still does not take seriously.
Here’s the good news! In our office we have the systems and technology to get gum disease under control 98% of the time without specialist surgery.
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Dr. Hugh Flax of Atlanta, GA, has been elected to a second term on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD). The election took place at the organization’s 22nd Annual Scientific Session, held in San Diego, CA on May 16, 2006.
“I am honored to serve again on the Board of Directors of the AACD. This is the premier organization for advancing excellence in cosmetic dentistry, and I am excited to help lead the profession into the future,” commented Dr. Flax.
The AACD Board of Directors is comprised of 15 elected officials from varying cosmetic dental backgrounds. Its chief responsibilities include: supervising the direction of the AACD, determining its policies, and maintaining the AACD standard of excellence throughout all aspects of the organization.
Dr. Flax received his DDS degree from Emory University in 1983 following undergraduate Phi Beta Kappa honors. He is a member of the American Dental Association, American General Dentistry, American Laser Dentistry and the L.D. Pankey Alumni Association. In addition, he is a Fellow of the International Academy of Dentofacial Esthetics and an Accredited member of the AACD.
The AACD is the world’s largest international dental organization dedicated to advancing excellence in the art and science of cosmetic dentistry and encouraging the highest standards of ethical conduct and responsible patient care. Founded in 1984, the AACD has over 7,600 members in over 60 countries and is the world’s pre-eminent resource for cosmetic dentistry education and information. For more information regarding the AACD, please visit www.aacd.com.
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Just like specialists in medicine, our practice has embraced the use of microscopes and magnification to improve your results.This allows Dr. Flax and our team to see what most dentists cannot see under normal circumstances. Not only can we see problems when they are very small, we can improve the precision and accuracy of our care for you. Bottom line: your dentistry is more conservative and will last alot longer.It illustrates our commitment to being attentive to the tiniest detail in our quest to give you lifetime of dental health and a beautiful smile.
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For years, enhancing the whiteness of a smile has always been a goal of our patients. What is the right shade of white? Generally speaking, we try to create a “naturally bright” smile that compliments the skin tones, hair color, lips, and blend with the whiteness of the eyes. Through Dr. Flax’s training and credentials , especially as an Accredited member of the AACD, we are able to design the “perfect smile” that is customized for each and every patient. Improving one tooth or your entire smile, it’s now possible to do most treatment comfortably and with natural looking, feeling and functioning results. We can whiten, refashion, recreate, straighten, replace, and restore smiles in as quick as one or two visits.
- CUSTOM DESIGN - Creating your smile as if we are creating a “work of art.” A passion for excellence we call “Success By Design, Not By Accident.”
- ENGINEERING - We blueprint every detail and build your smile to last. We want to keep a smile on your face.
- CREDENTIALS – Years of experience as a dentist, artist, researcher and a teacher as well as an overwhelmingly satisfied clientele.
- COMFORT SECOND TO NONE - Our staff and doctor absolutely love to “cater to your comfort”.
- INCREDIBLE SERVICE - We’ve made special arrangements with our lab complete your care in only 4 weeks!
- AFFORDABILITY - Anyone can have a “million dollar smile” for a lot less and — EVEN BETTER — for every budget.
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On March 4, Dr. Flax taught a class of 300 on his ‘10 secrets” of laser gum sculpting that he has pioneered and taught over the last 3 years. Combining this technique with award winning smile design has made him a well sought after dentist and lecturer. That same day, he received a special award for his continued passion and contribution to the profession.We are proud of his continuing achievements as well as the new knowledge that he applies to serve our happy patients.
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On a regular basis, we enjoy celebrating our patients’ success with a special reward- an individualized photoshoot. In February, we “kicked it up a notch” with a professional photographer and makeup artist that used on location at the Fulton Cotton Mill. Everyone had a fabulous time! As a matter of fact, one of our patient’s is about to be featured on the cover of a magazine . We can’t wait to see her showing off pearly whites for thousands to see.
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