The Laser Dental Group

It has been a very event filled year here at The Laser Dental Group.    Congratulations go to Dr. Ivy Hwang who recently completed a two year program at NYU and received her Fellowship to the ICOC, International Congress of Oral Implantologists .    Dr. Michael Saba has started his course study in Implantology.   Dr. Peter Louie just completed a series of advanced course studies in bone grafting and Dental implant placement. Our entire office has started a yearlong Practice Management program and that has helped us improve the operations within the two practices. Our E4D or Cad/Cam Technology has also been upgraded, and we can now start and finish a crown in 2 hours which is much faster than the 3 hours it took us prior to the upgrade.   On the digital radiography which we have incorporated since 2000, has also been upgraded. You have heard of High Definition television, so now we have high definition X-ray sensors . This improvement allows us to more accurately locate a

I recently read a published article which considered orthodontic treatment a luxury that only a few should consider.  While most think that putting braces on their kids’ teeth or themselves is purely cosmetic, orthodontics treats much more.  The mouth is a very unstable place.  The misconception that teeth are held still in bone is far from the reality.  Teeth are in a dynamic relationship among themselves and the bone surrounding them.  The force of food being crushed between teeth during chewing creates movement which can affect their long term stability.  Having spaces between the teeth, whether they were there from birth or created from extractions, only increases the amount of movement that occurs naturally.  Similarly, having crowded or overlapping teeth creates areas in which food can get caught and that are hard to clean.  Food impaction can cause bone to recede leading to a higher rate of cavities and increases mobility.   The job of an orthodontist is to create a sta

As we reach the end of the year, we would like to remind you to take advantage of any dental insurance benefits that you may have left before they expire. While treatment is never dictated by insurance, if you have treatment that you have not scheduled, or are experiencing any dental concerns at all — now is a great time to come in before the year is over. Don't let your insurance company keep your benefits.  If you don't lose them you lose them! Your dental health is our number one priority. In addition to the dental benefit that you may have, we also accept the CareCredit SM healthcare credit card to help you manage any additional costs. With CareCredit, you’ll enjoy these benefits: Special financing options* Convenient monthly payments Credit decision received almost immediately Do you have flexible spending account with your employer?  Most FSA's or Healthcare Spending Accounts also run out at the end of the year.  If you haven't uti

Gingival hypertrophy also known as gingival overgrowth or enlargements are manifestations of gingivitis, which is an inflammation of the gums.  When left untreated, this can lead to advanced periodontal disease, tooth decay and the eventual loss of teeth.  Since this disease is painless, most patients are not even aware that it exists. Much of the cause of this disease can be traced to irritation from dental restorations, chronic plaque and tarter build-up and localized bacterial acidic byproducts that form from bacteria metabolizing food stuffs trapped in that site.  The affected gum tissues typically show increased fluid in the cells, edema or swelling caused by fluids and gum overgrowth.  This condition is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria and a potential site for systemic bacterial infiltration.   Research between systemic diseases and periodontal diseases is ongoing. While a link is not conclusive, some studies indicate that severe gum disease may be associated with sever

Have you ever wondered why you have to pay so much money even though you have dental insurance? What most people don’t quite understand is that dental insurance is very different from medical insurance, at least yet in 2015. Unlike the most routine check up appointment at your medical doctor’s office, even a routine dental check up appointment can have many different options to meet each patient’s needs and best prognosis. For example, most patients make their routine dental appointment to get a “cleaning” which they were informed is covered at 100% when they signed up for the insurance. But when they come in for the first time, they can be told many different treatment options with variable cost based on their dental condition just to get a “cleaning.” Some need just a simple dental cleaning called “Prophy” in dental world, or some need deep cleaning which is divided by the 4 sections of your mouth called “Scaling and Root planning in each quadrant,” or some may need gum

The New Westfield Office under construction. New treatments, new technology -- there is always something new to ‘brush up’ on if a dentist is going to give his patients the excellence that they deserve. The Laser Dental Group dental professionals are always on top of the latest technology by attendance at many conferences and seminars in order to better serve their patients.   Apparently that knowledge has paid off with more and more people choosing The Laser Dental Group for their dental care needs. When we opened our first practice in Union, NJ at 1205 Coolidge Avenue in 1987 and then another office at 581 Westfield Avenue, Westfield in 2011 we were seeing an average number of patients per year.  I am grateful to our loyal patients for their ‘word of mouth’ marketing efforts! By reason of our many new patients and our wanting our old and new ‘family’ to feel comfortable, we are almost near completion of a brand new facility located at 301 Lenox Avenue in Westfield, NJ.

Today I’m going to speak about malocclusion! MALOCCLUSION? That is a mouthful of a word. A mouth FULL; actually that describes malocclusion perfectly.   Remember my last blog on teeth whitening when I described teeth as a fence that gets buffeted by many elements that come at it daily and the white enamel begins to fade? Now; I want you to picture that time when you stepped into a crowded subway or train or bus and you were shoulder to shoulder with other riders and in order to maintain your place in that vehicle you needed to compensate by hunching over a bit or twisting yourself in an almost yoga like position.   No fun!  Now visualize your thirty-two ‘best friends’ wanting to enter into your mouth but due to inheritance of a small mouth structure there is not enough room for ‘everyone’ in your chew-chew train to ‘stand’ as they were meant to ‘stand.’ (pardon the pun) Complicating matters, perhaps the upper jaw or lower jaw are not same size and thus your teeth cannot align

Today, I want to talk about the process of teeth whitening and why my team of dental professionals at Laser Dental Group are excited for this new and innovative dental procedure. Visualize for a moment a fence that has weathered many a storm for many years; buffeted by the many elements of nature: snow, sleet, rain, mud, and dust storms.  The fence begins to fade and the focal point beyond the fence, one’s perfect ‘dream house,’ becomes less inviting to visitors. Now, think of your teeth as a fence which in ordinary living of life gets a similar type of buffeting by a variety of elements on a daily basis: drinking coffee, tea, soda, perhaps some nicotine stains if one should be a smoker, or certain medications taken over the course of years that cause teeth to become stained and that beautiful smile you do have is just a bit worn and faded; like that of the much used fence. Do not despair !  Modern dentistry through The Laser Dental Group of Union / Westfield, NJ