Posts Tagged ‘Dentist’
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, December 15th, 2008
Child dentistry procedures tackle more than cavities
By Tracey Edgerly Meloni
Seven-year-old Maya doesn’t even have permanent teeth yet, but she has spent much of her life at the dentist. Born with a rare, lifelong condition that causes brittle bones and fragile teeth, Maya has experienced extractions, fillings, crowns, infections and fractures. She plays happily in the waiting room and looks forward to her reward sticker—and she is grinning.
This is not your mama’s childhood dentistry. Area dentists for kids are highly trained specialists, able to handle it all from the usual, like fillings, fluoride and impacted wisdom teeth, to conditions like Maya’s. From too many teeth to too few, cleft palates to facial anomalies, any need has a matching set of specialists.
Early Canine Impactions
Ashleigh Ferguson is active and bubbly, looking forward to her 12th birthday with a confident smile. “She gets many compliments about her teeth and how pretty they look,” says her mother, Tammie, of Lansdowne. But that might not have been the case without orthodontic intervention and a sound relationship with Dr. Rana Barakat, the Sterling-based orthodontist first consulted when Ashleigh was 8 years old. Early diagnosis revealed Ashleigh’s severely impacted upper canines, or “eyeteeth,” as well as a crossbite.
The American Association of Orthodontists recommends an initial orthodontic evaluation around age 7, when permanent first molars have erupted. Barakat determined that Ashleigh’s teeth “did not fit together properly, that she had severe crowding in her upper jaw, and she had impacted upper canines.” Ashleigh’s narrow smile and misaligned jaw presented problems, “and the upper permanent eyeteeth were positioned such that they would not erupt on their own.”
At the first consultation appointment, Barakat determined that it was too early for treatment, and recommended waiting for further dental development and growth. “A year later, I re-evaluated Ashleigh, and she was ready for treatment. Ashleigh’s dental development determined the timing of treatment, and hers was more advanced than her peers,” she adds.
“Dr. Barakat used X-rays, photos and models,” Ferguson says. “She used a computer-simulated program as a visual aid and explained the pros and cons of doing this treatment at a young age compared to waiting until Ashleigh was a teenager. Barakat made sure I understood every aspect of this treatment. I felt as if she was truly doing what was best for my daughter.”
Barakat’s office is not only state of the art, but also fun. Parents like the distraction of computer games in the reception area as much as kids, and Barakat’s exciting contests make for great rewards.
Barakat says Ashleigh’s treatment consists of two phases. Phase I lasted 18 months and concentrated on widening her upper jaw using a palatal expander, limited braces to manage her impacted upper teeth. “Once the expander process was complete, we referred Ashleigh for removal of her upper baby canines and exposure of her impacted upper permanent canines. This procedure lasted around 30 to 60 minutes, during which the impacted teeth were exposed, attachments were placed on the teeth, and the incision closed,” Barakat explains. “After healing, I began bringing both of her impacted canines into position, using the attachments. Once the teeth were visible, I changed the attachments to braces, and aligned the canines.”
After about 18 months of treatment, Ashleigh was given a retainer to wear at night “to maintain new tooth alignment, while the remainder of her permanent teeth erupt.” The outpatient exposure procedure was done under local anesthesia. “Some patients elect to be put to sleep or given a sedative,” Barakat says. “Healing from the procedure is about two to three days, during which the patient generally sticks to a softer diet and stays away from vigorous physical activity.”
To complete her treatment, Ashleigh will be required to go through Phase II in order to fine-tune her bite and get the final tooth alignment. “She is now in a position to have a much shorter time in full braces,” Barakat says.
Brittle Bones, Fragile Teeth
“Seven-year-old Maya Simbulan has Osteogenesis Imperfecta [OI], along with Dentinogenesis Imperfecta [DI],” says her mother, Jennifer. These are going to be “lifelong problems for Maya, and so we take care of her teeth with good dental care and hygiene.” Fairfax-based pediatric dentist Dr. Sherry Sharif was Jennifer’s choice.
