The Smile Studio of Tyler, TX

A Red Lipstick Smile™

2012-01-31T19:45:00.000-08:00

A Red Lipstick Smile™ can give you the sex appeal of a movie star. It can give you big white teeth. It can make you appear honest and trustworthy. A Red Lipstick Smile™ can make you look distinguished and confident. What is more appealing than a big beautiful smile?

People come into Dr. Coker's office and want to look younger and sexier. And unlike other transformative procedures like liposuction and chemical peels, there is no recovery time. It's not painful and it lasts 10 - 15 years. Once you come in and let us show you what's possible, you'll have a hard time resisting.

Long square teeth can make a round face slimmer. Shorter and rounder teeth can widen a long narrow face. Laser trimming of the gums can make teeth look longer. We hate Chicklets. We don't like teeth that are all the same length. We want teeth that look beautiful and healthy and real, but not absolutely perfect.

Psychologists used to say the first thing people looked at was the eyes. Now they say it's the mouth. One of our patients realizing this, always schedules her cleaning appointments six weeks apart. As she says, "I want to look fabulous."

How about you?

February may just be the month that you say "yes" to a new smile. Be sure and check out our special Valentine's offer at RedLipstickSmile.com.

Mastermind Group

2012-01-26T10:30:00.000-08:00

Dr. Coker recently spent a couple of days in Houston with his Mastermind Group. This is a small group of successful cosmetic dentists who meet for an annual retreat. They share ideas, talk about new techniques and encourage each other to stay on top of their game. Dentistry is a stressful profession with new materials, equipment and techniques coming out on a daily basis. Having good friends to bounce things off of helps keep them more relaxed and able to give more to their respective patients. Sorry the picture is blurry, but it was taken with an iPhone. Dentists include Dr. Hutto from Baytown, Dr. Hedge from Cincinnati, Dr. Frazer from Houston, Dr. Coker from Tyler, Dr. Soileau from Louisiana, and Dr. Berlin from McKinney.

Soup for Your Gingivitis?

2011-11-16T11:49:00.000-08:00

Gingivitis has been in the news quite a bit lately because of it’s reputed link to heart disease.

Gingivitis is an inflammation of the gum tissue around your teeth. You may notice that your gums are a little tender, maybe they bleed when you brush or floss or they look swollen.

If you’ve ever gotten a splinter, your body sends resources to begin the healing process. At first you may notice swelling or tenderness, but if the splinter has been removed, it continues to heal.

However, if you were unable to get the splinter out, the body has to work much harder and will continue with the inflammation process much longer. You will probably need to go to your physician to actually remove the splinter before your body will heal itself properly.

Because you eat and drink on a continuous basis and you sometimes don’t brush and floss your teeth, your gums may get a “splinter” that your body tries to heal. If the splinter is large enough or left to fester for too long, your gums continue to stay inflamed which then can turn into periodontal disease and possible tooth loss. The other problem is when your body is hosting a continuous infection and inflammation in the gums, it can become systemic, i.e., it can go directly from the gums into your body and even take the infection straight to your heart. That’s one of the dangers of gingivitis and periodontal disease.

What do you need to do?

First, see your dental hygienist for a diagnosis and a thorough, professional cleaning. The gold standard for the treatment of gingivitis is the use of a mouthwash containing chlorhexidine. Because shiitake and other medicinal mushrooms have long been known as effective immune system boosters, they were recently used in a study of gingivitis treatment comparing them with the chlorhexidine.

The study was published in the September 2011 issue of the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology. A comparison of two treatments for gingivitis was studied. The first consisted of a mouthwash containing chlorhexidine and the second was a shiitake mushroom extract. The results indicated that the shiitake mushroom extract lowered the number of pathogenic bacteria just like the chlorhexidine, but unlike the chlorhexidine, did not kill the beneficial bacteria in the mouth.

Therefore, it might be wise to add some shiitake mushrooms to your diet along with regular flossing, brushing and professional dental cleanings to help you keep any possible gingivitis pathogens at bay.

