...EDDA, Trish Vittatow who shares her time between the Jeffersonville and Springhurst offices and TWO hygienists... Sandra Mills of the Florence office and Ashley Haven of the shepherdsville office... tied!
Post your congratulatory message to them for winning our first annual Mortenson Family Dental “Hygienist/Assistant Hero” Award on the Fan page Wall! Trish, Sandra and Ashley will each receive a $100 Visa gift-card to use however they wish.
Dental hygienists and assistants are an integral part of the dental team, and go above and beyond daily clinical practice. We had hundreds of nominations for hygienists and assistants in all our 22 locations. We are so proud of each and every one of our team members at Mortenson Family Dental and thank you all for contributing to their nominations.
There were many wonderful things posted on our Fan page Wall that shows just how caring and compassionate our hygienists and assistants really are, making them an inspiration to us all.
BUT WAIT! Keep following us on our Facebook Fan page….the fun has just begun! Every Friday we will have a Funtastic Friday Face-Off with prizes from many local area businesses such as Panera Bread, GiGi's Cupcakes, Fritz's Salon and Spa, Half-Price Books and Ultra Tan...just to name a few!
We love making faces....SMILE!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Oral Hygiene for Children - By Dr. Blair Brown
One of the most challenging aspects of the dental profession is educating patients. To merely treat cavities or gum disease is not to address the root cause of these problems. Individuals who understand their own role in the prevention of cavities and gum disease generally speaking have a much lower incidence of these diseases. These same individuals are often responsible for the care of young children. Therefore, it stands to reason that parents, who understand the importance of good oral hygiene, brushing and flossing, will instill this education in their own children. It is of the utmost importance then to both educate adults in oral hygiene and preventive measures, and then to educate them on how to aid their children in these practices.
Most parents if asked by a dental professional will respond that of course their children brush their teeth. Indeed this is probably true, however, another pertinent question might be; do you help them do it correctly? To properly clean teeth it is recommend that one brushes for 2 minutes twice daily. The skill required to properly angle the tooth brush at the gums at 45 degrees while ensuring that all surfaces are cleaned on all teeth is often beyond a young child. Flossing between the teeth correctly such that the inner surfaces of both teeth involved are cleansed is at times difficult for adults let alone children. The supervision or performance of oral hygiene for a child by a parent during the daily routine is a must.
For children under the age of four parents will need to do the majority of the actual cleaning themselves, however it is extremely important to have the child involved. Allowing the child to attempt to brush first, and then following up to ensure the teeth are clean is a good practice. It is crucial to remember that children do not always want to have their teeth brushed but this should not prevent the practice from occurring. As the primary care giver to a young child a parent has the responsibility to ensure the oral hygiene of their children. For older children, ages 4-11, an increasing amount of the actual cleaning will be done by the child. Supervision by a parent to ensure both occurrence and proper technique is still important.
Through patient education directed towards parents, children will learn proper oral hygiene techniques along with the importance of taking personal responsibility for preventing cavities and gum disease.
- Dr. Blair Brown, Mortenson Family Dental, Dixie Highway
Most parents if asked by a dental professional will respond that of course their children brush their teeth. Indeed this is probably true, however, another pertinent question might be; do you help them do it correctly? To properly clean teeth it is recommend that one brushes for 2 minutes twice daily. The skill required to properly angle the tooth brush at the gums at 45 degrees while ensuring that all surfaces are cleaned on all teeth is often beyond a young child. Flossing between the teeth correctly such that the inner surfaces of both teeth involved are cleansed is at times difficult for adults let alone children. The supervision or performance of oral hygiene for a child by a parent during the daily routine is a must.
For children under the age of four parents will need to do the majority of the actual cleaning themselves, however it is extremely important to have the child involved. Allowing the child to attempt to brush first, and then following up to ensure the teeth are clean is a good practice. It is crucial to remember that children do not always want to have their teeth brushed but this should not prevent the practice from occurring. As the primary care giver to a young child a parent has the responsibility to ensure the oral hygiene of their children. For older children, ages 4-11, an increasing amount of the actual cleaning will be done by the child. Supervision by a parent to ensure both occurrence and proper technique is still important.
Through patient education directed towards parents, children will learn proper oral hygiene techniques along with the importance of taking personal responsibility for preventing cavities and gum disease.
- Dr. Blair Brown, Mortenson Family Dental, Dixie Highway
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Oral Cancer Detection
Evaluating patients for oral cancer includes a thorough head and neck exam. Special attention needs to be given to the neck to evaluate the lymph nodes for possible metastases. Some oral cancers begin as:
(1.) Leukoplakia - white lesions
(2.) Erythroplakia - red patches, or
(3.) Non-healing sores that are present for more than 14 days
There are risk factors that increase ones chances of developing oral cancer. Risk factors include smoking, chewing tobacco, and drinking alcohol. Recently, it has been discovered that being sexually active can increase the risk of oral cancer due to HPV (human papilloma virus).
