Dentist East Cobb: Dr. Nanci Lubell Joins The Right Smile Center

Sandy Springs’ Right Smile Center, a full service dental practice is excited to announce the addition of Nanci Lubell, DMD as a new associate in the practice.

Dr. Lubell brings the Right Smile Center 20 years of experience with a focus in restorative and endodontic treatment.

We are fortunate to have someone of Dr. Lubell’s experience and training in our practice,” said Dr. Novy Scheinfeld.  “She brings a successful track record of great service with the added technical expertise that allows us to offer our patients in-house endodontic treatment.

Dr. Lubell grew up in East Cobb and returned to practice there after receiving her degree from MCG in 1991.  Married to native Atlantan Dr. Mark Rosing, Nanci currently resides in Dunwoody with their two sons who attend The Davis Academy. In addition to her dental degree, Dr. Lubell has Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from the University of Georgia.  Throughout her career she has been active in various cancer-related charities and women/children shelters in metro Atlanta.

The Right Smile Center is one of the largest active comprehensive dental practices in North Atlanta and has been trusted by thousands in metro Atlanta with 4 generations of patients.  If we can be of assistance in your oral health care needs please do not hesitate to call our office for a complementary consultation.

The Right Smile Center

Scheinfeld, Tourial and Lubell

290 Carpenter Drive, 200A

Atlanta (Sandy Springs), GA 30328

www.rightsmilecenter.com

info@rightsmilecenter.com

404-256-3620

Dentist East Cobb: How much do dental implants cost?

If you are trying to figure out the ins and outs of  implants verses the older more conventional methods of tooth replacement, the cost of dental implantsat first blush may appear high, and therefore, unaffordable to most people.  But appearances can be deceiving if you examine the beneficial differences and the time involved by your specialist.  While I have written on those issues before, let’s explore other aspects of price and how different dental implants may differ very significantly depending on different factors.

The real concern for the patient is ‘where and how’ to find a low cost quality dental implant, and is most likely the driven adjective ‘low cost’ a result of the perception by the patient that teeth are utilitarian to their daily life.  That’s really not the case, but to put the cost into perspective, all the while considering that your teeth aren’t really as appreciated as much as they should be, let’s examine what goes into the cost of a dental implant.

4 Factors that Drive the Cost of Dental Implants:

The Material: The traditional materials – prices of cobalt-chromium alloy and titanium are not the same.  Implants from cobalt-chromium (CC) alloy rods are cheaper than comparable titanium implants, but when it comes to zirconium dioxide, then cost of a dental implant may appear to be cost prohibitive to the patient.  But, depending on where the implant is being placed, you may end up with a less than satisfactory result with the less expensive CC implant.

The Size: This case is a significant factor.  The bigger the implant, the more material, the more it costs, but also the more it may do.  Also, special coatings applied to the surface of the implant, contribute to better osseo-integration with the bone, will affect the cost of the dental implant.

The Manufacturer: Different manufacturers put different prices on similar rods made from the same material. Some manufacturers include some kind of an extra charge in the dental implant’s price for their brand name. This is a lot more esoteric and therefore harder to explain.   It’s like trying to explain the difference between Polo and Hanes T-shirts.

Finally, it may depend on where your dentist gets his implants from.  And this factor may be a function of how motivated your provider is in providing you with the best implant material for the least amount of cost to you.  Some of that may just end up being economies of scale by your provider.  Does your provider have contacts directly with manufactures in China or Israel, where the dental implant cost can be significantly reduced, while the indirect purchase of dental implants from U.S dental suppliers may ratchet up the price?

If the price is too good to be true?

The cost of an dental implant starts from around $1,500 up to $5,000.00 .  Anything less may be an indicator that you’re getting an inferior product or one not designed for a particular location in your mouth.  (Mini-plants, which I have discussed before, are the exception to the rule.)  Short term the implant device may appear to be fully functional.  But if we look at the cost and the cost of other materials for dental implants compared to their operational life, the difference may be likened to the difference between Toyo’s and Michelin tires.  Here again you may get what you pay for and the initial cost may appear affordable, but in the  long term you are going to get a better result with respect to how it functions and how long it lasts if your provider installs Michelins.

