Dental World Wednesday

Summer is here.  Vacation time is here too.

Before you head out the door, make sure you're taking good oral hygiene with you.

"Going on vacation is a great way to get away from the daily responsibilities of life," says Dr. Jergins.  "But, when you leave home, remember that your teeth don't want you to take a break from good dental care."

So, here are some vacation tips to keep you smiling this summer:

*  Pack your toothbrush in a container with air holes

*  Disinfect your container before and after your trip

*  If you run out of toothpaste, still brush with water to remove at least some of the       plaque

*  When packing your family's toothbrushes, make sure the brushes don't touch        

    each other, as bacteria can spread from brush to brush

*  Keep up with your dental cleanings.  Don't let your summer schedule distract      

    you from your twice-yearly cleanings.

Have a great summer!

Dental World Wednesday

In her book, How Not To Look Old, author Charla Krupp says this: 

"Nothing ages you like... yellow teeth... gray teeth... stained or spotted teeth... receding gums... teeth that are too straight across... a mouthful of silver fillings."

Thankfully, Dr. M. Bradley Jergins, The Gentle Dentist in Spring Hill, Florida, can address all of those age-give aways.

"My first priority is to always provide my patients with the safest, most healthy dental treatment,"  Dr. Jergins says.  "But, I also do my best to make a healthy smile a beautiful smile, one that gives the patient a more youthful look, and more importantly, an appearance the patient feels good about."

In an earlier blog, I posted some of Dr. Jergins's paintings.  He brings this same eye for beauty he uses in his artwork, to the treatment of his patients.  Yes, he does wonderful dental work, but he also has a wonderful eye for the best cosmetic treatments for his patients, as well.

Dental World Wednesday

This is a lovely, healthy smile without periodontal disease. 

Periodontal Disease, or periodontitis, can have serious consequences.  

What is periodontitis?  It starts when plaque begins to grow below the gum line.   Then, the toxins in the plaque bacteria start to irritate the gums and cause the gums to respond with inflammation.  When this happens, the gums and bone around the teeth begin to decay.  This leaves pockets, where the gums no longer touch the teeth.  People with severe periodontitis can eventually lose their teeth.  And, the inflammation associated with periodontitis has also been associated with rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, stroke, low birth weight, and diabetes complications.

So, how do you know if you have this type of periodontal disease?  Of course, not everyone will have the same symptoms, but periodontist can present with bad breath, tender or bleeding gums, and the recession of gums.  The best way to know for sure if you have periodontitis, is to have regular dental check ups and cleanings.

"We can treat periodontal disease best, when we find it in its earliest stages," says Dr. Jergins.  "The longer people go without treatment, the more time-consuming and costly their treatment will be, and the greater chance that they will actually lose their teeth."

But there is hope if periodontal disease is found early.  Julie Lawhorn, dental hygienist at Dr. Jergins's Spring Hill office for more than seven years, says the initial periodontitis treatment will take two visits, then the patient must be vigilant about follow up. "We need to see our periodontitis patients every three to four months for cleanings," Julie says. "Unfortunately, many patients come for the initial treatment, then don't come back for several years.  Sadly, that puts them right back to where they started."

Dr. Jergins and Julie also stress the importance of home care in preventing, and treating periodontitis. 

Paintings

As promised, here are three of Dr. Jergins's paintings. The first two are of our children, Clara and Andrew. The third, is yours truly.

And, here's an interesting tidbit about these paintings -- Dr. Jergins has no formal training. Yes, he's one of those people who can pick up a paint brush and create something like this. (Hopefully, our children will inherit his artistic ability, not mine!)

In our next post, I'll tell you about something I, unfortunately, have personal experience with -- periodontal disease.  Dental World Wednesday will be a weekly feature, highlighting news from the dental world.  

Leadership and Learning

This week, Dr. Jergins will be in Orlando for the annual meeting of the Florida Dental Association.  Dr. Jergins is a full delegate, after serving as an alternate delegate the past several years.

The dentists who are active in the FDA, volunteer their time to fulfill the FDA's mission to "improve the oral health of Florida residents, promote ethical practice standards and direct the evolution of the practice environment through continuous education and advocacy for the profession and the public."

Of course, Dr. Jergins wouldn't tell you, but he is also a past president of the Hernando Dental Society.  

Well, during my last blog entry I promised you photos of some of the paintings Dr. Jergins has done.  I hope you enjoy the ones I'm going to post.

Dr. Jergins Is the Gentle Dentist... I'm His Wife

Dr. M. Bradley Jergins is a renaissance man.  He paints.  He writes.  He composes music.  He plays classical guitar.  And, he is an awesome dentist.  He cares about the work he does and he really cares about his patients at his Spring Hill, Florida office.

I'm his wife.  I don't paint.  I don't compose music and I don't play classical guitar.  But, I do write. I graduated from the University of Florida College of Journalism.  So, as a help to my husband, I will be writing The Gentle Dentist Blog.  Of course, since he is the dental expert, I will consult him on all matters dental.  And, since he is a writer of some merit, perhaps I can talk him into writing the blog every once in a while... It's worth a try!

By the way, if you're a patient of Dr. Jergins, please drop us a line.  Or, if you have a dental question send it my way and I'll run it by our resident expert -- The Gentle Dentist himself. 

P.S.  In my next post, I'll show you some of Dr. Jergins's paintings.