“Dr. Sharif has a great staff, with gentle hands, happy faces and a kid-friendly office with TV and toys for distraction,” says Simbulan, who has a good understanding of Maya’s condition thanks to Sharif.
OI is called brittle bone or fragile bone disease. “Patients are prone to bone fractures. They have short stature, triangle-shaped faces and blue sclerae [whites of eyes],” Sharif explains. “They have hypermobile joints and vertebral collapse. Their teeth have yellow/translucent color. They may also have congenital heart defects.”
Maya’s treatment is ongoing, with regular recall visits. “Also, she develops dental abscesses due to her weak teeth and needs treatment such as extractions or stainless-steel crowns. She does not yet have any permanent teeth, but her primary teeth are yellow-amber/translucent color particular to DI Type I. Her permanent incisors should come in with normal length and contour,” Sharif shares.
Asked about the risks involved, Sharif says, “risks are very minimal if proper infection control protocol and minimally invasive technical procedures are adapted. General anesthesia nowadays administered by pediatric anesthesiologists at Fair Oaks Hospital is very safe and effective.” She adds that it provides peace of mind for the families of an apprehensive child.
Jennifer is satisfied. “Maya has dental visits every three months for checkup and fluoride treatment. She also has cleaning every six months. She has been on antibiotics on several occasions for abscesses and currently has one root fracture, which we are just observing for now.”
Teeth Extraction
Children and adolescents with special needs find a perfect fit with Dr. J. Daniel LaBriola of Fairfax Station. While not primarily a children’s dentist, the Northern Virginia oral/maxillofacial surgeon and his associates can put their unique talents to work in special circumstances. They are able to uncover teeth out of position for orthodontists to follow up, and they use case-specific anesthesia techniques for many types of special-needs patients.
Laurie Moore of Goldvein happily traveled some distance to take her autistic son, Chase, to LaBriola’s offices. “Chase is a gentle giant,” explains the proud mother. But the 18-year-old, standing 5-foot-9 and weighing some 240 pounds, needed just the right practitioner when it came time to remove his wisdom teeth.
“We had some pretty negative experiences before finding Dr. LaBriola,” she goes on to explain. “Right away, he knew just what to do, and to do it fast. The rapport was wonderful. He understands Chase’s needs and anxiety.”
Moore adds that LaBriola will be her pick to work with Chase again on anesthesia for any potential future dental needs.
“We like to have a consultation visit to get a feel for the needs of a child with a routine tooth removal,” says LaBriola, adding that knowing the child’s anxiety level helps determine how to proceed: “Local anesthesia, sedation with nitrous oxide, or is there a need for a general anesthetic.”
Consultation, however, isn’t always a possibility. In cases of emergencies, where the child is in severe pain or has an acute infection, “then we proceed, maybe starting with laughing gas.”
“Most children’s procedures are over in a matter of minutes—the treatment is short and sweet.”
LaBriola adds that dental risks in kids are notably different from those of adults. “They can get in trouble fast. An infection can become life-threatening quickly in a child.”
Risks of bleeding and post-op infection are also greater in children if proper precautions are not taken.
Further, “children have difficulty communicating their needs,” LaBriola notes, especially when a hospital day or night visit is involved. “We make sure they are properly hydrated, taking in calories, able to go to the bathroom, and have pain control” before releasing them, although usually the hospital stay is no more than a single night.
All agree that the best way a parent can ensure lifelong dental health for a child is to invest time in conducting the appropriate amount of research, find a dentist in your region with the right rapport, office and training for you and your child, and to start visits early.
