Dental Info

 The New York Times recently published an article " Five Decades later, Medicare might cover Dental Care"   This development would certainly help economically disadvantaged elderly patients better afford dentistry but it would likely restrict participating dentists to greatly reduced fees. I think it will most likely amount to "Medicaid Dentistry for the elderly". If this turns out to be the case, this may not be the type of coverage most of my elderly patients really desire, since Medicaid Dentistry amounts to triaged dental expenditures. Most patients who have significant dental problems  get covered for extractions and partial or full dentures, but not for more expensive dental options ( multiple implants and crowns)  In my dental practice,  elderly patients usually choose  to fix their teeth, even if crowns are needed and when their teeth need to be extracted they often opt for implant based replacements. Implant dentistry is not that inexpensive, e...

 My staff and I haven't taken time off since our Winter break at the end of 2020 and we are all happy to have two weeks off starting August 16th.  Last Friday was my last day teaching until September. Our office closed last week and we will reopen on August 30th. My son David and I will be in Woods Hole, Ma, a community I have been spending time almost every summer since 1959.  My father was a scientist and Woods Hole and we were fortunate to be able to spend entire summers there. Woods Hole is home to the Marine Biological Laboratories and also the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Originally we went there so he could spend time researching at MBL, but we all liked it so much that we went there even when he wasn't at the MBL. We spent our summers at the beach, biking, fishing, playing tennis, and visiting with our summer friends. Last summer we decided on staying home during the pandemic and this summer I was also planning on a staycation, since I couldn't fi...

Porcelain crowns and veneers 19 year post op  Most patients seeking a better smile seek guidance from their dentists on how to improve their smile. Most are already familiar with porcelain veneers since they have friends or family who have chosen this route. The esthetic results are often determined by the lab and the dentists mission is to prepare and impression their teeth properly. Usually the lab provides a cosmetic wax up done over the patients study model. This wax up can be used to dress rehearse the case prior to tooth preparation and can be used to fabricate good looking temporization as well. At least some of the esthetic decisions are determined with the help of the lab.  Patients seeking a treatment plan by a dentist about cosmetic dentistry would probably do best if they find a dentist equally familiar  with doing both esthetic restorations with composite as well as performing makeovers using veneers.  Often the resulting veneers look good, ...