Dr Leatham's life as a Dental patient

One of the reasons I decided to go into Dentistry was because of the benefits I have had in my life because of Dental work.  I am sure many of my patients have wondered just how much I may be able to relate to them.  I will walk you through my life as a dental patient, both before and after Dental School.

My first memory of the Dentist

This is not the actual Dentist's nose hairs
But this is what I remember of him.

I don't remember much of the Dentist from when I was younger.  I was a fairly complacent child and there was a lot of fluoride naturally in the water were I grew up in Logandale Nevada.  I do remember being very excited to get a round sticker with a picture of a tooth on it.   Even more than that was I remember the Dentist's nose hairs.


When I was growing up Dentistry had not adopted as many of the infection control protocols as are used today.  So when I went to the Dentist he did not wear masks, and I remember looking up to a forest of hairs growing out of his nostrils.  Today when I put my mask on for my pediatric patients I will tell them I am going to put no my mask so they won't have to see my nose hairs.  I usually will get a laugh out of their parents.  The kids on the other hand are a tougher crowd to please.

Having a baby tooth pulled
I did have to have a baby tooth pulled when I was young.  I don't remember how young but I do remember it had to come out because it had stayed in longer than it was suppose to.  Of course my Mom could have told me that so I didn't think I had any cavities.

I don't remember the shot so it must have been a painless injection.  I do remember holding my Mother's hand and hearing the sounds of the extraction.  This Dentist must have kept his nostrils trimmed because I don't remember him having the nose hairs.

Two full days in the chair
I have mentioned before that I have a big mouth and had very small teeth.  When I was about to graduate high school my parents invested in getting me teeth that would fit my mouth.  Our family Dentist was taking courses on veneers and I was able to be his patient for one of the courses.  I sat through the work to get eight veneers the procedure is in two parts and because it was in a learning environment it talk longer than usual I believe it was around 6 hours one day and about 3 hours another day a month later.

I didn't mind all that much because I was a teenage boy and his assistant had very pretty eyes.  Although I do remember the numbness wearing off on on of the teeth and not saying anything for about 15 min.  They said I looked a little tense and asked if I could feel the drilling, I nodded and they gave me some more anesthetic.

My wisdom teeth story

The exchange of wisdom teeth stories can be quite the conversation.  People tell their sideways, upside-down impacted wisdom teeth stories along with their bizarre and hilarious behavior after the IV sedation, I don't have any over the top conversation topping tails for my wisdom teeth.  They didn't have enough space to come in, there was only 2, they came out with no complications.

I remember going in to the Oral Surgeons office and them putting me under.  The funny thing was is that after the surgery I did not want to be helped when I was walking, but then I was very excited when I got to ride in the wheel chair.  My Mother drove me home after.  She tells me that I reminded her that I needed stop by the post office and mail some letter about ten times on our 1 hour drive home.  Nothing too complicated or bizarre, sorry for the let down.  I'm sure there are many more exciting wisdom teeth stories out there.


My first cavities
I have a confession to make, The first cavity I ever had was while I was in Dental school,  I actually think I got the cavity in undergraduate from the late night Dr. Pepper and snacks I ate to get a few extra hours of studying in.  To make matters worse my next three cavities were right after Dental school, probably for the same reason, eating junk while studying.
I had a fellow college do the fillings on these teeth and I have had a clean dental bill of health since then.  When I had my fillings done I tried the oraverse to have the numbing reversed and I thought is was fantastic.  By the time I drove a few blocks home I had feeling in my mouth again.

 These are pictures of my 2nd and 3rd cavities ever,
And to my everlasting shame they were found after  I was a Dentist

I blame these cavities on my junk food study habits in Dental school,
Oh the irony!

For more information about our office please go to www.leathamdental.com

What makes you love your Dentist?

This morning I was at the grocery store buying gift cars for patients who have sent others to our office. The lady at the registrar asked why I was getting so many gift cards.  I let her know I was a Dentist and I used the gift cards to send to some of my patients.  Her smile dropped as she suddenly became solemn saying "I hate the Dentist."

I looked at her and brightly responded, "But we've just met."

She laughed and started to explain how she had once had a bad experience, so now she avoids seeing dentist but then when she needs to go it's for a root canal. I listened to her continue about how the sound of the drill and having her mouth open for a long time also made her dislike the dental visits.  I gave her my card and told her I would like to try to give her a better experience.

This is a fairly common occurrence for me.  I meet someone, they find out about my profession and they then let me know their felling for my profession. Sometimes it is very negative, and many times it is very positive.  The stories they tell me have helped me find what usually make one person love their dentist and the other person to dislike them.  The  following are some of the things I have learned that make people love or hate the dentist:

1. The Dentist's Personality
The Dentist was a very nice guy, or he was very impersonal.  Dentists are people and just like everyone else.  There are a lot of great Dentists and there are a few bad ones.  If you have had to deal with a bad one it is especially difficult because of the personal space they are working in.
The better personal relationship people have with their Dentist and his or her team the better their experiences tend to be.

2. That Numbing Feeling
Many people have expressed to me how much the dislike being numb for so long.  Well I have some good news we have a numb reversal agent called Oraverse. We can use this to greatly shorten the time you are numb after a procedure.  I've used this for patients who need to give presentations or are going to a social event so they can have normal function sooner.

3. Discomfort After Dental Procedures
Some people never notice any discomfort after dental work and others have had their teeth become sensitive or even hurt after dental procedures.

This can be difficult because dental surgery is just that, surgery.  If you just had surgery on your foot it would be unlikely that you would be walking on it the next day.  However this is what we do with our teeth.

Luckily there are some different agents that can be used to help relive this very common post operative sensitivity.  We use Microprime with all of our crowns and fillings.  Not only has this greatly reduced the percentage of our patients who experience after dental work but it also helps to decontaminate the tooth.

4. Cost
 I have heard people in all walks of life say that their dental care was worth every penny and others who say that it is just too expensive. On average people spend more on their cell phone or clothing. Beyond this the longer you wait to correct a dental problem the more expensive it will become.  A root canal which will then require a crown is 10 times the cost of a filling and a filling costs about the same as an extraction.

The difference with the cost of dentistry when compared to cell phone coverage, or clothing is that it tends to come all at once.  To help with this we offer several financial options to help make the dental care you need more affordable.

In Summary
The dental office can seem like a scary place for many reasons.  We understand this and work hard to create comforting memories for those we serve.  We encourage you to take care of your smile and would love to take your oral health to the next level.