Video Blog on Home Hygiene

Greetings, my name is Dr. Kari Ann Hong, and I have a family dentistry practice where I see patients from all age groups.  In my practice, I help educate my patients about what they can do at home to help care for their teeth.  

The first topic of discussion is what patients eat and drink and how frequently they do so.  Our mouths all naturally harbor a certain amount of bacteria.  A specific strain called streptococcous mutans is responsible for eating the foods and beverages we ingest and creating acid.  This acid causes a breakdown in the calcium phosphate structure of our teeth, leading to tooth decay.  Certain foods will stick to the teeth longer than others and make the teeth more susceptible to decay.  Examples of cavity provoking foods and beverages are pretzels, crackers, cereals, sodas, energy drinks, and juices.  Natural foods that come from a tree or are picked from the ground will naturally wash of the teeth much quicker after we eat it.

Every time we eat or drink something other than water, our mouth will become more acidic for at least fifteen minutes after we ingest it.  So the more frequently we eat, the more acid that accumulates in our mouths.

In order to counteract the bacteria in our mouths and the foods that stick to our teeth, it is important that we brush twice a day and floss once a day.  I generally recommend an electric rechargeable toothbrush like a Sonicare or an Oral B to all of my patients.  These electric toothbrushes are great because they help remove plaque build up better that we can with a manual toothbrush.  Also, they have timers on them to encourage us to brush for a full two minutes.  I recommend that my patient split their mouth up into four quadrants, and spend 30 seconds on each quadrant.  If you choose to use a manual toothbrush, then I recommend a soft tooth brush.  A harder tooth brush can adversely abrade the gum tissue or the tooth surface with extended use.  Place the tooth brush at a 45 degree angle to the tooth surface.  Make sure to gently massage the tooth and focus on where the teeth meet the gums, because this is where the plaque likes to collect.  

I recommend flossing or using a hygiene tool to clean below the contact of the teeth at least once a day. The idea behind flossing is that you want to get the floss between the gum and the tooth, by wrapping each tooth you have just flossed between in a C-motion.  For the butler soft pic, you just need to get it below the contact area.

In terms of what toothpastes or mouthwashes to use, I have a couple of suggestions.  Any fluoridated toothpaste will be sufficient to clean the teeth.  In patients that have a high risk of tooth decay, I will often recommend an additional  tooth paste to be brushed on with a dry toothbrush, after regular tooth brushing.  CariFree gel and MI paste are two of my favorite products for tooth remineralization.  Both products have calcium, phosphate, and fluoride that help to rebuild tooth structure.  

For mouth washes, I like over the counter ACT Fluoride rinse for those prone to tooth decay.  For those that are prone to gum disease, I recommend Listerine, which is anti-bacterial.  CariFree also makes a mouth wash that is pH neutral and has the same calcium and phosphate as the gel.

Finally, if you like to chew gum, then you can also fight your bacteria at the same time, by finiding a gum with xylitol. Xylitol is a plant derived sugar that prohibits the bacteria in our mouths from producing acid.  Studies have shown that 5-8mg of xylitol a day in a chewable form helps protect our teeth.  

If you would like more information about what you can do to prevent tooth decay and make your teeth healthier, contact us for a new patient exam, where we will go into your specific needs in detail!

Specialist Spotlight- Dr. Hang and Face Focused Orthodontics

At Thousand Oaks Family Dentistry, we are proud of the network of skilled dental specialists we have created. Whether you are in our office or one of our associates’ offices, know that you will be treated with respect, kindness and experience. Today, we would like to highlight orthodontist Dr. William Hang and his program of Face Focused Orthodontics.

Like every orthodontics practice, Dr. Hang offers a variety of services and appliances geared towards straightening teeth and improving the dimensions and mechanics of your mouth. However, his office goes much further with his Face Focused program. Here, he takes an examined approach towards orthodontics to address a variety of problems with breathing and facial esthetics.

Face Focused Orthodontics is the culmination of Dr. Hang’s decades of research, education and practice. He dedicated his career towards developing orthodontic programs that do not retract the teeth as the patient grows older. His ultimate goal is maintaining good rest oral posture, or the relationship of the jaw, face position and airway when you breathe. Poor rest oral posture can lead to a whole host of problems, ranging from headaches to migraines and even sleep apnea.

