But Don’t Be Afraid – It’s A Good Thing

The University of Maryland has patents pending on a new tooth-colored filling material (composite material) and the two accompanying materials used with the composite that contain antibacterial agents. These agents kill the harmful bacteria that are still present in a tooth after the dentist removes all of the old filling material (if present) and surrounding decay. Not only that, the new materials contain calcium phosphate nanoparticles that regenerate tooth minerals. Further testing on animal teeth and human volunteers is next. To read the full article, click HERE.

AND May is National Blood Pressure Awareness Month (and May 15th is also National Chocolate Chip Day, just so you know)

You’re it! Get fit!

The weather is fine and the outdoors are calling. What better time than May to get out there, have fun and get fit by doing things you enjoy? Flower Mound, where Dr. Stanfield’s dental office is located, has great walking/running/biking paths to take advantage of. Maybe your area does too. Just taking a walk in the neighborhood is a good way to get in some exercise – think of it as a no-frills/no-dues health club.

National Physical Fitness and Sports Month is a great time to promote the benefits of physical activity. No matter what your age and fitness level may be, getting active increases your chances of living a longer and better life. It also helps to:

* Control your blood pressure, blood sugar, and weight.

* Raise your “good” cholesterol.

* Prevent heart disease, colorectal cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

Here are some tips:

• Aim for somewhere around 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate activity a week. This includes things like walking fast, dancing or biking. If you can’t walk fast at first, set your own pace. Walking with a friend is enjoyable.
• Do muscle-strengthening activities at least two days a week. Try to strengthen muscle groups in your legs, hips, back, chest, stomach, shoulders, and arms.

Though you may not have thought of it this way before, these are three important pieces of fitness equipment: a pencil, a paper and a clock. Good intentions do little for your health unless you make a plan, one you will enjoy and that can fit into your schedule.

All it takes to get fit is 150 minutes a week to lengthen your life and improve its quality. Don’t have that kind of time on a regular weekly basis? Don’t give up on the whole concept! Anything you can do is better than doing nothing, right?  Absolutely yes.

No black deer have been spotted roaming around Dr. Stanfield's office - yet.

 Over the past year or so, photos of an all-black fawn have been sent through email messages worldwide. People  wondered if they were authentic.

   The pictures of a black whitetail fawn roaming an Austin, Texas, neighborhood were taken by photographer Richard Buquoi. His photos spawned considerable interest, and others who have witnessed the phenomenon soon published their stories. More photographs appeared on many websites. As of this writing, we here in Flower Mound are not aware of any sightings of black deer, but we’ll keep you posted!

   What causes this color variation in whitetail deer and how rare is it? According to the Northern American Whitetail website, black deer are definitely “the rarest of the rare.” Even more rare than albino deer.

   All-black deer are known as “melanistic” or “melanic” deer. The term comes from melanosis, which is an abnormal dark pigmentation of the skin that comes from a disorder of pigment metabolism. The black fawn has produced too much of the hair, skin and retina pigment called melanin.

   Only a few research biologists have personally observed a black fawn or deer, but say the mutation likely offers a survival advantage, so the deer species is not endangered by extinction. There are approximately 62 deer species.

   While melanistic deer are very rare across North America, they are being spotted more frequently in Central Texas. Dr. John Baccus, director of the wildlife ecology program at Texas State University, has studied melanistic deer for over 13 years. He says there are more in eight Texas counties than in the rest of the world combined. Most Texans, however, have never seen one. An all-black deer is even rarer than the big-antlered deer. So there ya go!

When you look yourself over in the mirror, is it all good until you smile? Maybe your teeth are crooked, discolored, or chipped. Maybe you have spaces in between or are missing some teeth. Maybe you have all of that going on! But alas, traditional tooth veneers are not in the budget at the moment.

     Well guess what . . . Dr. Stanfield can create a beautiful, natural-looking and affordable smile for you with removable veneers. This amazing cosmetic dental procedure requires no anesthetic and no change to the tooth structure. The  veneers are custom made in a lab from impressions of the patient’s teeth, using the tooth shape and color that the  patient and Dr. Stanfield have chosen together. They appear as separate teeth when the patient smiles, but are actually a single unit that snaps into place right over the patient’s natural teeth. And the patient can eat and drink while wearing the removable veneers due to the strength of the single unit.

     Below are before and after photos of a patient of Dr. Stanfield’s wearing removable veneers. What a dramatic difference on this handsome guy!

     For more information on removable veneers and to find out if you’re a candidate for this fantastic cosmetic option, call Michelle at the VIP Dental Care Flower Mound Office to schedule a consultation with Dr. Stanfield. The next time you look in the mirror and smile, it will be all good!   

