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How Does Dr. Michel Diagnose TMJ Disorder?

May 15, 2012

When you see your doctor for a diagnosis, one of the first things you want to know is how he or she is going to make that diagnosis. What kinds of tests will be needed? Will be they invasive or uncomfortable? And just as important, will they be trustworthy?

At Michel Dental in Topeka, Dr. Michael Michel uses joint vibration analysis to diagnose cases of TMJ disorder. Of all the way that TMJ disorder can be diagnosed, joint vibration analysis is one of the most comfortable and trustworthy, in addition to be non-invasive.

Here’s how joint vibration analysis works.

When you come to our Topeka office, Dr. Michel will slip something that looks like a pair of headphones over your head. They’re not headphones, of course—they’re actually sensors, and we’ll use them to measure how well your temporomadibular joints are functioning.

How?

By listening for friction between the bones and cartilage of your joints. As you open and close your mouth, these sensors will be listening for anything out of the ordinary that might indicate a problem. Once we’ve collected all the data we need, Dr. Michel can scrutinize it more closely and continue to screen you if necessary.

In all, joint vibration analysis takes only a few seconds to complete and has proven to be an effective means of screening and diagnosing patients. If you’re concerned that you might have a TMJ disorder, call Michel Dental today to schedule a consultation with Dr. Michel. We serve patients from Topeka, Emporia, Lawrence, Manhattan, and surrounding areas.

Which Kind of Toothpaste Should I Use?

May 4, 2012

In the past, you didn’t have much to choose from if you were looking for toothpaste. But that’s not the case anymore. Now, each one seems to have a special purpose, whether it’s whitening, tartar control, or sensitivity. With so many options staring you in the face, you may not be sure which one to pick.

What’s a patient to do?

Well, the truth is that it may not matter all that much. What’s more important is how you brush, and that you’re brushing with a toothpaste that contains fluoride.

Why Is Fluoride So Important?

Because it attracts minerals that are important for building strong enamel, and that’s what you need to defend your smile from decay and cavities. Outside of that, what you need from your toothpaste will be different from what others need. If you have trouble with sensitive teeth, a toothpaste that treats sensitivity may be able to help. The same goes for patients who want a whiter smile. Whitening toothpastes aren’t guaranteed to deliver professional results, but they may give your smile just the boost you’ve been looking for.

But what’s more important than anything else is that you’re brushing regularly and with a fluoride toothpaste. It’s really as simple as that!

Still Have Questions?

If you still have questions about what kind of toothpaste is most right for you, Dr. Michel’s Topeka dental office would love to help. Call us today with your questions or to schedule an appointment with us. We serve patients from Topeka, Emporia, Lawrence, Manhattan, and beyond.

Crowns, Inlays, and Onlays—Conservative Options for a Healthier Smile

April 27, 2012

We have mentioned that tooth-colored fillings are a great restorative and cosmetic solution for patients to take advantage of. But they aren’t the only cosmetic-restorative combination available at Dr. Michael Michel’s office. With tooth-colored crowns, inlays, and onlays, we can provide our Topeka-area patients with even more advanced care without compromising their smile’s natural appearance.

Tooth-Colored Crowns

Dr. Michel’s Topeka dental office uses all-porcelain crowns to help patients maintain a fully white smile while still delivering quality restorative care. Using our precise color-matching system, we can find just the right color of porcelain to blend with your natural tooth color. What’s more, porcelain crowns are durable and can provide long-lasting protecting to smiles with a cracked, broken, decay, or worn tooth.

Inlays and Onlays

If you’ve never heard of them before, inlays and onlays are what dentists use when a patient needs more than a filling but less than a crown. Like crowns, they’re created in a lab, and often from porcelain. Because they’re a conservative option, they let patients retain more of their own natural tooth structure, which benefits your smile in the long run. Dr. Michel will have to be the one to determine which material is most right for you, but in most cases we’re able to give patients a tooth-colored restoration.

Curious about crowns, inlay, onlays, or any of Dr. Michel’s other cosmetic and restorative options? We’d be happy to schedule a consultation visit with you. We’re committed to helping patients from Topeka, Emporia, Lawrence, Manhattan, and surrounding areas have strong, confident smiles that will last.