To help you do that, here is a delicious recipe for Mushroom and Onion Soup from Melinda Coker’s upcoming cookbook for health.

INGREDIENTS – BROTH:
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cups vegetable broth
½ inch fresh peeled ginger, sliced
6 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
3 star anise
6 whole medium shiitake mushrooms
½ teaspoon dried fennel seeds
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses (unsulphured)

INGREDIENTS – SOUP:
2 onions, cut in half and sliced very thin
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper

DIRECTIONS:
• Prepare the 3 onions (chop one and slice two) and let them sit for 5 minutes.

• Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable broth in medium soup pot. Slowly sauté chopped onions for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until translucent.

• Add the rest of the broth, ginger, cloves, cinnamon stick, star anise, mushrooms, fennel seeds, soy sauce, and molasses and stir.

• Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.

• In a separate medium sized stainless steel skillet, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable broth and slowly sauté the sliced onions about 5 minutes, stirring frequently until translucent.

• Add garlic slices and sauté another minute. Remove from heat.

• Go back to the broth and strain it. Return the strained portion to the pan. Take out the mushrooms, slice them and return to broth. Take out the star anise and set aside to add as a garnish to the soup. Discard the rest of the strained ingredients.

• Add salt and pepper along with the sautéed onions and garlic.

• Heat briefly and serve.

• Serves 2-4.

Happy Birthday Dr. Coker

2011-10-10T12:48:00.001-07:00

Dr. Coker's birthday celebration started on Friday morning when Cindy brought him his very favorite, a chocolate meringue pie, hot from the oven!

Dr. Coker's birthday is October 8th and Kendall's is October 7th so we drove down to Austin on Friday afternoon for a Saturday birthday party for Kendall. There were 29 little 7- and 8-year old girls, so trying to break the pinata was a wild game!

After all that bedlam, we went to a nice quiet dinner on Saturday evening at the Eastside Cafe in Austin and Dr. Coker finally got to open his gifts. There definitely weren't 29 of them, though! :-)

We returned home on Sunday afternoon, just in time to do some more celebrating at a neighborhood party.

On Monday, Ronda, Cylisa and Mary took Dr. Coker and Melinda out to lunch for Dr. Coker's final birthday celebration of 2011. What a fun 4 days!

6 Tips for Managing Your Migraines

2011-09-26T14:38:00.000-07:00

Research has shown that headache patients who feel they have some control of their headaches have better outcomes, so what can you do for some control?

1.) Look for a dentist who fits a device called the NTI. I know you are thinking that I must not know what a migraine is. You are supposed to go to a neurologist or your primary-care physician, not a dentist.

In 1977, during his senior year in high school Jim Boyd started having daily headaches. He went to college and then to dental school and on to graduate school still having daily headaches. He tells of taking 10-12 Excedrin every day just to make the pain manageable. During the summer of 1989, he developed a device he thought would work. It did. After wearing it to bed, he woke up for the first time in 12 years without a headache.

This device has now been approved by the FDA for the prevention of migraine and other chronic headaches. The story of Dr. Jim Boyd and his invention is available for you to read if you want all the background.

If you live in East Texas, you will be able to find the NTI at Dr. Rick Coker’s Smile Studio If you live elsewhere, you can go to the headache remedy to find a dentist in your area.

2.) Keep a headache diary. You will want to keep track of your headaches on this journey so you will be able to tell the dentist (or doctor) about the type and the number of headaches you are having. This will be good to continue to keep as you go through treatment(s) so you can see whether you are getting any better. Some good downloadable ones are at Berkeley Health. There is also a free iHeadache app for your iPhone or your BlackBerry.

3.) See your dentist regularly and often. Your NTI dentist should ask to see you every two to four weeks for the first couple of months to keep abreast of how your are progressing. If you need to add or change any part of your treatment, this would be the time to learn about that. If you are doing great, your visits can then be scheduled for twice a year.

4.) Give treatments a chance. You must try out your new device for two to three months before deciding it’s not working.

