Dubuque Cosmetic Dentistry Blog - Exceptional Dentistry

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noreply@blogger.com (Jack) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:45:00 +0000

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Importance of Keeping Your Teeth - an NPR Story

noreply@blogger.com (Jessica) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:06:00 +0000

Earlier this month, National Public Radio featured the story "As Our Skin Sags with Age, So Do Our Bones." One of the most important elements in keeping facial bone definition is to keep your natural teeth!

David Hunt, a physical anthropologist at the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C., was interviewed for the story. He oversees the roughly 30,000 human skeletons in the Smithsonian's collection.

"When you see that many bones," Hunt says, "You get a pretty good sense of how bone changes over time." The skulls from the Smithsonian show a range of definition: from minimal loss in bone volume , to moderate and dramatic changes in cheek and jaw definition.

Hunt says a 20-year-old's bone is "really pretty stuff. It's smooth, and it's solid, and it's hard, and it's dense." But bone is not just a hunk of calcium; it's alive and constantly, throughout life, being eaten away and rebuilt, bit by bit. In fact, every dozen years or so, each of us has a whole new skeleton. That's good. And bad.

By middle age, the texture of the bone is rougher. Eye sockets start to sink and then the jaw recedes. You can get all the exercise and drink all the milk you want, but you're still going to get some bone loss in your face, simply from aging.

But, according to David Hunt, does have a tip for how to slow down that facial bone droop: Hang on to your teeth.

The body takes away the sockets where the teeth used to be as a result of tooth loss. Hunt says that thanks to decades of better dental care, antibiotics and fluoride, the teeth and skulls of baby boomers look a lot younger than those of our grandparents in middle age. Yet another reason to keep flossing!

We appreciate our Dental Assistants!

noreply@blogger.com (Kristen) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:16:00 +0000

Dental Assistant Week is March 7-13.

We appreciate the wonderful dental assistants at our office!

They do an amazing job helping Dr. Berning & Dr. Murray give our patients beautiful, healthy smiles.

Cosmetic Bonding

noreply@blogger.com (Kristen) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:09:00 +0000

This 14 year-old girl was so excited to finally get her braces off to reveal her beautiful new smile. However, there was one thing left to do to truly finish her smile. One of her lateral incisors (right next to her front teeth) was undersized. This is a common tooth that can be smaller than ideal. Cosmetic bonding can be done to make teeth the correct size or to close gaps. This procedure can be completed in just one visit.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Everyone was pleased with the result!

Happy Holidays from Exceptional Dentistry

noreply@blogger.com (Kristen) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:02:00 +0000

To celebrate the holiday season and our appreciation for each other, we enjoyed a Team Christmas Party at The Diamond Jo's Woodfire Grille.

Back row, left to right: Dr. Kristen Berning, Melissa, Maureen, Kori, Charity, Talia, Amy, Darlene, & Cliff. Front row: Carol & Dr. Ted Murray.

Happy Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (Exceptional Dentistry) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:18:00 +0000

We have 3 eye-catching painted pumpkins in our office for the Halloween season, thanks to Stacy's Creations.

Pierced Tongues

noreply@blogger.com (Exceptional Dentistry) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:04:00 +0000

We see pierced tongues and the damage the metal stud does to teeth.
The metal chips teeth. One of our patient's teeth has been fixed twice, and he still continues wearing the stud, and chipping his teeth.

In the October 5, 2009 Sports Illustrated issue is an article on NBA player Chris Anderson, of the Denver Nuggets. The 6'10" Anderson, from Iola, Texas, nicknamed Birdman missed a basketball game after breaking a molar while biting down on his tongue stud.

The Real Solution to His Dental Anxieties, Fears and AnxietiesCan be Solved Immedialately

noreply@blogger.com (Exceptional Dentistry) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:29:00 +0000

The Real Solution to the patient's fears, phobias and anxieties was all in one little pill. Today was an amazing day for the Dubuque man, Dr Murray and Amy. After years of thinking about it, he called our office. He had fears, anxieties and phobias about a dentist looking at his mouth. Kori invited him to come for a ten minute appointment to meet our dentist and to talk about his fears. We often hear about someone being worried, frightened and not wanting to have someone look at their mouth. It was an easy first appointment, so he made an appointment to return for an hour, where Melissa took photos and Amy took xrays of his teeth. He wanted the two broken teeth and the three teeth with decay restored with tooth colored onlays. Sedation dentistry works. He took one little pill, Dr and Amy got everything done in three hours.
Our patient did amazing. His mouth is now healthy. He called us late afternoon. "Wow, I do not remember anything about my appointment. I can't believe how easy it went. I got it done."
Yes, we can solve the problem of dental fears, anxieties and phobias.
Come in, take a pill, sit back, listen to music on our ipod.
This is a family dental office.
And you are family.
We're with you all the way.

twentydirtyhands.com , Pottery Tour, Dubuque & Galena

noreply@blogger.com (Exceptional Dentistry) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:39:00 +0000

Do you want to see some wonderful art? Twenty Dirty Hands is a self guided pottery tour October 16, 17, 18, 2009. 10-6PM daily. www.twentydirtyhands.com

My jaw Hurts, my teeth hurt and I have a headache

noreply@blogger.com (Exceptional Dentistry) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:15:00 +0000

My jaw hurts, my teeth hurt and I have a headache, said a patient last week. Dr Ted Murray listened to him and did an exam, took impressions of his teeth and made him an orthotic. Our patient called today to say his bite feels great, and no more pain. He is wearing this comfortable orthotic, and you can't even notice it when he talks. He is sleeping better. He will wear this orthotic for about three months, and then Dr Murray will restore his teeth to the correct bite to give him a strong and healthy smile. Dr Murray explained that for your body to stay healthy, your muscles, bones, lungs and heart have to work in harmony. Likewise a healthy mouth is dependent upon the proper function of teeth, gums, muscles and jaw joints. Neuromuscular dentistry is the whole mouth care that we do at our office.

