The countdown has begun for my dental humanitarian trip to Liberia Africa.  We will be there in just over a week.  Thank you to all of the patients that have helped support us on our trip.  I will be going with 8 dental hygienists and doing dentistry both in an established clinic and at remote schools.  The clinic has asked that I give a lecture to the staff members of the clinic, I guess that will make me an international lecturer when I get back.  Watch for more info about the trip when we get back in mid Nov.

This trip is being coordinated through Oregon Tech Dental Hygiene School in Salem Oregon (where I teach one day a week), Medical Teams International, and Trinity Dental Clinic.

ttp://www.oit.edu/
http://www.medicalteams.org/

http://www.trinitydental.org/

Compassion Tigard

Dr. Young opened his office to the Compassion Tigard campaign on Saturday Oct 12.  Hundreds of patients were seen at Tigard High school and satellite offices like Dr. Young's for eyecare, haircuts, and dental treatment.  The services were given free of charge to help patient in need.  Dr. Young's office had eight volunteers including himself, Dr. Ryan Allred, 4 OHSU 3rd year dental students, and two assistants from other offices. 

Website

Our office website is getting published.  Check it out at www.kingcitydentist.net

Africa

I am planning a dental mission trip to Africa in Nov 2013

I am taking 8 dental hygienists with me and we will do dentistry for 2 weeks

We will be in the country of Liberia working at an established dental clinic.

Volunteer dentistry abroad has been a goal of mine for a while and I am excited to finally make it happen.

Dentures, partials and implants oh my!

Here are some partial dentures

There are a few different types of dentures. 

There is beauty and there is strength.  Choose for yourself.

Here are some photos comparing interim partial dentures with cast metal framework partials. 

If given the choice I would chose a fixed option rather than a removable option.  All of my patients seem to prefer bridges and implants instead of dentures.  In fact I have replaced many patients' partials for an upgrade to implants.  I have thought about saving the old useless dentures and displaying them as trophies each time one is replaced with a bridge or implant.  Then my team reminds me that most people would find that disgusting.

Here are some photos comparing interim partial dentures with cast metal framework partials. 

Joseph B Young DMD FAGD

15405 SW 116th Ave Suite 208

Tigard, Oregon. 97224

(503) 684-0507

Drjosephyoung@gmail.com

Hospital dentistry

For the first two years out of dental school I did hospital dentistry.  I took patients to the operating room for their general dentistry needs.  I also saw patients in the emergency room.  This gave me a ton of dental experience in a short amount of time.  

I really enjoyed the patients, which ranged from the disabled adult with cerebral palsy to the average joe that neglected his teeth until it became life threatening.

Each presented with different challenges and seemed to be rejected from the traditional dental offices because if their unique dental needs.  They were also the most grateful when I was their only hope for getting better.  I derived a great deal of satisfaction from that work.  Now I still apply the medical knowledge I acquired from those two years working in the hospital as I treat much of the geriatric community in king city, Oregon near Bull Mountain.

I also apply a lot of the skills I picked up in residency as I worked along side many specialists including endodontists, oral surgeons, orthodontists, oral pathologists, pedodontists, prosthodontists, periodontists, and so on.

Many of the things I did in the hospital I can now do in my private practice in Tigard with IV sedation.

Joseph B Young DMD FAGD

15405 sw 116th Ave. suite 208

King city OR 97224

(503) 684-0507

Drjosephyoung@gmail.com

Sedation dentistry, scared of the dentist?

At our office in king city we offer IV sedation.  This allows for a safe and effective level of sedation in the office setting.  Patients are comfortable and awake during the procedure, can respond to commands, but remember very little if anything when it is all over.

Get more done in one appointment, and take less time away from the rest of your life.

IV sedation works best for patients with dental anxiety.  If you are scared of the dentist, consider IV sedation.  It is less expensive than you may think.  

We can also offer oral sedation, and or laughing gas for those scared of the needle.

Don't let fear of the dentist get in the way of your beautiful smile.

Joseph B Young DMD FAGD

15405 sw 116th Ave. suite 208

King city, OR 97224

(503) 684-0507

Drjosephyoung@gmail.com

Emergency dentist Tigard

There are a lot of dental emergencies these days as patients try to avoid the dentist to save money.  

Unfortunately this can lead to missed work which can cost you even more.

I have gone into the office a few times in the last month after hours to help patients in need.  

I suppose I am willing to see emergency patients with dental pain because I am trying to grow my office and add new patients.

If you find yourself with a toothache in Tigard or king city give my office a call and we will try our best to take care of you the same day.

Joseph B Young DMD FAGD

15405 sw 116th Ave. suite 208

King city OR 97224

(503) 684-0507

Drjosephyoung@gmail.com

Whiter teeth in Tigard

Our king city dental office has begun offering free whitening to our patients.  Come see us for your next checkup and get a free whitening kit.

I had a lot of patients asking about whitening and now they can try it free.  They have nothing to lose but their yellow stains.

 Our office is just off of Hwy 99 in Tigard Oregon.