A lot of your choice and cost may depend on the choice of your provider.   It’s not to say the more you spend the better you will be.  Rather, a reputable practitioner, who is truly trained in the placement and restoration (and this may be two providers), may be a significant factor in what you end up with and what it costs.  Trust and reputation are the more difficult factors to define for the patient.

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

290 Carpenter Drive, 200A

Atlanta (Sandy Springs), GA 30328

404-256-3620

www.rightsmilecenter.com

info@rightsmilecenter.com

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Dentist Sandy Springs – Try a Hand at Exercise or Not

Brushing your teeth, buttoning your shirt, or opening a child proof bottle are all routine daily activities that most people take for granted.  But if you have arthritis and it affects your hands, performing these and other basic tasks can be challenging, if not impossible. Theoretically, “exercising” your hands should reduce the pain, improve your range of motion, and, ultimately, enable you to perform more easily the various tasks of daily living.  However, early in the morning use of your hands may aggravate your situation.

                                                                            

Arthritis of the hands manifests differently depending on what kind of arthritis you have.  Osteoarthritis, which is the most common cause of hand arthritis, involves the protective cartilage that covers the ends of your bones and its gradual deteriorates is due to wear and tear or, in some cases, to injury. If your hand pain is caused by osteoarthritis there’s a high probability that flossing and brushing your teeth may be affected.

 

By contrast, rheumatoid arthritis, sometimes referred to as RA, is an immune system disorder that damages the cells in the tissue that lines and lubricates the joints in your hand.  If rheumatoid arthritis is the cause of your hand pain, the distinction between osteoarthritis – and rheumatoid arthritis -induced hand pain is important for several reasons*:

 

First, if your pain is caused by rheumatoid, you should not attempt to alleviate it with exercise alone. So the exercise associated with brushing your teeth could exacerbate your joint problems.  Second, strengthening exercises can be harmful if performed aggressively and should be done in moderation by people with rheumatoid arthritis.  Third, you should perform any type of exercise with caution while you’re having a flare up of the joints.

 

So that your oral health does not suffer due to the deterioration and pain associated with either arthritis I would suggest the purchase an electric toothbrush.  My preference is the Oral-B, but it really doesn’t matter which one you use, you just need to use one.  Regardless of your condition, my experience with patients who use the Oral-B regularly has shown results in the positive care of their oral health.  With respect to flossing, which is just as important in maintaining your oral hygiene, you may need to increase the number of visits to the dentist to clean your teeth where you can’t otherwise preform the task.  If you discuss this with your dentist, you should be able to make arrangements just to have your teeth cleaned on alternating appointments and forego unnecessary exam fees. Interestingly enough, there is a possibility that the prescription by your physician may afford you insurance coverage for the extra visits.   As a side note, if you utilize a health savings account, you certainly should be about to cover the costs of all your visits with pre-tax health dollars.  If there is anything we can do to assist you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

*This information is not intended to substitute for the advice of a physician. Some of this information was provided by Johns Hopkins website on arthritis. (http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com).

 

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

290 Carpenter Drive, 200A

Atlanta (Sandy Springs), GA 30328

404-256-3620

www.rightsmilecenter.com

receptionist@rightsmilecenter.com

 

 

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Dentist East Cobb: The Right Smile (by a prosthodontist)

The right smile, like all good things in life, is a collaborative effort of your input and our expertise.   We’ve found that by truly catering to our patients, your visits become more of a pleasurable experience, rather than just a necessity.

Our Sandy Springs dental office is open four days a week, but on occasion we schedule patients who need additional treatment time on Fridays.  We see emergency cases immediately and provide our patients with 24/7 access to your dentist via mobile numbers. In addition, your entire family is welcome in our office.   We have as many as four generations in the practice.  We offer comprehensive family care coupled with modern technology, bringing what we consider to be the best of contemporary dentistry to our patients.

