The single most common disease among adults in the Vero area isn’t one your family doctor is likely to treat.
The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research estimates that a staggering 80 percent of all American adults have some form of periodontal or gum disease. That means a dentist or a prosthodontist is probably better equipped to deal with this disease than your family doctor but, for many Vero area residents, going to the dentist is about as popular as being audited by the IRS.
Of course, that could be because of a bad case of trypanophobia – the fear of needles – or maybe it’s memories of those high-pitched, belt-driven dental drills from childhood that make people want to avoid their dentist but, to paraphrase George and Ira Gershwin, that ain’t necessarily so today.
Long-time Vero Beach dentist, Dr. Harold Brooks, is a perfect example of “new” dentistry. That may seem like an odd comment to make about a former Korean War Air Force dentist who opened his first practice here in Vero Beach back in 1972, but Brooks is anything but conventional.
At his Vero Beach Dental Spa at 3036 20th Street, he has embraced a decorating style that can only be called “Florida kitsch” in an effort to make his patients feel more at ease. Pastels and seashells are everywhere. So are the personal TVs and headsets at each dental chair. It’s more like flying business class on Jimmy Buffet Airways than it is a trip to the dentist.
However, behind the scenes, Brooks is busy declaring outright war on the bacteria that cause periodontal disease with one decidedly low-tech product, (hydrogen peroxide), and one ultra-high-tech product, (lasers). On the low-tech side, Brooks champions brushing with and squirting a three-parts water, one part hydrogen peroxide solution onto the teeth and gums to kill surface bacteria.
Only after that does he break out the big guns, (the lasers), and only if any hard-crusted “colonies” of bacteria had formed before peroxide treatments are started.
“Periodontal diseases develop,” says Brooks, “when bacteria start to act like a colony. Some bacteria,” he says, “continue to grow while others form a bio-film to protect the growing colony.”
That bio-film, Brooks says, makes up the plaque that forms around the tooth and gum and can lead to tooth loss faster than most people imagine. That’s when he employs the laser to kill the bacteria that form the bio-film. Brooks even cites a spate of recent medical studies that have linked the bacteria in periodontal disease to heart, lung and joint diseases as well as to Alzheimer’s.
His 42 years of dental and periodontal work have shown Brooks what works and what doesn’t work and to his way of thinking, the old-school surgical approach to gum disease just plain doesn’t work. “I haven’t done a periodontal surgery in 10 or 15 years,” he states proudly.
Periodontal or gum diseases are generally divided into two classifications. The first is “gingivitis” which can cause lesions that affect the gums leading to swelling, soreness and bleeding. The second, more serious form is “periodontitis” which can destroy the entire support structure for a patient’s teeth and Brooks says the root cause is the same. Bacteria.
So, what can be done to prevent periodontal disease? While some people are genetically pre-disposed to it, regular brushing and flossing, keeping as close to a sugar-free diet as possible, stopping smoking and getting regular dental checkups lead the list of preventative steps recommended by the American Dental Association.
To Brooks, however, it’s all about the bacteria and the easiest, (and most painless), way to deal with that is his.
(Like many of his colleagues, Brooks is unimpressed with most mouthwashes that claim to prevent or eliminate plaque and he is uneasy about the high alcohol content of many of those over-the-counter products.)
Meanwhile, closer to the beach, there’s an even newer breed dental and periodontal disease expert. Dr. Adam Jones and his wife, Dr. Giuliana Dias Jones just opened their practice in the Oak Point center at 5070 North A1A this month and there’s not a hint of kitsch at their new VED or Vero Implant and Esthetic Dentistry offices.
Sleek and modern, VED specializes in prosthodontics. If that’s a new word, don’t worry. The American Dental Association defines prosthodontics as “the dental specialty pertaining to the diagnosis, treatment planning, rehabilitation and maintenance of the oral function, comfort, appearance and health of patients with clinical conditions associated with missing or deficient teeth and/or oral and maxillofacial tissues using biocompatible substitutes.”
Put another way, it’s cosmetic dental care for the restoration or replacement of teeth with crowns, bridges, implants and veneers.
Adam Jones is fresh off his three-year residency so the 2011 graduate of the University of Florida dental school in Gainesville has been completely immersed in the absolute latest treatment and dental prosthetic technologies for at least the past five years.
With his wife and their baby daughter, Anna Gabriella, looking on, the Lake Wales native says their new practice will specialize in dental care for people 50 years and up but adds they will offer treatment to anyone, regardless of age.
“I suppose,” says Jones, “the most conservative treatment (of periodontal disease) would be scaling or deep cleaning along with antibiotic therapy,” but he cautions there’s no such thing as a “one-size-fits-all” plan when it comes to dental care.
To that end, the doctors Jones have installed an impressive collection of computer-driven diagnostic tools to help insure the right treatments to generate the look and results their patients are seeking.
In the end, however, if 80 percent of the adult population has some form of periodontal disease, it might be wise to embrace either “Florida kitsch” or “sleek and modern” or something in between and renew your acquaintance with a local Vero area dentist.