Our Dental Experts
Rana Barakat, DDS
45745 Nokes Blvd., Dulles; 703-433-9330; www.barakatorthodontics.com
DDS, University of Tennessee 1994
Diplomate, American Board of Orthodontists
12 years in practice
Sherry Sharif, DDS
3700 Joseph Siewick Drive, Fairfax; 703-620-9122
DDS, Howard University 1993
Diplomate, American Board of Pediatric Dentistry
12+ years in practice
L. Daniel LaBriola, DDS
5619 Smoke Rise Lane, Fairfax Station; 703-978-7013
DDS, Georgetown University 1976
Diplomate, American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
28+ years in practice
(November 2008)
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
New Dental Procedures Aim to Tame Patient (and Doctor) Nerves
By Lindsay Holst
A cold, sterile room that smells of disinfectant and dental floss. Needles, drills and ratchets adorning a creaky tray. A dentist’s head, silhouetted ominously against the harsh, incandescent glow of overhead florescent bulbs. A patient’s white knuckles gripping the arms of a plastic-coated chair. The imagery encompasses the fear that some 95 million North Americans share: going to the dentist’s office. It’s the anxiety-ridden patient’s worst nightmare, and these days, it’s the dentist’s as well.
But it didn’t used to be that way. “Adults that are now older than 50 used to go to the dentist at a time when dentists weren’t so concerned about anxiety control,” says Dr. J. Daniel LaBriola, D.D.S., chief of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Inova Fairfax Hospital and oral surgeon at Northern Virginia Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Associates (Annandale). “Back then it was, ‘I know you’re numb, sit there, let me do this.’ People started to get fearful that dentists wouldn’t listen to them and would proceed with something without adequate anesthetic.”
After such major milestones in dental care as fluoridated water and toothpaste, tooth decay decreased, and dentists realized that if they wanted to stay in business, they would have to take patients’ total needs into consideration, including anxiety control.
“Most dental anxiety starts when you’re a child,” says Dr. Daniel Cassidy, D.D.S., who has a family and cosmetic dentistry practice in Alexandria. “A lot of it is psychology. Hopefully we’re giving this generation of kids a positive experience so that they don’t have the negative association that some of the older generations have.”
New dental trends that stress anxiety control and pain management are helping doctors tame patients’ nerves better than ever before.
Anxiety control in patients doesn’t have to be rocket science. Sometimes, diverting dentist fears simply requires a different state of mind. In theory, if patients are made to feel as comfortable and calm as possible, they are able to relax to the point where they may even forget they are getting dental work done. Offices are beginning to offer dental work and spa-like amenities, such as manicures, pedicures and paraffin wax treatments, simultaneously.
Dr. Cassidy’s office offers add-on vibrating massage chair components that patients can control and iPods they can use to cut back on the sound of the drill. The Alexandria-based offices of Dr. Kim Kitchen, D.D.S and Associates, offer spa-like cuisine to patients who come in for consultations, further diverting the sterile, harsh environment typically associated with the dentist’s office. “We offer them water, juice, smoothies and freshly baked bread,” says Dr. Clifton Harris, D.D.S, who works alongside Dr. Kitchen.
When patients come in for procedures, they enjoy additional amenities such as hot towels, blankets, and DVD and CD players. “People are simply more comfortable when they have something else to focus on,” Dr. Harris says.
Sometimes patients’ stress can be exacerbated by something as seemingly minor as an office’s lighting. Dr. LaBriola’s office provides eye shades for patients with light problems, and the office also allows patients to bring in their own musical devices, though Dr. LaBriola prefers they keep the volume low so he can talk them through the procedure. If a patient is slightly anxious, he says, an explanation of the procedure can help tame nerves.
“I don’t give them gruesome details, but I let them know what sensations to expect,” Dr. LaBriola says. “With surgery, there can be intense sensations, though they’re not necessarily painful, and we want to be able to explain that to anxious patients. If they can’t hear me, they could develop more anxiety. In a surgical situation, it’s much more advantageous for the patient to know what’s coming.”
Slightly greater patient anxiety stems from a fear of pain, and basic relaxation techniques are not always sufficient in quelling worries. “What actually hurts in an injection is the medicine going into the tissue,” Dr. LaBriola says. “Newer tools can administer the local anesthetic at a slower rate, making the shot more painless; this way, people are more likely to have the procedure done.”