5.) Check into mind-body practices such as biofeedback, relaxation, yoga and meditation. Adding these practices into your life may help you control your headaches sooner.

6.) If the NTI and the mind-body practices don’t work after you’ve given them 3-4 months, check with your dentist about referring you to a neurologist. Be sure and read the article, “The Scary New Migraine Mistake” by Peg Rosen in the October 2011 issue of More Magazine for precautions about drug therapy.

Facelift Dentures

2011-05-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

Isn't that a great name? You know exactly what those dentures are supposed to do.

When a person loses all of their teeth and gets a set of dentures, there is bone loss. Many times that's the reason for the tooth loss.

Periodontal disease causes drastic bone loss and when the bone resorbs, the roots of the teeth no longer have any "soil" to dig into. So even if you have bone loss before you get dentures, you will get even more bone loss after you get the dentures.

Eventually you will get a "sunken-in" face. Your chin and your nose will get closer together as your face begins to collapse.

It's bad enough to have to wear dentures, but it's AWFUL when everyone who looks at you knows you have dentures.

In the past, dentures were made to fit the ridge of gum that was left and for those few dentists who were skilled craftsmen in the making of dentures, it was important that they fit so you could eat. Now, with new procedures and techniques in the art of cosmetic dentistry, we have been able to transfer those techniques over to the art of making dentures that don't look like dentures.

If your bone loss is extremely severe and your ridge is not stable enough to hold the dentures in, we also have learned to place implants. These are small titanium posts that are placed in your jaw bone and when they heal, the screws that are placed in your denture can then be screwed into those posts in your jaw.

Voila'! you not only have a beautiful smile, but you can eat!!

We just returned from a trip to Savannah where we spent a couple of days in a classroom learning all the finest techniques for creating these incredible dentures. In the evenings after class, we got to walk around Savannah, poking into the shops and eating at some wonderful restaurants.

Below: Placing the tens electrodes on the patient.

Below: The group
Below: Dr. Coker with his Starbucks.
Below: Dr. Coker in the lecture.
Below: Making the impressions.
Below: Leah and Cylisa at The Charthouse Restaurant.
Below: Anne Heines and Dr. Westersund at The Charthouse. Below: Lindi and Mary at The Charthouse Below: Dr. Coker and Melinda visiting Paula Deen's

Updating Our Web Presence

2011-05-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

We realize that we have to keep up with the times, but since technology is going so fast and we are slowing down somewhat, we decided we had to hire a consultant to help us. The first step was to get lots of photos and videos that we can use on our web site to show people what our practice is like.

So that's what we did on Thursday. We all met at the office (Dr. Rick Coker's Smile Studio) with a few patients plus a photographer and a videographer to begin gathering those images. It was rather chaotic, but fun and then ultimately tiring. About 3:00 we finally got to stop for lunch at On the Border, just as their Cinco de Mayo Celebration was getting started.
Below: Directing the team to get on the steps
Below: A shot from above

Below: Forming a huddle over the photographer

Below: Lana enjoying music and a warm wax hand treatment

Below: Logan and Brad visiting while waiting for directions

Below: Photographing Mary at her desk

Below: I'm photographing Dr. Coker who is photographing Cylisa

Below: Relaxation at On The Border patio

Below: Mary and Lindy at lunch
Below: Melinda and Ronda at lunch
All in all a very productive day!

Social Media and the Dental Practice

2011-04-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

We recently attended a meeting in Tampa, Florida to learn about the benefits of social marketing for dentists and their patients. Most of the lectures centered around office web sites, office Facebook pages, blogs and Twitter. As most of us know, it is fun and entertaining to know what is going on with the people we respect and care about. Below: Dr. Coker attending lecture One of my favorite users of social media is the dog kennel where our dogs just completed a two-week session of obedience training. Wasn't sure I was going to be able to leave them that long, but the receptionist told me that they posted pictures of the dogs each evening at 6:00 pm. While we were in Tampa, you better believe that I ran to check Facebook each evening at 6:15. A picture of my dogs would be posted with a brief caption of what they did that day. I can't imagine using a different kennel now for boarding my dogs. They totally won me over with their regular, personalized use of social media. Below: A photo of our dogs that was posted. Isn't it cute? Below: Melinda, Dr. Debra Reiner from Michigan and Dr. CokerWe had a lovely dinner with the group on Friday night. Doesn't it look like a beautiful evening?

