Make Eyes at Your Dentist- It's Normal!

Few people come as close to the average face as a dentist does. Ophthalmologists hide behind those steampunk-y binocular machines; makeup artists have long-handled brushes; and dermatologists get to worry about other parts of the body for hours at a time. But dentists and dental hygienists have no way around it: They spend most of their days inside the faces of people who aren’t their sexual or romantic partners. Lying helpless in a reclining chair, the best a patient can do to make the too-intimate experience less awkward is close her eyes until it’s over. Shutting your lids until the rinse-and-spit command is the normal thing to do.

Or is it? Some dentists make active small talk, and it seems rude to zone out or avoid eye contact when you’re meant to grunt in assent or smize at a joke. Dentists who install iPads or TVs overhead seem to invite an open-eyed approach to their open-mouthed examinations. Then again, unprotected eyes may get flecked with water, spit, and whatever particles the dentist’s tools dislodge. How are we supposed to know which way our eyelids should go?

An unscientific anonymous poll of 114 of my friends and acquaintances suggests that nobody knows. “It literally never occurred to me to close my eyes,” one person responded. “It's weird to look into the dentist's eyes! It feels like I'm seeking intimacy, when really I just want my teeth cleaned,” wrote another. There were many strong opinions in the responses, but no clear consensus on right and wrong. When it comes to eyes at the mouth office, it’s “I feel awkward AF looking into my dentist’s face” versus “Closed feels weird, right? I feel like closed is the weird one here.”

I’d never thought to be concerned about my behavior in the dentist’s chair until my last dental cleaning. Halfway through the appointment, I realized that my eyes weren’t just closed—they were clenched shut, with quivering eyelashes and a furrowed brow to boot. I relaxed my face, not wanting my dentist to think I was in pain or stressed out about a simple cleaning. Then, a horrifying thought entered my mind: What if my eyes aren’t supposed to be closed at all? I’ve never seen anyone else get their teeth cleaned—it’s totally possible that everyone else watches the entire procedure, and my dentist thinks I either have an intense phobia of flossing assistance (I don’t) or an intense fetish for latex gloves, closing my eyes to fully savor the experience of her hands in my mouth (not true).

So it gives me great pleasure and relief to report that there seems to be no weird way to get your teeth cleaned. My poll responses show a healthy split: About 56 percent keep their eyes open, 37 percent close them, and 7 percent do a little of both.

But what do the professionals think? Eileen Danaher, a Rhode Island dentist who’s been practicing for three years, says about 60 percent of her patients keep their eyes open for cleanings, though she attributes that majority in part to her talkative chairside manner. Pennsylvania-based dentist Gulia Omene thinks most of her patients keep them open, especially during cleanings—that’s when they’re looking for “feedback on their gum tissue” and are more receptive to chatter, she says—though her assistant thinks it’s closer to 50-50. For more involved procedures, the ratio flips. Danaher estimates that 95 of her patients shut their eyes for an injection in their mouths; about 53 percent of my poll participants said they close their eyes for anything more complex than a simple cleaning.

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Danaher believes her patients decide what to do with their eyes based on their least favorite part of the dental experience: Those most bothered by the sight of sharp instruments or the bright light overhead close their eyes, and those unnerved by the sounds of drills and whirring brushes keep them open to have some sensory distraction. Meditators and deep breathers close their eyes; people who distrust dental professionals—like my survey participant who prefers an open-eyed exam “to make sure no funny business is going down while a stranger's hands are in my mouth”—watch the whole procedure as it happens.

Dental workers have come up with all sorts of visual stimuli to make the time go by for open-eyed patients. I used to visit a dental office with comic strips taped to the ceiling; a colleague’s dentist has decorative panel that look like calm, puffy clouds on the fluorescent overhead lights. Bougier locales have mounted televisions or iPads within view of the chair, and some offer dark glasses to shield a patient’s eyes from flying debris and the exam light. Danaher’s dream is to get a giant “Where’s Waldo?” panel for her ceiling if she ever opens her own practice.

