Do you know your real age?

Now that, is an interesting question. In today's image and health conscious society, an inordinate amount of time, energy and cash are spent trying to achieve eternal youth. Baby Boomers are typically at the head of the line when it comes to signing up for various age defying foods, exercises, supplements, etc., etc. What may not be common knowledge, however, is that, "What is good for your teeth is good for your overall health." In Dr. Michael Roizen's popular book Real Age: are you as young as you can be? a series of questions about health practices is posed. Answers either add or subtract years from your chronological age. At the end, you sum up, getting the good or bad news about whether you are as young as you feel, or more over the hill than you thought! Of special interest for us and our patients are the questions about flossing and gingivitis. That's right; one cannot be considered healthy and youthful without having sound oral health. This sentiment is echoed by the government's recently released public health strategy statement for the next decade, Healthy People 2010; "Oral health is an essential and integral component of health throughout life." And that is our final answer!

Broken Windows: what do we and the police have in common?

In neighborhoods where crime is rampant you'll usually see vacant, decaying buildings with boarded up and broken windows. Police know that when they spot a broken window one day, there will often be additional damage the next day. It gets uglier from there. Many municipalities have established programs to constantly monitor for the shattered glass and provide repairs. Small damages left uncorrected lead to an atmosphere where additional damage is tolerated. Maintaining property in good repair sets a positive tone. Sound familiar? If we allow our patients to become "comfortable" with either bleeding when they brush; severely malposed teeth; faulty, failing or unsightly restorations, they could quickly become "comfortable" with progressive dental deterioration that ultimately requires invasive treatments. These are rarely "comfortable," but patients are often "comfortable" assigning the blame to us for letting things get out of hand. Wouldn't we all be better off if those "broken windows" were repaired early on and patients kept incentives for maintaining high standards of oral health? That's a win-win situation.

www.perio-at-work.com

It's finally done! After laboring for a few months transforming pages and pages of previously developed written materials and graphics into a coordinated web format, my Internet site has been officially launched. Since visual imagery plays an important role in the periodontal plastic surgery/esthetic restorative dentistry that we are jointly performing more frequently, it was a natural for me to incorporate my other interest in photography as the cohesive backdrop for the site. There is lots of good information for patients and doctors alike at this cyber-address. Please visit and send me your thoughts.