Below: One of our good friends from Houston, Dr. Frank Incrapera and his wife Carol On Saturday evening a group of us went to eat at the Capital Grill. It was an enjoyable evening, but their food for vegans was not very good.

Below: Our friends Dr. Marc and Vicki Whitmore from Plano However, the Cantina Laredo in Terminal D at DFW does an awesome job with vegan food! We like to stop there whenever we have time between flights.

Below: Beans and rice with grilled fajita vegetables and tortillas

Learning Neuromuscular Dentistry

2011-03-07T15:45:00.000-08:00

We recently hosted a learning opportunity for a group of dentists who were here to clinically brush up on their skills with a type of dentistry called neuromuscular. But, they were also here to interact and have fun with one another as they were learning.

ABOVE: Dr. Durham (Savannah), Dr. Coker (Tyler) and Dr. Westersund (Calgary)
BELOW: Dr. Berlin (McKinney), Dr. Strickland (Savannah), Dr. McKay (Seattle)

The group was also treated to 3-days of a plant-based diet. They told us that they were more worried about having to eat a "vegan" diet than they were about learning new clinical skills. However, by the end of the week-end, they all commented that they didn't realize plant-based foods could be so good.

ABOVE: Dr. Mack (Edna), Joleen (Edna), Dr. Berlin (McKinney), Dr. Incrapera (Houston), Dr. McKay (Seattle)
BELOW: Mary (Tyler), Cylisa (Tyler), Leah (Tyler), Dr. Durham (Savannah), Ronda (Tyler)

Neuromuscular dentistry is used for people who have a lot of head, neck and/or jaw pain. After years of patched up fillings or just clenching or gritting their teeth, many patients have ended up with quite a bit of pain. Part of the treatment involves having the patient sit and relax for about an hour with electrodes pasted on their head and neck. These pulsing electrodes actually manage to get the pain points to relax.

At that point, the patient will be fitted with some really high-tech equipment and measurements are taken as he puts his teeth together. After those measurements are analyzed, impressions are taken of the upper and lower teeth and then placed on an articulator so the new relaxed relationship of the teeth is kept in place. Eventually a removeable splint is custom made for the patient to wear for 3-6 months. Sometimes, if the patient has been nearly locked into his painful position, it could be necessary to do another session of relaxation, measurement and impressions with another splint made to make sure his teeth are finally in a position of comfort.

Most patients find such relief from all of this work that they do not want to go without their splint. At that point, their teeth can be fitted with new porcelain crowns or veneers to keep their teeth in that most wonderful, comfortable position without having to continuously wear their splint.

As you may be able to tell from the above description, it is not a technique that most dentists wish to learn as it is very technical for the dentist and his team to learn and it is very expensive to purchase all the the necessary high-tech equipment needed. But, for those patients who are in extreme pain, it is definitely worth it to find such a skilled dentist.

Dental Amalgam - The Latest Controversy

2010-12-21T10:17:00.000-08:00

Recently, Brian Williams, on the NBC Evening News , reported on an FDA concern about silver amalgam fillings used in dentistry, and the possible health effects surrounding the mercury that makes up half of the filling material.

It's an interesting subject, and as many of my patients already know, we haven’t used silver amalgam since 1980. My reasons for not using it haven’t really changed since then.

Here is what I thought then and why we don’t use it:

It's UGLY. Not one patient has ever asked me for one of those ugly black fillings in all of these years - not even one. It doesn't fit my practice style or what most of my patients actually want in their mouths.

It's an issue of FEAR and CONFUSION. The fact is that we really don’t know how much mercury that you might get from a silver filling, or if that mercury is enough to trigger any disease process. But there are hundreds of thousands of people suffering from all sorts of chronic diseases for which modern medicine really has no answer.