Patients with minor needle phobias can begin to relax, thanks to tools and procedures whose aim is to cut back on the dreaded burning sensation resulting from a too-quick injection. Sometimes, manual techniques alone can effectively divert the patient’s attention and cut back on injection-associated pain. When Dr. Cassidy gives an injection, he begins by numbing the gums with a topical anesthetic. He then applies pressure to and shakes the patient’s lip before administering the injection.
“They feel pressure before the stick,” Dr. Cassidy says. “The theory is that I’m stimulating the part of the nerve that feels pressure. Additionally, the shaking tends to distract the patient. “They’re still wondering what I was just doing, and I’ve already administered the anesthetic.”
The Wand, a tool Dr. Cassidy says has been around for a few years, uses a computer to administer the anesthetic very slowly through the mouth. The machine looks essentially like “a box with tubes coming out of it,” Dr. Cassidy says; out of concern that the machine’s appearance would be off-putting to patients, he trained himself to administer the local anesthetic slowly by hand. Another new tool, the Vibrajet, clips onto the anesthetic syringe and causes it to vibrate gently, which Dr. Cassidy says significantly cuts back on the sharpness of the injection.
For more severe forms of patient anxiety, more and more dental offices are offering sedation dentistry as an option. Kim Kitchen and Associates uses an oral-conscious sedation to put patients into a kind of “twilight zone,” sedating the patient and also acting as an amnesiac, so that the patient will not remember much of the procedure.
“We will have the patients take Valium, a longer-lasting sedative that calms your nerves down the night before,” Dr. Harris says. “They will get a good night’s sleep, and when they wake up the next morning, the drug will still be in their system; they will come into the office already quite sedated.”
When undergoing this type of sedation, the patient must be driven to the office. Upon arrival, the doctor will sometimes give an additional, quicker and shorter-acting drug that serves essentially as a sleeping pill, Dr. Harris says. Once in the chair, the patient is hooked up to a machine to monitor vitals, and the dentist commences the procedure.
Though sedated patients appear to be in a deep sleep, Dr. Harris notes, they are never in a situation where they’re in such deep sedation that they cannot be woken up by the dentist. “I did oral conscious sedation on a patient last week, and gave him 12 or 13 fillings,” Dr. Harris remembers. “He was here for about four hours, and he doesn’t remember the work at all; he just remembers essentially getting here and leaving. He got up twice during the procedure.”
When under oral-conscious sedation, patients are able to communicate to the doctor if they need to use the bathroom or take a drink; Harris says that he gives his patients a little Gatorade to stimulate them enough to get up and walk to the restroom and back. Afterwards, he says, they rarely recall anything.
Increased attention to patient anxiety has popularized another option in anesthesia. Many offices are turning to private anesthesiology practices that send a trained anesthesiologist to a dental office to perform the sedation himself. “People mistakenly think that the length of the procedure should dictate the level of the sedation,” says Don Mauney, M.D., an anesthesiologist at Horizon Anesthesia in Falls Church.
Practices like Horizon have relationships with area dentists or physicians, and anesthesiologists from the practice will deploy to different offices to perform sedation during procedures. The anesthesiologist will meet with the patient beforehand to review medical history, surgical history and other concerns such as medications and allergies.
On the day of the procedure, the anesthesiologist brings a small machine that can sedate patients and provide general anesthesia, as well as a machine that monitors such vitals as blood pressure, heart rate and end-title C02.
The type of anesthesia that Horizon provides is particularly useful for small children, extreme needle-phobics or those undergoing long and complicated procedures. “The alternative is to give the patient an IV with sedating medication, but with our machine the patient is able to breathe medication through a mask,” Dr. Mauney says.
“Safety is of paramount importance. Whether you’re having a 27-minute procedure or a six-hour procedure, you should be comfortable with the level of service.”
(April 2008)
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
Dentistry Patients Discuss Their Life-Changing Procedures
By Lindsay Holst
In a culture where plastic makes perfect, to cynics the word “cosmetic” conjures images of procedures representing one more costly indulgence, falling somewhere between “lip injections” and “eyebrow lifts.”
