The health of your teeth, gums and their jawbone influences your systemic health. Problems such as decay, gum disease, tooth loss, and improper bite impact how the rest of your body performs. Dentist in Medina, Dr. Allan J. Milewski, relates the connection between dental health and systemic well-being and tells how you can be healthy from head to toe.
As the holidays approach, you will be gathered with friends and family to share warm meals together. While food is often the center of holiday get-togethers, you need to keep your oral health in mind when dining. As your Medina dentist, we do not want to see the holidays ruined by poor food choices. We have a list of the top foods you should avoid during the holidays to protect your smile.
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Do you have fillings in your teeth? If so, they may be made from silver-colored amalgam or tooth-colored composite resin. Both have successful track records with your Medina dentist, Dr. Allan J. Milewski. Learn the differences between amalgam and tooth-colored fillings in Medina.
As your dentist in Medina, I want your teeth to be as healthy and beautiful as possible — and I want your smile to last a lifetime. With that in mind, I think it’s a good time to get ahead on the New Years resolutions: here are the top five dental habits you should break before we ring in 2016.
Here are the top eight reasons to see your favorite Medina dentist before we ring in 2016!
It’s World Smile Day and Dr. Milewski and Veronica are here bright and early helping a very special patient transform her smile! There are a lot of great moments in dentistry, but one of the best is always giving someone the gift of a beautiful smile. Smiling can literally change your life, we have seen it happen time and time again. Here’s why.
We know that the very act of smiling releases dopamine, endorphins and serotonin , neurotransmitters that literally make you feel good. These neurotransmitters relax you, and can lower the stress you are experiencing. Endorphins have the extra benefit of acting as natures pain reliever, totally organic without any chemicals! Seratonin can lift your mood, serving as a natural anti depressant. And here’s the real interesting part…your brain can’t tell if your smile is real, or faked! You get the benefits of neurotransmitters either way, so exercise those smile muscles!
Smiling also makes you look more attractive, and more approachable. People are attracted to other people who are smiling. And smiles are contagious. Just try to frown around someone who has a genuine, beautiful smile on their face. Bet you can’t do it for long!
So celebrate World Smile day with Dr. Milewski and the rest of the team.! Come in and see us to keep your smile healthy and bright. And remember “When your smiling, the Whole World Smiles with you!”
On October 30, 2015 our beloved Ohio State Buckeyes mascot, Brutus Buckeye, turns 50! Happy Birthday Brutus! Here is a link to a great article that chronicles the history of our beloved Brutus! Hope this makes you smile and Go Bucks!
Dr Milewski and Brutus Cheer the Bucks onto victory!
Here at Medina Family Dentistry, you can often find our front desk gurus, Donna and Tina talking insurance. How it works, how it pays and who has what. The Insurance Landscape is changing rapidly, and it is not uncommon for patients to become confused about their benefits. Let us help with this Insurance 101 primer.
You may have insurance through the Acme Insurance Company, and your neighbor may also have dental insurance through Acme, but that doesn’t mean your policies are similar in any way shape or form. Every insurance company has different plans based on the level of benefits your employer wants to purchase. The more money your employer invests in your coverage, the better your coverage will be. So even if your insurance says preventative care is covered at 100%, please understand that that means 100% of what they have agreed with your employer to pay. So if your employer has invested in a plan with less coverage, your preventative payment maybe significantly less than a plan that costs more.
Dental and Medical Benefits are quite different. Unlike Medical Insurance plans whose plan limits can be a million dollars or more, most dental plans have a yearly limit of $1,000. Most dental deductibles are only fifty dollars compared to medical deductibles that may be in the thousands of dollars. Most dental plans focus on preventative care, with higher coverage for cleanings and exams that help you avoid problems. Unlike medical disease, which can be both unpredictable and catastrophic, most dental ailments are preventable. Consequently, medical insurance tends to focus on those catastrophic events, while dental insurance focuses on prevention.