There have been some in medicine and dentistry who have suggested that the mercury in amalgam might be responsible or contributory to Multiple Sclerosis. Since those folks are usually desperate, there is the concern that they might be the victims of a scam, if dentists scare them into getting their fillings removed. The science is still unclear, and I, personally, have not seen enough evidence to make me think that people with MS are going to be cured if we take their amalgam fillings out.

We do take them out all the time, but it is mostly done for esthetic or dental reasons. I am a little bit shy of being convinced that health will return when the silver is gone.

In the meantime, don’t panic. We certainly aren’t going to contribute to the mercury burden by placing more of these fillings. When the time is right, we will be glad to remove them. When the silver fillings are removed we have to take special precautions for reducing air and water contamination as well as the patient's exposure to that mercury vapor.

8 Critical Steps for a Great Smile

2010-12-06T18:08:00.000-08:00

Once you've decided you're ready for a new smile, here is a list of things you will want to think about.

1. What do you want? You will want to discuss with the dental team exactly what you are looking for. Bring pictures. Ask to see pictures of patients they have treated. Discuss your options.

2. What is your "problem?" Are your teeth worn and frazzled? Are they yellow? Do you have a lot of old, discolored dental work? Do you just have one or two crooked teeth? Do you have any missing teeth? Do your teeth fit together comfortably? Do you have any cavities? Are your gums infected? Ask for a thorough diagnosis. You certainly don't want to build a new smile on a rickety foundation.

3. What's the plan? At this point you and the dental team need to agree on the end result. You'll want to develop a plan together so that everyone knows what the steps to completion will be. Make sure you are in agreement with the recommendations. Spend a lot of time with the plan, before beginning any treatment.

4. Where do you start? Get the fundamentals done first. You really can't do a good job of creating a beautiful smile if you have infection and active disease happening in your mouth. The gums have to be healthy, you need to be free of decay, and the way your teeth fit together needs to be comfortable before you begin the smile makeover or you will be redoing the work a lot sooner than you planned.

5. Why do you need a wax-up? This step is critical. Most of the really good cosmetic dentists use a laboratory to wax up their cases before they start them. This creates a three-dimensional blueprint of the finished case so you will be able to really see the size and shape of the teeth. You wouldn't build a house without a blueprint and you certainly don't want to have cosmetic dental treatment without a clear understanding of what it will look like!

6. What will you need to think about as your new smile is developed? Communication with the dentist and the team is critical. There will be literally dozens of decisions to be made about your case including the type of porcelain used, the shade of porcelain, the staining or customization of that porcelain and the bite arrangement. Be sure your dental team is eager to communicate with you about your case.

7. Where is the dental lab? Insist that the dental lab is located in the U.S. There are too many issues with unlicensed foreign labs using suspect materials. An outstanding dental lab is just as important as the work of the dentist in getting your beautiful smile. It's not worth saving a few dollars when you will be disappointed with the final result.

8. How involved will you be in the process? For you to get a fabulous smile, you must be part of the team. Your involvement goes beyond showing up and writing a check. You will want to feel good knowing that you have picked the absolute best team and you become totally involved. The whole process can be fun and the results will be outstanding when you've done your homework.

Happy Birthday Dr. Coker

2010-10-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Dr. Coker's birthday with a nice party at the Cascades Lake Club. We ate Mexican food (vegan style), listened to Scotty G's one man band, and watched the sun set over Lake Bellwood. It was truly a fun evening!

Kendall's birthday is the day before her grandfather's. She celebrated her 7th at the Austin Children's Museum the week-end before.

San Francisco and Paul McCartney

2010-07-14T19:32:00.001-07:00

Dr. Coker and Melinda made a trip to San Francisco for a chance to see Paul McCartney in concert and to see their son, Logan and his wife, Jen. The weather was cool in the city and beautiful and sunny on a tour of Sonoma and the July 10th concert was awesome!