A winning smile has always been touted as the secret to many successes.
Studies have shown that an attractive smile can improve your self-confidence, get you a date and even help land you a job.
Why the obsession with straight, shiny teeth?
Chalk it up to Darwinism. Blame society’s infatuation with the smiles of veneer-clad celebrities. But ultimately, it’s undeniable: The attractive smile is a coveted fixture, and the field of cosmetic dentistry has gained considerable popularity for its range of services, which include veneers, tooth implants, whitening and tooth restoration, in addition to other traditional dental procedures.
The cynics, as it turns out, are incredibly wrong.
The art of restoring a smile has far-reaching benefits, and the work of cosmetic dentists can drastically improve not only the physical appearance of their patients, but their confidence and sense of self-worth, as well.
No Bones About It
Though patients are ultimately taken by the change in their physical appearance, those who have been experiencing chronic pain can find dual relief in cosmetic dental procedures. Dr. Chong Lee, who practices at Galleria Dental Aesthetics in McLean and is a clinical instructor at the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies, emphasizes the need for cosmetic dentists to take care of the functional aspect of the patient’s problem before the cosmetic aspect. If pain exists, he advised, it must be addressed first.
“I have patients who have been to neurologists and ENT’s because of their headaches,” Lee said. “They can’t function due to migraine headaches, neck pain and back pain. Many times, it’s caused by their bite.” Often, the pain is a result of teeth grinding, which Lee said occurs when a patient’s bite is not in the proper place. The muscles and the jaw work overtime, causing fatigue and pain when they are at rest.
To assess the location of a patient’s bite, Lee uses a machine to measure the muscular activity. A computer helps him locate where the natural bite will be, and sonography—which uses the sound of the joint—helps him with jaw tracking. Once he restores the jaw to its natural position, Lee said patients are shocked that the pain “simply goes away.”
He can recall one patient who came into his office with two pages of medications that she had been taking for her head, neck and shoulder pain. “The pain was affecting her everyday. She couldn’t function; she was missing work, and had to sit in a dark room constantly for her migraines,” Lee recalled. “She took a second trust on her house just to get her teeth done, because she didn’t want to live with pain anymore.”
Meet The Dentist
CHONG LEE, DDS, received his Doctor of Dental Surgery from the Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry in 1983. As a graduate of Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies’ renowned post-graduate aesthetic and neuromuscular dentistry study program, Dr. Lee went on to become an LVI clinical instructor and regional director. He founded the LVI Study Club in the D.C. Metro area, and frequently gives lectures around the county to hundreds of dentists. Dr. Lee is a fellow of the International Academy for Dental Facial Esthetics and an active member of the Virginia Dental Association, American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, American Dental Association, Association of General Dentistry and Northern Virginia Dental Society. He practices at Galleria Dental Aesthetics in McLean, where he and fellow Drs. Oh and Mortazie were voted top dentists in the Metro area by several publications, including Washington Consumers’ Checkbook and Washingtonian Magazine. Visit www.smilesva.com.
Picture Perfect
Kellie, a 39-year-old mother of three, had had problems with her teeth for as long as she could remember. By the time she was in her late 20s, she found herself with only a few remaining teeth, and she was fighting to save even those.
“Every single tooth had multiple fillings,” she remembered. “I had had at least six root canals and a bridge in the front where one of my teeth had fallen out while I was eating. I have stories that could make your skin crawl.”
Kellie, who owns a well-drilling business with her husband in Christiansburg, Va., began having such difficulty eating that she lost nearly 45 pounds. Her teeth were decaying so quickly that she found herself at the dentist’s office at least once a week. When she went out to dinner, she could only order soft foods—what she began referring to as her “baby food diet.” And yes, her smile was unattractive, she said, but that was the least of her problems.
“When I decided to get cosmetic dental work done, the vanity aspect was only a perk of the procedure,” she said. “For me, it was, I have to eat again. I have to function again.”
