Awbrey Dental Group

It was a privilege to  be part of the Tour des Chutes last Saturday.  Approximately 1,000 riders from all ages biked in loving memory of a friend or family member who is a cancer survivor.  Whether it was 90, 70, 48, 25 or 7 miles – they all finished the race with a smile on their face!  And smiles are what Awbrey Dental cares about – but most importantly, how your smile and dental care relates to your general health.

Our participation for this event was to partner with the community to support this worthy cause with an emphasis on increasing awareness about oral cancer and surviving the disease through early detection.  1 person per hour, every hour of every day, dies of mouth, tongue or throat cancer because it has gone undetected until it reaches late stages.  If caught early, oral cancers have an 80 – 90% survival rate.  To date, the majority are diagnosed in late stages which accounts for the very high death rate of 45% within five years of detection.   Risk factors for this disease include the use of tobacco, alcohol and the newly identified rise in HPV-16 virus (human papilloma virus version 16).  For more information you can read more about this disease at www.oralcancerfoundation.org.

Our goal is to educate as many people as we can about early detection and getting an oral cancer screening exam.  It’s quick, painless and costs less than $20 with our state of the art VELscope machine.  Schedule yours today!

Crowns and conventional bridges or dentures may not be your only options when replacing missing teeth. For some people, dental implants offer a smile that looks and feels very natural. Surgically placed below the gums over a series of appointments, implants fuse to the jawbone and serve as a base for individual replacement teeth, bridges or a denture.    Read more by clicking the Patient Version tab…

The Give Kids a Smile was a success- thank you to all of our patients! This past Friday, Awbrey Dental Group, in Bend Oregon,  treated 16 patients, providing them with one more reason to smile.

Awbrey Dental Group participates in the Give Kids a Smile program several times a year - it’s just one more way  for us to give back to our community.

Recent news from our Hygienist’s, Mara Hansen and Julie Lutz

The topic of holistic health is on everyone’s mind.

Bacteria is everywhere and we all know that the mouth is a prime area for bacteria to thrive.  Have you ever considered the idea that pathogens (i.e., bacteria and viruses) in your mouth are just as easily transmissible to various organ systems via your bloodstream?  What we now know is that the pathogens found within the oral environment have been linked not causatively but commonly with heart disease, cancer, diabetes and a malady of other health problems currently plaguing our country.

When you brush and floss, do your gums bleed?  This could be a sign of bacterial infection commonly called gingivitis or in advanced stages … periodontitis.

For a quick visual of the area your gums cover, try this.  Put your thumbs next to your ears and bring your fingers across the front of your face linking them together.  Now, keeping your hands in that position, pull your hands away from your face and notice the size of the area it makes – that’s a general idea of how big an area your gums cover.

If your gums are bleeding you have an active infection, an open wound. Visualize a wound this size on your leg, arm or worse yet, your heart. If left untreated, a wound this size will lead to serious health issues.

The great news is that gingivitis and periodontal disease are treatable.  We have the tools and techniques necessary to help you achieve total mouth health!