The Laser Dental Group

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...

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...

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 / West...

Candy! Cookies! Cake! Popcorn! Soda! Ok; now that I have your attention . How sweet tasting such treats are and who doesn’t love them? Your teeth do not! 32 of the best friends you could ever hope to have who provide you the means to proper digestion of food which gives your body good overall health. Nevertheless, we all have a sweet tooth we like to indulge. The sweet party comes to an end, usually in the middle of the night or on a weekend when my office is closed, and a tooth not properly brushed and filled with decay gets the cavity which begins the throbbing that wakes my future patient up saying words such as: “Ooooh--If only I had brushed better!” I don’t want any of my patients to have to endure such a plight and so I offer you five steps to ensure proper brushing of teeth. 1.   The Right Toothpaste: Use ADA (American Dental Association) approved fluoride toothpaste. 2. The Correct Brush : A good toothbrush should have the ADA (American ...

A trip to the dentist is certainly not something most people look forward to, however, you can keep the number of visits to a minimum by following the standard procedure of maintenance: brushing, flossing and dental check-ups every six months .  Dental check-ups are what I wish to speak about in this article to ensure a good doctor - patient relationship. As in any relationship of worth, honest communication is essential. Honest communication tells me that you trust me as your dental professional and allows me to tailor your check-up to address your specific and individual concerns. So, what TEN things do I need you to tell me, your dentist, when you arrive for your next dental check-up? 1 . Provide name and phone number of your regular family physician, should I need to contact him. 2 . Advise if you are allergic to any anesthetic medications I would be administering for routine dental work. 3 . Make sure I am aware of diabetic disease, as this disease does increase...