972-355-CARE 

Would you ever clean your teeth with sandpaper? Of course not. But did you  know that toothpastes contain grit to aid in the removal of stain and plaque in much the same way that sandpaper works? Yep, you could actually be wearing away your enamel, and possibly dulling the luster of your porcelain veneers and crowns as well.

We’ve all been reminded to use a soft-bristle toothbrush and not to “scrub” back-and-forth with all the strength we can muster, but we should also be paying attention to how abrasive our toothpaste is. A toothpaste’s abrasiveness, or RDA (Relative Dentin Abrasion) value, must be determined by the American Dental Association and reported to the FDA for approval of the product. The higher the RDA value, the more abrasive the toothpaste. The ADA recommends using a toothpaste with an RDA value of 250 at the very most, whereas the FDA recommends an RDA value of no more than 200. So where does your toothpaste fall on this list?                                         (majority of data below from Dr. David L. Duke)

Dentists and hygienists have been handing out toothbrushes at the end of dental check-ups for decades, and travelers have been forgetting to pack their toothbrush from home for just as long. But that last detail has nothing to do with the history of the toothbrush. We only mention it because it gives us here at VIP Dental Care in Flower Mound an excuse to point out that those free toothbrushes from the hotel front desk are generally much stiffer than we would recommend for long-term use, so please replace it as soon as possible.

Which brings up the subject of toothbrushes and their bristles:

• Babylonians used “chewing sticks” as early as 3500 BC; there were no bristles on these devices yet but they nonetheless served a purpose versus doing nothing at all to clean one’s teeth
• The first device to clean teeth with bristles originated in China just prior to 1500; it was made from the stiff hair on the back of hogs and either bone or bamboo for a handle
• Mass production of toothbrushes here in the US started in 1885
• Boar hair was used for the toothbrush bristles until 1938 when nylon bristles were introduced by DuPont de Nemours (yes, that’s the same DuPont that we are all familiar with)

Here’s a link to an interesting short video by The History Channel, who produces a whole series of videos on inventions and the history (but of course!) of things:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVIHQ4kQ4PQ

   – source ADA Online,  Library Of Congress

A German and Swiss research team has been having great success permanently covering up the sensitive exposed roots of patients’ teeth with cow heart tissue. This tissue responds to grafting as well as a tissue graft from, say, the roof of the patient’s mouth, is readily available, and doesn’t result in yet another area in the patient’s mouth being uncomfortable during healing or possibly becoming infected.

     The roots of our teeth don’t have the protective enamel coating like the portion of our teeth that we see (the clinical crown) and are therefore extremely sensitive and prone to decay. Once the tissue is in place over the root surfaces that have been exposed by receding gum tissue, the patient’s own blood vessels penetrate the collagen (a protein constituent of body tissue that provides structure and elasticity) of the cow tissue, and the gum tissue starts to grow again. The research team said that the results are comparable to the results found in human tissue grafts.                                                                  – source:  MailOnline, Associated Newspapers Ltd

     With Easter Sunday just ahead, we thought we’d take a closer look at a very important and integral part of the holiday. Peeps®. No Easter basket would be complete without the smooshy little sugar-coated gobs of marshmallow. A row of 5 chicks is 140 empty calories of yellow, pink, blue, orange, green, or lavender yum.

1953  The Rodda Candy Company, which made marshmallow chicks and bunnies somewhat by hand, was bought by the Just Born candy company; it took 27 hours to create one Peeps Marshmallow Chick. Today, it takes six minutes; the chicks originally had wings.

1954  Bob Born improved on the machinery, allowing for greater production of the marshmallow treats.

1958  Peeps Pumpkins were introduced.

1960  Snowmen and Trees were added.

1975  Footballs were added.

1977  Teddy Bears were added.

1980  A giant marshmallow bunny was introduced.

1999  The first flavored Peeps (Vanilla Eggs); Just Born made their first national TV commercial.

2002  Stars were introduced for the summer.

2003  Peeps 50th Anniversary

2007  Sugar-Free Peeps Chicks were introduced, sweetened with Splenda®.

2008  Word-Shaped Peeps spell out JOY.

2009  Opening of Peeps & Company Store

2010  The introduction of chocolate-covered Peeps items

And for even more Peeps fun, check out the winner of Peeps Show VI:  Power To The Peeps, the sixth annual Washington Post Peeps Diorama Contest. The winning entry is titled Occupeep DC. Sometimes it’s good to lighten up a little, ya know?

We at VIP Dental Care hope you have a creative week, and for those of you who celebrate Easter, Happy Easter!

We found this thought-provoking question while doing a Google search on whether or not “thought-provoking” always has to have a hyphen (do you ever get lost on the Internet like that? Hours can go by!). So here it is: 

If you had the opportunity to get a message across to a large group of people, what would your message be? 

We here at Dr. Stanfield’s dental office in Flower Mound hope you have an insightful day!