Fishing in Canada

2010-07-14T18:54:00.001-07:00

Dr. Coker went on an extended deep-water fishing trip June 29-July5 with a group of dentists from all over the U.S. and Canada. They stayed at Englefield Bay off of the Charlotte Islands of British Columbia. Arrival was via helicopter as the lodge was floating in the bay surrounded by steep mountains. They talked a lot of dentistry as well as fishing!

Sleepless in Cleveland

2010-07-14T18:21:00.000-07:00

Dr. Coker spent two days at an advanced-study sleep course in Cleveland, Ohio, June 11-12. Treating people with sleep problems such as snoring can improve many marriages and roommate sleeplessness. It can even save lives when serious sleep problems such as sleep apnea are addressed. Sleep clinics can monitor your sleep and most sleep doctors treat apnics with a device called a C-Pap, which consists of a mask that fits over your face while you sleep and an air compressor which blows a steady stream of oxygen down your throat. Those help many people, but there are other people who cannot stand to wear them. Those are the people that can be treated by a qualified sleep dentist with an oral device which is much more comfortable to sleep in. We have some delighted patients whom we have helped with the Somodent appliance.
View a 30-second video from a patient about her new sleep appliance. You may have to copy and paste the link in a new browser window.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzBTpiAdOH4

AACD Dallas

2010-05-13T08:29:00.000-07:00

Dr. Coker and Melinda went into Dallas during April to hang out and catch up with their dental friends from all around the country who were attending the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry conference at the Gaylord Texan. It was great to find out what everyone was up to in their individual practices and to continue to build those relationships.

San Antonio

2010-05-13T08:10:00.000-07:00

Dr. Coker, Cylisa, Ronda and Lee Ann went to San Antonio in April to take a course called "Six Month Smiles." Six Month Smiles are braces for adults who aren’t happy with the appearance of their teeth and aren’t interested in wearing traditional braces for up to two years. With average treatment times of only six months and clear brackets and tooth-colored wires, adults don't mind their short time in braces. We have many patients who want a more beautiful smile, but don't necessarily need veneers so this gives us another option that we can provide, i.e., another "arrow in our quiver." Six Month Smiles plus whitening offers great results and is typically less expensive than traditional braces, aligner therapy, or veneers.

In Print

2010-05-13T08:06:00.000-07:00

One of our smile patients had a great write-up in a local magazine and a wonderful photo.

More Beautiful Smiles

2010-03-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

Mary and Cindy conferring on a case.
Some beautiful smiles created by Dr. Rick Coker and his team at The Smile Studio in Tyler, TX

More Learning

2010-02-22T11:47:00.000-08:00

Dr. Coker spent a long week-end in Upland, California at the office of William Domb, DMD, studying a new treatment that has been used successfully in Europe for years. As we know, Dr. Coker loves to stay on the cutting-edge of his profession.

Upland is a city about the size of Tyler in Southern California near Los Angeles.

The topic at the workshop was the use of ozone for decay and periodontal disease. Here's an article written by Dr. Julian Holmes, the world's #1 dental researcher and developer of ozone technology which will explain the miracle of ozone dentistry.

Miracle Ozone Dentistry -
A New Anti-Decay
Dental Practice
By Dr Julian Holmes

Let me paint you a picture. Every Monday morning, dental practices over the world power up for a week's worth of drilling and filling, tooth removal, and reconstruction work. Queues of fearful patients, tearful children being comforted by anxious parents, people in considerable pain, line up outside the doors to their dental surgeries. Once inside, these patients are subjected to the traditional smells of oil of cloves, disinfectants, and the noises of the high pitch whine of the dental drill; the odd scream or two filters through the hushed, usually silent waiting room into the street outside. It is a sad fact of life that every dentist is trained that if there is an area of decay in your tooth, the only way to treat this is to drill the decay out or amputate it, and then place a filling that will have to be replaced at some stage.

For a small minority of patients, where their dental practices have chosen to invest in a new technology, the opposite happens almost every day. The queue is one of bright, cheerful adults and children; there are few smells to associate this practice with the traditional one down the road. The noise of the drill is seldom heard, and happy smiling faces emerge from the treatment room.