You’re more than a patient to us; you’re an individual with unique concerns and needs.  And you’re the reason we are here.  Sidney or I are dedicated to taking the time to learn about you and your needs, and then and only then develop a practical treatment plan to create the right smile. We’ll discuss options and explain procedures, which may involve multiple of techniques and disciplines.

Your smile is the first thing people notice and our goal is to help you smile.  But we want to make sure it’s the right smile, one that’s natural and comfortable for you.  If you have questions, please ask. And if we can do anything to make you more comfortable, let us know. We are here to serve you and we have a history of making oral healthcare easy and convenient for your lifestyle.

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

290 Carpenter Drive, 200A

Sandy Springs, GA 30328

404-256-3620

www.rightsmilecenter.com

receptionist@rightsmilecenter.com

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Dentist East Cobb: Are You Thumbing Your Mouth At Me?

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Our goal is to educate patients about the importance of oral health, its advances and how the right smile can change one’s life.

If you have a new born or have one on the way, you’re going find out that infants have a natural instinct to suck as a way of nourishing and soothing themselves. Often, this leads to the child sucking on their fingers, a blanket, a stuffed animal or their thumb. Usually, this habit is given up by age 4. If it continues, it can be extremely detrimental to the development of their teeth and jaws causing crooked teeth, an incorrect bite, speech problems and/or open-mouth breathing. This habit may result in psychological trauma if it continues into school age when the other children tease them.

What should a parent do? If possible, try to switch them to a properly designed pacifier that fits the shape of the mouth. Pacifiers are less likely to create the same developmental problems [by distributing forces over greater area], are usually discarded by the child at an earlier age and are easier to hide than a thumb. If the thumb sucking is during the day, discuss the problem with them to discourage the habit. Placing a band-aid on their thumb as a reminder may help. Be positive and praise them when they remember. And reward them for their success.

It is more difficult to control thumb sucking when the child is asleep, because the child is unaware of this involuntary action. So, try this habit-breaking technique that is usually successful within two weeks. Before your child goes to bed, wrap a 2-inch wide ace bandage lightly around their fully extended arm [straight]. Start about 3 inches from their armpit and continue down past the elbow. This will not prevent your child from putting their thumb into their mouth. However, as soon as they fall asleep, the tension created by bending the elbow will pull the thumb from their mouth.

If your child is still sucking on their thumb or anything else by the time their permanent teeth erupt [around age 6], please call it to the attention of our office.

Novy Scheinfeld DDS PC
290 Carpenter Dr, 200A
Atlanta (Sandy Springs), GA 30328
(404) 256-3620
receptionist@rightsmilecenter.com
rightsmilecenter.com

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Dentist East Cobb: 9 Important Facts about Dental Implants

Many people are unaware of the consequences of losing their teeth or the effects of wearing partial or full dentures upon their jaws and bones. When teeth are lost, the surrounding bone immediately begins to shrink [atrophy]. Implant treatment, for tooth replacement therapy, can be the optimal treatment plan. Here are some important facts to take into consideration.

• Wearing dentures [plates] accelerates bone loss, and old dentures become loose because of this bone loss. It is possible to watch and wait for bone to disappear to the point where treatment success of any kind is in doubt.

• At the end of a five-year period, only 40% are still wearing the original partial denture made for them. This is not a great testimonial for value and utility. Those lucky enough to have a functioning partial denture after 5 years are still losing valuable supporting bone.

• Of those patients who wear a partial denture, 50% chew better without it.

• One study showed that after 8 years, 40% of the supporting teeth [abutments] that the partial hooks onto were lost through tooth decay or fracture.

• Patients with natural teeth can bite with about 200 pounds of force. Denture wearers can bite with approximately 50 pounds of force. Those wearing dentures for 15 years or more can bite with only about 6 pounds of force, and their diet and eating habits have had to been modified accordingly.