Our business staff has an excellent relationship with the many insurance companies used by our patients, and they are very skilled at navigating their way through confusing policies. Help them help you by coming to your appointment here at Medina Family Dentistry with your up to date insurance information including the name, ID numbers, group numbers, phone numbers and mailing addresses. We are seeing more and more dental insurance companies cut corners by not issuing insurance cards, so it is even more important for you to have this information with you. As a courtesy to our patients, we submit your claims for you, and advocate on your behalf with Insurance Companies. Donna and Tina are always available to help you understand how your benefits work.
As 2014 draws to a close, remember that you have paid for your benefits, so use them! Most plans reset in January, so use it or lose it. Call our office in Medina, Ohio today and get scheduled before the end of the year. Dr. Allan J. Milewski and Staff are always happy to answer any questions you have about your Dental Health, so give us a call!
We sometimes hear this question from patients who are new to our practice, or haven’t been in to see us for a while. Bleeding gums can be a sign of periodontal disease, sometimes referred to as gum disease, and is nothing to be taken lightly. If Dr. Milewski has diagnosed you with periodontal disease, you may need more than your professional cleaning at our office in Medina, Ohio. Dr. Milewski may say you need root planning and scaling. But what is Root Planing and Scaling?
You’ve heard of plaque, the sticky film of bacteria that forms on your teeth and gum. Plaque that is not removed can cause your gums to become irritated, leading to inflammation, bleeding and infection. Plaque can harden or calcify into tartar, or calculus, and allow even more plaque to form. Your gums may become more and more red, swollen and may bleed. This is gingivitis, the first stage of periodontal disease. The only way to remove this damaging tartar is by having your teeth cleaned at the dental office on a regular basis and to be diligent with your brushing and flossing. If the plaque and calculus is not removed, it can build up below your gum line and periodontitis can progress, which can damage your gums and the bones supporting your teeth. If this happens, one of the treatments Dr. Milewski may recommend is Root Planing and Scaling.
You may have heard people refer to root planing and scaling as a periodontal or “deep” cleaning. Many patients prefer to have a little anesthetic for this procedure, to reduce any discomfort. Using an ultrasonic scaler and hand instruments, plaque and tartar are removed from deep within the gum pockets. The tooth’s roots are then smoothed, or planed. This helps the surrounding tissue to heal, and the pockets to shrink. The smoother surface of the tooth makes it more difficult for plaque to accumulate in the future. This treatment may be done at one or several visits with one of our hygienists, Kathy and Kim. Several months later, this procedure is followed up with another visit where we see how your gums are healing and if the pockets are decreasing. Bacteria cannot easily attach to smooth surfaces, so vigilant brushing and flossing—combined with more frequent visits to Dr. Milewski and his team—will minimize the return of disease-causing plaque and calculus.
Periodontal disease can have serious implications for your overall health and will not go away by itself. To schedule a dental check-up, call the office of Dr. Milewski in Medina, OH, today. We also conveniently serve patients in Akron, Brunswick, Middleburg Heights, Wadsworth, Norton, Summit County, Cuyahoga County, Wayne County and Lorain County.
Iconic Baseball legend Curt Schilling, like many professional athletes, was a tobacco chewer. He is now revealing he had Oral Cancer, and states that he regrets chewing tobacco for over 30 years . “I’ll go to my grave believing that was why I got what I got” he said in an radio interview . “Absolutely. No question in my mind about that…I do believe without a doubt, unquestionably, that chewing is what gave me cancer.”
Schilling talked at length about how addictive chewing tobacco was, and that despite losing his sense of taste and smell, and having his gums bleed, he didn’t quit. Not until he was diagnosed. Treatments, including radiation therapy, were so painful Schilling said “The pain I was going through this treatment, the second or third day, it was the first thing and only thing in my life that I’ve ever had that I wish I could go back and never have dipped. Not once. It was that painful.”
If you or someone you care about is addicted to tobacco, talk to us. We can help. Don’t let what happened to Curt Schilling, happen to you.
