I know, I know… here comes the ozone again! I’ve explained how we use ozone in our dentistry in previous posts. After all this talk of nasty acid-making bacteria wreaking havoc on teeth, it’s essential — for my ozone-using practice in particular — to bring the greatness of O3 into the picture!

Ozone eliminates bacteria, and is, therefore, the perfect solution to cleaning an infected tooth. What’s even better is that ozone treatment will just come in the form of ozonated water or an ozone gas. Continual application to the surgical site promotes impossibly thorough sterility, while even speeding up the process and recovery. Ozone therapy does not cause negative side effects or allergic reactions in patients, and allows the natural immune system to fight off infection.

Using ozone for cavity treatment makes the filling or restoring process much easier and smoother. Guaranteeing sterility to avoid worse problems later is crucial during any serious dental work, and ozone does the job well.

Dr. Sperbeck, West Los Angeles

One of the greatest perks that comes with CEREC technology is the speed at which we can formulate restorations. In comparison to barely twenty years ago, forming a crown or veneer required a painful series of several dental visits. There were molds to be made, pictures to be photographed, temporary crowns to be endured, a perfectly fitted restoration to be slowly developed in a lab, and bonding to be done. CEREC accomplishes all of this in a single visit, in just a few hours!

Dr. Sperbeck, West Los Angeles

CEREC is a state-of-the-art system that allows full restorations of one or more teeth to be made in a single visit to the dentist’s office. Whether it is a crown, inlay, onlay, filling, or veneer, the CAD/CAM technology the CEREC unit uses will design and produce a perfect restoration of the damaged tooth. The replacement material looks like, feels like, and is strong as a real tooth; biocompatibility and aesthetics are well-maintained; and further damage to the tooth is eliminated.

Do you have a need for a crown, or have large cavities? Have you had trouble with previous “restorations”? Do they look awful or keep on falling apart? Look into CEREC dentistry. There’s no better option!

Dr. Sperbeck, West Los Angeles

In Hawaii, our vacation home host works at a surfboard manufacturing shop. I was curious about the trade, so I took my son and daughter-in-law inside the shop to see if we could get a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes (rather, behind the rows and rows of colorful boards found in shops on every corner on the North Shore!) process of surfboard making. May as well since we were already there! Though many people surf in Los Angeles, I think it would be harder to just walk in the back door of a random surfboard place and “demand” a tour.

The white (often colored) boards we usually see are made out of polyurethane or polystyrene foam. Balsa and other light woods are also commonly used, only they are much more expensive than the foam boards. The shape and size of the board is sanded down to resemble what looks exactly like a surfboard carved out of fancy styrofoam or wood. Much care is taken in measuring the shapes, sizes, and weights of the boards. Then layers of fiberglass, cloth, paint (for designs), and resins are applied to form the complete product. We saw some beautiful boards, including a custom-made decorative one made out of several different hardwoods.

Being a dentist, I couldn’t help but compare the similarities in this process, and the restoration process used in CEREC system, which I have and definitely use. When a tooth needs restoration, the CEREC system records a digital image of the tooth’s structure, and within a matter of hours, carves out a perfect crown/filling out of a small block of ceramic inside a special machine (many demonstrations of this were held at the ADA Session). The faulty tooth is sanded down ever so slightly, and then, after some refining, fitting, and adjusting of the occlusion, the crown/filling is bonded or cemented right where it needs to be, fitting perfectly with the other teeth. It’s quite amazing.

Dr. Sperbeck, West Los Angeles

This last weekend, I attended the IAOMT Silver Jubilee Annual Meeting seminars in Las Vegas, NV. I was overwhelmed with the amazing discoveries made lately about mercury-safe dentistry, and some pretty nifty gadgets were introduced. I was like a child in a giant toy store. There was so much to see and learn, and I was able to make some great connections that are going to bring even healthier, more efficient changes into my office. Keep your eyes peeled!

Dr. Sperbeck, West Los Angeles