After two consultations at nearby dentistry practices, Kellie remained unsatisfied with the institutions’ credentials. She extended her search to encompass the entire state and found Dr. H.R. Makarita, whose credentials impressed her and prompted her to drive three and a half hours to his Oakton practice for a consultation; later, she would return for a complete smile makeover.
“I now have—no exaggeration—perfectly colored, perfectly shaped Julia Roberts teeth,” she said gleefully, adding that before her dental work, she couldn’t find one picture where she was smiling with her teeth. “Over the years, I had major anxiety issues. Now, everything has changed; the way that I eat, the way that I look, the way that I photograph.” With her new teeth, Kelly is training herself to smile again, controlling her hand from flying to cover her mouth as it used to. “No way am I going to cover these beautiful teeth!” she exclaimed.
Meet The Dentist
H.R. MAKARITA, DDS, MAGD, LVIM, FICOI, FAACD, graduated from the Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry in 1988. He has been a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry since 1995, receiving his accreditation in 2001 and becoming the 39th member of the academy to receive its prestigious fellowship designation in 2006. He is a master of the Academy of General Dentistry, and was awarded mastership status from the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies in 2006; he is also an LVI clinical instructor and regional director. Dr. Makarita has received numerous AACD Smile Gallery awards, and received the AACD People’s Choice Award in 2003. His private practice in Oakton specializes in aesthetic reconstructive dentistry. Visit www.fixasmile.com.
Emergency Makeover
Not all dental damage is the result of gradual deterioration, and on-call dentists must be ready to immediately handle urgent cases as they arise. Dr. Lawrence Singer, who serves as assistant clinical professor of surgery at George Washington University and has practices in Alexandria and Washington, D.C., is on-call for facial fractures and dentoalveolar trauma, including avulsed teeth.
When traumas arise, he goes to the George Washington University hospital to assess the patients’ injuries, and has had many unique cosmetic and reconstructive surgery opportunities. “Often, we will go into the O.R. and reset broken jaw bones, and re-implant and stabilize loose teeth,” Singer said. “This initial treatment is critical to getting the best result so that the tissues are manipulated in the best possible way for ideal healing with little defect.”
He remembered when Tanya, an on-duty Arlington County police officer, came into the O.R. Tanya, who was on foot that night, had been struck by a car traveling at 55 miles per hour. In addition to broken hands and a badly broken leg, she had broken upper and lower jaws. She had lost six upper teeth and had three avulsed lower teeth. While orthopedics reconstructed Tanya’s broken hands and legs, Singer worked on her maxillofacial region with an ENT resident. He re-implanted and stabilized the lower teeth by connecting them to adjacent teeth, and began healing the upper and lower jaw by “reducing” the fractures; that is, putting the jaws back into place with plates, screws and sutures.
“The lower teeth were all treated with root canals and porcelain crowns,” Singer said. “We are replacing the upper teeth that were lost with zirconium implants and zirconium crowns, all porcelain.” Since the initial surgeries, Tanya has had several additional plastic surgeries for her gums. “It has been seven months since the accident, and we expect her to finish up in the next couple,” Singer predicted. “Tanya is a tough gal. She has a big smile, though, and restoring it has been rewarding as any.”
Meet The Dentist
LAWRENCE D. SINGER, DMD earned his Doctor of Medical Dentistry at the School of Dental Medicine: University of Pennsylvania, where he served as assistant professor of restorative dentistry from 1997 to 2000. He currently is the assistant clinical professor of surgery at George Washington University and maintains full admitting and ambulatory center privileges at the GWU hospital. He is a member of the Academy of Osseointegration, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and American Dental Association, among others. He is a also fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry, as well as the International Congress of Oral Implantologists. His practice, DC Smiles, has locations in Washington, D.C., and Alexandria, specializing in cosmetic, implant, and reconstructive dentistry. Visit www.novasmiles.com.
