SINCE WE HAVE such great staff members here at VIP Dream Smiles, we would like to share a little bit about them with our amazing patients! Up first is Dr. Shad.

Where are you originally from?

“I was born in Fairbanks, Alaska, and raised in Roy, Utah.”

Married? Children?

“I married the love of my life Martha in 1997 and we have since had 5 amazing kids, Trevor, Annabelle, Tylor, Traegor and Thatchor.”

What made you decide that you want to become a dentist?

“Well, I have had a desire to become a dentist since I was little; I wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps! Then I decided to try roofing for a little while and that just further confirmed my passion for dentistry. I missed it!”

Do you have an unusual hobby or interest?

“I play and coach soccer (the BEST sport EVER)! We also have family headstand contests which are pretty awesome.”

What is your favorite color Dr. Shad?

“Red.”

What is something about you that most people don’t know?

“I am ashamed to admit that I have a cavity… I better get into the dentist and get that taken care of!”

If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

“I would be a tortoise, then I would never be homeless!”

Most embarrassing moment?

“Dang, I thought I could avoid this one! Alright, my most embarrassing moment is when I dressed up like the incredible Hulk, complete with cut-off jeans and green food coloring.”

If you were given the opportunity to spend 48 hours with absolutely anyone (living or dead), who would you spend it with and what would you do?

“I would spend that time with my amazing wife Martha. I would jet her off to Europe and give her the whole romantic European experience through a river cruise and castle tour.”

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?

“Hmmm, that is such a tough one! It is going to have to be a toss up between a macho combo burrito and anything at Chuck-O-Rama!”

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

“I would love to fly!”

And the last and most important question Dr. Shad is, what do you enjoy most about being a dentist?

“There are so many things I could say right now because being a dentist is awesome! But I will have to say that I truly enjoy the interaction with people and enjoy seeing people overcome their fear of dentistry. It is so wonderful when we can help someone love their smile!”

Well folks, there is Dr. Shad in a nutshell! We sure enjoy having him around and we hope that you each get a chance to rub elbows with all of our awesome staff!

DID YOU KNOW THAT THE MAJORITY OF US experience SOME level of dental anxiety? As much as 80%, in fact. Despite our best efforts we know that there’s something that feels inherently vulnerable about lying back in a chair while we examine your mouth. We’ve been patients too.

Communication Can Make You More Comfortable

We want you to feel comfortable and confident during your visits with us. We believe that one key is open communication between our team and you—our valued patient! Whether you’re extremely nervous during dental appointments, or just slightly uncomfortable, communication helps. However, it’s hard to know exactly how, or what, to communicate sometimes.

If you’d really like to explore the reasons you feel nervous about dental visits, here’s a handy questionnaire developed by J.H. Clarke and S. Rustvold at the Oregon Health Sciences University School of Dentistry. If you’d like, look over the first four questions and let us know where you fall on the scale. It’s a simple way to tell us how you’re feeling.

Is Your First Appointment Coming Up?

Check out the video below outlining an routine check-up. It could help get you in the right mindset:

Simple Understanding Can Make A Huge Difference

Once we understand a little bit about your triggers and your reaction to dental-related situations, we can do a lot to make you feel comfortable. Some techniques we use include:

• Taking adequate time so you don’t feel rushed or harried.
• Carefully explaining everything before we do it.
• Establishing signals so that you can let us know if you need a break.

Would You Like More Techniques For Relieving Stress?

This video has some great pointers:

Do you know someone else who suffers from severe dental anxiety? Is it compromising their health? Have them give us a call. We can help.

Thanks for your trust in our practice!

YOU MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE CHILDREN OF YOUR OWN. Either way, we all have children we care about in our lives—nieces, nephews, grandchildren, neighbor’s and coworker’s children, etc. That’s why it’s so important for everyone to be aware of this severe health issue affecting kids.

It’s Easy To Protect Against Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

Did you know that the most common childhood disease today is tooth decay? Tooth decay results when bacteria in one’s mouth interacts with the sugar and starches in foods and beverages, creating acid which erodes tooth enamel. And although baby teeth are temporary, they’re critical to a child’s health, comfort, and long term oral health development. Without proper care those baby teeth are subject to painful, unnecessary caries.

Don’t Let Babies Fall Asleep With Their Bottles

Here’s what typically happens… The baby is put to bed with a bottle. Seems harmless enough. But if the bottle is full of milk or juice it’s also full of sugars that combine with bacteria to produce acids. Babies drift off with the bottles still in their mouths. The fluid pools around their teeth and the enamel on those new little teeth is slowly eroded away throughout the night.

The result can be painful caries, and/or the need for stainless steel crowns. In addition, since children’s teeth are still coming in they’re more susceptible to decay underneath the gum line. This decay can become so severe that delicate surgery under a general anesthetic may be required to remedy the problem.

Take A Moment To Be Informed

If you start early, you may be able to train your child to drink water in his or her bottle at nap time. Here are some other tips:

• use gauze or a wet cloth to wipe children’s gums and teeth after feedings
• work toward using “sippy” cups by his or her first birthday
• don’t nurse continuously during the night
• never dip pacifiers in honey or any sugary liquid

The video below offers other suggestions:

If You Have Questions, Please Ask

Think about the children you know and kindly help every parent understand this important topic. If you have any questions about dental health for your child, or for a child close to you, ask our team about it. You can leave a comment below, or on our Facebook page.

You can also learn more about baby bottle tooth decay from this ADA webpage.

Thanks for your trust in our practice. We appreciate having you as our valued patient!