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History of dentistry filled with common sense and daydreams,

For Dr. Jenkins, dental care isn’t fantasy, it’s family!

By Fran Johnson, Lakewood Buzz

While some trends hit dead-ends, some become proven standards. That holds true in dental care, too. Take two examples: wooden teeth and the toothpaste tube. The squeezable metal tube, invented in 1892, still remains the most purchased toothpaste packaging.

Wooden teeth? Never a good idea and, contrary to popular belief, George Washington’s dentures weren’t made from wood, but from lead, ivory and springs instead!

Long before Lakewood was settled and Washington became president, the trained (or untrained) used curious dental methods, tools and materials. In Egypt, around 4,000 BC, the first formula for toothpaste included the burned ashes of powdered oxen hooves, and the paste was applied to a patient’s teeth with the fingers.

Centuries later, during Lakewood’s early years, self-proclaimed “doctors” with black leather cases filled with painkilling “medicines” for toothaches and tooth-pulling pliers and forceps rode their wagons into our hamlet’s empty lots, selling circus cures “for whatever ails ya!”

Fortunately, the science, tools and practice of dentistry have come a long way since ox paste and spring-loaded dentures. However, dentistry today still heads in different directions, some that seem to make more sense than others do, for most patients.

The Latest Trends: Dental Spas and Bleach for Teeth

One trendiest example is a movement becoming known as “Spa Dentistry.” The Buzz doesn’t know of any dental spas in Lakewood, but celebrities, beauty queens and the rich-and-famous are frequenting them in Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Chicago and Manhattan. One spa’s marketing pitch asks, “Have you ever daydreamed what it would be like to have the smile of a magazine model or Hollywood star?” Another describes itself as a full-service cosmetic dentistry boutique providing patients with a full cache of luxury spa-like amenities. Still another dental spa promises to improve its customer’s lives, personal relationships and more – maybe that explains why some of its patients spend up to $30,000 in fees for their dental visits!

In Lakewood, the trend is decidedly not fantasy, it’s mostly family. And though “Family Dentistry” doesn’t have the same boutique cache of Spa Dentistry, the family way still attracts doctors who see it as a better use of their professional training and skills than a niche practice that promises luxuries to patients in return for higher profits for spa owners. Read more…