One of the most common complaints I get from patients who need dentistry is ” I hate being numb all day.”. If you are one of those people who feel that way, you never need to have those feelings again. Earlier this year a new dental product called Oraverse came on the market. This product is supposed to reduce the time a patient spends numb by half. I have been using the product since March and my findings are that it is faster than they promise. I have had patients call stating that the have been unnumb in 30 minutes after being given Oraverse.

You should ask your dentist about Oraverse. This product is also safe to use on children.

Since I am a dentist, I hardly ever go to the store and shop for toothpaste. I usually just open up a cabinet and pull out whatever we have as a sample and use that. Recently my teeth were starting to get sensitive, so I decided I would go to the grocery store and pick up something for sensitive teeth. What a shock! How does anyone decide what is the best toothpaste use when there are several hundred different tubes to choose from? As a “dental professional” I was overwhelmed, I can’t imagine how the rest of the world picks out toothpaste. The following is a little bit of information to help make things easier for you.

First of all, toothpastes are divided into gels and regular pastes. The choice of which of these to use is mostly based on personal preference. If you have porcelain restorations in your mouth, the gels may be less abrasive on the surface finish. Crowns and veneers in the from of the mouth need to be treated with care so that they remain beautiful for longer. Gel toothpastes may also be kinder areas of recession and root exposure on natural teeth. Pastes that contain additives such as baking soda may be even more abrasive, so you may want to consider this when making your choice.

It also seems almost impossible to find a toothpaste that doesn’t contain some sort of whitening product. The question is ” Do I really get much benefit from the whitener in the 2 minutes that I am brushing my teeth?”. The answer to this question is that only minimal, if any whitening can occur from using a whitening toothpaste. The substance isn’t on your teeth long enough to have much affect. Also, in order to make a product safe for the general population, there is a very low concentration of the whitening ingrediant. The result achieved is the removal of superficial surface stain.Remember, if you have fillings, crowns or veneers- whitening toothpastes won’t change the color of the restorations.The main problem is that these toothpastes can also make your teeth sensitive. If you are prone to sensitive teeth anyway, look for a toothpaste without whiteners. Good luck on that one.

Many toothpastes contain a chemical that helps control tartar. The result is that the tartar that does form does not adhere as well to the tooth. This makes it easier for your dental hygienist to clean your teeth during your regular appointments. Some of my patients find that using a tartar control toothpaste makes their teeth more sensitive. If you fall into this catagory, stop using the tartar control toothpaste and swith to a more traditional toothpaste with minimal additives.

On my quest for a basic toothpaste I decided that I would go to Whole Foods for a tube of Tom’s of Maine toothpaste. I had heard that they consider themselves a more natural toothpaste. I ran into exactly the same problem. Tom’s has about 20 different formulations and combinations of whitening products, flavors and different additives. Some of the additives I had never heard of. Personally, I ended up with a tube of Natural Clean and Gentle Care. I had to read the message on the side of the tube to understand what I was buying. It seems to be working and I have learned what glycyrrhizin does.

Good luck picking out your next tube. Don’t forget your reading glasses and dictionary…… so you can understand exactly what you are buying.

Have a great day.

Vicki Borowski DDS

I can’t remember the last time I went to the sink and poured myself a glass of water directly from the tap. No one in my family drinks tap water. None of my friends drink tap water. The drinking water in our area is horrible.You’re probably thinking….” So what, get to the point”. The point is that if you drink only bottled water, you are probably not getting enough fluoride to protect your teeth from decay.

In the last ten years most dental agencies, such as the American Dental Association, have reported an increase in decay in all age groups. This increase is attributed to the lack of fluoride in bottled water. Since most americans are using bottled water as their primary source of water, our families aren’t getting enough fluoride. There are a few brands of water that add fluoride to their bottled water. These are specifically marked on the labels. Usually they are labeled “Kid Water”. We do get some fluoride from our toothpaste, but not enough. Adults who are at high risk for decay and children may need to supplement their fluoride with a prescription strength fluoride gel. Ask your dentist if you may be susceptible.

