Raising the bar in 2013

Wow, another year passes. Where did 2012 go. Time sure does seem to fly by. Well, since we didn't see the end of the world this month we can get back to our actuary tables. According to the CDC, life expectancy in the United States is 78.5 years. In areas like Camarillo and Ventura County, the life expectancy is even higher due to our good clean living. That poses a problem for dentists like me.

Your smile at 90?

In the old days, people were OK with losing their teeth and wearing dentures. These days that isn't the case. Most people want to avoid that. I used to have patients ask me, "so when do you think I am going to lose my teeth?" as if it were unavoidable.

Just to be clear, gum disease (not cavities) is the cause of losing all of your teeth almost every time. The bone that hold your teeth in is only there to do that if it is happy (healthy). Inflammation and infection around the neck of the teeth from plaque is what causes the bone to not want to be there. It will slowly recede away from the tooth until the tooth gets loose and falls out.

It used to be that only people with great teeth and great habits kept their teeth into their golden years. Now, even mediocre teeth can go the distance with the right care. As we all live longer, we have to raise the bar on oral hygiene. It is a team effort between you and your friendly dental team at Camarillo Smiles. What we do is to help you become better and more efficient so that you won't need us as much. We love to be needed, but we also love seeing our coaching pay off for you. That makes us smile!

Have a great 2013. -Dr. C:)

In Defense of Candy

    I have a confession. This is the time of year that I, as a Camarillo dentist, am supposed to go on and on about the horrors of candy, but, I can’t. Even though most people believe that candy is the number one threat to teeth and the top cause of cavities, research does not support this wholesale vilification of sweets.

    Any food that has any kind of sugar or carbohydrates that can be broken down by the bacteria in your mouth cause cavities. The longer the food sits on the teeth, the more breakdown of enamel we will see.

    Surprisingly, research shows that candy, like caramels and jellybeans, dissolve more rapidly than starch-based products like potato chips, bread and rice. Candy is made with soluble sugars that wash away more rapidly than the sticky starches.

    But be sensible, occasional eating of candy is not aproblem, especially if you brush and floss afterwards. The problem comes when we eat is all day long.

    Maybe you should move that holiday candy bowl to someone else’s desk. - Dr. C:)

What’s Keeping You From Smiling?

I saw a patient at our Camarillo dental office today that came in to talk about straitening out her crooked teeth with Invisalign clear aligners. She went on to tell me that she never shows her teeth when she smiles because she is embarrassed to have such “messed up teeth”. I hear this several times a week. Some of those people do have what I would call esthetically challenged teeth, but most had, well not perfect smiles, but smiles that had just minor cosmetic issues.
When I hear that a person does not want to smile because their teeth are a bit out of alignment or they have chipped edges on their front teeth or they have teeth that aren’t quite as white as they could be, it gets me thinking- Do people think it is better to not smile than to smile even if their teeth are not perfect? That’s sad! Smiles are meant to be shared. If you are not happy with your smile, come talk to us.
Many fixes are really quite minor, and yes, some are more involved. Here are some examples of the ways we adjust smiles. Chipped front teeth are so visible but are one of the easiest fixes. We use a beautiful bonding material that fills in the missing part of the tooth. Color matching is done with extreme care and can take a few minutes to get it just right but it is worth the effort to have the chip disappear causing patients to hardly remember where the chip even was. Crooked teeth can be corrected by Invisalign clear braces often in less than a year but are also sometimes handled instantly by cosmetically bonding a couple of teeth to give the illusion of straighter teeth. No one needs to be unhappy with their yellow or discolored teeth. Yellow teeth can be treated by tooth whiteners here at our office or at home with our direction and support. To accomplish this, we custom fit a tray to patient’s teeth for phenomenal results using an incredibly easy process. We even have a special bleaching process for teeth that were previously untreatable by traditional products. It works! And we are one of only a couple of dentists in Camarillo that can offer this. Porcelain veneers and crowns are still the go to procedures for reconstructing the perfect smile. Sometimes just one or two teeth treated with veneers can make all the difference. Other times a smile benefits by have more. We have done as many as twenty veneers for a total makeover.
But, no matter what we do, the effects are dramatic. Time after time, we have seen patients come back into our office with big smiles on their faces. They hardly look like the same person. That is one of the most gratifying part of our job. We love to see people happy! Having a pretty smile can certainly be part of that.

Are Your Teeth Yellow?

