I have previously written about my close ties to Haverhill, MA and how exciting it is to be still working here after being born and raised in Haverhill.
My grandfather was a second generation Armenian who lived in Haverhill. He owned a shoe factory in downtown Haverhill during the time Haverhill was coined “America’s Shoe City”. He lived in the “Bradford section of Haverhill” until his death.
As we begin a new year, I want to revisit a feature we introduced to our office almost one year ago.
We call it the Church Street Dental Plan.
Think of it as a membership similar to a big-box warehouse, except Karl Arakelian, DMD remains a small, personable, comfortable dental practice in a world where dentistry is trending closer and closer to our medical counterparts.
Need orthodontic treatment? To get you ready for braces, your dentist will first need to create a 3D model of your teeth. That means opening wide for a messy, uncomfortable impression. It’s enough to make a lot of people dread orthodontics — but today, there’s a better alternative. Your dentist in Haverhill uses digital impressions with Invisalign!
Previously, we spoke about the basics of dental implant placement and subsequent dental restorations on top of the implant(s). Today, I will elaborate on the timing of each of the procedures.
When a patient presents to our office as a candidate for dental implants to replace missing teeth, we evaluate the area(s) and educate the patient about the process. We also provide options as there can be multiple other means to replace a tooth or in some cases many teeth. There are also situations where we replace an entire arch. That is, all of the top and/or bottom teeth.
Please visit our website for concise patient videos about the process and other available options.
http://www.karlarakeliandmd.com/traditional-crowns–bridges.html
As an example, let us suppose a patient is missing a molar. We want to replace it with a dental implant restoration, because the patient has lost significant chewing ability.
We refer the patient to one of our local implant surgeons. They can be either an oral surgeon or a periodontist (gum specialist).
Once the the implant is placed, we have to ensure that the the bone and gum surrounding the implant is healthy (integrated). This integration process may take 3-6 months.
In our example, a molar (back tooth) is missing, so we don’t usually need a temporary appliance. But if a front tooth is missing, the patient typically requires something to wear for the interim.
Once the surgeon has verified the health of the implant, we, as the restorative dentist, can proceed to the final crown.
This where it starts to get really cool.
We have a digital scanner made by 3M that takes a series of digital images of the implant, the adjacent teeth, and the other jaw. We upload those images to our dental laboratory, and they fabricate a custom abutment and crown. The custom abutment is a post that is screwed into the implant, and the crown is the cap that the patient is able to now chew with. And voila, the process is complete.
Please call our office at 978.373.0901 for more information and mention this blog post for a complementary consultation.
Dental Implants have been an integral part of dentistry for decades. I have been restoring them since I graduated the University of Pennsylvania Dental School in 1991.
Dental implants or fixtures are a way to replace a missing tooth or multiple teeth. They are placed by a dental practitioner (i.e. oral surgeon or periodontist) who has trained in the placement of these titanium screws. Dental implants can be placed in areas of the mouth where teeth have been missing for a short period of time. They may even be placed at the time of tooth extraction. Implants can even be placed in areas where teeth have been missing for extended periods, but additional procedures may need to be performed to augment the implant’s foundation.
Once the foundation has been created by the implantologist, we, as the restorative dentist, perform the finish work and place the restoration. The restoration is connected to the implant via an abutment. The abutment (or post) is typically attached to the implant via a screw retained mechanism. The dental crown(s) is (are) either cemented or screwed into the implant body. Esthetics and function are then restored to the patient.
In my next article, I will go into more detail about the processes of implant placement, integration and restoration.
Please visit KarlArakelianDMD.com. Click on Services>Dental Implants for a very short and informative video on Implants.
Our office has been digital since 2002.
We purchased one of the first CAD-CAM machines in the Merrimack Valley that was able to produce same-day crowns. Think of a 3-D printer making a tooth out of porcelain or ceramic material. The process is time consuming, however. It would take almost two hours to complete the ‘same-day” restoration. Our patients realized they didn’t have that kind of time in today’s world.
We have recently upgraded to a digital scanner made by 3M. I didn’t think we could provide better restorative results for our patients, but today’s technology blows away previous iterations of digital dentistry. We have reverted to using outside laboratories, but the precise fit, esthetics, strength and beauty of these crowns, bridges and onlays is unbelievable.
We have also been having our implant components fabricated digitally by the laboratory.
And not to be outdone, we are having our invisible braces/retainers (Invisalign) made via our digital workflow as well.
