Happy Spring!  New things are popping up at Saratoga Smiles.  We are happy to welcome our newest team member, Jennifer.  She is a chairside assistant and has been a valuable addition to our team of quality dental care providers.  We would also like to welcome all of the many new patients who have joined our practice this spring.  Thank you for placing your trust in us - we are so happy to have the opportunity to help you improve and maintain your beautiful smiles.  We truly appreciate all of our wonderful patients.  

We have some exciting news to share with you - Saratoga Smiles has been chosen by the U.S. Commerce Association to receive the Small Business Excellence Award.  Our thanks to Richard Ferguson and the financial team at Saratoga National Bank & Trust Company for nominating Dr. Dennis for this award.  We are all looking forward to the award luncheon on May 2nd.  We are privileged to be members of the Saratoga business community - what a wonderful town in which to work, live and play.  Hope to see many of you out and about this spring - we love to run in to so many of you around town!

Saratoga Festival of Trees 2011

   On Tuesday, November 29th, the team of Saratoga Smiles proudly participated in the Saratoga Springs Festival of Trees! This event is Catholic Charities’ primary fundraiser which benefits many of our people in the tri-county community.  


For several weeks the entire team worked together selecting a theme, sharing ideas, and shopping for ornaments.  The team benefited greatly by reaching out to others in need.  We look forward to the next opportunity to serve our community. 


We at Saratoga Smiles extend our sincere wishes that you and your families enjoy a safe and happy holiday and are blessed in the New Year.

Diligently Working on Earning My Masters in the Academy of General Dentistry! 

My wife, Tracie and I traveled to Boston last month to attend the Yankee Dental Conference. We both enjoyed some excellent courses that we feel will be of great benefit to our patients at Saratoga Smiles. Over the course of the conference, I  earned 31 hours of continuing education in endodontics, dentures (both tooth supported and implant supported), and patient care while Tracie focused on administrative issues, such as electronic patient charting. I was really impressed with the quality of instruction and variety of courses offered. I'd love to make this an annual event for our office and plan to bring the whole team along in the future. The credits I earned will be applied to the course work that is required in order to attain the Mastership Award from the Academy of General Dentistry.   

Find out more about this award at http://www.knowyourteeth.com/infobites/abc/article/?abc=G&iid=779&aid=7057

  

Our trip to Boston wasn't all work and no play - we made sure we made time to have some fun as well by taking our son, Cole, to the New England aquarium and The Museum of Science, and we enjoyed fresh seafood at the Barking Crab restaurant, overlooking the harbor. We'll be headed to Boston again in May to attend the annual conference of the American Association of Cosmetic Dentistry.  I'm already looking forward to more great classes and more fresh seafood!

New Technology for the New Year!

Saratoga Smiles now offers digital x-rays to accompany our suite of advanced dental services all working in harmony to make sure your next dental visit is safe, comfortable and efficient. Your care is paramount to our practice. Digital dental x-rays have changed the way that dentists view your teeth and are becoming the standard of care. Learn more about digital dental x-rays below and why the team at Saratoga Smiles is so excited about using this new technology!

Digital X-Rays

Digital radiography (digital x-ray) is the latest technology used to take dental x-rays.  This technique uses an electronic sensor (instead of x-ray film) that captures and stores the digital image on a computer.  This image can be instantly viewed and enlarged helping the dentist and dental hygienist detect problems easier.  Digital x-rays reduce radiation 80-90% compared to the already low exposure of traditional dental x-rays.                                   

Dental x-rays are essential, preventative, diagnostic tools that provide valuable information not visible during a regular dental exam.  Dentists and dental hygienists use this information to safely and accurately detect hidden dental abnormalities and complete an accurate treatment plan.  Without x-rays, problem areas may go undetected.

Are dental x-rays safe?

We are all exposed to natural radiation in our environment.  Digital x-rays produce a significantly lower level of radiation compared to traditional dental x-rays.  Not only are digital x-rays better for the health and safety of the patient, they are faster and more comfortable to take, which reduces your time in the dental office.  Also, since the digital image is captured electronically, there is no need to develop the x-rays, thus eliminating the disposal of harmful waste and chemicals into the environment.

Even though digital x-rays produce a low level of radiation and are considered very safe, dentists still take necessary precautions to limit the patient’s exposure to radiation.  These precautions include only taking those x-rays that are necessary, and using lead apron shields to protect the body.