More Smiles Dental Spa Dentistry Blog | James A. Moreau, Jr., D.D.S.

Today is the last day to enter the $20,000 LVI Smile Makeover Contest as advertised on national TV and in "Vogue" as well as our own local media. Please call us NOW at 985-809-7645 if you'd like to be entered...or if you know of someone who would like to make cosmetic improvements to their smile.

Cindi has officially declared tomorrow, April 1st, Community Coffee Day at MoreSMILES. After years of trying different coffee maker machines, experimenting with different brands and flavors of coffee, periodically running out to the store, we are happy to now turn that responsibility over to our friends (and patients) at Community Coffee. With the supplies provided by Community, our only effort will be in preparing the pot a couple of times a day and deciding which tasty blend to brew. We invite you to come by and share a cup with us. Cindi will continue to keep fresh, fruity water available for your arrival in our office as well, and you will still find an assortment of cold beverages in our coffee and juice bar fridge. Come see us soon.

If you are an LSU basketball fan AND a patient at MoreSmiles, then tomorrow could be your lucky day! You can watch LSU's round 1 performance in the NCAA Tournament and get your dentistry done at the same time. Kind of like killing two birds with one shot---or NO SHOT in many cases in our office! :-)

All of our patients just love being able to watch TV during their dental visits. The overhead TV's and earphones make that very easy and comfortable without the neck strain. Imagine being able to legitimately take off from work to stretch out in a comfortable chair in a private viewing room to watch the #8 seeded Tigers take on the #7 seeded team and progress to the second round...all while getting your teeth whitened or taking care of those fillings or crowns you've been putting off!

Seating is still available on a first-come, first-served basis. Call now to reserve your appointment! 985-809-7645.
-jbm

By the way, the usaTopDentists.com website (see post below regarding Dr. Moreau's selection to USA Top Dentists list) has an opportunity for our patients to post a review of Dr. Moreau. It would be a great service to others (and to the cause of bolstering our great reputation ;-) if you would log on and enter a quick line or two telling something about your experience here or what you like about Dr. Moreau.

Here's a link:
http://www.usatopdentists.com/Patients/feedback.asp

Thanks.
-jbm

Congratulations to Dr. Moreau for making the list of New Orleans' Top Dentists in "New Orleans Magazine" March, 2009 issue. The very cool thing about this is that the selection was done by an independent polling agency and reportedly is based on subjective responses by other dentists when asked who they would send someone to when in need of a dentist, credentials, etc.

We did receive notification of Dr. Moreau's selection by usatopDentists.com several months ago, but were totally unaware that "New Orleans Magazine" had picked up on it and was running a feature article. It was only today when a patient congratulated Dr. Moreau that we realized they had published the list for the New Orleans area.

The usatopdentists.com website says that "because dentists must be voted in strictly by their peers, and virtually every dentist is given an opportunity to participate, and listings cannot be purchased (and no payment is required to be listed), inclusion in topDentists is considered to be a distinct honor. "

It's refreshing to see a publication honor professionals at the top of their career based on true merit and honest reputation rather than advertising dollars and ballot box stuffing. I'm glad to see my favorite dentist once again get the respect and honor and notoriety that he truly deserves.
-jbm

From time to time I like to remind readers that this dental blog is written by me, Julie Moreau, practice administrator at MoreSmiles. If a post is authored by Dr. Moreau or another team member, it will specifically bear his mark at the end of the post. Otherwise, assume that you are reading my thoughts and opinions, not always the doctor's.
-jbm

The saying "Beauty is only skin deep" can apparently be applied to dental labwork as well. There have been a number of incidents where porcelain crowns which look beautiful and natural on the surface have been manufactured by sub-standard labs in other countries...namely China and the Phillippines...and may contain high amounts of lead and/or other potentially harmful materials. Why would a dentist use a lab who fills porcelain crowns with lead? Money.

