Ben and Gary Show Episodes

The High Cost Of Cheap

The Sad, Sad Story Of Leaky Veneers

Often people pursue medical and dental bargains outside the country. This is known as medical tourism.

If you have done your homework, this can work for you. If not, it may cost you big time to repair poor results. Gary tells the sad, sad story of one of his patients who pursued cheaper porcelain veneers.

She told Gary the cost of his plan for veneers was too high. She chose instead to go out of the area to a cheaper dentist a friend had recommended.

A few days after the procedure, her veneers began to leak a black gunk. Horrified, she consulted Gary. He told her they needed to be redone or decay was inevitable.

She returned to her bargain dentist who redid her veneers. Again, they leaked black gunk. Desperate, she went back to Gary to fix them.

Unfortunately, black gunk was not her only problem. The bargain dentist has aggressively removed most of her tooth enamel.

Veneers, extremely thin...

3D X-rays - Your Treatment Advantage

The docs talk about the benefits of investing in next generation technology and its impact on the cost of services.

They invested in Cone Beam aka CBCT (Cone Beam Computed Tomography) technology. It provides them with three dimensional x-rays. These show an exact replica of the patient's jaw and bony structures. Imaging takes only seconds.

Three dimensional x-rays take the guesswork out of treatment. The docs know exactly what conditions they will face during treatment. They can plan in advance and know that they can execute their plans. No more surprises!

Three dimensional x-rays provide a tremendous advantage over two dimensional images. Two dimensional x-rays show a patient's jaw and bony structures super imposed on one another.

These images are useful but result in more guesswork in the treatment process. The docs may not be able to execute their plan and have to figure it out...

Welcome Akeeloe Beckford

The Smiling Face Of 1747 Pennsylvania Avenue

As most of you know, when Joseph P Yalch, Jr, DDS, left the area to pursue a new opportunity, Smiles International took over his practice at 1747 Pennsylvania Avenue.

We are delighted that Akeeloe, Dr Yalch's front office manager, is staying on with us. Gary interviews her in this special episode of the Ben and Gary Show.

Akeeleo worked with Dr Yalch for 13 years

• First as assistant to his assistant
• Next as his dental assistant 
• Finally, promoted to his front desk manager 

Akeeleo's favorite part of seeing patients

Akeeloe knows the importance of a warm greeting. She loves to make patients feel comfortable before treatment. She loves to get to know them and remembers important details about them.

What drew Akeeloe to dentistry

Akeeloe has always been attracted to peoples' smiles. Her childhood ambition was to be a dentist. Person tragedy derailed her plans but she has no...

What? We Are Running A Business!

The docs thought they knew it all from their dental education. But they only knew dentistry.

To practice, they had to learn business. Both got their business training wheels as associates in the practices they joined after dental school.

• How to get patients
• Support team
• Practice management systems
• What equipment 

When they set up their own practice, they got help from practice management consultants who helped them implement the systems they needed to manage their practice.

Coaches took them to next level helping them to grow and build their practice.

• Build a team with everyone in tune with the core values and practice mission
• Build patient relationships so that expectations are met
• Provide patient services that result in recommendations

They differentiate themselves from other practices with outstanding customer service.

• Excellent team invested in the practice
• In house lab that can deliver beautiful, custom results
• ...

Office Fluoride Treatments - Yes Or No?

A patient asked if she needed fluoride treatments in the office as she uses a fluoride toothpaste.

The difference between office applied fluoride and fluoride toothpastes

Office applied fluoride is highly concentrated compared with toothpastes. It is designed to be absorbed by the superficial parts of the tooth.

Office applications harden the enamel and make it more resistant to decay.

Why you may want to add office fluoride treatments

Office fluoride treatments are recommended because they protect enamel

• From diets that include high acid foods and sports drinks 
• From abrasive tooth whitening toothpastes that erode enamel

Office fluoride treatments protect teeth from decay.

This is especially beneficial when there are a lot of crowns and other restorations. These are more susceptible to decay at the gum line.

Where there are teeth with root canals which don't feel pain, decay can be masked.

