Archive for July, 2010

Tooth loss is enjoyed and celebrated in our younger years, and then dreaded and feared in our older years. No one intentionally loses their teeth, but does anyone work towards preventing tooth loss? When your younger this thought might never cross your mind, but ways to combat tooth loss when your over 60 is a lot more imaginable. There are a few tips that you can follow that will help you combat tooth loss over 60.

1. Stay away from Sports Drinks – The pH levels in many sports drinks can lead to tooth erosion due to their high concentration of acidic components, which could wear away at the tooth’s enamel.
2. Stay away from Sodas – for similar reasons as sports drinks, high sugar and bad pH. Don’t think your getting off easy with a diet soda, they can still be just as harmful.
3. Stay away from Sugar – sugar acts as food for acid-producing bacteria which ends up causing cavities and tooth decay. Replace sugar with Stevia, which is all natural, or at least Splenda.
4. Drink water from the tap – bottled waters has less fluoride than tap water. Fluoride makes the entire tooth more resistant to decay and promotes remineralization which aids in stopping early decay. And the most efficient way to get fluoride is from water. But for the over 60 crowd you should also use fluoride toothpaste or fluoride rinses.
5. Stop Smoking! – besides the cancer it produces, tar from smoke forms a sticky film on teeth which increases bacteria.
6. Floss more – you already know you should be doing it. So start.

If you don’t follow these 6 tips, you might end up with dentures or dental implants.

Join us for our Second Dentistry from the Heart Day in Downtown Minneapolis.
I’m sure you’ve seen the happiness we’ve spread in the photos and videos we have posted.

Whether individuals are unemployed, or their employer just doesn’t provide dental insurance, this can make dental work more costly than many can afford. In this light our Downtown Minneapolis Dentist Office is joining forces with Dentistry From The Heart to help those without Dental Insurance or enough money to pay for dental care to get the help they need.
On July 24th from 7 am to 5 pm we will be seeing those in need of dental care on a first come first serve basis.
Our Dentist Office Located in Downtown Minneapolis is located at
Medical Arts Building
825 Nicollet Mall
Suite 609
Minneapolis, MN 55402
This is our part of our commitment as a Minneapolis Cosmetic and General Dentistry Office to Help those in need. If you or someone you know needs cosmetic dental help, please do not hesitate to join us.

Dentistry From The Heart | Improving the World Through Better Dentistry for ALL

Dentistry From The Heart is a registered non-profit organization dedicated to providing free dental care to those who need it. Every year, individual dentists and practices across the country donate their time and resources to host their own DFTH events. In support, the national organization serves to recruit, unify, and promote on a national level

Here are the Facts about Dental Health in the US and Minnesota

More than 100 million Americans are without dental insurance.
Dental decay is the nation’s most common chronic disease and five times more common than asthma. (Surgeon General, 2000)
• Every $1 spent on preventive care saves about $4 in dental costs. (National Institute of Dental Research)
• Across Minnesota, only 42 percent of public program enrollees from all plans receive dental care. (Minnesota Department of Human Services, March 2006)
• The number of Minnesota children living in poverty has increased far beyond the national average rate, multiplying the number without dental care. (Children’s Defense Fund, 2007)
• In older people, untreated gum disease and cavities can lead to cardiovascular and respiratory disease and strokes.

“My name is Doctor Tim Clavin, my office is located Downtown Minneapolis in the medical arts building in the Nicollet Mall. I think dentistry has evolved, we were trained to tell our patients what they need and the patients would come to see us they have a wealth of knowledge available to them and they really tell us what they want. The kind of cosmetic dental procedures we perform is bemiring of teeth, cosmetic crowns, crowns that no longer have the metal substrate underneath them. We do a lot of things even with cosmetic dentures. We can provide teeth that are beautiful prosthetics or bemiring of teeth or simply brightening their smiles.
For me I view many of the patients as my friends, I mean, when they come in and I haven’t seen them for six months, four months or whatever, they are, I feel a friendship with them and I think patients can tell that.
People like to come to our office because we are small. We treat one person at a time and we listen to people, they tell us what they want and we help them. I the benefit of only seeing one person at time in my office is that patient actually gets time with the dentist. I know how thinks are in this world, the pressure on businesses and health care centers and in my office you actually get time with me and many patients love that.”