2014 Goals

2013 was a big year of setting goals and achieving our dreams at Fletcher Dentistry.

After several years of planning, I was able to purchase a building and move my practice into a brand new space. The dream was a new facility which would allow me to take better care of my patients in an environment that was clean, professional and efficient. Our new office at 1130 Coffee Road accomplished all of those dreams.

Guess what? It didn't happen overnight. I didn't wake up one day and decide to move. It also didn't happen without goals. I had a plan and without it my dream never would have come true.

What are your goals for 2014? Are they health related? Family related? Educational? Financial? Maybe you just want to start flossing more? Whatever it is, let me encourage you to start today and do whatever it takes to accomplish your goals this year!

Keep on smiling,
Dr. Fletcher

Heart Disease/Gum Disease - Connection?

For the last several years, I have been alerting my patients to ongoing research trying to connect periodontal disease (gum disease) with heart disease. Specifically, the research has been trying to find a direct connection and prevalence between the two. Researchers had already established that the bacteria present in a patient with periodontal disease can also be found in the arterial plaque of the cardiac vessels surrounding a patient's heart.

Last month, the American Heart Association published a conclusive first paper on this topic. Their conclusion? Although they share similar risk factors, gum disease DOES NOT CAUSE cardiovascular disease. (Follow this link to download the report HERE)

STUDY HIGHLIGHTS
There is no convincing evidence that proves gum disease causes heart disease or stroke, or treating gum disease reduces the risk of those diseases.
Gum and heart disease share common risk factors, including smoking, age and diabetes, which is possibly why the diseases often occur in the same person.

Since we've been mentioning this in our office and talking about it with our patients, we were very glad to see the AHA issue their findings. However, this doesn't really change our advice (shared by the American Dental Association here at this link). We recommend that our patients eliminate any risk factors that are traced to behavior, like smoking and poor home care. Furthermore, we recommend that our patients consider the other risk factors and evaluate their potential of developing either periodontal and/or cardiovascular disease.

Keep Smiling,
Dr. Fletcher 

Are you on an acid trip?

For years we have been warning our patients about the increase in dental decay we have seen due to energy drink consumption. Last week on their health blog, NPR wrote an article about energy drinks that we want to share with our patients.

Are you taking your teeth on an acid trip? Read about it here in on the NPR blog: Energy Drinks Can Take Teeth on an Irreversible Acid Trip.

Keep smiling,
Dr. Fletcher