In making your...

Does Smoking Damage Your Teeth?

Well, yes! And it makes your breath stink. Some of the immediate problems smoking causes

• Stains teeth, makes them unattractively darker
• Reduces saliva flow opening the door to decay
• Shortens the life of dental work due to decay at the gum line

Longer term, smoking causes gum recession which leads to serious problems.

• Bone loss
• Tooth movement and instability
• Tooth loss

Smoking makes implant restorations for missing teeth difficult.

• Decreases blood supply which inhibits healing
• Increases the risk of infection

Smoking actually changes the cellular makeup of mouth tissues.

• Sets you up for mouth, head and neck cancers
• Other tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, also put you at risk

Want help quitting? Let your doc or your dentist help you. Smoking is bad.

Meet Linda Grant - Ace Employee

Former FBI fingerprint analyst hails from Michigan before entering the dental world.

Lasted only a week as a dental assistant!

Her first foray into dentistry was as a dental assistant. Linda says she only lasted a week!

For thirteen years, she worked at another practice, starting as a receptionist and working her way up to office manager. As that practice expanded to sixty four staff members, Linda wanted something more personal.

She has worked at Smiles International for twenty nine years.

She joined Smiles International in November of 1989 where she has remained for twenty nine years.

She considers the practice a family. She stays with the practice, and she believes other long timers stay, because they are proud of the quality of the dentistry the docs and the team provide.

Not that there are no challenges. Sometimes inter office or patient conflicts arise, requiring some diplomacy. 

Ben points out that many people do not have general...

OMG - Some Cases Are Tough!

In this episode, the docs talk about two of their toughest cases.

Gary's Tough Case

Today, our practice has a CBCT, a 3D imaging machine, to alert us in advance to conditions such as thin bone. 

Back in the day, I had a dental implant case. When I opened the gum to place the implant, I discovered bone a bit thin for supporting the implant.

Blood pressure rising and heart racing, I was able to modify my implant placement plan for a successful outcome. This may have been my toughest case.

Ben's Tough Case

I am working with a young patient congenitally missing many permanent teeth. Those he does have are small for his normal sized jaw. He does have some of his baby teeth.

Eventually, my patient will have a permanent solution and a beautiful smile. He has to stop growing before this outcome is possible.

In the meantime, he must get along with a temporary removable solution. Not a happy situation for a high school student and...

What Is Invisalign?

Invisalign is a treatment for aligning crooked teeth using clear removable aligners that fit over your teeth. When you wear them, they are not noticeable.

Ben and his assistant, Carol, have experienced Invisalign and can vouch for how "invisible" their aligners are.

How Long Does Invisalign Treatment Take?

The most common question we get is how long does treatment take. Guy Spears tells us about his experience, commenting on treatment time. 

Guy Spears

Treatment time varies

• With the complexity of the misalignment - really wacked out or not so much
• How fast an individual's teeth move 

How Are Invisalign Aligners Made?

First, your teeth are digitally measured

• Next, we work with Invisalign software to design the treatment plan
• All the treatment aligners are created at the beginning of treatment
• One can estimate treatment time based on the number of aligners
• Each aligner is worn for twenty two hours per day continually for two...

Take Dry Mouth Seriously

Among our patients, a common complaint is dry mouth. Saliva is slippery and forms a buffer against decay which is sticky. Dry mouth compromises that buffer and sets you up for many problems.

There are many causes of dry mouth.

• As we get older saliva flow diminishes
• Medications cause and promote dry mouth
• Not sure about yours? Google medications that cause dry mouth - the list will be long

Dry mouth affects your teeth and dental health in many ways.

• It creates a perfect environment for tooth decay, especially  along the gum line
• It can even cause root decay
• We treat decay but recurrent decay is often a problem
• It causes bad breath

Following are some ways we help patients deal with dry mouth. 

• We prescribe fluoride treatments or trays to help prevent decay
• We recommend gum with xylitol or other products that promote saliva flow
•  We encourage daily hygiene using a mechanical toothbrush
• We definitely recommend flossing to keep...