Time Flies, Check your toothbrushhttp://drtedmurray.com

noreply@blogger.com (Exceptional Dentistry) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000

The bad news is time flies.
The good news is you're the pilot.
author, Michael Altshuler

Dubuque had a beautiful sunny 75 degree weekend. What a perfect weekend to be outside. Summertime flies by fast.

The American Dental Association suggests replacing your toothbrush every three to four months - even sooner after recovery from an illness or cold. Food particles and moisture become trapped in the base of brush bristles where they provide everything germs need to grow. Research has shown that unclean brushes can bring microorganisms into your mouth.

Thanks to Link Embroidery 563-583-4942 for a great job putting our names on our Lab coats.

Get The Lead Out

noreply@blogger.com (Exceptional Dentistry) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:06:00 +0000

Dr Ted Murray & Dr Kristen Berning are a sponsor for "Get the Lead Out" Run.
Saturday October 10, 2009
9:00 AM @ Mines of Spain
Benefit for Mines of Spain, Dubuque's beautiful location for walking/hiking/running trails
10K, 5K Run/Walk, & 1 mile fun run

www.gtlorun.org

Hey Dr, what do you do?

noreply@blogger.com (Exceptional Dentistry) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000

What do our dentists do?
Dr Murray & Dr Berning calm fearful patients everyday.
They diagnose periodontal disease every day.
They save teeth every day.
They improve the self image of their patients every day.
They fix broken, missing, chipped, cracked, crooked yellow teeth every day.
They have three awesome hygienists who give gentle cleanings every day.

We can help. Email or call us at 800-478-9439 today.

Periodontal disease a risk marker for stroke

noreply@blogger.com (Exceptional Dentistry) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:36:00 +0000

Men with a history of bone loss due to periodontal disease run a higher risk of having a stroke, according to a study in the Annals of Neurology (May 28, 2009). The researchers analyzed data from 1,137 men in the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study, an ongoing study that began in the 1960s with healthy volunteers from the Boston Area. Participants underwent medical and dental exams every three years for an average of 24 years. Overall, 80 incident cases of cerebrovascular disease occurred during a combined 27,506 person-years, and the periodontal bone loss was "significantly associated" with an increased hazard rate of cerebrovascular disease.

Academy of General Dentistry in Baltimore

noreply@blogger.com (Exceptional Dentistry) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:23:00 +0000

Dr Ted Murray is the President of the Iowa Academy of General Dentistry. He just returned from the annual AGD meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. It was a five day dental meeting, with many committee meetings, and continuing education courses. The opening inspirational speaker was baseball great Cal Ripken. Dr Murray's next project is arranging a Region 10 meeting in January in Des Moines, where AGD leaders from Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska will attend.

Welcome New Patients

noreply@blogger.com (Exceptional Dentistry) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:54:00 +0000

Dubuque, Iowa won the All American City Award. Our city has done an incredible job developing the area along the Mississippi River, and the west-end, where our dental office is located at 4200 Asbury Road, is growing with restaurants, retail shops and homes. We want to welcome new companies IBM (bringing 1300 jobs) and Hormel (brining 250 jobs) to our great city. IBM has done a great job renovating their building at 700 Locust Street. We welcome the new workers and their families. Summer is a great time to get a beautiful, bright, healthy smile! Call or email us today at 800-478-9439.

+A Dental License is a License to Learn

noreply@blogger.com (Exceptional Dentistry) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:16:00 +0000

Dr Kristen Berning, and our three hygienists, Talia Roarig, RHD, Sharon Grisanti, and Charity Rausch, attended a continuing education course on June 18th and 19th at the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies. The course included information about Active Maintenance, Oral-Systemic connection, and the consequences of jaw-bone disease.

Sometimes a patient will tell us that every time they have their teeth cleaned by a hygienist, she scrapes around the teeth, and now their gums really bleed. We can understand your concern. People's gums don't bleed unless they are touched. Actually healthy gums never bleed. When there is an infection, we always get some pus and some bleeding that comes out of the wound caused by the bacteria living under the gum. As much as 90% of the population has some form of periodontal disease at some point in their life.

Our practice is fortunate to have three very skilled hygienists who also happen to be very gentle and friendly. Summer is a great time to schedule a professional cleaning with Talia, Sharon and Charity. Contact us today at 800-478-9439.

Exceptional Dentistry Welcomes Talia Roarig

noreply@blogger.com (Erika) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:26:00 +0000

We are proud to welcome Talia Roarig to our team. She is a Registered Dental Hygienist.

Welcome

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:50:00 +0000

Exceptional Dentistry’s conservative approach to modern dentistry features a gentle touch, so important for children and those suffering from dental anxiety.