Mead Family Dental

The best shot ever!!!

Let's face it...no one likes needles.  Dental work is dreaded by many and for lots of them it's all about the shot.  As a dentist I'm supposed to talk about "adequate anesthesia" and "profound numbness."  I'm not supposed to mention the shot.  Good dentistry requires good pain control and that almost always means an injection of local anesthetic.  Which means...the needle.

I pride myself on being able to deliver anesthesia well.  But no matter how good I am there are some spots in the mouth where delivering anesthesia can be painful.  I think I've found the solution to this problem.  Enter the "STA."

This computer controlled anesthesia unit works by delivering anesthetic so slowly that it sneaks in under the patient's pain threshold.  I would be lying if I told you I wasn't skeptical of this technology at first.  The company was so so sure of their product that they allowed us to try the unit out before getting one of our own.  My loyal staff/guinea pigs allowed me to give them shots with this machine to prove to ourselves that it really was painless.  To our surprise...it works as advertised!  I actually remained skeptical until I was able to have another dentist give me a shot with it just this weekend.  I can say from experience that I couldn't feel when he was numbing me.  The other cool thing about being numbed by the STA is that your lip and tongue don't get numb along with your tooth!  I've found a lot of technologies that haven't really panned out for dentistry, but I have to say this one really delivers!

We think that the Mead Family Dental experience is pretty special.  This new technology is truly icing on the cake!  We'd love to have you come experience how comfortable and enjoyable taking care of your teeth can be!

Call us for an appointment at (989) 799-9133 or email me at: alan@meadfamilydental.com.  We'd love to hear from you!

Come see our new baby!

O.K.  So it's not a REAL baby.  The office just had a new digital panoramic x-ray machine installed and frankly it's VERY exciting!

Now I am known to get excited over things that the average dental patient might not get that excited about.  However, this high tech machine is bound to make your dental experience quicker and easier. 

In 2007 our office switched to digital x-rays which use 1/5 as much radiation to take phenomenal images that appear instantly on a computer monitor.  This machine is similar but takes an x-ray of your teeth and jaws within 5-7 seconds!  A panoramic x-ray is useful in many situations:

• shows wisdom teeth, even when they can't be seen in the mouth!
• it can show developing permanent teeth in kids of all ages
• helps determine the need for braces
• can show pathology (cysts, tooth infection, "extra" teeth or congenitally missing teeth) that often can't be seen in other types of x-rays
• patients who don't tolerate films in their mouth can finally have a thorough but comfortable x-ray experience

Probably the best part about all of this is how easy it is to have a panoramic x-ray taken.  The machine zips around the outside of your head (no uncomfortable film or sensors to bite on)in about 7 seconds with no discomfort.   On top of that, the amount of radiation that a patient is exposed to is about 20% of a conventional film x-ray.

Most insurances cover a panoramic x-rays and Kathy can give you the details about your coverage.

For an appointment or more information about our panoramic x-ray machine or any services available at Mead Family Dental please email me at alan@meadfamilydental.com or call the office at (989) 799-9133.   We're happy to hear from existing patients as well as anyone just interested in their dental health!