By now, it’s common knowledge that our country and even the world is facing hard economic times. So, as a community, we need to pull together and make sound economic decisions about our local economy and the way local businesses and residents can work together to strengthen our local economy. We’d like to do our part during this time to make dental care affordable because we know that while we can wait for things to get better, gingivitus and periodontal disease won’t. So we’ve made two major changes to accommodate your needs as a patient:

(1) In the past, we have commonly let the insurance companies reimburse YOU. Now, not only will we continue to do complimentary benefits checks but also commit to working with ALL PPO Plans and do what’s called an assignment of benefits. This means you will only have to pay for your part of the treatment and not have to wait to be reimbursed by the insurance company. In addition, as the end of the year is coming to a close, make sure you use your remaining coverage or else you lose it come the first of the year.

(2) The other MAJOR change you might be interested in-is a new discount program called Bonham Benefits. For a low monthly payment (as little as $20 a month), you can receive all your preventative treatment (professional cleanings, x-rays, and exams) without coming out of pocket the day of your cleaning. Plus, as a member of Bonham Benefits, you will receive 20% OFF ALL other treatment! This substantial discount will make any treatment you need affordable, both cosmetic and restorative, and without the restrictions and hassle of insurance companies. And don’t forget, Bonham Benefits may cost even less than your current dental insurance so consider withholding it for next year during open enrollment.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BONHAM BENEFITS

We hope that these changes can greatly help the community as we all figure out how to navigate through these tough economic times. It’s the little things that make the difference in life and we hope we can play a small part in making the defining difference in your dental care and in your budget.

Want to have and maintain that brilliant white smile you’ve always wanted?  Don’t bother wasting your money on consumer-grade whitening strips when you can have the power of professional whitening the rest of your life!

New patients may receive a home whitening kit ($388 value) when they establish at our office with a new patient exam, x-rays, and professional cleaning.  If you are a current patient, you can join too!  Call to learn more about your promotional discounted rate for this program.

It works like this: at your visit we will create a custom tray and afterwards, we will provide a lifetime supply of whitening gel.*  It’s that easy!

*2 professional cleanings must be maintained annually at our office or else lifetime subscription may be voided.

A current complex dental issue is the concern about osteoporosis medications causing healthy bone to die.

There are studies indicating the bisphosphonates in osteoporosis medications can cause a serious dental condition called “osteonecrosis,” a rare condition in which healthy jawbone dies.

Early research shows that certain cancer patients who take an intravenous bisphosphonate are more likely to develop osteonecrosis than other patients.

Here is what is important for you to know if you are taking a bisphosphonate.

Tell us if you take an osteoporosis medication. Having your current medical history is critical when we plan your dental treatments.

You need regular check-ups, especially if you will undergo cancer treatments. Regular exams will help us to identify any unusual oral changes while they are in their early and most treatable stage.

Before you begin any medical treatment, tell your physician and oncologist about dental issues. This will help your medical team plan your treatments and monitor any effects from dental procedures we perform.

Tell us and your doctors if anything out of the ordinary occurs in your mouth. This includes bleeding gums, pain, an infection or an unusual sensation in your mouth.

Update your dental and medical history with me and your medical team. When your medical and dental teams have the same information, we will all be aware of anything that could affect your dental and overall health.

Provide phone numbers. Your physician, oncologist and I may need to confer about your health or care and coordinate our treatment plans.

Because we know so little about the bisphosphonate effect on the body, we should proceed with caution, for today is not as simple as we wish it were.

As always, please call our office if you notice anything out of the ordinary in your mouth. We can examine you and intercede early.

Childhood is a time for believing in imaginary friends and fantastic beings such as the tooth fairy. Soon, children begin a phase in which they trade some childhood magic for something real as a signal that they are growing up. In many cultures this trade is a rite of passage that happens when a child loses a baby tooth. Believe it or not, the tooth fairy became associated with that rite of passage.

There is not much reference to the magical connection between losing a tooth and a mystical being until about the eighteenth century. Then, in the late nineteenth century, the king of Spain asked a priest to write a story for the king’s young son who had just lost a tooth. Thus, was born Ratoncito Pérez, the Spanish version of a tooth mouse that had magical powers.

Today, it is unlikely that you think about tooth rituals and rites of passage when your child loses a tooth. You just pay the ransom and enjoy playing along with the tradition.

In our culture, the idea of a tooth fairy probably began in the early 1900s. But the idea didn’t really take off until sometime in the middle of the twentieth century. Suddenly, there were books, movies and cartoons about the Tooth Fairy. Then, in 1961, Charles Schultz gave the Tooth Fairy national exposure when he introduced her into one of his “Peanuts” cartoon strips.

Exchanging a lost tooth for money or a small gift may have begun as a way to calm a child’s fear about this important dental event. But it is big business today. Stores brim with all sorts of Tooth Fairy merchandise. Even the exchange rate has skyrocketed. What used to be a dime or quarter reward, today is two dollars—and climbing—in some families.

