Prehn Dental Office

As an assistant at Prehn Dental I get to see first-hand how Dr. Prehn changes a life by changing their smile. One of our patients, Lynn Sala, came to us and wanted to get her smile back again, especially for her wedding Day.  Lynn had told us that all her life she didn’t smile much and when she did she hid her teeth.  After her cosmetic treatment she couldn’t stop smiling. I could see how Dr. Prehn really put confidence back into her smile.  She was proud to wear it.

:  I see eating disorders on a limited basis in my practice.  When you do see this, it is usually a serious situation.  Many times eating disorders, like bulimia or anorexia, can lead to dental concerns such as erosion of the teeth--not to mention the long-term medical affects of such a disorder.  Most patients deny ever having this but the ones that do and seek treatment are much better off.  If a patient has an eating disorder that is clearly evident by your teeth, I think the Dentist has the responsibility to inform you of what is happening to your dentition.  What you do with this information is then totally up to you.

Vicki and I recently attended a seminar presented by Dr. Ron Prehn about sleep apnea and dental sleep medicine.  We learned about different dental appliances that treat sleep apnea and how a custom appliance can help make using a CPAP easier to comply with.  Dr. Prehn also discussed that when people brux and clench at night, they do so to protect a collapsing airway, which is the problem in sleep apnea.  When a patient presents in the office with wear on teeth, we should investigate their sleep habits and if they snore.  We may find that they have some sort of sleep apnea problem that they were unaware of.