If so many dentists provide so many forms of in-chair entertainment, open eyes must be the norm—right? For some, taking the hint still feels inconsiderate. “I feel [like closing my eyes is] polite to the dentist/technician. If I were in their shoes, I'd be able to focus better if I didn't have a pair of scared eyes in my face,” wrote one poll participant. Another guessed that open eyes would seem “creepy-like” to a dentist at work. The dentists I spoke with roundly dismissed that fear. “It’s never awkward if your eyes are open,” Danaher told me. “You’d think being in that close proximity to somebody, it would be—but we’re two feet away from people all day long, so that doesn’t bother me. Now, if somebody was staring me dead in the eyes and not blinking, that might be a different story.” Danaher’s father, Gerald, a Syracuse-based dentist who’s been in the field for 30 years, says about 70 percent of his patients keep their eyes open, which helps him keep tabs on their experience. “Usually the eyes will tell me how they’re doing,” Gerald told me. “The look in their eye—if they’re darting back and forth, I’ll ask, ‘Are you feeling something?’”

Usually, dental patients in pain or the throes of anxiety will close their eyes. That’s not a problem, dentists say, unless they’re tensing up the rest of their faces, too. Jack Greenspan, a Connecticut dentist (and my partner’s dad) who’s had his hands in people’s mouths for 49 years and counting, says the only strict command he ever gave as a captain and dentist in the Air Force was to a terrified lieutenant who’d scrunched up his eyes and cheeks too tight to accommodate dental instruments. “This is a direct order, lieutenant,” Greenspan said. “Relax your face now.”
But for a lucky few, closed eyes mean the ultimate form of relaxation: a nap. Yes, reader! Some people—some magical, super-Zen, rubber-jawed people—actually conk out while a stranger takes a drill to their molars. Dentists say they love it when their patients fall asleep in the chair. “People will sometimes walk in and say, ‘Oh my God, I’m so nervous,’” Danaher says. “When those people fall asleep, it’s a giant win. It’s the biggest compliment you can give your dentist.” This perception can work in a nervous patient’s favor. One of my survey respondents wrote that, at the dentist’s, “I pretend I am taking a nap since it's weird to be in a room with someone for half an hour and not speak to them.
Faking sleep is extreme; most people who close their eyes at the dentist’s are just relaxing or spiriting their minds away from the physical discomfort and forced intimacy of a dental exam. They are also not normal. Open is the favored eye position of a small majority of dental patients, and dentists seem to be molding their exam rooms, with their fancy TVs and elaborate ceiling decorations, to that norm. Keeping your eyes open will put you in the company of the majority of your peers, so dentists will be ever so slightly less likely to consider you abnormal. Whether normalcy is worth the occasional fleck of plaque to the eyeball is your call.

By: Christina Cauterucci
http://www.slate.com/blogs/normal/2016/10/05/at_the_dentist_should_eyes_be_open_or_closed.html

 

If you have questions or would like to schedule an appointment, please contact Omni Dental Group at one of our three office locations listed below:

North Austin on Hymeadow Drive: (512) 250-5012
Central Austin on Jollyville Road: (512) 346-8424
South Austin on William Cannon: (512) 445-5811

How Often Should You Change Your Toothbrush?

Every time we pass them along our teeth, we trust that our toothbrushes are handling business and getting rid of disease-causing plaque, which is full of bacteria. But if you're using an old toothbrush you’re not doing your mouth any favors. You see, while many of us know how important it is to take care of our teeth, we aren’t as diligent when it comes to taking care of our toothbrushes.

Toothbrushing plays an essential role in personal oral hygiene. However, if you’re brushing your teeth as often as you’re supposed to — twice a day, in the morning and right before bed — then the bristles on your toothbrush are becoming frayed and worn with each use faster than you realize. This isn’t a good thing since worn-out brushes won’t efficiently clean teeth and become less effective at fighting off decay.

“As your bristles start to fray, they are not actually getting in between your teeth. You may not be as efficient at brushing your teeth,” Dr. Jonathan Abenaim, dentist and clinical instructor at New York University, told Medical Daily. “There may be bacteria or a few particles left behind if you don’t have the right toothbrush.”