Save Your Smile with Tooth-Colored Fillings from Michel Dental

April 20, 2012

If you’ve been told you need a filling, you may be worried about marring your smile with dark-colored amalgam fillings. At Michel Dental, we don’t want our patients to worry. That’s why we offer tooth-colored fillings. Also called composites, tooth-colored fillings are a cosmetic twist on restorative dentistry.

Why are tooth-colored fillings superior to their amalgam counterparts? For a couple of reasons.

First, because tooth-colored fillings are made of a combination of plastics, they can be shaded to exactly match your natural smile. That way, only you and Dr. Michel will ever have to know about your fillings.

Second, tooth-colored filling supports your remaining tooth structure. Amalgam fillings, by contrast, merely cover the tooth without supporting it. Amalgams are also temperature sensitive and can crack or change shape over time, possibly allowing for bacterial reinvasion later on.

Tooth-colored fillings, on the other hand, won’t change shape. Instead, they’ll provide long-lasting, conservative protection that helps you get the most out of your natural teeth and your natural smile.

Have you recently been told you need fillings and want to learn more about how tooth-colored fillings work? Michel Dental in Topeka would be happy to answer your questions. Give us a call today to set up an appointment. Dr. Michel and our entire time want to give you the strong, confident smile you deserve.

Visit Michel Dental for Your Spring Smile Makeover

April 13, 2012


It may be spring now, but it’ll be summer before you know it. That means there’s no perfect time than now to prepare your smile for summer. At Michel Dental, we offer a range of popular cosmetic dentistry services to help Topeka-area patients transform their smiles and their confidence. Our cosmetic services include:

These great services run the gamut from purely cosmetic to cosmetic and restorative. No single service is right for everyone, though, which is why, if you’re considering a smile makeover this spring or summer, we invite you to schedule a consultation appointment with Dr. Michel today.

During your consultation visit, Dr. Michel will talk with you about how you want your smile to look, in addition to thoroughly examining your smile. When we have all the information we need, we can recommend the service we think will help your smile the most. For some patients, a single service is all you may need. But for others, a combination of services may be what works best.

Are you ready to transform your smile for the coming summer season? Give us a call today. Dr. Michel serves patients from Topeka, Emporia, Lawrence, Manhattan, and surrounding areas. And in the meantime, to find out more about any of cosmetic dentistry services, explore our website or click on one of the links above.

April Is Oral Cancer Awareness Month

April 6, 2012

Spring may have started in March, but April is the first full month of the new season. All around the country, the weather is warming up, flowers are blooming, and people are enjoying the outdoors. But for dentists, April is notable for another reason besides just a change in the weather.

It’s also Oral Cancer Awareness Month.

That means that all during April, Dr. Michael Michel and our Topeka team will be placing a priority on oral cancer screenings. Oral cancer screenings are already a part of every regular exam we complete, but we’ll also be happy answer any questions you might have about the disease and provide extra education.

Why are oral cancer screenings so important?

Because every year, oral cancer claims the lives of more than 7,500 people. That’s more than Hodgkin’s disease, or brain, liver, kidney, ovarian, or cervical cancer. What’s more, a quarter of all cases of oral cancer involve patients with none of the common risk factors, like tobacco use or excessive drinking. In fact, a rising number of cases in both women and men have been linked to HPV. All of which means a regular visit could very well save your life.

Want to know more about oral cancer or Oral Cancer Awareness Month? Visit the Oral Cancer Foundation’s website and give Michel Dental a call to schedule your next regular visit. Dr. Michel serves patients from Topeka, Emporia, Lawrence, Manhattan, and surrounding areas.

Periodontal Treatment from Dr. Michel and Michel Dental

September 16, 2011

Did you know that 75% of all Americans over 35 have some form of gum disease, even if it’s only a mild form?

We don’t mean to scare you with that statistic; we only want you be aware of the fact that gum disease can affect your smile without you even knowing it. Often, the only indication of a problem is bleeding gums, and by then gum disease has already set it.