Best Face Forward
Broken teeth resulting from accidents or abusive relationships can cause emotional trauma that runs deep, and cosmetic dental procedures often serve as one significant step in the victim’s recovery process. Dr. Kevin Ryan is vice chairman of the board of Second Chance Employment Services, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that places battered, abused and other at-risk women in jobs free of charge.
“Many of these women obviously need dental work because they have broken front teeth due to an abusive relationship,” Ryan said. “I use veneers to restore their smiles so that they are presentable enough to go and get a job, and I’ve also made temporary crowns so that they can go on job interviews. The main thing is to get them ready and give them enough confidence to go out into the workforce.”
The women, who are typically psychologically damaged, find it difficult to believe that they can actually get a job, and the cosmetic dental procedures often allow them to regain a sense of normalcy in their lives. Contrary to common assumptions, Ryan said that the organization sees women of all educational and social backgrounds. He remembers a marine biologist who had a front tooth knocked out.
“She was unbelievably well-educated,” he remembered, “but she just couldn’t get a job. I made her a temporary crown to improve her appearance, and she got a job right away.”
It seems that it isn’t just the women’s appearances that change with this dental work. Ryan remembered a young French woman whose teeth were incredibly damaged as result of an abusive relationship. He created an entire case of veneers for her, which he said made a dramatic change, not only in her looks, but also in her attitude. “She’s a completely different person now,” he remarked. “She’s remarried, has a baby on the way, and is happy and smiling every time she comes in.”
Although many of the procedures would ordinarily run up to $17,000, all of the dental work at Second Chance is done pro bono. Even so, it seems a small price to pay for a life change.
“We don’t just do dentistry [at Second Chance]. We get them clothes, help with their resumes, and you can always see the difference immediately in the way they hold their heads, the sparkle in their eyes. We have story after story of people who have made remarkable changes.”
Meet The Dentist
KEVIN A. RYAN, DDS graduated from the Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry in 1981. Dr. Ryan was voted as “highly regarded for cosmetic work” by Washingtonian Magazine, and was voted by his peers as one of the “Best Dentists in America” for 2004-2005. He completed post-graduate training at the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies, where he put in 200-plus hours of continuous education a year. He is a member of the American Dental Association, Virginia Dental Association, Northern Virginia Dental Society and the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He started his own practice, the Springfield Esthetic Dental Center, in 1985, and has been practicing in the area for more than 19 years. Visit www.springfielddental.com.
(November 2007)
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, December 8th, 2008
Dentists Who Make a Difference
By Jan Maxwell
Dr. Jeff Massie In Haiti
While most of us don’t look forward to visiting the dentist, there are millions of people around the world who would give anything to sit down in a dental chair. Coping with infected teeth and aching jaws, these people live in remote areas where the word “toothbrush” is not in their vocabulary. Many must wait for months, if not years, to get even the most basic dental care.
Fortunately, some of the most poverty-stricken areas of the world are beginning to get help as an increasing number of dental professionals step up and volunteer. From pulling teeth to providing much-needed dentures, volunteer dentists often work in primitive conditions to bring smiles to people who haven’t smiled in a long time.
Northern Virginia boasts a number of professionals who have reached out to help those in desperate need of dental assistance. From the water-logged streets of New Orleans to the mountain villages of Haiti to the under-served areas of our own state, dental volunteers from Northern Virginia have given up vacations and paid their own way to travel to places where the need is the greatest.
Villagers show their new smiles
“I Just Want to Try and Make the World a Better Place.”
Dr. Michael Morch of Woodbridge has been providing volunteer dental services for over 10 years. Working primarily through Medical Missionaries, a group of physicians and dental professionals who travel to Haiti and the Dominican Republic each year, Morch has seen firsthand how poverty affects basic dental care.
Carrying portable dental units, Morch and his companions hike into the mountains, find a village and set up shop. Word spreads quickly that they have arrived and long lines rapidly form. One by one, patients take their place in the makeshift dental chair and have their aching teeth removed. On some trips, Dr. Morch and his companions extract over 1,500 teeth.
