IMPLANTS: the Who, What, & Why

Dr. Stafford is putting on his speaker-extraordinaire-hat and hosting a seminar on dental implants. Here are some of the questions he will answer:

What are they?
What can they do?
What is the installation process?
Does it hurt?
How long does it last?
How much do they cost?
Am I a candidate?

An oral surgeon, an implant manufacturer's representative will also be there to answer all of your questions.

Come join us Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. for delicious dessert and receive a $500 voucher towards implant services.

Space is limited. Please R.S.V.P.

Relay-Cancer Does Not Stop for Nighttime

8 days until Relay! Some may think we are nuts to walk through the night. But the following explains why we do it:



"Relay for Life is overnight because cancer never sleeps. The light and darkness of the day and night parallel the physical effects, emotion, and mental states of a cancer patient while undergoing treatment.



The Relay begins when the sun is in the sky. This symbolizes the tie that the person has been diagnosed as having cancer. The day gets darker and this represents the cancer patient's state of mind as they feel that their life is coming to an end.



As the evening goes on it gets colder and darker, just as the emotions of the cancer patient does. The 1:00/2:00 a.m. hour represents the time when the cancer patient starts treatment. They become exhausted, some sick, not wanting to go on, possibly wanting to give up. As a participant, you have been walking and feel much the same way. You are tired, want to sleep, maybe even want to go home, but you cannot stop or give up.



The 4:00/5:00 a.m. hours represent the coming of the end of treatment for the cancer patient. Once again, they are tired, but they know they will make it.



The sun rising represents the end of treatment for the cancer patient. They see the light at the end of the tunnel and know that life will go on. The morning light brings on a new day full of life and excitement for new beginnings for the cancer patient. As a participant, you will feel the brightness of the morning and know that the end of Relay is close at hand.



When you leave Relay, think of the cancer patient leaving their last treatment. Just as you are exhausted and weak, so is that person after treatment.



Remember: There is no finish line until we find a cure.

Relay for Life

Stafford Smiles is thrilled to be sponsoring and participating in Oregon City’s 2010 Relay for Life June 26-27 at Clackamas Community College. This fabulous event raises awareness for ALL types of cancers while raising money to support those fighting the disease now and celebrating with those who are survivors.

The event is held for 24 hours to symbolize that cancer does not rest. Over 50 teams have committed to have a representative on the track (walking, running, riding in a wagon) during that period of time. The time is filled with many events (kids’ carnival and parade, watermelon eating contest, live bands, silent auction just to name a few.)

The event is kicked off with survivors, donned in purple t-shirts, walking the first lap. Then all are invited to walk. The highlight of the evening is luminaries lighting. Bags with messages and images of loved ones, are lit with candles and provide the track’s light at night and into the dawn.

Our office has set a goal to raise $2000 as a team. We hope to do that through fundraising and donations. We’d love to have your support.

Please consider joining our team or participating as a survivor. Follow this link:
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?sid=33294&type=fr_informational&pg=informational&fr_id=21952 , come to the office or call for help over the phone.

Questions, Ideas and Smart Remarks . . .

As Stafford Smiles enters the blogging world, we hope to provide information that is useful for your health, your family or just to have if ever needed. We love what we do and could wax on about many topics. And we will.

BUT . . .

We also want to know what questions you may have for us. Do you have a great idea that we should discuss? Or do you just have smart remarks?

In case you need a little incentive to share your thoughts or become a follower, we will enter each response posted into a drawing for $25. More comments = better chances!

The winner will be announced June 1, 2010.

Champion for Children

Last Wednesday, Stafford Smiles hosted a table at the Clackamas Children's Center Champion for Children Luncheon at the Oregon Golf Club in West Linn.







More than 400 participants gathered to support the Center as they help the vulnerable children of our county.

Tracy Barry, of KGW NewsChannel 8, was a delightful Master of Ceremonies.

The Center's director, Tonia Hunt, spoke of the purpose and mission of the Center as a safe place for children to receive the most skilled help. It was heartbreaking to hear that there are times when the Center must turn children to other sources of help (emergency rooms, pediatricians, etc.) due to the size limitations of their facility. Because of this, the Center has aggressively campaigned to raise money to enlarge the facility, and in turn, help more children.

Women look on as they hear the news that last month alone, the Center served 68 children.

Dr. Wendy Bourg Ransford spoke to the group regarding the importance of supporting the women who in turn support the children as they recover.

And then there were the cakes. . .

Market of Choice proudly makes and donates a different cake for each table. They were as delicious as they were beautiful.

We were happy to help in our small way. Please consider joining our table next year.

Texas Travels

I recently returned from Grapevine, Texas and the annual session of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry which was held there. This is my favorite meeting each year because of the quality of the presentations, the opportunity to rub shoulders with the luminaries of the profession, the hands on workshops, and the networking with other dentists who have a similar practice vision.

The location was the Gaylord Texan which is an excellent venue because it has hotel rooms, restaurants, and a convention center all on the same campus and all within walking distance. This makes it easy to access the educational offerings and enhances the networking opportunities.

I was a little disappointed in Grapevine itself because I had borrowed a hat and picked up some boots at Goodwill so I would fit in with the local culture. What I discovered was that people there dressed pretty much the same as anyone in Happy Valley. No bolo ties or chrome belt buckles! I’ve since heard that maybe west Texas would be a little more like what I was expecting.

The challenge that I always come home with from this meeting is to raise the bar of what I offer my patients, I always learn new ways to improve what I can do in terms of health, natural beauty, function, durability, and comfort. And this is really my passion—to learn how to best restore these features when they have been lost due to disease or dysfunction in a way that most closely mimics nature. To this end, here is a description of the courses that were really valuable to me.

I took a hands on workshop for posterior composite placement with an emphasis on reproducing the original contours and surface shape. An optimum restoration involves more than removing the damage and filling in the hole. The restored tooth should look and function as much like the original as possible. This is significant because the new tooth colored composite materials require totally different placement techniques to achieve the best results. We cannot simply use the old mercury amalgam techniques with the new materials and expect a good outcome. I have been doing these types of restorations for over 15 years and there is always something new to learn.

I learned about the subtleties of replacing an anterior tooth in a way that makes it appear to have never been missing. This can be done with either a fixed bridge or more recently with an implant. Matching the color to the adjacent teeth is obviously critical but other considerations are equally important such as the shape of the replacement and the contours of the tissue surrounding the artificial tooth. The work necessary to achieve these results is different in every situation but requires dedicated time and attention and often the services of other dental specialists as well as clear communication with an excellent dental lab technician.

I did a workshop on adding implant retention to an existing mandibular denture. This has become a very predictable technique and is the treatment of choice in cases where patients want more stability for their lower denture. This procedure also prevents the progressive loss of bone that is normally associated with a lower denture. Any amount of stability can be achieved depending on the number of implants placed. The most popular choice is two implants placed near the front that stabilize the denture even though it is still supported by the tissue for chewing.

I listened to a lecture on the selection of ceramic materials for tooth restorations. When I began my career there were no options. If I wanted to make a tooth colored restoration, I used a porcelain fused to gold crown—period, end of discussion. In 2010 there are a plethora of tooth colored materials to choose from, all with different characteristics, and various advantages and disadvantages. It is important to stay current in this area to know how to recommend the best material for each individual situation.

It was an excellent meeting as always. And, as always, I feel like I was drinking water from a fire hose for four days. But in the end it is about me becoming a better clinician and you getting best dentistry available.