| Search: Local Businesses | Web |
-
InformationAbout our Practice
Today, we have over 6,000 patients supported by: 3 Dentists, 5 Registered Dental Hygienists, 5 Clinical Assistants, 2 Office Personnel, 1 Practice Administrator.
For more information Click Here.
-
Video Gallery
-
How to Reach Us#9 Care Circle Map
Amarillo, TX 79124
Phone: (806) 358-2472
Fax: (806) 358-6815
www.shemendental.com
Hours
Monday - Thursday
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
-
Ask A ProfessionalIs an information exchange between area professionals and local consumers. If you are interested in being a listed professional in your field contact
Presley Watkins
New Media Manager
-
Shemen Dental Newsletter
Energy Erodes Tooth Enamel
Energy drinks are a $10 billion business, and you are getting more than your money's worth of energy. You are getting tooth decay from the corrosive acids in those drinks.
Dental erosion and decay occurs when acids leach calcium and phosphorous out of your tooth's enamel, the strong cover that protects the visible part of your tooth. Dental erosion is irreversible. Once the enamel is gone, it is gone forever.
Dental erosion is an epidemic amongst our youth because their teeth are not yet hard enough to withstand constant acid attacks.
Teens and young adolescents are the biggest group of soda consumers, and advertisers target this market. A spokesperson for the Academy of General Dentistry states that his teen- to 20-year old patients are flirting with needing full mouth reconstructions to repair their damaged teeth unless they change their beverage of choice.
Dental erosion from sports drinks and non-colas can be 11 times greater than drinking other beverages. The worst offenders are energy drinks, canned iced tea and bottled lemonade. Exposing teeth to those beverages for only 14 days produces damage equivalent to 13 year's normal beverage drinking exposure!
Stopping dental erosion and decay can be done by limiting how much and how often you drink acidic beverages.
- Drink an acidic beverage only with a meal.
- Wait at least 20 minutes before brushing because your tooth enamel will be soft and vulnerable during that time. In the meantime, rinse your mouth with plain water.
- Drink 100 percent fruit juice, fluoridated water, milk or a less acidic beverage.
- To increase saliva flow, chew gum that is made with the natural sweetener, xylitol. An increased saliva flow neutralizes acids that destroy enamel.
During your regular check-ups, we watch for signs of dental erosion and can make recommendations that will help you keep your dazzling smile! Is it time for your check-up? Call us today.
Intraoral Camera Reveals All
Spies in comic books use miniature cameras to secretly take pictures. We, too, have a miniature camera, but we use it to show you exactly what is happening in your mouth. This new technology is called an intraoral camera.
Gone are the days of using a mirror that gave you only partial glimpses of your teeth. Also gone are the concerns of potentially missing a problem area that can easily be overlooked when we do a visual examination.
An intraoral camera uses a tiny video camera at the tip of a wand that is about the size of a ballpoint pen. The camera is powered by electricity; there is no radiation. As we slowly move the wand throughout your mouth, the large, full-color images instantly appear on a TV screen or a computer monitor.
We can see oral diseases and issues when they are in their early stage, which allows us to prevent a serious problem later. We can also show you how well you are doing with your oral homecare because plaque can clearly be seen with the camera. With the intraoral camera, we can show you the problem areas so that you can better understand your dental needs and make informed, confident decisions about your oral healthcare.
This technology lets us store images in your records. The images can be printed for you to take home, and they can be sent to your insurance company or to a specialist. Best of all, an intraoral camera gives you the opportunity to take an active role in your dental treatment.
When we can intervene early, we protect you from suffering more serious dental problems, save you time and money, and get you back to health as quickly as possible.
Call us right away if you are experiencing a dental problem or if it is time for your routine exam. Smart technology can help your teeth to last you a lifetime. Open wide, and smile for the camera!
CEREC CAD/CAM is Our One Stop Shopping Center
Dentistry is ever-changing, with better technology popping up like shopping malls. To make your dental experience more pleasurable, we can restore a tooth in just one visit when we use CEREC CAD/CAM technology.
In the good old days you would have needed at least two office visits for us to replace a filling, fix a broken tooth or cover stained or misshapen teeth with restorations such as crowns or veneers. We no longer need to take messy impressions and send them to a dental lab where the restoration is made.
Any restoration created in a lab can take two or more weeks before it is finished and back in our office, and it may need to be sent back to the lab for additional refinement. In rare instances, it may need to be remanufactured from scratch. This is an inconvenience to you.
