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Let Veneers Brighten Your Smile

February 28, 2017

Filed under: Cosmetic Dentistry,Services,Whitening — dr_shetty @ 1:31 pm

porcelain veneers in buckheadBring the best out of your smile!    Veneers are designed to be ultra-thin—about as thin as a contact lens—so they can be applied seamlessly over your teeth. Modern Thin Veneers have an innovative design that not only makes application far less invasive than traditional veneers, but it also makes for a speedy treatment process. Most cases can be taken care of in as little as two visits. That’s right, only two visits!

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Who you calling ‘Metal Mouth’? …Or Why Adults can have Braces without all the hardware

April 29, 2016

Filed under: Cosmetic Dentistry,Services — dr_shetty @ 5:00 pm

In the next few posts, I would like to tell you a little more about Adult Braces.

Many of us had braces as kids or teens; but did you wear your retainer? I know my retainer was left in my childhood bedroom when I went off to college (let’s just say that was in the ’90’s).  Some people have never had braces.  I have quite a number of patients that fall into both these categories.  Why would an adult even think about getting braces now?

I have been lucky enough to treat some really nice folks for the last few years. Some have been really easy cases, some have been a bit more complex, but every single one of them started out thinking “I can’t wear braces at my age!” (more…)

Merrimack teeth whitening, clear braces and root canal therapy are just a few topics covered in our blog!

October 4, 2015

Filed under: Services — dr_shetty @ 8:31 pm

merrimack teeth whiteningLearn about the latest and best in today’s dentistry from Dr. Sajini Shetty of Dental Designs of New England. Her list of dental services addresses the oral health of the entire family. Read the doctor’s blog about Merrimack teeth whitening, clear braces, root canal therapy and more.

At Dental Designs of New England, we want our patients fully informed on the comprehensive list of modern dental services we offer to the Merrimack community. If you have questions about teeth whitening, clear braces, root canal therapy, dental implants or other topics, you’ll find plenty of information provided here in a clear, patient-friendly format. (more…)

Got Mouthguard?

September 29, 2015

Filed under: Dental Health,injury,Kids,Services,Specials,Sports — dr_shetty @ 5:43 pm

It’s the end of September and hopefully everyone had  great start to school.  I am sure the kids are in the full routine with their sports and after school activities.  My son plays soccer, TaeKwonDo and football, and I’ve seen the bottom of a sports bag and it’s not pretty!

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If your child plays any kind of sport they should have a mouthguard.    So, please, if your kid’s mouthguard was sitting around all summer, do them a favor and give us a call. We will make them a well fitting sports guard in custom colors!  Now until the end of 2015, we will make a custom guard for you kid(s) for a special price of $25!  These are not ‘boil and bite’ guards that ‘may fit’ (why take chances with your children’s teeth?).  These are contoured to each child’s mouth and with proper care will last a couple of seasons.  We look forward to seeing you in the office soon.

Dr. Shetty asks “What’s keeping you from making 2015 your year?”

February 15, 2015

Filed under: Dental Health,Services — dr_shetty @ 3:35 pm

It is Sunday afternoon and another snow storm has just blasted us once again.  While it feels like winter will never end this year, rest assured we are half way through February and spring is around the corner.  I’ve left behind some New Year’s resolutions already, but there are more on my list that I will surely stick with.  Today, I wanted to start  a series of posts about how you change your life in 2015 for the better with dentistry.

Let’s start with Dental Health.  Three easy things that you can implement right now: Floss regularly.  What does that mean?  At least 4 times a week, but everyday is best.  Mornings are busy and rushed at my house, but I take 2 minutes at night to  brush and floss for good teeth and gum health and so can you.

Second, watch out for hidden sugar.  As I become more conscious of what is out there in the supermarket, I find myself looking at labels closely.  Having an active 7 year old, I defiantly don’t need more sugar in his diet!  But ‘healthy’ packaged foods can be sneaky.  Lots of those kids yogurts are ‘low fat’ but have sugars added to it.  It takes time, but shopping smart means keeping those sneaky sugars out of your diet as well.  Sugar isn’t just in cookies, cakes, and sweets, but in carbohydrates, fruits, milk products too.  So, if your little ones give you hard time about brushing after dinner, at least wash everything down with a glass of water to rinse away those left over carbs.