Yes, it is a natural progression of life when children five or six years old lose their baby teeth. It is also a time when we need to monitor this process so that we can make certain that a tooth replacement is happening normally. It is also a time for us to carefully watch the eruption of the permanent tooth. That way we can intervene early if the permanent tooth needs some help, erupts at an incorrect angle, or needs professional guidance in many other situations that can occur.

We want a child’s permanent teeth to be healthy and strong. With good home care and regular dental visits, we can let the tooth fairy continue to do her magic, and we can take over the real work of giving your child a smile that will last a lifetime.

Call us if it is time for a check-up or someone is having a dental issue. We are here to help.

Every year, the Pinellas County Dental Association (PCDA) and the Upper Pinellas County Dental Association (UPDCA) participate in the national ADA event called “Give Kids a Smile” (GKAS), which provides education, preventative and restorative care to low-income children who do not have access to care. 

After 3 years of coordinating this event in Pinellas County, Dr. Chris Wujik is passing on the torch to Dr. Carey Bonham of Bonham Dental Arts in Largo.  Dr. Carey Bonham will be in charge of orchestrating volunteers, transportation, and marketing this humanitarian event that is held annually in tandem with National Children’s Dental Health Month in February.

This past year, the three Bonham doctors–Dr. Carey, Dr. Amy, and Dr. Chris–volunteered along with almost 200 other dental professionals who made this year’s GKAS a great success. They had 470 appointments and performed roughly $134,000 of treatment for children in need. 

But making this event a reality is no easy task. From coordinating screenings and getting supplies, to organizing the venues and finding dentists, Dr. Carey has his work cut out for him.  “When Dr. Wujik asked me to do this, I knew it was going to be a lot of work,” Dr. Carey explains, “but knowing we can make a difference in the lives of children within our own community–now that is an irressistable offer.”

The influence of GKAS is far-reaching and partners with other local organizations such as Help a Child, Sallie House, the Salvation Army and CASA. In addition many public schools such as Sanderlin, Azalea, and Sawgrass participated, even to the point of providing bus transportation.

With the help of his wife, Dr. Amy Bonham, next year’s GKAS will surely be another heralded success.  She also shares a love for pediatric denitstry and hopes that this event will raise a county-wide awareness of the importance of children’s dental health.

After just a few years out of dental school, this is a huge opportunity for Dr. Carey to lay some roots down in the community.  “This is just another way of helping Pinellas,” says Dr. Carey, “and while most of these patients will never set foot in our office, we know we’re playing a bigger role in caring for the oral health of the community we’re a part of.”

Dancing is about rhythm. One steps and moves and the partner smoothly follows. The process of getting and losing a tooth is like a carefully choreographed dance.

After a baby tooth erupts, it saves a space in the jawbone for the permanent tooth to one day reside. When the baby tooth and the permanent tooth dance to the same rhythm, the baby tooth’s root will dissolve; the tooth will fall out, and the permanent tooth will erupt and take its place.

In rare instances, a tooth partner loses its rhythm. The permanent tooth erupts, but the baby tooth is still firmly secured in the jawbone. When this happens, we say that the baby tooth is ankylosed (ank-ill-osed). This means that the tooth root has welded to the jawbone and now cannot fall out, but the permanent tooth will still erupt, painlessly and out of alignment.

A tooth is not a simple object. Beneath the gums lies a complex system of dental structures that protect a tooth so that it can last a lifetime.

A tooth has a periodontal ligament. This is a tough, sock-like structure that snugly fits around a tooth’s root. The fibers in the ligament attach to two structures: 1-the cementum, a thin layer of calcified material that covers a root’s surface, and 2-the jawbone. In essence, the ligament is like a thread of a spider’s web that suspends the web between two tree branches.

Causes of ankylosis

There are several theories why a tooth’s root does not dissolve. Some researches blame the periodontal ligament. Somehow a tooth loses its ligament. Without that sock, the tooth root and the jawbone weld together and dance cheek-to-cheek.

An ankylosed tooth can cause the opposing partner tooth to dance alone and protrude from its socket because the ankylosed tooth sits lower in the jawbone. The ankylosed tooth can block the permanent tooth from erupting properly. The tooth erupts crooked and misaligned, which can create orthodontic issues later.

Preventative measures

This is one more reason why it is so important to bring children in for regular dental check-ups. We can usually identify an ankylosed tooth just by observation and x-rays. Then we can decide what the best treatment is. We might decide to leave it alone and watch it for a period of time. In the end, we may have to remove the ankylosed tooth or put a crown on it to make it a little taller.

We will work closely with you to determine the best treatment.

Please schedule an appointment right away if your child is experiencing a dental issue. The sooner we can evaluate a situation, the sooner we can intervene and help those smiles last a lifetime!

This trip was facilitated through Missionary Ventures International, based out of Orlando, Florida.  

These are exciting times for anyone who has considered improving their smile. Yesterday, many people thought that only Hollywood movie stars could get dazzling smiles, but today people know that anyone can enhance the smile that Mother Nature gave them.