A frayed toothbrush can be an inconvenience, but the solution is simple: replace it. The American Dental Association recommends that consumers replace toothbrushes approximately every three to four months, or possibly sooner if you’ve been sick. It’s also important to note that you’re not just throwing away your toothbrush, but millions of bacteria.

One study from the University of Manchester in England found that the average toothbrush contains at least 10 million bacteria — including E. coli and Staph. When you think about it, this makes sense since at any given time there are about 100 to 200 oral bacteria species living in your mouth, most of which end up on a toothbrush after a single brushing. In fact, a new toothbrush can become contaminated with bacteria, viruses, and fungi (living in the mouth or from the external environment) after just 30 seconds of use. What’s more, these germs don’t just stay on the toothbrush, they can also be transmitted to other toothbrushes in the household, increasing the risk of infection with each use.

In other words, swapping out your toothbrush every three to four months is just as important as brushing twice a day and flossing when it comes to maintaining your oral health.

By: Jaleesa Baulkman
http://www.medicaldaily.com/how-often-should-you-change-your-toothbrush-bacteria-dental-care-385771

If you have questions or would like to schedule an appointment, please contact Omni Dental Group at one of our three office locations listed below:
North Austin on Hymeadow Drive: (512) 250-5012
Central Austin on Jollyville Road: (512) 346-8424
South Austin on William Cannon: (512) 445-5811

Prophylaxis

There is nothing more important to your dental health than maintaining a clean mouth. Prevention or absence of infection optimizes our general health. A clean mouth will be disease-, infection-, and trouble-free. A clean mouth will not be predisposed to developing either decay or periodontal (gum) disease. One of our very important functions in dentistry is to teach you how to properly maintain your teeth and gums, and to regularly remove anything that you are unable to remove yourself.

The theory and practice of preventive dentistry have undergone revolutionary changes in recent years. We now know that the preventive needs of every individual differ. The adage of "see you dentist regularly; get your teeth cleaned twice a year" has changed too.

What Is Prophylaxis?
Oral prophylaxis is a simple dental procedure by which your dentist or hygienist will clean your teeth using hand instruments or ultrasonic scaler. No matter how good you are at cleaning your teeth, there is always plaque left between your teeth and at the gum line. As time advances and cleaning is neglected, the early stage soft plaque will change into hard tartar (calculus). This plaque and calculus gives rise to periodontitis and gingivitis.

How Oral Prophylaxis Is Done
1. Sit back and relax on the dental chair while your dentist evaluates your medical history
2. Dentist will examine your mouth and look for signs of periodontal pockets and gum infections
3. An ultrasonic scaler will be used to clean your teeth. The scaler is a hand-held device with a hand piece and a pointy tip. It ejects pressurized water and the tip vibrates in order to remove the plaque and calculus from the teeth surface
4. Hand instruments are used to clean tricky spots and difficult to reach areas
5. If you have any cavities or gum problems, you will be notified
6. In the end, a prophylaxis paste will be used for polishing the tooth surface. A miniature rubber cup is fitted over a hand piece and small amount of prophy paste will be applied on the cup and your teeth will be polished 

How Often Should You Schedule Cleanings?
The recare and examination interval that we have recommended for you is designed for your unique situation. And it, too, can change. The interval between regular prophylaxis (cleaning) appointments that is established for you is a function of many things.
These include:

• general health

• dexterity and hand/eye coordination

• age

• diet

• stress levels

• oral habits

• position and alignment of the teeth

• number, type, size, and location of restorations

• restorative materials used

• periodontal history

• location of bone and periodontal tissues

Simply stated, the more complex your dental situation and the more your tooth position and alignment deviate from the normal, the harder you will find it to keep your teeth clean and your gums healthy.

Recent studies have identified many of the microorganisms that cause gum disease and decay. They can be controlled with your help and with ours. These studies also show that a "cleaning" every 6 months may not be adequate for some patients. In order to prevent destructive oral disease, prophylaxis appointments in intervals of anywhere from 2 months to a year may be recommended. Periodontal (gum) disease can happen anywhere in your mouth at any time.

You don't have to let it happen to you! We are here to be your guide to good health.

If you have any questions about your oral care maintenance intervals, please feel free to call our office at 512-250-5012.