I read this great quote yesterday: “Perfection is not when there is no more to add but no more to take away,” by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. How often does it seem like people want to make things more and more complicated? The more they know about something, the more complicated they make it to understand. However, if you think about it, the better that you get at something the simpler the entire process tends to become. Whether you are packing your car for camping or learning a new skill, you begin to eliminate the unnecessary items or steps and focus on what’s important. Dentistry can be exactly the same. The more complicated the treatment on a tooth tends to make the tooth higher maintenance and less predictable long term. Whereas, simpler treatment is lower risk and more predictable. In addition, in our office we are constantly looking at our systems and analyzing whether we can make things simpler for the patients and for our team members so that we can be more effective. For example, we used to sterilize all of our instruments together no matter what procedure they were designed for and then somebody would have to reorganize them all day long. Then one day we bought cassettes, or metal organizers that can be sterilized, that keep corresponding instruments together and eliminated an entire task of organizing instruments all day long. It was simpler and gives us more time to spend with patients instead of some mindless task in the lab. What things can you eliminate to make your life, job, and etc. a little more simple? Have a great day! Dr. Carson Kutsch Albany Oregon Family Dentist
Simpler is better
February 1st, 2012How many different types of cleanings are there?
January 31st, 2012There are three different types of cleanings: prophy, periomaintenance, and debridement. A dental prophy, or healthy mouth cleaning, is the least expensive and ideal for those with well maintained teeth. Patients best suited for this cleaning don’t have gum disease and the primary focus of the cleaning is above the gum line on what you can see. A periomaintenance cleaning is performed on those who have had previous treatment for gum disease and focuses on both above and below the gum tissue to reduce inflammation and increased risk for heart disease. Finally, a debridement is what we call the “welcome back” cleaning. This cleaning is best suited for someone who hasn’t had their teeth cleaned for a long time and helps to get our patient caught back up. It also gives us a chance to evaluate our patient’s gum tissue health to help determine the next step, whether it be a prophy or treatment for gum disease and periomaintenance. So, even though we use the term “cleaning” loosely there are actually several different types of treatments that can be chosen by our patient. Dr. Carson Kutsch Albany Oregon Family Dentist www.drkutsch.com
Would you like to be more relaxed?
January 30th, 2012Did you know that we offer various levels of sedation? Whether you are getting your teeth cleaned, several single appointment crowns or a dental implant, you have several options to help lower your anxiety and create a better dental visit. We offer nitrous oxide (laughing gas), oral sedatives (Valium, Halcion, etc.) and IV sedation. Each of these provides a different level of sedation. The most common is nitrous oxide because it doesn’t require a ride to and from the office and it is inexpensive. Oral sedatives and IV sedation require somebody to give you a ride and have a much stronger effect. Oral sedatives are in the form of a pill that you take prior to the appointment while IV sedation is administered in our dental practice. All three options help take the anxiety out of your dental appointment so that you can achieve your oral health goals. We have many patients who appreciate these options. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Dr. Carson Kutsch Albany Oregon Family Dentist www.drkutsch.com
Happiness is excitement
January 25th, 2012I watched an interview recently with George Lucas and he recommended finding and following the things you are most passionate about in life. This sounds simple but how do you find what you are passionate about? He said, “when you get up from what you are doing to make breakfast and you sit back down and the next thing you know it is 7 pm at night.” In other words, an entire day passes by as you are so consumed in what you are doing that you don’t even notice. Have you ever had this experience? When you look at some of the most successful entrepreneurs, their businesses have come from the things they were most passionate about and this excitement is what makes them happy, while none of them mention the monetary success or notoriety. They have always pursued the excitement that has made them happy. They have identified their passion. What would you do differently in your life if you could pick anything as a profession or hobby? If you left a current job or location to pursue your passion, are the fears that you have about this change realistic? It’s also important to realize that many passionate people, including several U.S. Presidents did not become President until late in their lives and in many cases after pursuing drastically different careers. It’s never too late to find excitement and passion in life. Dr. Carson Kutsch Albany Oregon Family Dentist www.drkutsch.com
Are you at risk for cardiovascular disease?
January 24th, 2012In our dental practice, we look closely at our patient’s risk for dental decay, or caries. Caries is a bacterial infection in the mouth that leads to many symptoms including tooth decay (cavities), white spot lesions on the teeth, tooth loss, etc. We are equally concerned about the patient’s cardiovascular health since there is a direct correlation between risk for decay and heart disease. So, how do we determine if a patient is at high or low risk? Like taking a blood pressure, we can perform a quick measurement (15 seconds) of the bacterial activity in the mouth and get an assessment of the likelihood for a patient to get dental decay. Keeping this number within healthy limits reduces the possibility of cavities and heart attacks and strokes. We provide this test complimentary to our patients when we take their annual digital x ray images. Teeth are important to our smiles, talking and eating but having a healthy heart will determine how long you actually need your teeth. 