There may be some of you reading this blog that disagree with the addition of fluoride to the drinking water. It is well documented that fluoride can be dangerous in excess. There are also many examples of people who have grown up in areas with excessive natural fluoridation, that have poorly formed teeth and enamel. Some studies also suggest it contributes to numerous systemic illnesses. I am not here to debate the benefits or hazards of fluoride. What I am here to say, that after 20 plus years in practice I have seen a huge increase in the amount of decay present in my patients. Most of my patients drink only bottled water.

If you or a family member suddenly seems to be having a lot of decay, ask your dentist if a lack of fluoride may be a contributer.You may have other issues that increase your potential for decay; either due to illness, medications, diet or genetics. Why not try doing something easy, such as drinking tap water or using extra fluoridated toothpaste to make sure you have a lifetime of healthy teeth. My kids and I are.

If you are interested on more information about your dental health visit my website at www.vickiborowski.com or email me directly at info@vickiborowski.com

As a dentist the most common question I get is ….”How can I get my teeth whiter?”. It’s interesting how important white teeth are to our sense of self. We don’t just consider white teeth beautiful, we attach many other characteristics to people whose teeth are white. We consider them intelligent, powerful, trustworthy, active, healthy……the list goes on and on. Without even knowing someone, we always gravitate to the person with white teeth first.

People have been trying to whiten their teeth for eons. I’m sure you’ve heard about using baking soda and peroxide to brush/ whiten teeth. Patients have told me stories of using many substances to try and whiten their teeth: lemon juice; peroxide; clorox; ajax; salt scrub for example. None of these are they easiest or safest choices to get whiter teeth. Currently, there are many at home or in office choices for whitening teeth that are non-toxic and easy to use. You should ask your dentist which choice would work best for you.

Many people try products that have been purchased at the grocery store or pharmacy. These over the counter products are usually only minimally effective. The reason for this….. these products need to be safe for public use without a professional monitoring them. Many of these products are similar in chemistry to the products that a dentist will dispense, but the concentration of the whitening compound is less. For example: a dentist may offer a product that has 22% concentration of the whitening product; over the counter products may have a 5% concentration. Usually people get frustrated before they get their teeth as white as they can.

Your dentist may offer many different options to whiten your smile. From in office whitening and take home kits, all the way to using resorations to get your teeth predictably white, you don’t need to settle anymore for a smile that doesn’t meet your desires. Your dentist may suggest that having your teeth cleaned prior to whitening your teeth may make it more effective. Also, it is important to know that whitening your teeth is not a one time thing. There will need to be maintainence performed. Your diet and lifestyle will affect how quickly your teeth will restain. You will need to decide how much effort you are willing to put into having white teeth. If upkeep is not something you are inclined to do regularly, consider asking your dentist about veneers.

A beautiful smile doesn’t have to be a dream anymore, it can easily become a reality. For more information on a whiter smile feel free to visit my website at www.vickiborowski.com or call my office for an appointment at 972-380-6223. Ask about our Zoom Whitening special running currently.

Happy Valentines Day,

Vicki Borowski DDS

About 3 years ago I purchased a second dental office from a young dentist who wasn’t really managing his business well. I didn’t want to maintain two offices five miles apart, so I decided that I would try to find someone to buy the lightly used eqipment and take over the lease of this practice. I would move the patients to my existing office in North Dallas. Things didn’t go exactly as planned, and at the end of a year I still had the second office and all of the equipment. Needless to say, there isn’t a huge market for used dental equiptment. I was also at the end of the lease and starting to get worried about what I was going to do with all this stuff.

I was starting to think I had made the biggest mistake of my business life, when I got 2 flyers in the mail. Both were from charities looking for dental equipment. One was trying to outfit a mobile dental van. The other was opening a dental office in Irving, for residents that no insurance and minimal income. I contacted both of these groups. They were ecstatic. Neither one could believe that I was actually donating something that was less than 2 years old and only slightly used. After many tears of joy on all our parts the equipment was moved to the office in Irving and the mobile van. It is finally being used to change the lives of many children and adults who might not have been able to get the dental care they needed. I even have a plaque on the wall of the Irving office.