Now, we make our own all-ceramic onlays, inlays, crowns or veneers using our CEREC CAD/CAM milling machine, and depending on the complexity of the restoration, it adds only about 20 minutes to your time in the dental chair!
After we prepare your tooth, we use a digital camera to take a picture of your tooth and send the image to the CEREC computer. No more gooey impression tray in your mouth. The computer creates a 3-D virtual model, sends that information to the milling machine, and voilà—a restoration is created that is so anatomically correct that it may not need additional hand-trimming to fit perfectly.
Using strong, natural tooth-colored ceramic materials, the CEREC produces a crown in about 5–7 minutes. The ceramic material closely matches the composition of your natural tooth.
Bonding the restoration to your tooth lets us retain more of your tooth structure, which preserves the strength of your tooth.
Whether you have a decayed, damaged or stained tooth, we can restore it to its natural function and beauty with an all-ceramic restoration made here in our office with our CEREC CAD/CAM milling machine.
When you need a restoration, think of our office as your personal, one-stop shopping mall!
Long in the Tooth is Not Natural
You may have heard an older person humorously referred to as being "long in the tooth." This old idiom refers to a way to determine the age (and decreased value) of a horse because its gums recede as it ages.
First and foremost, it is a myth that receding gums is a natural part of the human aging process. Second, your teeth stopped growing when you were young.
Receding gums might be funny on a horse, but they are no laughing matter to an elderly person. Being called long in the tooth is unflattering, but most importantly, it can indicate that you have a serious dental problem.
If you have noticed over time that your crowns seem to be getting longer, it is wise to have us examine your teeth to rule out any existing problem that needs to be corrected so that you do not risk losing your teeth.
One of the symptoms of a serious dental condition called periodontal disease is receding gums. The most common dental problem and the number one cause of tooth loss in adults is periodontal disease. It has also been connected to heart disease, pancreatic cancer, diabetes, and stroke.
There is no cure for periodontal disease, but it is treatable. When caught in its earliest stage, we can halt the bacteria's destruction by performing simple in-office procedures.
Once we have treated your periodontal disease, you will need to maintain a faithful oral care routine at home; otherwise, the disease will rebound and start its vicious destructive march again.
If it is time for your check-up or you have a concern, call and make an appointment. Make a list of anything unusual you have noticed in your mouth or that you have questions or concerns about, and bring the list to your appointment.
Together, we can discuss your oral health and help your teeth stay their best to last you a lifetime. Just say " Neigh" to periodontal disease!
Safety First with Denture Cleansers
Smoke detectors. Flashing lights. Speed bumps. Warning labels. These are all ways of providing important information to people to keep them from harm. Warning labels, for example, appear everywhere—on food, medications, laundry soap boxes, and on oral care products.
We recently came across information about using denture cleansers that made us shudder and wanted to share that information and some advice with you. According to the Food and Drug Administration, some people incorrectly use denture cleansers and are damaging their health—and worse.
Denture cleansers are not intended to be used directly in your mouth because they contain an ingredient that can cause an allergic reaction. This ingredient works well on a denture because it effectively cleans and bleaches the appliance, but the ingredient causes damage to your body. Sometimes, the allergic reaction is immediate; other times is occurs over a number of years. The allergic reaction can worsen over time as well.
When misused, denture cleansers produce several warning indications:
- tissue irritation & damage
- rashes & hives
- tender gums
- seizures
- breathing problems
- low blood pressure
- abdominal pain
- vomiting
People have been known to swish dental cleanser around in their mouths, gargle with it and swallow it. Denture cleanser is to be used strictly in a container into which the denture is placed to soak. Be sure to thoroughly rinse the denture before placing it into your mouth. Many of our patients take a precautionary step and lightly brush their denture with toothpaste before placing it into their mouths.
It is not only those who ignore warning labels who are putting themselves in harm's way. Many people cannot read English, while others may not understand the warning label message.
We strongly urge you to always follow our recommendations and the information in warning labels, patient instructions, and any other safety information provided to you. When you purchase an oral care product and you are unsure what a warning message means, ask a pharmacist or call us.
If you know someone has swallowed denture cleanser, treat it like a medical emergency and call the poison control center. If you wait for our office to open, we'll just send you to the hospital emergency room, too. If the person has a mysterious rash around or in their mouth, ask if they are swishing their denture cleaner, and then get them to stop.
If you have any questions about medications or over-the-counter oral care products that we have prescribed or recommended, do not hesitate to ask us before you leave the office. If you have a question or concern after you leave the office, consult your pharmacist or us. We want you to be healthy and safe!