Third, maintain your check ups.  While we have over 6 feet of snow this year alone and you might just feel like hibernating for the rest of the winter, take an hour out of you day to visit us.  Prevention is the best medicine, truly.  We can detect problems before they become unmanageable, and help keep you healthy all year long.  Studies have shown over and over again that many healthy problems can be prevented by keeping your teeth and gums healthy.    Poor oral hygiene and gum disease have been linked to:

  • Heart disease
  • Diabetes
  • Dementia
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Premature birth

What’s behind the links? While we don’t know for certain, experts believe that oral bacteria can escape into the bloodstream and injure major organs.  Inflammation is probably a common denominator. Periodontal disease, marked by inflammation, may increase inflammation throughout the body. Inflammation, in turn, is an underlying problem in diseases including heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

So, give us a call today and see how your dental health is doing.  If you are suffering from periodontal disease, one or visits a year may not be enough to help keep those nasty bacteria in check.  Let us help you find a plan that works, and keep not just your mouth but the rest of you happy and healthy as well.  Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Sometimes it is hard to see the forest for the trees, but having seen so many people put off the inevitable, I cannot stress how easy it is to make small changes and see great improvements.

My resolutions this year?  As a wife, mother, dentist, friend, daughter, sister, I always seem to be taking care of others.  But, this year I vowed to carve out time for my mental and physical health.  For 20 minutes each day, I close the door and lock it and work on something productive.  My writing, photography, emailing/talking to far away friends, cleaning out my messy dresser; whatever it is I do it.  And, 4 times a week I take an 1hour for my physical health.  Walking the dog, lifting weights, playing sports, just doing something physical.

A Stitch in Time Saves Nine

February 19, 2012

My last blog touched on the fact the ‘dental insurance’ is not really insurance after all.  It is more like a ‘dental gift card’ or ‘dental dollars at a reduced cost’. Dental insurance doesn’t really ‘buy peace of mind’ for a disaster, like home or car insurance does.  Imagine if you car insurance paid for ‘3 oil changes and 2 tire rotations’ every 10,000 miles and only gave you $8000 towards a new car if it was totaled!  I know I would be outraged.  Why call it insurance at all?  It’s more like a ‘dental maintenance plan’.  Imagine if medical insurance let you treat only 1 disease?  “Gee, should I be seen for my high blood pressure or my high cholesterol this year because my insurance won’t pay for both.”……Outrageous we would all say!  Yet, dental insurance companies have demoted the gateway to a healthy body, your mouth, into this role.

A stitch in time saves nine…….

Many patients that have dental insurance haven’t even used it this year, or even for a few years.  Maybe they feel by procrastinating their check ups, they can buy themselves some time and ‘save up’ to fix their teeth.  But even missing 1 yearly check up can lead to undiagnosed cavities and gum disease that will only get worse.  Many times these early stage cavities don’t hurt so patients feel like they have time to take care of it.  Unfortunately, any savings that people may think they get in putting off their visits are wiped out when that one tooth ends up causing lots of pain, and takes a lot of work to fix not to mention using up those ‘dental insurance’ benefits.  Gum disease is a ‘silent’ disease so symptoms may not crop up until lots of damage is already done.  By keeping up with more frequent cleanings, bone and gum problems can be kept in check.

Many patients get on the proverbial hamster wheel of putting off needed treatment because ‘insurance ran out’. Their problems get bigger, they wait longer to fix it, and the solutions get more complex and expensive.

What happens if  you have a true dental emergency?  Imagine if you tripped on the sidewalk this year and broke your 3 or 4 front teeth.  Guess what?  You may have only $1000, or $ 2000 at best, to use towards fixing those teeth, and maybe less if you already used some ‘benefits’ for your visit.  That doesn’t sound like insurance to me.  But this is a ‘worst case scenario that I see quite often.  Accidents do happen, and the teeth can be fixed, but ‘dental insurance’ just doesn’t pass the test.  Luckily, with all the options that we offer, like crowns and implants, we can make you smile again.  So far, ‘dental insurance’ doesn’t sound like anything the definition of ‘insurance’.

So, that old adage is true.  A stitch in time does save nine.  That is, getting in to see the dentist often and taking care of problems early will save you both time and money.  In the end, dental ‘insurance’ at best is a ‘helping hand’ for times when almost everything is doing well, or only 1 or 2 problems crop up.  At worst, dental insurance is a hinderance because people feel that they cannot undergo the treatment they deserve because they don’t ‘have enough insurance’.  Rather, free your mind from those definitions and ask us how we can help get back to health.

New Year, New Insurance?