For young patients entering orthodontics, Dr. Hang focuses on straightening teeth and improving oral esthetics while respecting jaw mechanics and maintaining airways. He strives to create a smile that both looks and functions great for an entire lifetime. In adults, he often treats patients suffering from headaches, snoring problems and sleep apnea in addition to crooked or crowded teeth. Here, his Face Focused program hopes to address poor facial mechanics and establish great jaw and breathing function. No matter what your ultimate orthodontic goal, Dr. Hang and his staff are attentive, communicative and thorough. His consultation appointments alone often take and hour and a half, including X-rays and Cone Beam CT technology.

We love working with Dr. Hang and his office because they offer a unique and powerful service. Patients travel from all around the world to receive treatment from Dr. Hang, while he is conveniently located minutes away from our office. While he is not treating patients, he can be found lecturing or researching ways to perfect his Face Focused treatment. If you would like to know more about Dr. Hang or any other of our fantastic specialists, please give us a call.  We want our patients to know they are in good hands, whether with us or one of our specialists.

To find out more about Dr. Hang, visit his website www.facefocused.com

Video Blog on Mouth Guards

Greetings, my name is Dr. Kari Ann Hong and I have a family dentistry practice where I see patient from all age groups.  One of my goals in my practice is to help patients keep their teeth for their entire lives.  Mouth guards are a great way to protect the teeth.  If you play a sport like rugby, football, soccer, basketball, hockey, or martial arts, then you would likely benefit from a mouth guard.  In my practice we make custom fitted, dual layered, heat pressure formed mouth guards.  A custom fitted mouth guard is made to fit on the upper arch and protects that bone above the teeth, the teeth, and the jaw joint.  It is possible to talk and breath with a custom fitted mouth guard.

Mouth guards can be made in a variety of colors and thicknesses, depending on your team and the sport being played.  Sports injuries to the teeth are a completely preventable emergency.  The life long cost associated with losing a tooth due to injury is thousands of dollars. If you would like more information about how to protect your teeth, please feel out the contact us form below.

Specialist Spotlight- Opus One Dental Lab

When having a crown or bridge placed, your ultimate goal is to have it look, feel and function like the natural tooth that was there before it. While this process is never “easy,” it becomes even more difficult when dealing with anterior (front of the mouth) teeth. For these complicated lab cases, we are proud to work with Opus One Dental Lab and it’s owner, Uri Yarovesky.

Uri standing with his many awards and honors. 

Uri has over 40 years of experience in the dental field as a technician, lab owner and world recognized lecturer. He has made crowns and bridges for celebrities, heads of states and even as prosthetics for blockbuster movies. His credentials include countless awards from the most prestigious dental publications and institutions. Opus One Lab was designed as an extension of his years of experience- cutting edge techniques with a personal touch. In addition to the typical technologies and instruments you would find in most labs,this office houses a research facility used to develop and manufacture new ceramic technologies. For some of the services the lab offers, they are the only location in the entire world with this technology available.

Crowns on anterior teeth need to be a near identical match to the surrounding teeth. Small deviations in coloration, shape, size or translucency can translate to a product that looks “fake” or out of place. It takes careful examination and years of experience to deliver a perfect prosthesis that feels great. Opus One delivers this by offering customs shade matching appointments, where you meet with Uri one on one to design and perfect your dental crown. He and his team have a deep appreciation for dental restorations and can meet your desires on shade, feel and even age appropriateness.

We love working with Opus One because they are both a local business and a global leader in dental technology. Uri’s lab understands the importance of both esthetics and function in delivering a quality product. Their crowns and bridges fit and look great, which results in happier and more satisfied patients.

Video Blog on Periodontal Services

Greetings, my name is Dr. Kari Ann Hong, and I have a family dentistry practice, where I see patients from all age groups.  Approximately ⅓ to ½ of the population at large is affected by periodontal disease.  Periodontal disease is when the bacteria in the mouth causes loss of the bone surrounding the teeth.  From a patient’s perspective, gum disease can be characterized by bleeding gums, loose teeth, bad breath, and a feeling of deposits stuck to the teeth.

As a dentist, I determine if someone has periodontal disease by a combination of evaluating the bone levels and build up on a dental x-ray, measuring the gum health with something called periodontal probing depths, and by a visual inspection of the quality of the gum tissue.  Periodontal probing depths are a measurement of the height of the gum tissue to where the tissue is attaching to the tooth.  In health these measurements are 1-3mm.  Periodontal disease is diagnosed as mild, moderate, or severe and this is primarily based on the amount of bone loss present.