• The average lower full denture shifts from side to side during chewing and is a significant problem that new denture wearers must get use to and accept.

• Denture wearers have decreased nutritional intake, a ten year shorter life span, and 30% of denture wearers can only eat soft foods.

• The single tooth implant success rate is above 98%, and unlike a bridge, the teeth adjacent to the implant are no more at risk than if no teeth were missing.

• Implant-supported bridges or dentures have 95% success rates over 10 years without the severe loss of supporting bone.

 For bone maintenance, the health of adjacent teeth, the longevity of the restoration and patient comfort, implant therapy is the treatment of choice. Implants can restore chewing function to the equivalent of someone with natural teeth. If you have questions or want to know if you are a good candidate for implant tooth replacement therapy, please call our office.

Novy Scheinfeld DDS PC
290 Carpenter Drive, 200A
Atlanta (Sandy Springs), GA 30328
(404) 256-3620
receptionist@rightsmilecenter.com
www.rightsmilecenter.com

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East Cobb Dentistry: Bottled Water – Good or Bad?

According to the ADA the majority of bottled water does not contain optimal levels of fluoride to protect your teeth against harmful bacteria.  In addition, some types of home water treatment systems also reduce the fluoride levels decreasing the decay-preventive effects of tap water.  The absence of fluoride is not to be inferred as some kind of public or private ban on the use of fluoridation, because this is not the case.  And with respect to your oral health, when used appropriately, fluoride is both safe and effective and probably your best means of preventing and controlling dental caries.  So how do you use fluoride to achieve the maximum protection against dental caries and efficiently reducing the likelihood of enamel fluorosis?  There are numerous fluoride modalities that are effective, inexpensive, readily available, and can be used in both private and public health settings.  And if left unchecked, the resulting bacteria can penetrate dissolved surfaces, attack the underlying dentin, and reach the soft pulp tissue, causing of course tooth decay.  Drinking fluoridated water, brushing with fluoride toothpaste, or using other fluoride dental products can effectively and inexpensively raise the concentration of fluoride in the saliva present in your mouth 100- to 1,000-fold.

Children and adults who are at low risk for dental caries can remain low risk through frequent exposure to small amounts of fluoride by drinking fluoridated water and using fluoride toothpaste.  While children and adults at high risk for dental caries should benefit from additional exposure to fluoride by going one step further and utilizing mouth rinse, dietary supplements, and professionally applied products.  The ADA reviews fluoride products for caries prevention through its voluntary Seal of Acceptance program and accepted products are listed in the ADA Guide to Dental Therapeutics.   At this particular moment in our oral healthcare, fluoride is the only nonprescription toothpaste additive proven to prevent dental caries.   As I have recommended in previous articles, brushing is the simplest and number one action you can take to maintain your teeth and oral hygiene.  This of course should be followed by regular cleanings and checkups with your dentist.

American Dental Association. ADA guide to dental therapeutics. 1st ed. Chicago, IL: American Dental Association, 1998.

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

290 Carpenter Drive, 200A

Atlanta (Sandy Springs) GA, 30328

404-256-3620                                                                     

receptionist@rightsmilecenter.com

www.rightsmilecenter.com

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Dentist East Cobb: The future of Implant Dentistry is here now.

Dental implants are stronger and more durable than their restorative counterparts such as bridges, partials and dentures.  And from an esthetic standpoint, they look and feel more natural, some of which is due to the progress made in their biocompatible development.  Implants offer the patient a permanent solution to tooth and continued bone loss. Additionally, implants may be used in conjunction with other restorative procedures for maximum effectiveness in that a single implant may serve to support a dental crown replacing

 a single missing tooth. Implants can also be used to support a dental bridge for the replacement of multiple missing teeth, and can be used with complete dentures, both standard and mini implants to increase stability and preserve bone structure.