So, apparently the saying "You get what you pay for" also applies in this case. If you've ever "shopped" a crown and found one office that would do it for a much lower fee, then you should ask yourself, "How can they be so much cheaper?" If it seems too good to be true, it probably is (apologies for yet another cliche'). The lower fee could very well - and probably is - a reflection of the quality of the labwork -- i.e. the difference in a $35 crown or a $200+ crown (that being the fee that the dentist pays to the lab subcontractor).

Some dentists have been suckered into thinking they're getting such a great deal on cheap labwork (preserving their own profit margin), when in fact they may be inadvertently exposing their patients to lead content. And...the dentist may not always know that the labwork is coming from overseas, unless he/she is astute and asks direct questions of the lab representative.

For example, a lab outside salesman from Mississippi came into our office yesterday and showed us at the front desk a sample of his porcelain work...a gorgeous 4-unit bridge, very natural-looking. It was such nice work that we deemed it worthy of taking a few minutes of the doctor's time to have him meet the lab rep. Doctor was also impressed by the workmanship, but immediately asked the gentleman if they farmed any of their work out to labs in China. He admitted, honestly, that they do. End of discussion. Goodbye. Doesn't matter how cheap it is, Dr. Moreau is not interested. Can you say, "Mattel"??

A crown is not a crown is not a crown. A wise dental consumer needs to be wary and make sure that the quality of the product they're receiving runs throughout. Our CEREC crowns here at MoreSMILES are all-porcelain, milled right here in our office from solid porcelain blocks. And any work that is produced by an outside lab is quality made right here in the U.S.

I heard a commentator on FOX News recently who cited that Americans should be a little more willing to pay a bit more for products that were manufactured in America rather than going for the cheaper goods imported from a country with cheaper labor and no regulatory agencies. When you pay a little more, you're also paying for the salaries of our FDA, FTC and other agencies established for our protection...and you're also paying for the peace of mind in knowing that the product stands up to rigorous scrutiny.

Jake Ward from Popular Science magazine was just in a segment on "Food Detectives" on the Food Network, explaining what happens when you burn your tongue on a sip of hot coffee...or a piece of hot pizza.

The tongue has thousands of taste buds on the surface and sides of the tongue. Each taste bud pore has clusters of taste receptor cells below the surface. Picture an onion bulb below the ground's surface. The younger cells, basal cells are down at the bottom of the cluster. Over a 10-day period, the basal cells are constantly regenerating and maturing, moving from the bottom to the top of the taste bud. Once a cell makes it to the top of the taste bud, at the pore, it only lives for a few hours before being shed and washed away by saliva, making room for new ones moving up from the bottom.

When you burn your tongue on hot food, you are killing that top layer of cells. So, the good news is that the scorched tongue will not last long because the rich blood supply to the tongue makes it one of the fastest healing parts of the body--2 times faster than any other body part. More good news: repeated burns does not disable the taste buds. They are forgiving and will continue to heal quickly every single time you eat something hot.

To relieve the temporary pain caused by these burns, Jake suggested sugar, an ice cube, a popsicle or the anti-inflammatory properties of camomile tea.

While I wouldn't trade a single one of our current Dream Team members, I have to brag a little on some of our "children" that we helped raise up in dentistry and then sent them on their way in the world. :-)

One of our former assistants, Lori (some of you will certainly remember her), was in recently, and I'm so proud to say that she is using her knowledge and expertise in dentistry to start her own practice management consulting company. She is proficient in every aspect of dentistry and is a trainer for the Dentrix software used by so many of the top-notch dental practices. She even has a speaking engagement coming up at a regional dental meeting this summer. We had lost touch with her for several years when she moved away, but were so happy to see her again when she moved back and came to look us up. We enjoy seeing her on a regular basis now.

And when I think of Lori, another former employee comes to mind who's gone on to dental greatness - Leah (Lia). Remember her? She was our first hygienist back in the old days in our old office. She worked for us for 7 years, doing the reverse commute from Metairie to the Northshore every day. Today, Lia has helped her dentist/husband build a very successful practice in the CBD, and like me, balances the practice management with raising a family.