I diagnose a service called scaling and root planing when the probing depths are 4mm or more, the gum tissue bleeds when touched, bone loss is present, and there is tartar build up under the gum tissue.  Scaling and root planing is done with local anesthesia and is usually billed by quadrant and/or the number of appointments required to adequately remove all of the build up. In severe cases, scaling and root planing can take as many as four separate appointments.  

There are some practices that will recommend procedures called irrigation,  localized antibiotic placement (Arrestin), or laser treatment to help with the treatment of periodontal disease.  Irrigation involves squirting an antibacterial prescription mouth wash called Chlorhexidine or Peridex around the teeth.  Arrestin is an antibiotic called doxycline that is injected directly into the deeper pocket depth areas.  Laser treatment involves shining a specific wavelength of light in the pocket area to kill the bacteria.  In my opinion, the irrigation and Arrestin treatment are helpful at the time of treatment, but do not have enough long term benefits to justify doing the procedure.  Laser treatment is an effective way at killing bacteria and has longer acting benefits than the irrigation and Arrestin, but is not a cure all for periodontal disease.  Those with periodontal disease need to adhere to a consistent professional periodontal maintenance routine in order to maintain their dental health.

If you are interested in periodontal services, please fill out the contact us information at the bottom of this page.

Specialist Spotlight- Southern California Endodontic Group

Dr. Pokras

Dr. Trnavsky

Dr Lazarou

Dr. Ghahraman

At Thousand Oaks Family Dentistry, we are proud of the network of skilled dental specialists we have created. Whether you are in our office or one of our associates’ offices, know that you will be treated with respect, kindness and experience. Today, we would like to highlight Southern California Endodontic Group, the office of Doctors Pokras, Trnavsky, Lazarou and Ghahraman.

At Southern California Endodontic Group, an array of services are provided towards preserving infected or chronically inflamed teeth. Beyond root canals, their office can diagnose internal fractures in tooth roots, retreat failing root canals and more. The end result is relief from pain, removal of infection and a longer lifespan for a tooth that would otherwise need to be extracted.  

Pokras, Trnavsky, Lazarou and Ghahraman represent decades of experience in endodontic treatments with successful outcomes. Aside from clinical dentistry, they are active in local dental societies, academies and dental schools as lecturers and mentors. In the office, their expertise is backed by a number of leading technologies and instruments. Cone beam CT scans are used to visualize fractures, cracks and infections, while microscopes elucidate every tiny detail of the tooth’s inner structure. This combination of knowledge and technological power allow them to deliver fast, comfortable and long lasting treatments. 

Beyond technical abilities, Southern California Endodontic Group prides itself in creating a warm and familiar environment. From the front desk staff to the various amenities, their goal is to treat everyone who walks through the door like family. Patients feeling apprehensive about dental treatment will be met with a variety of comforts, from blankets to in-operatory TVs and even massaging chairs. In total, they want you to feel relaxed and comfortable for the entire duration of your appointment and beyond; Their office will often follow up with courtesy calls to make sure you are feeling great about the results of your treatment. 

We love working with So Cal Endo Group because of their combination of clinical success and caring atmosphere. Our patients are always impressed and satisfied with their treatment, resulting in a great all-around dental experience. If you would like to know more about Doctors Pokras, Trnavsky, Lazarou and Ghahraman or any other of our fantastic specialists, please give us a call.  We want our patients to know they are in good hands, whether with us or one of our specialists.

Video Blog on Dental Emergencies

What constitutes a dental emergency?  If your face is swollen and you are in pain, that is the number one reason to call a dentist today.  Swelling of the face is the sign of a serious infection called an abscess.  It is necessary to seek treatment immediately to prevent the spread of the infection.  If it is after hours, then it is recommended you seek treatment at an urgent care or emergency room.  

The second biggest emergency is when an adult  tooth is knocked out of its socket.  This can happen from running and falling, falling off a bike, getting hit by a car, playing sports and getting hit in the face. It might be possible to replant the "avulsed" tooth, but it needs to be done in the first 30 minutes to one hour after it falls out, in order for the replantation to have a chance at being successful. To transport the lost tooth, it is best to either place it in a cup of milk or store it in your mouth until you are able to see a dentist.

The first two emergencies I mentioned are relatively rare occurrences.  The most common emergency I see is when a patient is having tooth pain.  And the second most common is when someone chips a front tooth or breaks a back molar.  

If you are having a dental emergency, please call my office and we will do our best to see you as soon as possible.

