Dental Hygiene in Shelby Township Michigan

August 19, 2011 by · Leave a Comment


Hi my name is Jessica and I work here at Dr. Antolaks office, The Gentle Dentist in Shelby Township. I work as a part time dental hygienist on Saturdays, Tuesday evenings, and Wednesday evenings.  I graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy in 2010 and I decided I wanted to go into the dental field in high school- it was when I got my wisdom teeth removed. It wasn’t the most fun thing I’ve ever done in my life, but that’s the reason why because I was scared to death and when I went there, I had a lady that was very nice to me and she made everything  just go by very smoothly and made me less scared.

And that’s why I wanted to go into this. I wanted to be someone that made people less scared when they came to the dentist. I decided okay, I’ll go to dental hygiene school and now I love it.

And here I am at Doctor Antolak’s office and this is the favorite dentist I’ve ever been to. Even when I was younger, I jumped around from dentist to dentist and then finally, I came here and found a dental home. Now, I like Doctor Antolak’s office because it’s a Christian office and he truly cares about all of his patients and so I feel really comfortable here and I know all the patients do as well. So, please come visit us at Doctor Antolak’s office and maybe I’ll see you and I’ll clean your teeth. Thank you.

Filed Under: Dental Hygiene Tagged With: , , , ,

The Battle of the Toothbrush: How to Get Your Kids Motivated to Brush Their Teeth

February 1, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

At The Gentle Dentist located in Shelby Twp. Michigan near Sterling Heights and Clinton Township we are a general dental practice who are concerned about your entire family’s oral health.

Because February is National Children’s Dental Health Month there are some things that need to be addressed when it comes to the care of your child’s teeth.  I know that getting your child motivated to brushing their teeth is a huge challenge for all parents.  I have an 8 and a 9 year old and am just recently experiencing this task as being easier.  The young years can be the most difficult as it involves so much of the parent’s involvement and time.  The important thing is to keep at it and show them how to brush their teeth by example.  If you know the proper technique and set the example then it will eventually become easier.

Good dental habits are critically important to set for your children for a lifetime of health. Since there is a direct relationship between oral health and total body health I wanted to write this article for parents who struggle with getting your kids to brush their teeth even though they don’t want to.  To do this I have interviewed my 8 year old son, Matthew and Grace our 9 year old daughter:

Question:  What is a good way to motivate you to brush your teeth?

Matthew:  Not wanting to get more cavities because they hurt.  It makes my mouth feel better and cleaner.

Grace: Because it gets the food out of my braces and the tooth paste tastes good.  IT also gets the slime off of my teeth.

Question:  When is the best time for you to brush your teeth?

Matthew:  Before school when I get up so I don’t have stinky breath and at night.  It is hard for me to do this when I am tired though.

Grace: Before school after eating breakfast, after school and before bed time.

The following are the basics of tooth brushing for you and your child:

Place a toothbrush beside your teeth at a 45-degree angle and gently brush teeth in an elliptical motion. Brush the outside of the teeth, inside the teeth, your tongue, the chewing surfaces and between teeth. It is important to brush the teeth for 2 minutes each setting.  The use of electric tooth brushes such as the oral B or the Sonicare are the best. Our kids use the child Sonicare which is more effective in removing plaque and and has a notification when the 2 minutes are up. This way your child will brush long enough.

Fluoride: The use of fluoridated toothpaste  is important to remineralize the surfaces of the teeth.  Bacteria from the mouth forms plaque, the sticky substance that form on teeth. This plaque when it comes into contact with the sugars from food and sweets make an acid.  This acid over time will dissolve the enamel and for a cavity.  It is important that proper nutrition and proper eating habits are incorporated into your lifestyle.

Parents should pay attention to the amount of fluoride their child receives. Too much fluoride can cause tooth discoloration, and too little fluoride can cause teeth to be more susceptible to cavities. Bottled waters need to be on the list of items that parents must check before giving to their child. Some bottled waters have little or no fluoride at all.

It is best to  contact your dentist for more specific information on your child’s oral care.  Remember to visit your dentist every 6 months for his/her advice on oral care.  If you don’t have a dentist for your family and are in the Sterling Heights, Clinton Township, or Macomb Twp. area then give us a call at 586.247.3500 or email Nikki@thegentledentist.com for an appointment.

At The Gentle Dentist we provide General, Cosmetic and General dentistry for the entire family.  Call today to become part of our growing family of dental patients.

Filed Under: Dental Hygiene, General Dentistry, How to choose a dentist, Nutrition Tagged With: ,

Just been diagnosed with cancer? What about your teeth?

September 29, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

According to the Oral Cancer Foundation Close to 36,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer this year. It will cause over 8,000 deaths, killing roughly 1 person per hour, 24 hours per day. Of those 36,000 newly diagnosed individuals, only slightly more than half will be alive in 5 years. This is a number which has not significantly improved in decades. The death rate for oral cancer is higher than that of cancers which we hear about routinely such as cervical cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, laryngeal cancer, cancer of the testes, and endocrine system cancers such as thyroid, or skin cancer (malignant melanoma).

It is obvious that it is a serious problem and one that can be treated more successfully if it is treated at an early enough stage.  Early diagnosis is critical in the success but these cancers aren’t painful in the early stages.  When they get symptomatic when the patient can notice them they have usually metastasised to the neck or lymph nodes.  Your semiannual trip to the dentist is therefore critical since we do an oral cancer exam each time you are examined by Dr. Antolak. 

Oral cancers are mostly found at the side and under the tongue.  They usually appear as a red or white patch which is usually asymptomatic.  If there is any sign of this a brush biopsy or biopsy can be taken which will determine if there is pathology.

Rapid and aggressive treatment is important including surgery to remove the involved area, radiation and chemo therapies.  Radiation and chemotherapy kills off fast replicating cells.  Cancer cells, saliva producing cells, hair follicles, and any other fast growing cells are killed off by the chemotherapy.  Radiation therapy has an even more focused kill so if the saliva glands are in the path of radiation there is a significant reduction in the saliva.  Since saliva provides moisture and natural protection against gum disease and cavities the mouth is prone to more decay.  In addition the bone is prone to infection because the bone cells have a reduced capacity of healing. 

It is critical to seek dental care immediately to remove and fill any teeth that could have problems after the cancer treatment is started.  Dentures will have to be remade or relined to improve the fit.  A poorly fitting denture can create ulcers in the mouth which will be difficult to heal after radiation therapy is completed.

 One of my recent cancer-surviving patients told me that there was not been enough emphasis on the long term effects of radiation treatment on the teeth after the cancer treatment is done.  She wanted it to be known to others how fast dental decay can occur once the saliva glands are irradiated.

If you have questions or need to know what your next step should be please email Dr. Antolak at DrAntolak@TheGentleDentist.com or call (586)247-3500.

Please remember our Candy Buy Back which takes place on November 2.  We will be paying children $1.00 per pound of candy they turn in.  The candy will be distributed to children in Haiti, Detroit and to the Men and Women in uniform  serving our country overseas.

Filed Under: Dental fear, Dental Hygiene, Dental Surgery, General Dentistry, Mouth pain, Oral Cancer Tagged With: , , ,
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