I can’t tell you how good I felt inside after I did this good deed. The next January rolled around and I asked my staff what they thought about finding a charity that we could do fundraising for. We decided to chose THE AVON WALK FOR BREAST CANCER. It’s mission is slightly different from the 3DAY.ORG walk, but still the goal is to wipe out cancer. The walk is 2 days and 40 miles. Dallas doesn’t have an Avon walk so we participated in San Francisco. The walk gets you involved on two levels. Fund raising and training. We raised 10k for Avon and during the training we got blisters and burised toenails. But we also got the same great feeling of helping out a cause for someone less fortunate than ourselves. There are few sights more beautiful than walking across the Golden Gate Bridge on a crips clear Saturday afternoon. The sun is shining and it is 68 degrees. The most beautiful sight of all is the mile 26 marker.You know you are almost done for the day. Day one, Day two is half the distance …. so of course it will be a breeze. Most certainly easier than fighting cancer.

Now that we have entered 2009 my staff and I have agreed to make this an annual part of my dental practice. We are walking in Chicago.Of course you won’t get fired if you don’t participate, but it’s amazing what a sense of comittment training for this brings to the team. We know fund raising will be more difficult this year. Everyone is having to be more careful with their money. The thing is….. no donation is too small to make a difference in your daughters and sons lives. Next time you stop at Starbucks, think about what $4.00 might just do for someone with cancer. Pass up the coffee and experience the thrill of giving.
Thanks for reading and have a beautiful weekend. I’m heading out for a walk.

Vicki Borowski DDS
If you are interested in making a donation to the Avon Foundation you can go to www.AvonWalk.com and type in my name or attend our in office fund raiser on Friday March 6th, 4-8pm. Directions are on my website at www.vickiborowski.com

A few years ago I purchased a second dental pracitce from a young dentist that hadn’t managed his business well. My intention was to bring the patients into my existing practice and to “unload the space and equipment” to another dentist. This office was beautiful and the equipment and furniture less than 2 years old, I just didn’t need two spaces. For a whole year I tried to find someone who was interested in an office that was ready too walk into and start working. I was beginning to think I had made a huge mistake. Used dental office equipment isn’t easy to sell on the open market.

The following Monday I got requests from two charities needing dental equipment. One for a mobile dental van. The other for an office in Irving, residents of Irving with minimal income and no insurance would use the clinic. Both groups were over joyed at the donations. Neither one expected to find equipment that was so new and so quickly. After many tears I was out of the lease, but best of all I felt amazing. So many lives would be touched. The equipment will serve so many people who might never be able to afford dental care.

In Janyary 2008, my staff and I decided we need a new charity to help. Of course we don a certain amount of charitable dentistry annually. We needed something outside the office that would bring us together and make us feel the same feeling as we felt the year before. We chose the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. This charity served our needs on two levels. We raised $10,000 for the charity, but we also had to put in a lot of miles in training. The Avon Walk is a two day walk that covers 40 miles. We planned on walking in San Francisco. After many blisters and bruised toenails, we achieved both our fiscal and physical goals. There is nothing sweeter than seeing the sign that marks mile 26 on the first day. Of course this is nothing like battling breast cancer and being pronounced cancer free. By the way I am not a surviver, just a sympathizer.

In 2009 we have decided to participate in the Avon Walk again. Things are different this year, the economy is tough, team members have changed, we’re all wiser about the endeavor. One thing that hasn’t changed is our comittment to make a difference in the lives of others. We do this daily in our office, but it’s amazing to line up with over 3200 other people who have worked to raise over 7.5 million in one weekend for one cause. I can’t wait for June, to walk with all of the other women and men who get the thrill of walking 40 miles and knowing they are changing the lives of others.

Gotta go, I’m out the door for my walk.

Have a beautiful weekend,
Vicki Borowski DDS

If you are interested in donating to the Avon Walk go to www.avonwalk.org and type in donate to a participant. I will happily accept your donation or feel free to attend our fund raiser on Friday March 6th from 4-8pm at my office. The directions are on my website at www.vickiborowski.com. If you are attending let me know so I can say hello. No amount is too small when you are changing lives.