Joseph B Young DMD FAGD

15405 sw 116th ave   Suite 208

King City, OR. 97224

(503) 684-0507

Kingcitydental@gmail.com

Joseph B Young DMD FAGD

I spent the weekend in Nashville accepting my Fellowship award from the Academy of General Dentistry which was a very neat experience.  There was a weekend full of continuing education and a formal graduation ceremony.  I was one of 3 dentists in the state of Oregon to receive the award this year.

The Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) is recognized by the American Dental Association and the Oregon Board of dentistry such that my fellowship designation adds initials to the end my name in many situations.  Now I can place signage for my office that says Joseph B Young DMD FAGD.  Many of my hours were acquired through my one year Hospital base residency, while the rest were through the dental implant maxicourse and Ken Reed's IV sedation course.

Maybe now I can get around to changing my name on the signs outside my office.

When looking for a dental practice I saw a lot of different styles of dental practice.  There were offices with 6 chairs and 12 employees, other offices touting "cosmetics" with heavy advertising, some offices getting shut down by the board of dentistry, some located far out in eastern Oregon or along the coast.

Being this is the first business I have ever owned I wanted to be sure that it was manageable.  I found my practice, that had two chairs and two employees.  This was a good size for me, and is only three miles from my home.  It has been a long time goal of mine to be able to ride my bike to work, which I am able to do often.  It's funny how I find such success in being able to ride my bike to work, but the daily commute can really effect a persons life.

Doing root canals in the office rather than referring patients to a specialist has helped fill my schedule and add days to the work week.  (The last dentist worked 3 days a week and did all of the cleanings at the office himself, he also referred out all root canals and extractions)  We have also added extractions, IV sedation and laughing gas.  I have added a hygienist to our ranks but she is here only one day a week and most patients prefer seeing the dentist for cleanings; many patients actually say "I come here because the dentist cleans my teeth" so it looks like I will be cleaning teeth for a while.

During the last 8 months two new dental offices have been built within one block of my office.  One is a corporate chain that offers steep discounts and advertises heavily, the other is a large pediatric dental office.  It has become my strategy to compliment their business style rather than compete with them.  When they chose generic dental office names, I chose to use my personal name for my business. I think this shows the dentist won't change, while other offices suffer high turnover of the dental staff.  When they spend big money on postcard mailings, I am networking with the Lion's club and spending hours sorting through newspaper bins as a service project.  While my time would be better spent doing dentistry I find satisfaction in servicing the area's Lion's club and they have helped me by referring friends for dental care.  I hope that the low overhead and personalized service will win patients over in the long run.  I am happy seeing all of the patients that were driven away from the corporate groups because of the lack of personal service.

I have also added a small digital photo frame to the office waiting room showcasing local businesses which has created free advertising for the offices across the hall like this one.  This has helped improve my relationship with the businesses greatly.  ( I am too cheap to get a television in the waiting room, and the photo frame is silent, so patients can chat with the front desk receptionist.)

These are some of my thoughts on how I run my office, time will tell if they were good ideas.

Eight months into my new business

It has been 8 months since I became my own boss and took over for Dr. Chessar in King City Oregon.  I have spent that time trying to learn how to run a dental office.  This is the first business I have ever owned so there has been a steep learning curve.

Since graduating in 2009 I am very happy with how things have turned out.  I completed a 1 year hospital residency, a year long CE course in dental implant placement, earned my IV sedation license, began teaching and acquired my own dental practice a few miles from where I grew up.

My practice has no website to date, and we have done very little advertising.  I have been putting a lot of thought into how I will use social media to connect with patients, yet I have been in a holding pattern as I adjust to being my own boss.  We have been very fortunate that Dr. Chessar has loyal patients that have stayed with the practice and we have seen quite a bit of growth even without the web presence.  Since Oct. '12 our practice schedule has filled quite a bit, being booked out now weeks instead of days.  I feel very blessed.

Now I just need to replace the sign on the building, I have had a hard time committing to a style.

Dental Hygiene School in Salem OR

For anyone in the Salem OR area with dirty teeth, go to Oregon TECH hygiene school to get a good deal on cleanings.

The Oregon TECH dental hygiene school has great rates and fantastic facilities.

 It is a learning environment, so expect things to take a while, (three hour appointments, and probably three appointments to get your teeth clean) but if you have more time than money, it is a great resource.

And Dr. Young works there once a week doing exams, supervising the students and giving an occasional lecture.

The clinic is located on the Chemeketa campus in building 8.

http://www.oit.edu/programs/partnerships/chemeketa

Tongue piercings hurt your teeth

Patient: "Doc, I can't figure it out. Why did my front teeth get chipped?"

Me: "I think it might have something to do with your tongue ring."

Patient: "No, it couldn't be. I don't play with it... anymore."

Me: "Oh... well... I can fix it for you."

Don't neglect your teeth

This patient saw Dr. Young in dire need of treatment. An infection that started in a tooth was now invading the patients cheek.  

The infection nearly bore a hole through the skin.

Don't let this happen, visit your dentist on a regular basis.  

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.