Our patients who have a registered email address with us are sent an email invitation to participate in a patient satisfaction survey after appointments. I feel pretty satisfied that 25% of those patients have taken the time to give us the requested feedback. This is important to us, especially when we get some neutral or negative comments as this is one way that we seek to improve our service and make sure we are meeting or exceeding our patients' expectations. Here's a summary of the responses we've received:

98% of respondents on our post-appointment patient survey rated their overall visit in our office to be "Very good" or "Excellent.
96% said they had a good understanding of their dental situation when their appointment was over.
95% said they either had their financial options explained to them or already understood their financial options.
94% did not have to wait past their appointment time to be seated.
98% said they would refer their friends and family to us.''

We value this kind of feedback, and we will continue to make sure that each and every team member reads each and every word of each and every survey.

A few weeks ago, Dr. Moreau got a surprise call from a member of the governor's staff. He informed Dr. Moreau that the Governor wanted to know if he would be willing to serve on the State Board of Dentistry.


There are a number of dentists from throughout the state who are nominated from the various ADA constituent societies and then approved by the governor. And then, additionally, the governor appoints a couple of at-large representatives. While it is a huge honor to serve at the governor's request, it is also a weighty and humbling responsibility, particularly under this governor with sweeping ethics reform.



There has already been mounds of paperwork to read up on and serious study time to get calibrated for upcoming examinations of dentists seeking to license in Louisiana. I must say he has taken all that on full throttle with the same determination and focus he has applied to his continuing education in advanced dentistry and practice development.



I'm very proud that my husband caught the governor's eye as someone of honesty and integrity with a lucid, rational perspective on responsibilities of dentists toward serving the public. I have no doubt he will serve the public well, will not let the governor or organized dentistry down, and will make all of us who know and love him even prouder than we already are.



NOTE: His position on the board will not in any way alter his office hours or his availability to our MoreSmiles patient family.

Here's a preview of the new ad we'll be running in the Mandeville-Covington Picayunes through March. It features the $20,000 LVI Smile Makeover Contest plus a special offer for new patients: "Free Whitening for Life." New patients who complete a new patient exam, xrays and a cleaning will receive a free at-home bleaching kit ($495 value). If they keep their 6-month dental exam appointments, they'll continue to receive additional whitening gel ($40 value) 2 times per year for the rest of their life. So, now's a good time to tell you friends and family about the excellent care you've experienced at MoreSMILES. Your referrals will be welcomed by us with the same five-star service we try to offer all our patients.

We've been busy getting the garden ready for spring and summer. So many patients comment on how much they enjoy the garden views from our operatories, and it always pleases me when someone asks about a particular variety they spot, like the Pineapple Guava bushes or the Cuban Oregano. And last summer we enjoyed sharing some of our herbs with patients.

There were a few shrubs and ground covers that threatened to take things over last summer so we've done some serious pruning and chopping at the mock orange and heather especially. The lush green banana plants will undoubtedly make a strong comeback, and the old roses are looking a little leggy but will soon be whipped into shape as well.

I've already got more basil to plant, and I decided to plant some mint at the office this year since I got tired of trying to remember to bring snippits from the house every few days. Cindi liked to use the mint in fresh iced tea and fruit waters that she serves to patients at the front desk on hot summer days. I think I'll pass on the tomato plants this year since the one I planted last year was pirated by local critters.

I wish I could find some more Cuban oregano. It's been several years since I had some, but I loved the smell of it. I found a few plants at a nursery in Lacombe before Katrina but I don't know if it's still there. Around the same time, I planted some Lamb's Ear that did beautifully on our side garden. I loved the way it draped elegantly over the brick border and overlapped the stone pathway. I've already got a couple of those to put in the ground as soon as I'm sure we're out of danger of another snow storm. ;-)