Video Blog on Sleep Apnea

Greetings, my name is Dr. Kari Ann Hong, and I have a family dentistry practice where I see patients from all age groups.  In my practice, we help educate our patients about medical conditions that can affect someone’s long term health.  Sleep apnea is one such condition, that is characterized by someone that stops breathing for at least 10 seconds for multiple times an hour.  Severe sleep apnea is defined as anyone that stops breathing 25 times or more an hour for at least 10 seconds at a time.  

Snoring is sometimes a symptom of sleep apnea, as is being able to easily fall asleep during the day.  The only way to diagnose sleep apnea is to do a test while sleeping.  Fortunately, these sleep tests can now be done in the comfort of your own bed. Once the sleep test has been done and a diagnosis of sleep apnea is made, then a variety of treatment options can be considered. For patients that have been diagnosed with mild or moderate sleep apnea or those that are unable to tolerate a CPAP, BIPAP, or APAP machine, then a dental sleep apnea appliance is recommended.  In my office we have a machine that sends sonic sound waves through the mouth to determine the best jaw position to maximize the airway.  An acrylic appliance that fits on the upper and lower arch is then made to mimic this jaw position.  

The fabrication of a dental sleep apnea appliance is covered by PPO medical insurances.  We have the ability to bill your medical insurance for you.  If you are interested in a dental sleep apnea appliance, please fill out the contact us page below.

Dental Library Review- Franklin and the Tooth Fairy

Welcome to The Dental Library Review! In this feature, we will be reviewing and highlighting different children’s books we have collected at our office. Our staff have personally used these books with their own children and have had great reception. Today, we will be going over Franklin and the Tooth Fairy by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark.

This book follows the characters and storyline of Franklin the Turtle and his animal buddies. In this tale, Franklin’s best friend, Bear, loses his first tooth. Startled by his friend’s joyous response, Franklin contemplates how and why he doesn’t have any teeth to lose. As he learns about the tooth fairy, he becomes apprehensive about not being able to “grow up” and get adult teeth. However, his parents clear up the confusion, and leave him a small present to celebrate him growing up, since he can’t get a visit from the tooth fairy.

We love this book because it deals with using lost teeth as a measure of “growing up.” Children typically lose their first tooth between ages 5 and 6, a range that can seem like an eternity to young minds. This book helps reassure children that although their friends may be losing teeth before them, they are all getting older every single day. Kinds tend to use lost teeth as a measure of age as it is a very visible milestone. This book is here to remind them that everyone grows up at their own pace, regardless of lost teeth.

Given the content and word count for this book, we would recommend it as a bedtime story or a guided reader for slightly older children. As with all the stories we review, feel free to check it out at your next appointment. We are always happy to do anything we can to get your family excited and educated about dental health topics!

Specialist Spotlight- Nagel Orthodontics

At Thousand Oaks Family Dentistry, we are proud of the network of skilled dental specialists we have created. Whether you are in our office or one of our associates’ offices, know that you will be treated with respect, kindness and experience. Today, we would like to highlight the services offered by Doctors Norman and Jeffrey Nagel at Nagel Orthodontics.

As an orthodontic practice, Nagel Orthodontics addresses the functional and esthetic needs of many patients in almost every age group. Beyond simply “straightening teeth,” they service a number of problems relating to tooth spacing, biting patterns and jaw position. Orthodontists have a deep understanding of dental mechanics and how your mouth could function at its best. Orthodontic treatment can be appropriate or necessary for many ages, ranging from early intervention for severe crowding to mild readjustments for adult patients.

As a father and son team, Doctors Nagel and Nagel bring over 40 years of experience to treating the Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley areas. Between the two of them, they typically work 60 hours a week, making scheduling an appointment convenient and flexible. They pride themselves in treating patients of all ages- occasionally treating three generations of the same family. At their office, the staff members are caring, friendly and happy to accommodate you or your loved one’s needs. You will probably also notice that the door to their back office is never closed- a true sign of their transparency and welcoming atmosphere!

Nagel Orthodontics utilizes electronic charting, digital impression and even cone beam CT scans to better visualise and manage your orthodontic needs. This information can be made available to either of their offices in seconds, allowing you and your family flexibility between their locations. However, they still take the time to address every case by hand, using plaster and metal articulators (a time consuming step typically reserved only for difficult cases). This combination of new and timeless techniques assures that your case is properly understood and treated with expertise.   

We love working with Nagel orthodontics because we know that your case will be handled with utmost attention. They understand the importance of your overall oral health, and work closely with our office to ensure continuous dental care. If you would like to know more about their office, or any of the other specialists we work with, please give us a call. We want our patients to know they are in good hands, whether with us or our one of our specialists.