Although cancers of the head and neck only account for 5 percent of all cancers reported yearly, 30 percent of these cancers occur in the oral cavity. That is roughly 22,000 new cases per year, if cancers of the lip are not included. Between 6,000 and 7,000 deaths per year occur because of oral cancer. The disease claims twice as many lives as cervical cancer.
Early detection is key, just like with any other cancer. That’s why we offer the Velscope exam, recommended once a year for all patients in conjunction with our oral cancer exam. The Velscope exam emits a safe blue light that allows us to find tissue changes that we may not be able to see with just the naked eye. Thus, finding precancerous lesions early increases the odds of survival. Seeing your dentist regularly helps promote a healthy mouth as well as prolong your life.
- Dr. Jessica Eugenio, Highlands Office
(1.) Leukoplakia - white lesions
(2.) Erythroplakia - red patches, or
(3.) Non-healing sores that are present for more than 14 days
There are risk factors that increase ones chances of developing oral cancer. Risk factors include smoking, chewing tobacco, and drinking alcohol. Recently, it has been discovered that being sexually active can increase the risk of oral cancer due to HPV (human papilloma virus).
Although cancers of the head and neck only account for 5 percent of all cancers reported yearly, 30 percent of these cancers occur in the oral cavity. That is roughly 22,000 new cases per year, if cancers of the lip are not included. Between 6,000 and 7,000 deaths per year occur because of oral cancer. The disease claims twice as many lives as cervical cancer.
Early detection is key, just like with any other cancer. That’s why we offer the Velscope exam, recommended once a year for all patients in conjunction with our oral cancer exam. The Velscope exam emits a safe blue light that allows us to find tissue changes that we may not be able to see with just the naked eye. Thus, finding precancerous lesions early increases the odds of survival. Seeing your dentist regularly helps promote a healthy mouth as well as prolong your life.
- Dr. Jessica Eugenio, Highlands Office
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Food For Thought - By O. Wayne Mortenson
How do we grow successfully and avoid the pitfalls that have caused many to fall?
As we grow our business, I am always reading and learning from as many sources as possible. I just finished a book entitled, How the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins. He also authored one my favorites, Good to Great. I have summarized some of Mr. Collins’ insights.
History shows, repeatedly, that the mighty can fall. The Egyptians, China’s Chou Dynasty, The Mayan Civilization all fell. Athens fell, Rome fell. Even Britain, which stood a century before as a global superpower, saw its position erode. How do the mighty fall? How can we avoid their fate?
If companies like Motorola and Circuit City-icons that once served as paragons of excellence-can succumb, then no one is immune. Every institution is vulnerable, no matter how great. No matter how much you’ve achieved, no matter how far you’ve gone, no matter how much power you’ve garnered, you are vulnerable to decline. There is no law of nature that the most powerful will inevitably remain at the top. Anyone can fall and most eventually do.
Those that fall are those that couldn’t change with the times couldn’t lead with vision, couldn’t make bold moves, couldn’t seek new business opportunities and new markets. What do we learn by studying the contrast between success and failure? When an organization grows beyond its ability to fill key seats with the right people, it has set itself up for a fall. Although complacency and resistance to change remain dangers to any successful enterprise, overreaching better captures how the mighty fall.
The collapse of financial companies like Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers highlights the terrifying speed at which some companies fall. One of the keys to sustained performance lies in understanding how greatness can be lost. All companies go through ups and downs, and show signs of success and decline at some point in their histories. In order to stay strong there must be a culture that instills a belief that past accomplishment guarantees nothing about future success. There must be an almost obsessive need for self-initiated progress and improvement.
Great companies foster a productive tension between continuity and change. On the one hand, they adhere to the principles that produced success in the first place, yet on the other hand, they continually evolve, modifying their approach with creative improvements and intelligent adaption.
The best leaders remain students of their work, relentlessly asking questions---why? why? why?----and they have an incurable compulsion to vacuum the brains of people they meet. They are always learning. They hire great people, build great cultures and expand into new areas while adhering to the principles that made them great in the first place.
Those who build great companies have drive and passion and intensity for progress. However, catastrophic decline can be brought about by driven, intense, hard-working , and creative people. It’s hard to argue that the primary cause of the Wall Street meltdowns of 2008 lay in a lack of drive or ambition; if anything, people went too far---too much risk, too much leverage, too much financial innovation, too much aggressive opportunism, too much growth.
We need to grow, but not be obsessed with growth. We need to remember the law that says that no company can consistently grow revenues faster than its ability to get enough of the right people to implement that growth, otherwise they will simply stagnate or decline. Whether or not a company sustains exceptional performance depends first and foremost on whether it continues to have the right people in the right positions.
All businesses experience setbacks. The signature of the truly great versus the merely successful is not the absence of difficulty, but the ability to come back from setbacks stronger than before.