Preventative care is not an option in most third-world countries, since toothbrushes are virtually non-existent. Even fillings are rarely done.
“It’s too time consuming,” Morch said. “We see over 100 people a day, so all we have time to do is pull teeth.”
Dr. Gilbert Irwin, a Manassas physician who started Medical Missionaries over 10 years ago with a handful of doctors, was delighted to add dentists to his group.
“Before Dr. Morch and others came along, we had a urologist pulling teeth,” Irwin said.
In response to the increasing demand for help and to build continuity, Medical Missionaries has just finished building a permanent clinic in Haiti. In addition to providing much-needed medical assistance, the clinic will be able to provide both emergency and preventative dental care in a dedicated suite.
“For the Few You Touch, it’s Everything”
Dr. Jeff Massie of Marshall wanted to provide volunteer assistance since dental school, and he finally got the opportunity with Medical Missionaries. In addition to the group’s annual trip to Haiti, Massie also tries to make a church-sponsored trip to Kenya each year. He relishes every moment that he is able to help someone, like the villager who got his first good night’s sleep in 10 years after he had a bad tooth extracted.
Like Dr. Morch, Dr. Massie finds that emergency care is all he can provide in remote locations.
“There is very limited electricity,” Massie said. “Even if I wanted to drill, I couldn’t.”
Once it is known that dentists are on their way, word-of-mouth advertising insures a steady stream of patients, including some who walk days for treatment.
“When we show up, there are already long lines of people waiting for help,” Massie said.
Because of the lack of trained dental professionals in third-world countries, Massie and others like him provide the only dental care that most of the villagers will see for some time. Getting equipment and supplies into some of the most remote regions is difficult, so Massie and his volunteer partners carry everything they need with them, and they use up all of their supplies before they leave.
Volunteering has become a very important part of Dr. Massie’s life. “I love it,” he said, “and I hope to continue as long as I can.”
Closer to Home
It’s not only third-world villagers who are in desperate need of dental care. Many Virginia residents often go without even the most basic services. That’s where organizations like the Virginia Dental Association step in. Through a variety of programs, the Association reaches out to the under-served population of the state, providing them with much-needed dental care.
Since its inception, the Mission of Mercy, or MOM project, has provided dental services to over 20,000 patients in under-served areas of the state. This outreach has broken records for the largest short-term dental clinics ever conducted in the United States.
Volunteer dentists also participate in “Give Kids a Smile,” a once-a-year opportunity for low-income children across the state to receive free dental services and Donated Dental Services, a program that allows qualified individuals to visit local dentist offices and receive treatment at substantially reduced rates.
The Virginia Dental Association reached out to a sister state last year. Over 40 dental professionals joined together to set up temporary clinics in Louisiana for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Information about all of these programs, and how to receive volunteer treatment, can be found at the Virginia Dental Association’s Web site, www.vadental.org.
Volunteer Clinic
Area residents who qualify can receive quality dental treatments at the Northern Virginia Dental Clinic in Falls Church. Although not all services are available, eligible patients can receive basic dental care at substantially reduced prices. The clinic is open to residents of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William Counties, as well as the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church. Information about the volunteer clinic can be found at the Web site of the Northern Virginia Dental Society; www.nvds.org.
If you would like to volunteer your professional services, provide equipment and supplies, or make a cash contribution to one of these excellent organizations, please contact them directly.
Medical Missionaries
9590 Surveyor Court, Manassas; 703-361-5116; www.medicalmissionaries.info
Northern Virginia Dental Clinic
5827 Columbia Pike, Suite # 405, Falls Church; 703-820-7170; www.nvds.org
Virginia Dental Association
7525 Staples Mill Road, Richmond; 804-261-1610; www.vadental.org
Needs “gently-used” teddy bears/stuffed animals to distribute to children receiving dental care, equipment and supplies, or monetary contributions. Checks should be made out to the Virginia Dental Health Foundation.
(May 2007)