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Arizona Oral Health Resources

May 15th, 2015 by AZ Perio Group | No Comments

All of us at Arizona Periodontal Group want our patients and everyone they know to understand the importance of oral health. Your overall oral health affects your entire body! Many don’t realize that this is the case at all, but think about it. All of our nutrition comes from the things that we eat and drink. That food and liquid travels through our mouth first to get into our system. After they have passed our gums, teeth, and tongue, we start to gain the vital vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that our body needs. Some foods take extra chewing and work to have those important energy sources extracted for our overall health. If we don’t take care of these very important parts of our body, then the rest of our body isn’t going to be taken care of either.

Dental health is what Dr. Trujillo and the rest of us at Arizona Periodontal Group are all about. We wish to provide everyone with the resources that they need to understand and receive the dental care they need. The best way for your dental health and the dental health of your family is through preventative care. This includes daily brushing, flossing, and six month check-ups with your dentist.

We know that there are many out there that don’t have the ability to get the proper dental care they need. You’ll be happy to know that there are real resources out there that are provided if you are in a situation that prevents you from being able to afford going to a normal dentist. One of those resources is the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Arizona Department of Health Services

The state of Arizona has many different resources available to its residents that include dental programs for those in need. They have a full office and its main priority is to promote the oral health and well-being of all Arizona residents. They have many different initiatives that all are aimed at helping you and your family which include:

Arizona Dental Sealant Program

Fluoride Mouth rinse Program

Dental Trailer Loan Program

Community Oral Health System Development Program

Healthy Teeth, Healthy Families

Healthy Smiles Healthy Bodies Training

One of the greatest services that they offer is providing dental care to those that are in rural areas and don’t have access to a normal dentist. Here is a great video showing how amazing this service is:

This is a great service that the state of Arizona offers, and it sadly is very common that infants and children are faced with tooth decay that if left untreated and lead to even more serious problems. Keep in mind that even though they are pediatric teeth that will be lost as they continue to grow it is still very important that they are cared for. Like many kids, the daily task of brushing teeth can be skipped and flossing is probably something never even considered.

A child’s mouth can be swarming with bacteria, plaque, and a number of other things that can lead to loss of teeth, swollen painful bleeding gums, and additional health problems that can be serious to their well being and quality of life.

Every member of the Arizona Periodontal Group wish to express our support to Arizona Department of Health Services and their effort in providing real dental care to Arizona residents. If you, or if you know of anyone that is in need of dental health care that may feel unreachable, please contact us. We can help you find resources to get the assistance you need for your loved ones.

Why Floss?

April 3rd, 2013 by azperiogroup | No Comments

There is an age-old saying in the dental field: “You only need to floss the teeth you want to keep.”
What exactly does that mean?
Using only a toothbrush alone, you are cleaning up to 65% of our teeth. That means, unless you floss, you are leaving 35% of your teeth dirty. This plaque, as we call it, is what we remove when brushing and flossing. If it is left on the tooth surface it starts to calcify and form the calculus (build up) which can not be removed with a soft brush or floss. When the calculus sits underneath the gums, it acts just like a rock in your shoe. Calculus irritates the gums and causes them to swell and bleed. Ever wonder what all the scraping is when you get your teeth cleaned? That’s your Hygienist using special instruments to remove the calculus. At Arizona Periodontal Group, our Hygienists are specially trained to target those hard to reach areas along and underneath the gum line. If the calculus is attached to the tooth for too long it can start to damage the area which can lead to tooth loss. We always recommend that our patients have cleanings anywhere from three to six months depending on how quickly their mouths develop calculus.
Dr. Trujillo welcomes all new patients in our office, even if you just need a cleaning. A combination of consistent and adament home care, along with regular cleanings with your Hygienist will give you many more years to enjoy your teeth!

Happy 2013!