January 15, 2012

Filed under: Dental Insurance,Services — Tags: , , , — dr_shetty @ 7:23 pm

Every year, we get so many patients asking us for help in decoding their dental insurance.  I feel angry that the insurance companies make it so hard for patients to figure out their benefits, what it means, and how it best suits each patient.  Most HR departments are just as confused when it comes to these plans.  In reality, Dental Insurance companies would rather that people pay premiums and never use their plans!

Dental insurance is actually a misnomer.  Normally, we buy insurance to protect us from damages (car insurance, home insurance, life insurance, health insurance), and hope we don’t have to use it for some calamity.  Dental insurance should be renamed ‘dental benefits’, because you are ‘buying at a discount’  a set amount of dollars per year to help offset the cost of dental care.    Most dental care is maintenance and check ups, routine services.  Occasionally there is a need for dental care when something unexpected happens, but most of the time patients can plan for their dental care.  And the majority of dental insurance is use it or loose it.  Remember, insurance companies are in the business of making a profit, not health care!

So, what does it all mean?  Well, dental insurance is an important part of getting dental care, and it does help pay for necessary and routine care, and does help offset the cost of ‘check ups’.  But, the devil is in the details.  My colleague has written a great post over at his website. In deference of not wanting to plagerize, I invite you to click on the link below, its a great read.

LIKE A GIFT CARD FROM A CONTROL FREAK


YES! You Too Can Achieve a Great Smile with ‘Nearly Clear’ Braces for Adults

June 20, 2011

Filed under: Services — Tags: , , , — dr_shetty @ 3:12 pm

Can you smile with confidence?  Do you feel like your teeth are in ‘cosmetic limbo’?  Looking for a conservative option?  Ever ask your self the question ‘But what can I do about it?’

Patients thought they only had 3 options:

  1. Live with my crooked/crowded/gap teeth
  2. Go through adult braces for 2-3 years
  3. Have a ‘dental’ makeover

For the past few years, I have been offering adult braces in my practice. Since I am seeing more and more adults and older teens looking for ways to fix their teeth, I wanted to write about one of the options that I provide. Today’s entry will be about Six Month Smiles, a ‘nearly invisible’ braces system designed to address most adults immediate concerns.

What is it? Six Month Smiles is a system of nearly invisible braces and wires that uses light forces to move teeth. The system was designed to address the teeth that you see when you smile.

How does it work? Using space-age materials, and simple concepts, it works very much like ‘traditional’ braces.  The ‘wire’ on the brackets has a ‘memory’ that is designed to bring teeth into better positions.  Most people can have straight teeth in an average of 4-9 months, with ‘6’ months being the average.

Is this New? Not really. This type of orthodontics has been around for a while.  Recently, technology has allowed us to develop wires that work naturally to do most of the work.   It is the latest manufacturing and materials that allows more dentists to treat patients who are looking to fix their crooked teeth.  The clear brackets make it an attractive alternative for adults who don’t want ‘metal mouth’.

How clear are the braces? Everything is tooth colored, so only you, and us, will know you are wearing braces.

Who is this for? The system was designed with adults in mind, though some older teens may be candidates.  Most adults don’t want to undergo ‘comprehensive’ braces that could take 2-3 years to complete.  Everybody wants to make their smiles better, and Six Month Braces was designed to move teeth in a short period of time and address those concerns.  If your teeth are crooked, crowded or have spaces, and your ‘bite’ is not a problem, then you are a candidate.  Check out some great examples of Jamey, Debbie, and Mike.

Who is not a candidate?

  • If you have significant dental problems due to  bite issues and have crooked, crowded, or spaced teeth
  • If you have significant muscle pain, TMJ pain, frequent headaches that may be related to TMJ or bite problems- you might not be a candidate
  • Have one jaw that is significantly larger than the other, or other skeletal issues
  • Most teens are better served with traditional braces unless their conditions are very minor.

If your teeth are mis-shaped, too big or too small, badly discolored, or have had a lot of dental work on front teeth, you may need more than just a straight smile to make them look good again.  In that case, we also offer other ‘cosmetic’ dental options like porcelain veneers or crowns.  Six Month Smiles may help in getting your smile to where in needs to be to make a ‘dental makeover‘ more affordable.

Many people who started Six Month Smiles with me were excited to learn that they were the ‘perfect’ candidate for Six Month Smiles Braces.  Now, imagine yourself with a new smile before your next dental hygiene visit.  Don’t just imagine it, call us for your free consultation, and we will show you what you could look like with a free ‘smile’ photo mock up.

If you have questions, or just want a complimentary consultation, please call us at 603.429.2199 and let Kathy know you saw our Blog.

Stay tuned, in the next blog find out what Invisalign is all about.

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