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Month: May 2020

What’s the Difference Between a Dentist and an Orthodontist? Part 2

This follows on from a previous article explaining the simple difference between dentists and orthodontists in terms of other subjects like doctors and surgeons and police officers and detectives. This article outlines the types of work that dentists and orthodontists do.

Years ago, hundreds of years ago, dentistry was a fairly unsophisticated subject. It required good physical skill, but the range of treatments available was fairly small – if your tooth was badly hurting, you saw someone to take it out. There weren’t any anaesthetics, so if you were lucky, the dentist took out the tooth quickly, and it didn’t break on the way out, and it didn’t hurt too much, and if you were very lucky he took out the correct tooth first time.

There wasn’t the option of modern fillings or root treatments, or gum treatments. There weren’t even antibiotic medicines to stop infections and abscesses. In fact, … Read More

Heartburn Medicine – Tips For Effective Relief

Heartburn medicine: it’s all the same, isn’t it?

According to the advertisements, they all work wonderfully. Rolaids, Pepcid, Prilosec, Prevacid. But isn’t there some sort of difference between antacids and The Purple Pill? What about over-the-counter medications as compared to prescription drugs?

Not only is there a difference in how these medications work, there is a great difference in price. Knowing what to use can not only alleviate your symptoms, but spare your wallet as well.

For occasional symptoms of heartburn, for example those related to eating a spicy meal, several options exist. If you know ahead of time that the food you’re planning to eat will cause heartburn, pre-treatment is the best answer. Both the over-the-counter H2-blockers (Pepcid, Zantac, Axid, and Tagamet) and the proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) (Prilosec, Prevacid) are effective. The PPIs are stronger but the H2-blockers are cheaper. For most people, any of these will work. … Read More

What Are The Reasons For Choosing A Pediatric Dentist?

Pediatric dentistry is one of the nine recognized dental specialties of the American Dental Association. Pediatric dentists complete two to three years of additional specialized training (after the required four years of dental school) to prepare them for treating a variety of children’s dental problems. According to the American Association of Pediatric Dentistry, the child’s first dentist visit should be scheduled in infancy. The goal is to begin forming positive oral habits as soon as possible and maintain them throughout a lifetime.

The staff at a pediatric dental practice is specially trained to introduce the child into the world of healthy oral care without any anxiety or fear. At the time of the first dentist visit, a comprehensive exam is performed in addition to consultation with the parents regarding nutritional choices and alleviation of detrimental oral habits. The patient’s medical history and any genetic predispositions are reviewed and taken into … Read More

What Are Flower Essences and Vibrational Medicine?

The term ‘vibrational medicine’ is being heard more frequently these days, with many folks wondering what this new fancy healing technique might be. Vibrational medicine refers to the entire realm of healing concentrating on modalities that attune to, or transform, one’s energetic vibration – this includes flower and gem essences, and many other remedies. Yes, it sounds a little outrageous to some, but the more one investigates both the realities of both modern physics and ancient mystical religions, the more these healing techniques make sense.

One can imagine that all form, be it the earth, plants, animals, the stars – everything – is made of energy. Einstein proclaimed this in his famous equation: energy equals mass times the square of the speed of light. And all this energy is vibrating in particular patterns – that’s why rose looks like a rose, and not a caterpillar – the rose, like every … Read More

Herbal Medicine – Part I – Historical and Philosophical Background

History

Herbal medicine has been around since before recorded history. Cave paintings in France, radiocarbon-dated to before 13,000 BC, show the use of plants as healing agents. Herbalism was intimately connected to religious practices, and was frequently the jealously-guarded preserve of shamans, or “witch doctors”. The use of herbs as medicine pervades all cultures.

The earliest written records date back over 5000 years in Western culture to the Sumerian civilization. In the East, the Siddha, Unani and Ayurvedic systems from India arose long before the Christian era, and are still practiced today. And traditional Chinese herbology is still thriving as well.

Africa has a long history of herbal remedies, strongly influenced by its links with trading partners from both East and West. Native Americans hold to the belief that illness is caused by a disturbance in one’s balance with nature, and can be cured by rituals that often include the … Read More

Trends in Cosmetic Dentistry

It’s no secret that the vast majority of people are more than a little hesitant when it comes to seeing their dentist. For this reason, most of us tend to let our regular checkups slip, oftentimes for several years. If you fall into the category of those who fear dental work, and live in the Ft. Lauderdale area, there is a good chance you can find a Fort Lauderdale dentist who offers sedation dentistry. This way you can work on your oral hygiene in the best possible way, and thus put your best smile out there for the world to see.

Aside from seeing a Fort Lauderdale dentist for regular checkups and actual dental issues, you can also improve the look and feel of your smile by paying a visit to a Fort Lauderdale cosmetic dentist as well as your regular dentist. The difference between the two is that one … Read More

Alternative Medicine: What Is It?

What is alternative medicine? It is a phrase that has been tossed around more and more in the media, the bookstores, and increasingly, the doctor’s office, but how often does anyone say what alternative medicine is?

Theoretically, alternative medicine is any form of medicine that does not fit with in the scientific framework of western medicine. Once a form of medicine has been proven scientifically effective, and a theory has been determined to explain in the language of western medicine why it is effective, it should no longer be considered alternative

Unfortunately, after the theory comes the politics. In reality, in the United States, alternative medicine is any form of medicine that has not been accepted as scientifically valid by the American Medical Association and the United States Government. In other countries different official bodies will determine what is and is not alternative medicine. In the United States, massage is … Read More

24 Hour Emergency Dentist

How is emergency dentistry different to normal dentistry?

Much the same as commonplace accidents or injuries, dental emergencies can happen anywhere and at any time, requiring immediate attention from a healthcare professional – something that a regular check-up won’t provide. Emergency dental clinics are open 24 hours a day, every day of the year – even Christmas Day in most cases, treating any problems with the teeth, mouth, and jaw. An emergency dental surgery is run in a different way to the normal dentists office you might be used to, that’s because it is designed to treat patients with much more pressing issues than a brace fitting or tooth whitening procedure. Emergency dentists won’t give appointments for a general dentistry consultation after 11pm and they are not going to assess you for orthodontic treatments at night, they only accept patients who are in pain and need help immediately.

Not only … Read More

Watch Out for Alternative Medicine Charlatans!

Forget those Crystals

As an integrative medical practitioner, I keep an open mind to new modalities of evaluating illness and treating disease. My interest and pursuit of complementary or alternative medical therapies has led me to selectively incorporate some of what I have come across. For example, in my practice, I embrace acupuncture for the diagnosis and treatment of certain disease states. Also, Traditional Chinese Herbal medicine and western herbs have been quite helpful and marked with successful outcomes for many of our patients. However, there are many who claim to be practitioners of “alternative medicine” who pray on the gullible and ignorant. This fact hit home as never before when I attended and participated in a “Holistic Expo” in Atlanta in mid September this year. I was a guest speaker on the topic of super nutrients in health and longevity and had a presence on the Expo floor to … Read More

Is a Family Dentist Necessary?

It is not easy to find a family dentist that is right for you and your family in every way but you need a family dentist for all your dental care. Not only do you need to find a dentist that accepts families as patients, but you also need to make sure that they accept your dental insurance. Every dentist accepts different dental insurance as most of them are on specific insurance networks. You can visit your insurance website to determine which dentists are in your network and can assist you with family dental requirements. If you choose a family dentist in your network, then you can save 80% opposed to the 50% coverage for using a dentist outside of your network.

A family dentist treats your children from the age they begin needing a dentist through their adulthood. This ensures a long lasting relationship between your child and their … Read More