Optimal Dental Health

We are here to help people keep their Teeth for their Lifetime and
to have an Improved Quality of Life.

Lawrence J. Korenman, DDS
Loveable Smiles 

All dentists are created equal – at least we start that way in dental school. Immediately after graduation we attend continuing education courses and within a few years we are very different from each other. We develop different philosophies of taking care of people. It became my philosophy to help my patients achieve and maintain optimum dental health when I became aware there was such a thing.

What is “Optimum Dental Health” and why is that important?

It’s the difference between achieving and maintaining healthy teeth and gums – and continually fixing minor (to major) tooth issues that never seem to end.

We all know there is a big difference between not being ill physically and being totally fit. There is also a difference between being optimally healthy dentally and not having noticeable dental problems – yet.

Dentists are trained in dental school primarily to find problems with teeth and the gum tissues and treat them to eradicate those problems. That is the reason people have continual problems for years and undergo treatment many times. It seems to be a never-ending cycle that causes many of them to give up on dentistry unless they develop an emergency.

There is a much better way to approach the situation.

It is ideal to develop a plan to become optimally healthy from a dental standpoint. Optimum Dental Health is not only the treatment of current problems, but also the elimination of conditions that will cause problems in the future.

For example, a medical doctor recommends that a person with a slightly elevated blood pressure not requiring medication (yet) begin an exercise and nutritional program to reduce it and avoid the development higher blood pressure and the problems that come with it. The point being: to do as much as possible to eliminate the underlying causes of high blood pressure.

The same principles of Preventative Care and eliminating the causes of health issues also apply to dentistry.

It would seem that all dentists would want to achieve the optimal level of dental health possible. Actually, that’s not the case. In dental school all dental students are trained to see problems that exist at the present time. We were trained to overlook conditions that were not in an “active” state and wait until the problem became “active” to fix it.

I was very fortunate early in my career to have a mentor dentist educate me about the idea of optimum health. It is wonderful to see people live problem-free for many years after having achieved optimal dental health, now needing only “maintenance” visits. They have no fear of going to the dentist and never think about their mouths (except to enjoy being able to smile and to chew whatever they want naturally).

Optimal Dental Health doesn’t necessarily cost more.

It is simply a shift in the dentist’s thinking. An example would be for the dentist to recognize weakness in a tooth with a large filling. Another dentist might look at the large filling and think that although it is obvious the tooth will soon have problems, it is “ok” as there might not be any decay that is visible. Many people think “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

I believe: “If it’s obviously going to break, let’s fix it first”.

For example, it has been my experience that many of these teeth do break, often in a way that cannot be repaired. I believe that weakened teeth should be protected from breakage by covering them with a strong restoration to prevent fractures. This is far better for the tooth and for the person. It is also more economical in the long run as costly emergencies can be avoided along with unnecessary re-treatments.

We are here to help people keep their teeth for their lifetime and to have an improved quality of life.

Call our office today to schedule an appointment so we can develop a plan to help YOU achieve your Optimum Dental Health and beauty. Our patients tell us they cannot believe the difference in their comfort, confidence and enjoyment of life!

Sincerely,
Lawrence J. Korenman, DDS
Loveable Smiles

Loveable Smiles:
Winner of North Texas Business Journal
Business Ethics Award 2010