I was at an NBA game a few years ago, GO MAVS, sitting in the second row. Great seats for all of the action. Right in front of me Dirk Nowitski got elbowed and had a tooth get knocked out! At first I thought he had lost a contact. That was the moment when I became a true believer in mouth gaurds for all contact sports. I mean, if basketball in supposed to be minimal contact, what could happen in soccer, softball, baseball or some of the other sports my kids play. It’s funny though, no matter how many times and teams my kids play on, I never seem to be able to get any of the other parents to let me make their kids mouth gaurds. Even if I will do it for free. My kids are the only ones subjected to having to wear these divices of torture.

Statistics show that 1 out of 3 boys and 1 out of 4 girls will experience a sprorts related dental injury by the time they finish high school. Before mandatory oral-facial protection was instituted in football, 50% of all football injuries were oral-facial. Since this ruling was passed this number has dropped to 3%. Mouthgaurds don’t just protect people from broken teeth, the protect against concussions, bone and joint injuries also.

The cost of repairing these injured teeth can be very steep. If the tooth is totally knocked out a dental implant and crown may be the only choice forrestoring the area. The cost of an implant and crown can run as high as $10,000. If the child is not done growing the implant may not be able to be done for a period of years, and the child will have to wear some sort of temporary retainer with a fake tooth on it. I can promise you that you will have the oppertunity to purchase more than one of these, because kids loose them constantly. These are additional costs and traumas that could easily be avoided by wearing a mouthgaurd.

There are basically two different types of gaurds. Those purchased at the store and made at home and those custom made in a dentists office. Most of the dentists I know do not use this as a money making venture. So the costs tend to be fairly reasonable. Obviously, the homemade version is cheaper, but if your kid won’t wear it who cares how cheap it is. Custom fitted gaurds do fit much more closely to the teeth and allow children to breathe better. As your child grows and gets their adult teeth the mouth gaurd will need to be remade. My girls get a new one each sport season.

I will admit that I still have to nag my kids to wear their gaurds, but what else is a mother for? They will be happy they were wearing it when they get an elbow to the mouth druing a basketball game or hit by an odd bounce of the ball during a softball game. If you are interested in more information about dental mouth gaurds please check out my website at www.vickiborowski.com.

I’ll get off my soap box now.

Vicki Borowski DDS

Have you ever thought about why, when you try to pull the tag off a recent purchase and you can’t……you stick it in your mouth and yank really hard? How many times have you stuck a bag of chips in your mouth to open them, instead of reaching for a pair of scissors? YOUR TEETH ARE NOT A TOOL!!!!!!!! I have had friends try to open nail polish, spice jars and bottles of salad dressing with their teeth. They try to pull out wine corks, open beer and soda cans( so they don’t mess up their nails), and pry open bottled water (while on the treadmill) with their teeth. Men are not exempt from this stupidity. They strip wire with their teeth while hanging televisions and speakers. They hold nails and tools in their mouths while putting up pictures and doing home repair. They try to cut fishing line. I recently heard of someone who was holding Christmas lights in his teeth while installing them.

You might wonder why I even care about this topic? I confess to being  a dentist. Teeth are for flirting, chewing speaking and smiling. They are not intended to be used in place of simple household utensils, such as cork screws. I promise you that I have not made these stories up. People come into my office after breaking teeth by using the “Teeth-as-a-Tool” method of home repair. Sometimes they use Super-Glue to fix their teeth before they get to me( that can be a topic for another blog). Many times I can’t fix the broken tooth and it has to be pulled. Let me tell you, you can buy a heck of a lot of tools at Lowes for the cost of a single dental implant and crown.

Please save your teeth for flirting or a night out at your local meat palace , aka steak house, and buy yourself  a cork screw and a couple of pairs of scissors. Maybe you can ask that big strong guy you met last week to come over and open your salad dressing. If the damage is already done, and you feel like doing something really zany, visit my website at www.vickiborowski.com and learn how to get your tooth/teeth fixed.

I’ll get off my soapbox now…Vicki