Just look at the results of a recent survey of several thousand dentists. They are eye-opening. It perhaps is not so surprising that more women than men are changing their smiles—67 percent to 33 percent. What catches the eye is the number of men who are jumping into the smile makeover arena. And their numbers are steadily increasing.

But here is the real wow factor: Most patients (53 percent) are 41 to 60 years of age! It is not just Baby Boomers who want to improve their smiles. Many patients on both sides of the age range are saying they have had enough of misshapen or stained teeth.

Why should anyone go through life and be unhappy with their smile? We know that people who have great smiles are judged as being more successful, more attractive, friendlier and more interesting. With our technological advancements, it is like snapping our fingers to give you a great smile.

From the survey of 5500 dentists, take a look at a few of the procedures and see how many of your friends and neighbors have chosen to improve their smiles.

Some patients may be surprised to know that many general or family dentists also perform cosmetic dental procedures.

Great smiles aren’t just for movie stars anymore. Be your own best friend; reward yourself and improve your smile wow quotient! Call us. Come in so we can discuss your smile goals and create a smile makeover treatment plan uniquely for you.

Scary things like Diabetes, Stroke, Heart Disease, and Pancreatic Cancer can result from a lack of Brushing & Flossing

Article Provided by Dr. Chris Kammer

MADISON, WI- Can a toothbrush help clean out your heart? Surprisingly, yes. Brushing your teeth has been shown to be the first step in preventing periodontal disease that can lead to heart disease, stroke, and diabetes complications.

Dr. Chris Kammer of the Center for Cosmetic Dentistry says that 80% of adults have periodontal disease and most cases go undetected. The disease raises the level of harmful bacteria in the mouth, which travels through the bloodstream to other organs in the body, and can lead to a plaque buildup in arteries surrounding the heart.

“Most people don’t think of their dentist when it comes to health problems that are not found in one’s mouth,” says Dr. Kammer. “But a dentist can actually be the first line of defense in reducing the risk for many of the most deadly diseases.”

Brushing and flossing are effective means of preventing periodontal disease, but diabetes can counteract these efforts. Diabetes, which kills more people annually than breast cancer and AIDS, can weaken your mouth’s ability to fight germs, increase blood sugar levels, and make periodontal disease more difficult to control. Your dentist may suspect diabetes if you brush and floss regularly and still have symptoms of periodontal disease. Nearly 21 million children and adults in the U.S. have diabetes, yet one-third of them are not aware they have the disease. Regular gum disease therapy and treatments can help avoid diabetes complications as serious as death

As periodontal disease worsens, surgery may be needed to save your teeth. The more teeth a person has lost, the greater the risk for cardiovascular problems such as heart disease. Bleeding gums is just one of many symptoms of periodontal disease. New studies published in the Journal of Periodontology are linking periodontal disease to diabetes and heart disease. And the American Association for Cancer Research has even found that diseased gums raise the risk of pancreatic cancer.

In fact, men with a history of gum disease had a 63 percent higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer relative to men without periodontal disease after factoring out smoking, diabetes, obesity, and other potentially confounding factors. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of death from cancer death in the U.S.

Dr. Kammer adds, “If you washed your hands and they started to bleed, you would be alarmed, right? Then how come the majority of people are not alarmed when they brush their teeth and their gums bleed?”

According to Dr. Kammer, periodontal disease works to destroy gums and is the leading cause of -tooth loss in adults:-it is now known that patients with a 20 percent increase of periodontal bone loss have a 40 percent increase in developing chronic heart disease. The process begins when the plaque that settles around your gum lines fails to be removed by daily brushing and flossing. When plaque stays on your teeth, it turns into tartar, and only your dentist can remove tartar. The plaque and the tartar are irritants that house the bacteria that cause the gums to become infected.

It was found by researchers that diseased gums released higher levels of bacterial pro-inflammatory components into the bloodstream. These bacterial agents could travel to other organs in the body and cause damage.

Tips for preventing periodontal disease that could lead to diabetes and heart disease:

• Every Day: Be knowledgeable about how gum problems start and look for early signs
• Twice a Day: Brush your teeth. Also remember to brush your tongue and the roof of your mouth.
• Once a Day: Floss your teeth and use an irrigator like a Waterpick or Hydrofloss for even deeper cleaning of the gum pockets.
• 2 to 4 times a year: Visit your dentist for a cleaning (50%of patients must go to the dentist more than twice a year to maintain gum wellness) Up to 70% of people have gum disease, so more frequent visits will be required until the disease is under control.
• Be Proactive: Visit your dentist if you have any of these symptoms - warning signs of periodontal disease:
  • Bleeding gums when brushing or flossing
  • Red, swollen, or tender gums
  • Gums that have pulled away from teeth
  • Bad breath

Dr. Chris Kammer has been an expert for USA Today, Reader’s Digest, Fox News and CNN He is available to provide more information at 608-827-6453, or visit the Center for Cosmetic Dentistry Online.