A prospective patient called my North Carolina dental office from Washington, DC, inquiring about five implants’ cost. I sent her to a CAT scan (CT) center to obtain a scan. I used a dental software called Simplant to determine the available bone’s size and density with those scans. I then tried several implants, virtually, in...

At first glance, a tooth may seem like a piece of hard bone that chews food. However, if cut in a cross-section, a healthy tooth has a network of nerves, arteries, and veins that respond to stimuli from the outside and the inside. Repeated drilling or cavities on a tooth allow oral fluids, water, chemicals,...

My youngest sister was born with a heart defect. She had repeated visits to her physicians for monitoring and did well enough through high school and into early adulthood.”Her diagnosis was mitral valve prolapse, and the doctors thought that heart valve replacement would give her a better quality of life. My parents wrestled with the...

Dental Health in the “First Forty Years” The first forty years is the period during which adults make sacrifices for their children, and it is a time when your priorities become secondary to those you are responsible for taking care of. Some feel guilty when they take care of their dental problems during this period...

As the population ages, we tend to see more cases of osteoporosis and decreased bone density. Both men and women are at risk of developing this condition, making them more susceptible to fractures from everyday activity. It is possible for someone suffering from osteoporosis to break their hipbones in such a way that compromises internal...

Dentistry is one of the areas of healthcare that responds readily to prevention. While many in the population have little dental fear, our culture and media are replete with dentistry images, indicating that dental treatment is bothersome for most people. Phrases like “It was worse than a root canal” or “He is not going to...

(Special note to patients – this subject can be very complicated and is meant to inform you of the complexity of self-diagnosis. We seriously advise you to seek the help of a professional in this area. Consult your dental professional for further advice.) TMJ is not a medical condition; it is a joint that articulates...

What Are People Saying About Dr. Bonnick’s Books Dr. Bonnick’s most recent book, How To Overcome Fear Of The Dentist – A Patient’s Guide To Understanding Dentistry, focuses on educating patients on various dental procedures, good oral hygiene habits, and what the options are under various circumstances. Sometimes lack of understanding makes things look more imposing,...

For as long as I have been a dentist, I have been taking classes and teaching other dentists the value of cosmetic dentistry. In 1988, my job was to solve our patients’ cosmetic problems in our hospital general practice. Some of these patients had teeth broken after intubation for general surgery. My job was not...

I will just pull my teeth, which will be the end of my teeth problems, is one mantra that I used to hear a lot. When teeth go, bone and supporting tissues will go also; then, we have to deal with a prosthesis (fixed or removable bridgework). The bone in which teeth erupt is called...