If you have ever looked in the mirror and noticed that your teeth are yellow or just not as white and bright as you’d like, you are not alone. At Camarillo Smiles, we hear about this every day. There are many, many reasons why your teeth are not so pearly whites. The good news is most of these can be avoided and the better news is that we can always make yellow teeth white and bright.

Rodney Dangerfield: "Doctor, doctor, my teeth are yellow. What should I do?"


Dentist: "Wear a brown tie"

Causes of Yellow Teeth:

•    Inadequate oral hygiene leaves stain, plaque and tartar behind. There’s a reason we suggest that you floss daily and brush after each meal. Without good efficient you can leave a distinctive layer of unappealing crud on your teeth. This can be anything from a fine brown film to a dark black crust. Once it gets this bad, it will take the magic of our wonderful dental hygienist to eradicate it. The key is prevention. The longer stuff stays on the teeth, the harder it is for you to remove it with your toothbrush and floss.

•    Food and drink are big culprits, especially drinks like coffee, tea, and red wine. Colored foods like blueberries and soy sauce can stain your teeth and play a role in the discoloration. Choosing white wines over red wines will aid in keeping teeth whiter. Eating lean meats like chicken decreases staining while eating dark or red meat increases staining. If you are going to drink coffee, tea, or juice, using a straw will prevent direct contact with teeth and decrease the potential for staining. Making subtle changes to the foods that you eat and combining oral hygiene with dental checkups help to keep teeth free from stains. While an apple a day may keep the doctor away, eating acidic foods regularly can dissolve the protective tooth enamel and allow stains to appear on the teeth. Eating your favorite foods may satisfy your hunger or sudden cravings, but they may be harmful to your teeth. We do need to be careful not to brush immediately after eating something acidic. Check out our blog on when to brush your teeth.
•    No surprise that smoking and chewing tobacco can cause horrendous stains. They can make teeth a color of yellow and brown that can rival the most experienced ash tray. Nicotine in the tobacco can leave deposits on the teeth that lead to discoloration, not to mention the gum disease and bone loss that it causes.

•    Aging is another cause of yellow teeth. Over time, the enamel on a tooth gets thinner and more translucent, allowing the inner layer of the tooth (the dentin) to show through. This inner layer is more yellow in some peoples teeth than others. Although it is hard to prevent aging, the thinning enamel can be minimized by avoiding abrasive toothpastes.
•    The often overlooked one- acid. When teeth come in contact with acid, they become more porous allowing stain to move into the enamel layer. Acidic foods and drinks are big players in this, particularly soft drinks. But the list is long; sports drinks, fruit juice, salad dressing, fruit, tomatoes, etc. The other source of acid is from within. Gastric reflux, or GERD, is the creeping up of acid from the stomach that usually occurs at while sleeping that then bathes your teeth in a pool of acid. Some people will have no knowledge that this is taking place, but it will show up as very yellow teeth among other oral clues. We are always looking for that. Acid plus any of these other causes is the perfect storm for yellow teeth.

Although there are many causes of yellowing teeth, being aware of these reasons can help you keep your smile white and bright. Visit us regularly to ensure a healthy, beautiful smile.
After a professional cleaning, the next step is professional whitening. Check out our options for whitening. No one needs to hate the color of their teeth anymore.

Welcome to the Dentist-Camarillo CA Blog of Camarillo Smiles

This is the blogspot of Camarillo Smiles, dental office in Camarillo, CA. Our Camarillo Smiles team includes dentists Michael Czubiak DDS, Eric Shapiro DDS and Beata Pezeshki DDS. We love what we do and you can feel that when you arrive in our office. From the smiles you'll see, to the laughter you'll hear, our office is different. We believe that a dental office can deliver exquisite dentistry while maintaining a friendly, gentle atmosphere. We care about our patients' health and we care about their experience.

We strive to be the best dentist in Camarillo by technically being smarter than the rest. Our slogan is "Beautiful Smiles, Smartly Done". We continually train with the best and brightest minds in dentistry.  We are confident that we can earn your trust by treating you like we would treat our own family.

A big part of our success has been involving our patients in their treatment decisions. We do this by making available all the resources a person might want, to learn more and more about their own dental health. This blog will be one of those tools as well as our website. We have a lot of great information on it. Why do I have a toothache? When should a child see a dentist? Is novocaine safe while breast-feeding? How does invisalign work?

Come learn with us, let us pamper you and leave saying that Camarillo Smiles is the best dental office in Camarillo!

Website address: http://www.camarillosmiles.com/