Since I dont see the majority of you in the first two weeks of the year, it is still very appropriate to say “Happy New Year!” to you all. I hope that the holidays were spent with family and finding time to relax was the top priority.
Not everyone makes New Years resolutions, but most people should. It is a convenient time to assess our habits and look forward to how changes we make could positively impact our lives. I was recently reading Health magazines to 10 healthiest resolutions (see it here if you would like: www.health.com/health/gallery/thumbnails/0,,20452233,00.html ) and I couldn’t help but notice that there was not a single dental activity mentioned! Gasp! Dental resolutions are easy to start, not so easy to keep for many, but do pay big dividends for the determined. Consider these as examples of dental resolutions that you can incorporate to live a healthier life. 1. Floss more – Most people dont floss at all, so get out of that majority 2. Brush for 2 minutes – 30 seconds is the most common duration of brushing. Use a timer 3. Brush at work after lunch – Get rid of that garlic breath 4. Inspect your mouth for oral cancer – You likely aren’t trained to do so, but if anything looks out of the ordinary, contact us. 5. Dont miss your hygiene visit – Seeing us regularly is an important part of your health care routine. After all, oral health is directly connected to your overall health.
Good luck with whatever New Years resolutions that you are considering. I hope that you can take on a few of these dental ones as well. Your mouth will thank you.

A big Thank You to Marks Moving and Storage of Westborough for arranging for transportation of the 170 pounds! of candy that we collected through our Operation Gratitude Candy Buy Back program. Thanks to Marks Moving, the troops will soon be snacking away on some treats and also will be reminded that they have not been forgotten by us back home. Thanks to all that participated, and we look forward to hosting this event again next year!

What a great event we hosted after the Halloween holiday! I need to extend very sincere gratitude to all those people whom contributed candy to our drive. I am overwhelmed as to how much we collected and what that is going to mean to the troops that are stationed overseas in harms way. I know that they will be thrilled with our contributions to their care packages. As you can see from the picture, we were inundated with candy and soon it will all be put to good use. Thanks to all the children whom graciously donated their hard earned loot and to the adults whom also generously donated the candy they stole from their kids! A little less candy is not a bad thing for the little ones after all, right! I look forward to hosting this event again next year, it is a true honor to be the conduit for such good will.

At the end of the month, Halloween will be upon us. This is the time of year when dentists everywhere get less sleep and fret about the potential cavities that may occur after our young patients indulge in their hard earned goodies.
I am happy to announce that this year there is another option to dispose of that candy. I am taking part in Operation Gratitude which is a program that benefits both kids and the soldiers overseas. We will be collecting candy on November 1 from 12-6PM at our office on 131 Main St in Wayland. For each pound of candy a child delivers to us, we will give them a dollar. That candy will then be sent to the troops fighting for our freedom in war zones. As a veteran who has been deployed overseas, I can tell you first hand how uplifting it is to get such a care package in the mail. Please consider donating all, or a portion of the candy that your youngsters receive to us, and we will be sure it puts a smile on a face that could really use it. After all, you dont really need all of that candy!

The traditional method of fabricating a crown involves a messy impression, a temporary plastic crown , and a second visit in about 2 weeks to place the final restoration.

Today, I have some very exciting technology to make permanent crowns in one visit. The process involves the use of the CEREC acquisition and milling unit. This incredible machine will scan the tooth and digitally create a three dimensional CAD-CAM model of your teeth. From this, I’m able to customize a perfectly fitting crown that’s milled from a block of reinforced porcelain. No need for a goopy impression, or temporary crown, and best of all: no need for a return visit in two weeks for the final fitting.

Not only will this machine make customized full crowns, it’s also capable of making partial crowns to reinforce teeth that don’t need to be completely covered. These restorations are called Onlays, and are a great method of protecting teeth while removing less tooth structure. Yet another use of the CEREC machine is to fit crowns to a dental implant. Once the implant heals and integrates with the supporting bone, I’m able to scan the area and fabricate a custom fit abutment and crown.

I’m proud to have the latest technology at Wayland Dental to help make your experience as pleasant and efficient as possible. This technology has over 25 years of proven clinical use and millions of CEREC restorations have been placed in that time. When the need arises to fix a tooth, my CEREC unit is a wonderful way to create the esthetics and durability as close to natural teeth as possible.

Believe it or not your friendly dental team at Wayland Dental has been at our beautiful new location for a full year now! No one would disagree that it is a significant improvement over our previous location, as cozy as it was. The entire staff has learned first hand that the environment in which you work in makes a huge difference in terms of personal satisfaction with your job. How fortunate we are to be able to treat our patients in such a pleasing and comfortable office! I feel like a new dentist, fresh out of dental school each day I walk through the front door.
It goes without saying that I owe a huge debt of gratitude to our wonderful patients who have supported us over the years. Having a practice full of health conscious and knowledgeable patients has been something that I am immensely proud of. Without your support, my dream of owning such an office would not have been possible. In recommending the people that you care about to us, it shows a great display of trust and I am humbled each week to see the number of new patients that you have referred to us for their dental care.
Future blogs will help you to learn about our office, the various procedures that we do here and general information about dental health. I hope that it serves you well and keeps you in touch with us here at Wayland Dental.

Consider this blog your news resource for information about oral health, dental procedures and technology, and what’s happening at your dentist’s office. We believe communication is key to building great doctor-patient relationships, and this dental blog is intended to keep us in touch with you. The best part is, you can simply bookmark this page in your browser, then visit whenever you like! Stay tuned for regular posts that will keep you informed.

If you need to schedule an appointment or are “interviewing” us as your potential new dental provider, call today! You may also want to review information about us here.