Dr. Carson Kutsch Albany Oregon Family Dentist www.drkutsch.com
Type 2 diabetes and the emergency room
January 23rd, 2012A research study was published this month by the Journal of the American Dental Association to investigate the association between the receipt of dental care and type 2 diabetes. The authors analyzed hemoglobin A (HBA1c) levels, cholesterol (LDL) and diabetes specific hospital admissions and emergency room visits. The result was that they found patients with type 2 diabetes that had regular access to dental care had significantly less visits to the hospital. It has long been established that periodontal disease has a high correlation with diabetes but there have not been a lot of specific studies actually measuring the outcome of individuals who have diabetes but have routine oral healthcare. Thus, the benefit to this patient population is less overall visits to the hospital and emergency room by having a healthier mouth. Dr. Carson Kutsch Albany Oregon Family Dentist www.drkutsch.com
Are you expecting?
January 18th, 2012Having a baby is one of the most exciting times in life. We have a ten month old girl, named Keeley, and it is amazing to watch her grow and learn everyday. Her most recent new discovery was walking (about two weeks ago) and now she has began pointing. Just as a lot of things change in your life, schedule and around your house, (trying to keep every cabinet from being opened and emptied) obvious changes occur in your body when you become pregnant. However, many people don’t think about their mouth. Today in dentistry, most dental work can still be accomplished while Mom is pregnant due to safer materials, minimal radiation, and quicker procedures. Generally work is completed based on the overall comfort of laying in a dental chair for prolonged periods of time. Research has shown that a healthier mouth does affect pregnancy and birth weights. So, we routinely recommend having more frequent cleanings while you are pregnant to keep the gums healthy and less irritated, and we have found that our expecting mother’s really appreciate this care. If you’re expecting a new addition in your life, set goals to keep both you and your new loved one as healthy as possible. Dr. Carson Kutsch Family Dentist www.drkutsch.com
Protect your heart
January 17th, 2012We now know that there is a direct correlation between the bacteria that cause gum disease (periodontal disease) and tooth decay (dental caries) and cardiovascular disease. Patients with higher risk for gum disease or tooth decay are more likely to have problems with heart disease (i.e. heart attacks and strokes). How would these bacteria get into your circulatory system?….from your mouth. Have you every brushed or flossed your teeth and had your gum tissue bleed? This happens quite frequently but how would you feel if you washed your hands and then your hands started bleeding? The mouth is a great environment for both healthy and unhealthy bacteria to live. It also provides direct access to the rest of your body. In fact, many individuals who have specific heart conditions are required to take antibiotics by their physician prior to dental appointments to reduce the amount of exposure of bacteria into their blood. Consequently, keeping your mouth healthy greatly influences the overall health of the rest of your body. Dr. Carson Kutsch Albany Oregon Family Dentist www.drkutsch.com
How do you prepare for 2012?
January 16th, 2012Every year around December and January we begin to plan for our next year. What courses will we take to learn more about dentistry? What goals will we set both professionally and personally? What technology or equipment will we update? How will we work to improve our customer service? When will we take time off?….etc. However, the one thing that I always do at the end of the year is to get organized. Both at my office and at my house, I go through everything drawer by drawer, closest by closet, and look at everything. Did I use this item last year? Am I going to use it next year? Sometimes we hold on to things….and I don’t mean sentimental items….but just “stuff” and it becomes clutter. So, I look through my dental office and home and eliminate all of the clutter and then organize the things we do need. The joke at home and work is that if you can’t find something “Carson probably got rid of it.” Obviously, you can take things to an extreme sometimes….which, I have….but my point is that it helps to eliminate clutter and start out the new year organized so that you can spend more time focused on your goals for 2012 than trying to find things on your desk like a needle in a haystack. Have a wonderful, cold Willamette Valley morning! Dr. Carson Kutsch Albany Oregon Family Dentist www.drkutsch.com
What is the best treatment plan for you?
January 11th, 2012This is a trick question….the only person that can decide what they want for your teeth is YOU! When we meet new patients, the primary focus of our new patient exam is to determine the short term or long term goals that he/she has for their own teeth. We have found that some new patients come to see us with a dental emergency, some want to simply get back on track with their dental cleanings, and others want to get a clear picture of what their oral health looks like right now. Depending on the patient’s goals, we routinely take digital x rays and digital photos and spend anywhere from 15 minutes to a couple of hours figuring this out. Again, we allow the patient to decide how we can best meet their goals. So, a dental treatment plan should really be based on a relationship where the dental team provides the patient with information so that they can make decisions that matter most to their own goals. Dr. Carson Kutsch Albany Oregon Family Dentist www.drkutsch.com