January 15th, 2013 by azperiogroup | No Comments

We hope everybody had a fun and not-so-stressful Holiday Season! We had the perfect balance of work and family time. At Arizona Periodontal Group, we wrapped up 2012 by hosting a canned food drive for St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix. Our patients were very active in this food drive and helped us provide meals for those in need.
We also strive to help those in need of a new smile as well, which is what Dr. Trujillo excels at. With the use of the All-on-Four Implants mentioned in previous posts, we were able to give this particular patient a beautiful smile to start off his new year! The best part is, everything was done all in one day!

Guided Implants: How It’s Done

December 4th, 2012 by azperiogroup | No Comments

I think it’s about time to show you an example of a real case we did using Guided Implants.This gentleman came to us looking for help to improve his smile. He had many options for treatment, but the route that best suited him was to remove all of his teeth and place dentures. At Arizona Periodontal Group, our main focus is saving teeth. However, there are some cases in which the gum disease has progressed to a point that the patient would actually lose money trying to save his or her teeth with dental procedures.
Due to the amount of Periodontal Disease, or bone loss, our patient was going to need a little bit more stability for the prosthesis on the lower. Our plan was to place four implants on the mandible (lower jaw) that would anchor this fixed set of teeth. We planned on placing a standard denture on the top arch because it offered more stability in his case.

Step one involves gathering as much information as possible. We take lots of photographs, models, CT scans (such as the Gallileos), and even pick out a shade for the teeth. All of this information is sent to the lab. We were happy to work with Van Hook Dental Studio on this case.

Step two requires a lot of lab work. At Van Hook Dental Studio, they spend time studying these models, photos, scans, etc., to plan accurate placement of the four implants in order to provide complete retention for the fixed set of teeth. They also have to make sure the top denture will fit once it is delivered. In this patient’s case, our main goal was to make sure he left our office that day with a set of teeth. Step two ends with the completion of the surgical guide for placing the implants. As you can tell, it is important to be as meticulous as possible because there is no margin for error when it comes to treating our patients.

Step three takes us back to our office, but the lab work isn’t over yet. Once the lab sends all of the guides, models, the top denture, the bottom set of teeth, and the prescription for the sizes of implants needed, we can finally schedule the patient to have his procedure done. The following pictures show the guide for this patient, a front view displaying how it fits over his teeth, as well as the denture and fixed prosthesis that will be delivered to the patient before he leaves that day.

Step four is showtime! Once our patient was sedated, Dr. Trujillo worked with an oral surgeon to remove the patient’s teeth and prepared the mouth for the implants. The lab was also there for when the denture and fixed prosthesis were ready to be seated in case any specific adjustments needed to be made.

Not all guided implant cases are like this one. Many of them only involve one or two teeth, and don’t need to go as far as removing all teeth. Again, this was the most conservative route for this patient in the long run. The end result is so rewarding, and the patient got his teeth just in time for Thanksgiving!

We have a lot of other cases coming up at our office in Phoenix, Arizona. Stay tuned for more before and after photos!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

November 27th, 2012 by azperiogroup | No Comments

Sorry for disappearing these last couple weeks. As I was saying before, we have been making a lot of changes and upgrades to our computers. In this day and age, you can imagine the setback it can leave behind. Going paperless can be a bumpy journey!

At Arizona Periodontal Group, we are hoping everyone had a fun and delicious Thanksgiving! We had the pleasure of closing the office for a couple of days to spend time with our family and friends. As the weather is finally starting to really cool off, the dreaded cold and flu season is starting to approach us in Phoenix. We always wear masks at AzPG for your safety and we are very thorough with sterilizing our instruments and disinfecting all surfaces in our rooms to prevent the spreading of germs. Don’t forget if you have a cold to replace your toothbrush once you get better!

Be sure to check out our blog next week as we will be showing actual photos from a guided implant case we did earlier in the month!

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Arizona Oral Health Resources

Why Floss?

Happy 2013!

Guided Implants: How It’s Done

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Start your day with a beautiful smile.