The time in the dreaded dental chair is diminished significantly with this technology as our clinical protocols have created very predictable results. Crowns are cemented less than 10 days after the digital impression is taken, as the “impression” is immediately uploaded to the laboratory. The lab begins its work immediately, also in digital form. The restoration/crown is then delivered to us in as few as three (3!) days.
Today, a patient had his crown cemented and was on his way to work in less than 15 minutes!
Please visit KarlArakelianDMD.com or call Dr. Karl Arakelian @ 978.373.0901.
We are located on the Bradford Common near the White Church in Bradford, MA and are accepting new patients.
We have also recently introduced a membership plan for those folks without dental insurance.
Dental Insurance has been in existence for decades. Some people have dental insurance, others do not. Those that have insurance are aware that basic preventive services (cleanings, examinations, x-rays) are covered at 100%. Fillings and more involved procedures (i.e. crowns, bridges, implants) are covered at a lesser rate or not at all. These involved, but necessary procedures, are costly. Annual premiums are also expensive, but the patient’s insurance benefit rarely exceeds $1500. This benefit has NOT increased since I entered practice with my father in 1991.
In response to an increase in dental insurance premiums and a reduction in benefits, we have introduced a plan to help those patients have affordable access to dental care. We call it the “Church Street Dental Plan”. For an annual fee, we provide two basic dental cleanings, two periodic examinations and oral cancer screenings and any necessary x-rays. Further, we offer a discount on any other procedures that need to be performed such as fillings and crowns. This plan gives patients access to care at a reasonable fee.
Initial response to this opportunity has been phenomenal since we introduced it last month.
We invite you to call our office for more information on the “Church Street Dental Plan”.
Karl Arakelian, DMD
978.373.0901
People think of dentists as just “teeth docs”, but our role in managing the overall health of our patients has increased tremendously in recent years.
From the periodontal (gum) link to diabetes and cardiac disease to concussion prevention with athletic mouthguards, dentistry has a full fledged role in comprehensive medical care.
One aspect that people are becoming more aware of is the role that we, as dentists, have in recognizing patients that could benefit from further medical evaluation of snoring and sleep disorders.
Last week a patient came to our office complaining of tooth pain. We resolved his dental issue, but as our conversation continued, we recommended a nightguard for a grinding habit. The patient then said he couldn’t wear an appliance , because he has a C-PAP machine to treat sleep apnea.
CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. A CPCAP machine is a cumbersome device that patients wear to maintain an open airway during sleeping hours.
Another patient for whom I had made a snoring appliance came in for a regularly scheduled check-up. I asked him how his snoring appliance was working, and he had said his dog had gotten a hold of it. He had not been wearing it, and his wife had reminded him of it every night. We repaired his appliance, and he is now able to wear it comfortably.
We routinely recommend sleep studies for our patients who complain of snoring, sleep disturbances and even grinding habits.
We also tell patients of the risk of cardiovascular disease with untreated obstructive sleep apnea and/or snoring.
In summary the biannual dental check-up is more than just a “teeth cleaning”.
For more information, please call Karl Arakelian, DMD in Haverhill, MA at 978.373.0901 or visit Karl ArakelianDMD.com .
I was born in Haverhill, MA. My dad grew up in Haverhill and was a Haverhill dentist for 36 years before he passed away suddenly 20 years ago. I have been in the practice since 1991.
Our practice on Church Street, in the “Bradford” section of Haverhill, is two houses from the White Church on the Bradford Common on Route 125 and has been there for five decades. It is in the home in which I grew up.
My family’s roots run deep in Haverhill. And I am very excited for the future of this Massachusetts city. Everywhere you look, there is a construction project. Downtown, outlying rural areas, recreational areas….
But as much as Haverhill is changing, our practice remains a constant. It is a small comfortable environment in which we provide state of the art dental care. Our restorative (fillings and crowns) procedures are digitally and painlessly performed. Our staff is courteous and friendly. We can see patients with little advance notice, including emergencies.
There are many dental offices from which to choose in Haverhill and Bradford, but we invite you to visit us for a complimentary visit.
Please visit us at KarlArakelianDMD.com or at 978.373.0901.
During the 2013 World Series, I was sitting at Fenway Park watching Shane Victorino play with his mouthguard between pitches. Sitting 50 feet from him allowed me to see that it was a clear custom-made appliance. Athletic mouthguards are virtually identical to nighttime appliances that patients wear for grinding or snoring conditions.
Photo by Karl Arakelian
