Dr. Ames's Philosophy

Based on the belief that many people deliberately neglect their teeth in favor of more visible parts of the anatomy, Dr. Margaret Ames founded her Huntington practice with the following objectives in mind:

• To make sure that otherwise well-informed women and men are fully aware of the importance of their teeth to general health and professional success; and that they fully understand the consequences of neglect.
• To fully ensure that they have convenient access to quality dental services in a pleasant and efficient environment.
• To keep her patients informed of all dental options, particularly new techniques.

Active woman and men routinely get professional care of their hair and nails; brushing and cutting alone do not insure optimum condition of wither. Teeth are composed of similar tissues. They cannot remain healthy with superficial brushing and occasional flossing.

To test your dental awareness, score yourself on the following true/false test:

• Given proper care, teeth are indestructible and will last a lifetime. T/F
• Teeth depend on healthy roots and healthy gums for continued vitality. T/F.
• Teeth can be repositioned and spaced attractively through proper treatment at an age. T/F
• Most people under 40 require far less dental work than they imagine. T/F
• Many headaches are caused by improper positioning of the teeth causing pressure on the temporo-mandibular joint.

If you answered each of the above as "true" you scored 100. As modern dentistry has learned more about the mouth and how it functions, the wisdom of "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" becomes more apparent. Prevention requires adequate hygiene, professional supervision and sensible nutrition. Professional checkups are a must. The area of oral hygiene is complicated by the need to clean the interior surfaces of the teeth that hard to reach and the periodic removal of harmful tartar. Even those who eat sensibly periodically need professional help.

About half the adult population has teeth that are uneven, crooked or discolored (often, all three) or suffer from problems in biting or chewing. Dental science is today capable of correcting these problems with minimal discomfort and excellent prospects for a lifetime of trouble-free teeth. Dr. Ames's approach is to get her patients' teeth looking their best and working properly as quickly and inexpensively as possible. Then, with cooperation, keeping them that way.