http:// Post by Dr. Elizabeth Caughey, DDS.
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I am so pleased to participate in and advanced study group with other dentists, focused on TMJ and TMD treatment. Kathy Johnson is the sole physical therapist in the group, and I have a debt of gratitude to her for my learning “outside-the-box!” Thanks, Kathy!
Read MoreAccording to Gordon Christensen, dental equilibration (bite balancing) might be one of the most widely UNDER-utilized services in dentistry. – JADA April 2005 136(4): 497–499; Teeth that fit together correctly do not require the additional muscular activity needed to shift the jaw to the side or squeeze unilaterally when one side hits first. The art of…
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What an honor it is to share my learning with others – the passionate few in my profession who want nothing but the best for their patients. There is a certain culture of excellence, humility, and drive embodied by both students and faculty at the Pankey Institute. I have been recognized and asked to teach…
Read MoreThis patient was unconcerned with subtle changes in her bite until she noticed her smile in a photograph: a front tooth had drifted quite a bit, and her smile was no longer pleasing to her eye. Comparison of photographs over a ten-year period reveal a change not only at the tooth level, but also in…
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What is the JVA? The JVA or Joint Vibration Analysis machine is a small set of headphones which we place in front of the patient’s ears. But instead of the patient listening to music, this small sensor will pick up vibrations inside the patient’s jaw joint. Healthy jaw joints make very little friction as you…
Read MoreThis lovely 90-year-old patient has kept most of her teeth her whole life. She flosses twice daily and uses fluoride every night! One day at a luncheon with friends, she accidentally bit a salad fork, and felt two of her lower front teeth become rather loose and painful to the touch. After determining that the…
Read MoreA large filling is frequently not strong enough to withstand biting pressure on a cracked or damaged tooth. In that case, it is customary for the tooth to be protected with a restoration called a crown. Crowns can be made of different materials: gold, porcelain, or some combination. This patient had a porcelain-metal crown on…
Read MoreConventional film X-rays would require chemical processing and did not have the capability of changing contrast and gain. With digital X-rays, we can see the earliest of decays, and thus treat decay conservatively. This patient was seen in our hygiene department for routine cleaning and check-up. The ultra low-radiation exposures did not initially show the…
Read MoreGeneral dentistry in the United States has been trending toward the discontinued use of silver-mercury alloy fillings, aka, amalgams. My own preference for tooth-colored resins is for several reasons, the most obvious being that as an aesthetic dentist, I like teeth to look like teeth. Additionally, resin is not affected by temperature the way metallic…
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