If it’s not treated soon, even more serious problems like tooth loss or gum deterioration can occur. What’s more, other health problems, like heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, pre-term birth, and gastric ulcer re-infection have been found to share a connection with gum disease.

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Relieve Painful Symptoms with TMJ Therapy from Michel Dental

August 26, 2011

Are you bothered by a range of painful symptoms that just never seem to go away—symptoms like migraine headaches, earaches, or pain in your neck, temples, or shoulders?

If so, consider scheduling an appointment with Dr. Michel, as these are all signs that you may have temporomandibular joint disorder, or TMD.

Caused by a misaligned bite, stress, or possibly other factors, TMD can seriously damage your smile if it’s left untreated.  That’s the bad news. The good news is that it can be treated, and often with something as simple as oral appliance therapy.

Treating TMD with Oral Appliance Therapy

Oral appliance therapy involves, first of all, determining your optimal jaw alignment and, second of all, creating a custom-made oral appliance that will help correct that alignment.

How long you will need to wear your oral appliance and at what time of the day will depend on your own situation. In some cases, it may only be necessary to wear your oral appliance while you sleep. In other cases, you may need to wear it during the day, but only for a short amount of time. A consultation visit at our Topeka dental office should tell us all we need to know to get your treatment started.

If you think you may be suffering from symptoms of TMD, contact our office today to schedule an appointment with Dr. Michel. We can answer any questions you might have, whether about TMD, TMJ therapy, or any of our preventive, cosmetic, and periodontal services.

Call us today.

We serve patients from Topkea, Emporia, Lawrence, Manhattan, and surrounding areas.

Transform Your Smile with Professional Teeth Whitening from Michel Dental

August 12, 2011

Teeth discoloration happens for a variety of reasons. Often, it has to do with the foods and drinks you consume, but aging can be another factor, as can smoking and certain medication likes tetracycline.

But even if discoloration is a fact of life, you don’t have to live with it. Michel Dental offers professional teeth whitening services to help patients add sparkle to their smile and improve self-confidence. Patients can even decide whether they would prefer in-office or at-home teeth whitening.

In-Office and At-Home Options

With in-office teeth whitening, Dr. Michel can help you have a smile that’s as much as eight shades brighter, and in just one short visit to our office.

With at-home whitening, you can have professional results without even leaving your home. All you need are a pair of custom made whitening trays and a supply of whitening gel. It will take between one to two weeks for the most dramatic results to appear, but you should notice a change in your smile after just a few days.

For longer-lasting results, patients should try combining in-office whitening with sporadic at-home whitening treatments. By combining the two, there’s almost no limit to how long you can enjoy your dazzling new smile.

If you’d like to talk to Dr. Michel about professional teeth whitening and how it works, contact our Topeka office to schedule a consultation appointment. We serve patients from Emporia, Lawrence, Manhattan, and surrounding areas.

Choose Michel Dental for Your Cosmetic, Restorative, and Preventive Dentistry Needs

July 29, 2011

Are you considering a service like porcelain veneers, teeth whitening, or cosmetic bonding? Does your smile need a crown, a fixed bridge, or inlays and onlays? Or maybe you just need a comfortable, caring office in the Topeka area where you can come for regular checkups and cleanings.

Regardless of whether you’re looking for help with cosmetic-restorative or preventive dentistry, Dr. Michel and his friendly team can help. We offer a wide range of cosmetic services to help you transform your smile and boost your confidence. And to help your teeth stay strong and healthy, we can help with checkups, periodontics, and even sleep apnea treatment.

Moreover, Dr. Michel knows that dentistry is an evolving industry and remains committed to expanding on his knowledge and experience through courses in continuing education.  Among the classes he’s taken, many have focused on diagnosing and treating temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder. And as part of staying up-to-date with all the latest changes in the dental industry, he is an active member of both the American Dental Association and the Kansas Dental Association.

Quality, State-of-the-Art Care

To find out more about any one of our services, or to schedule appointment with Dr. Michel, contact our Topeka office. We serve patients from Emporia, Lawrence, Manhattan, and surrounding areas.

Give us a call today!

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