Since 1998 researchers, lead by Professor Edward Lynch from Queen's Dental Hospital and Belfast University, Ireland, have opened a radically and revolutionary way forward. The dental profession no longer has to destroy tooth tissue to eliminate bacteria. A simple 60 second (average treatment time) treatment with a device that delivers a burst of ozone will destroy all the bacteria that caused the infection and the decay. It destroys all the organic effluents that are produced by these bacteria. By effectively sterilising the lesion, minerals from the patients own saliva will re-enter the areas of mineral loss to harden them. Once hardened, it is more resistant to future bacterial attack and mineral loss.

There is in all our mouths a natural balance. Your tooth surface loses minerals into your saliva at certain times, usually just after you start to eat. These acidic conditions favour mineral loss. The normal acid/alkaline balance exists in the oral cavity. When bacteria attach themselves to a tooth surface, they set up a complex community of some 450 different bacterial types over a period of time. If patients skimp on using a tooth brush, or forget to use dental floss on a regular basis, these communities of bacteria evolve into one which produces large volumes of acids. These acids attack the tooth surface, dissolving out the minerals, leaving a hole or cavity. As this cavity now gives the bacterial colonies a degree of protection, tooth brushing cannot remove the bacteria and so the process of decay accelerates.

Yet decay is only an infection process that leads to the softening of the tooth, and the formation of a cavity, so could this infection be treated with, say, antibiotics? The bacteria that cause tooth decay are often found deep within the structure of the tooth, so their removal has to date only been by amputating the infected part of the tooth. Antibiotics and other pharmaceutical agents cannot penetrate deep enough through bacterial pellicle and tooth structure to eliminate acid niche environment. This teaching and technique is based on sound engineering principles that originate from the Victorians! Despite modern advances, there is no simple test that can be applied to a cavity to tell the dentist if they have removed all the infection! And if areas of infection are left behind, there is a good chance that the filling placed will fail at some time in the future.

In an attempt to prevent further infection and to restore the tooth to its original shape and function, a filling is then placed. Studies over the years have shown that fillings do not last very long, any where from 6 months to several years. But once a tooth has had part of it amputated, there is no going back. For each time the filling needs to be removed and replaced, there is a little less of the original tooth left and a larger filling. A point is reached where there is no option but to opt for expensive reconstruction work with advanced dental care or have the tooth removed.

The dental professions goal is to help and educate the patient, how to avoid them entering into this cycle of tissue amputation and periodic filling replacement. Oral care education and modern toothpastes have helped reduce the number of cavities, but in poorer communities, those with disabilities and in long term institutions, as well as our aging population, decay is still prevalent. And diet advice is often lacking, so although patients may think they are doing well at home, the process of decay continues! The days of 'Wait & Watch' are over the profession is not entirely sure of what it is watching unless clinicians are using advanced clinical diagnostic tools.

Dental Ozone is a completely new way to look at decay. In the early stages of mineral loss, no use of the drill is required. The treatment is simple, inexpensive (certainly less than the cost of a filling), and requires no injection of anaesthetics. This does of course depend on the use of modern diagnostic equipment, such as the DIAGNOdent (KaVo GmbH). This laser is more accurate than x-rays, and far superior to the traditional mirror and probe that dentists often use. The mirror and probe are tools that can find holes, not diagnose areas of first stage decay. And research has shown that x-rays are very poor to visualise decay in a tooth surface, until it is 2-3 mm inside the inner layer of the tooth.

When Ozone is combined with traditional care, then there are a number of advantages that patients and the dental profession can make use of. Ozone can be used to sterilise a cavity before a filling is placed, so there will be virtually no sensitivity after the local anaesthetic wears away. It can be used to eliminate sensitivity after new crowns or veneers are placed. And where wear facets have produced sensitive areas at the necks of teeth, in most cases a simple 40 second application with ozone can eliminate this sensitivity. There are many more applications for Ozone in a general dental or medical practice, and the studies for some of these can be found on www.the-o-zone.cc.