Procedural advancements, including the development of the above mentioned “mini” implants, mean that a larger population than ever before are finding themselves candidates for dental implants.  While application and candidacy for implantation varies on a c

 

ase by case basis, meaning that your dentist needs to determine the viability of implants as it applies to your actual bone structure.   Keep in mind, a general dentist may perform the crown and bridge placement that is associated with implant restorations, prosthodontists are the ADA sanctioned specialists who have received post-doctorate training are most often your best bet for the successful completion of this type of technique sensitive procedure.  If we can ever be of help please don’t hesitate to call or comment so we can answer your questions.

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

290 Carpenter Drive, 200A

 

 

Atlanta (Sandy Springs), GA 30328

 

404-256-3620

receptionist@rightsmilecenter.com

www.rightsmilecenter.com

 

Dentist East Cobb: Brush and Floss if you want to keep ‘em.

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Often I am asked questions such as how often I should floss and is flossing really necessary.  I am famous for saying “You should only brush and floss the teeth you want to keep!”  Brushing and flossing your teeth are the two most important patient activities you can do to ensure good oral health. 

The goal of brushing and flossing is to reduce or rid your mouth of harmful bacteria that can adversely affect both your gums and teeth. Microscopic bacteria reside in your mouth calling it home, feeding off the food particles left on our teeth.

Bacteria produce acid from their feasting and  this acid eats into your tooth enamel creating cavities. Addition toxins are produced from bacteria in plaque that will inflame and irritate your gum tissue. And finally, without proper care the bacteria can also sulfur compounds that create bad breath.

In the most recent studies, poor oral health can be linked to other related health issues that may stem from oral bacteria entering the bloodstream affecting other internal organs.  Regular brushing and flossing removes the plaque and the bacteria plaque contains. Unfortunately, many people think brushing alone is sufficient to rid the mouth of these bacteria.   But flossing is a key component to your good oral hygiene program.

If you do not floss and allow plaque to remain in between teeth it eventually hardens into a substance known as tartar. Unlike plaque which can be easily removed by brushing, tartar can only be removed by your dentist.

Over time, failing to floss will result in irritated and inflamed gums. This condition is known as gingivitis, which if left untreated can progress to periodontal disease domino’ing into gingival recession, bone loss, loose teeth, and so on until ultimately your teeth are lost.

Timely and regular flossing removes the bacteria that escapes the reach of the toothbrush.  Brushing alone only does part of the job.  So you really need to floss. The American Dental Association recommends that you floss at least once a day, but I would suggest once in the morning and once in the evening as the better protocol.

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

290 Carpenter Drive, 200A

Atlanta (Sandy Springs), GA 30328

404-256-3620

receptionist@rightsmilecenter.com

www.rightsmilecenter.com

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Dentist East Cobb: How Often Should I See the Dentist?

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You should see your dentist for regular cleanings and check-ups at least every six months. There are those who are at greater risk for oral diseases and other related health issues that should have dental cleanings and check-ups more than twice a year, such as, diabetes, periodontal (gum) disease, possible heart disease, pregnancies and in rare instances alcohol and tobacco users.  Poor oral hygiene and certain medical conditions are some of the many factors that your dentist takes into consideration when deciding how often you need your dental cleaning and check-ups.  One of the real problems that has invaded oral healthcare are the restrictions placed on insurance coverage by insurers.  You need to understand that insurance companies serve a self-interest in reducing the number to times you visit your dentist.  Try not to let what your insurance covers be your benchmark for your healthcare.

Going on a regular basis will help to keep your oral health on track as well as detect any early problems such as periodontal disease, oral cancer or cavities.  The best way to maintain good oral health is to visit your dentist on a regular basis coupled with brushing your teeth and drinking fluoridated water.

And like I always say ‘the best toothbrush is the one you use’.  So please, if we can help feel free to call us.

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

290 Carpenter Drive, 200A

Atlanta (Sandy Springs), GA 30328

404-256-3620

www.rightsmilecenter.com

receptionist@rightsmilecenter.com

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