As we grow our business, I am always reading and learning from as many sources as possible. I just finished a book entitled, How the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins. He also authored one my favorites, Good to Great. I have summarized some of Mr. Collins’ insights.
History shows, repeatedly, that the mighty can fall. The Egyptians, China’s Chou Dynasty, The Mayan Civilization all fell. Athens fell, Rome fell. Even Britain, which stood a century before as a global superpower, saw its position erode. How do the mighty fall? How can we avoid their fate?
If companies like Motorola and Circuit City-icons that once served as paragons of excellence-can succumb, then no one is immune. Every institution is vulnerable, no matter how great. No matter how much you’ve achieved, no matter how far you’ve gone, no matter how much power you’ve garnered, you are vulnerable to decline. There is no law of nature that the most powerful will inevitably remain at the top. Anyone can fall and most eventually do.
Those that fall are those that couldn’t change with the times couldn’t lead with vision, couldn’t make bold moves, couldn’t seek new business opportunities and new markets. What do we learn by studying the contrast between success and failure? When an organization grows beyond its ability to fill key seats with the right people, it has set itself up for a fall. Although complacency and resistance to change remain dangers to any successful enterprise, overreaching better captures how the mighty fall.
The collapse of financial companies like Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers highlights the terrifying speed at which some companies fall. One of the keys to sustained performance lies in understanding how greatness can be lost. All companies go through ups and downs, and show signs of success and decline at some point in their histories. In order to stay strong there must be a culture that instills a belief that past accomplishment guarantees nothing about future success. There must be an almost obsessive need for self-initiated progress and improvement.
Great companies foster a productive tension between continuity and change. On the one hand, they adhere to the principles that produced success in the first place, yet on the other hand, they continually evolve, modifying their approach with creative improvements and intelligent adaption.
The best leaders remain students of their work, relentlessly asking questions---why? why? why?----and they have an incurable compulsion to vacuum the brains of people they meet. They are always learning. They hire great people, build great cultures and expand into new areas while adhering to the principles that made them great in the first place.
Those who build great companies have drive and passion and intensity for progress. However, catastrophic decline can be brought about by driven, intense, hard-working , and creative people. It’s hard to argue that the primary cause of the Wall Street meltdowns of 2008 lay in a lack of drive or ambition; if anything, people went too far---too much risk, too much leverage, too much financial innovation, too much aggressive opportunism, too much growth.
We need to grow, but not be obsessed with growth. We need to remember the law that says that no company can consistently grow revenues faster than its ability to get enough of the right people to implement that growth, otherwise they will simply stagnate or decline. Whether or not a company sustains exceptional performance depends first and foremost on whether it continues to have the right people in the right positions.
All businesses experience setbacks. The signature of the truly great versus the merely successful is not the absence of difficulty, but the ability to come back from setbacks stronger than before.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Mini Implants
Do you have a loose denture? Do you hate having your entire palate covered by your upper denture? Have you heard that implants are too expensive? There IS an answer for denture wearers that won't break the bank...Mini Dental Implants.
Regular dental implants require a complicated surgical procedure and considerable expense. Mini dental implants are placed quickly and easily by your own Mortenson Family dentist, and at a fraction of the cost of regular implants.
Mini implants are designed to hold your denture tight and secure. They can make it possible to make an upper denture that doesn't cover your palate. In some cases they can replace a single missing tooth or help support a partial or a bridge if you lose a critical tooth.
Mini implants are placed painlessly with just local anesthetic, no need to be sedated. Usually the area will be numbed, as many implants as needed will be placed, attachments in your existing denture or partial will be placed, and then you can go home. Usually no sutures are needed. Most patients have very little soreness afterwards. You have tighter dentures right away!
Mini implants are a simple, cost effective alternative to regular implants. Visit your nearest Mortenson Family Dental office to see if you are a good candidate for this innovative procedure. Click on the "locations" tab on the left hand side of the page to find an office near you.
-Dr. Jim Steltenpohl, Sr.
Regular dental implants require a complicated surgical procedure and considerable expense. Mini dental implants are placed quickly and easily by your own Mortenson Family dentist, and at a fraction of the cost of regular implants.
Mini implants are designed to hold your denture tight and secure. They can make it possible to make an upper denture that doesn't cover your palate. In some cases they can replace a single missing tooth or help support a partial or a bridge if you lose a critical tooth.
Mini implants are placed painlessly with just local anesthetic, no need to be sedated. Usually the area will be numbed, as many implants as needed will be placed, attachments in your existing denture or partial will be placed, and then you can go home. Usually no sutures are needed. Most patients have very little soreness afterwards. You have tighter dentures right away!
Mini implants are a simple, cost effective alternative to regular implants. Visit your nearest Mortenson Family Dental office to see if you are a good candidate for this innovative procedure. Click on the "locations" tab on the left hand side of the page to find an office near you.
-Dr. Jim Steltenpohl, Sr.
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