There is not a single facet of a medical, dental or veterinary practice where ozone cannot be used in some form for the benefit of patients from the general to specialist practice and health care centre all can take advantage of this new technology.

So, perhaps a Monday morning at a dental practice that has invested in modern technology is no longer the stressful, painful and anxious visit that it used to be. The waiting room in this practice are full of smiles, people chatting to the dental team members as they wait with happy anticipation at being called through for their turn in the treatment room. Mums and dads with children have no fear or anxiety, as they are reassured that modern technology has opened a door for them, that most of the older population had never believed possible. For both the patient and the dental practice, it is a technology that has a winning solution for both; the treatment is fast, it is predictable, it is painless, and also reduces the long-term cost of the treated tooth. For the dental practice, the treatment times are reduced, it is profitable, and the treatment less stressful. For the patient, modern technology has allowed them to have a 21st century treatment, rather than one that is old fashioned, and out-dated.

Free Dentistry Day

2010-02-14T08:02:00.001-08:00

Dr. Coker went to McKinney, Texas on Saturday, February 13, 2010 to help out with a FREE DENTISTRY DAY at the offices of McKinneyDentist.com. He helped Dr. Marvin Berlin and six other dentists deliver over $100,000 worth of dentistry to 207 people. Dr. Coker ran triage and did a diagnosis and the pertinent anesthesia for most of those patients.

Our "Sonya" Launch

2010-02-12T14:50:00.000-08:00

Our new ad campaign featuring Sonya began airing on East Texas television in February and we decided to throw a "launch party." We advertised in the Tyler newspaper to invite anyone who was interested in getting a new "smile" to come by for refreshments, to meet Dr. Coker and to talk to Sonya about her experience as a patient. Of course, those guests would also be able to see her beautiful smile up close! :) The only problem we encountered was an unusual winter SNOW storm that blew in on Thursday causing many people to call us saying they didn't want to get out and drive in it. We don't blame them, but those of us who braved the weather certainly had a lovely evening.

I Hate My CPap Seminar

2010-01-23T12:06:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, January 21st, we held a seminar at Traditions Restaurant in Tyler to talk about the SomnoDent as an alternative treatment for those diagnosed with Sleep Apnea who hate their CPap machine. The SomnoDent is a dental device that is not nearly as cumbersome or instrusive as the CPap. We had nearly 100 guests and at least fifty of them said they had a CPap and they hated it. Debbey Ryan was our guest speaker and Dr. Coker answered numerous questions. If you have questions about oral appliances as a treatment for your sleep apnea or snoring, call Mary at (903) 581-1777.

Smiles at Christmas

2009-12-17T08:51:00.001-08:00

Dr. Coker really surprised his team for Christmas with a wonderful lunch at Kiepersol, but the best part was our limo ride "to" and "from." A great gift!

Dr. Coker and Melinda also hosted a beautiful Christmas party for us.

Our Other Web Sites

2009-09-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

If you would like more information about our office, visit our web site at:
http://tyler-smiles.com/

If you would like to see more photos, including "before" and "after," visit our Smile Gallery at:
http://tyler-smiles.com/Smile_Gallery.php

To read Dr. Coker's blog, go to:
http://tyler-smiles.blogspot.com/

To learn more about sleep apnea and how Dr. Coker can help you, go to:
http://www.tylersleep.com/

Some of Our Gorgeous Smiles

2009-08-18T11:36:00.001-07:00

TriciaKaren and Brad
Tim
Sue
Peggy

LoriJim and Sharon

Our Team

2009-08-10T16:35:00.000-07:00

Mary is the one who will take your phone call or greet you when you step into the office.

Ronda is our hygienist. She's fun and caring, but truly gentle while working in your mouth.

Lee Ann assists Dr. Coker with your treatment making sure you are cared for and your results are exactly what you hoped for.

Our Office Gum Machine

2009-08-10T16:14:00.000-07:00

After you get your teeth all fixed up, we offer you some chewing gum! ... guess we do need repeat business. :)