Welcome to another edition of the Hollargram. The Hollargram is a periodic e-mail bulletin where we bring our patients and friends up-do-date with our dental office.  Another year is upon us, and believe it or not, this begins my thirtieth year as a practicing dentist.  With the support of my friends, patients, staff, and immediate family, I have gained the greatest reward of all; changing the lives of thousands of people through the art of dentistry.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart and Happy New Year to all!

Susan

Every month we would like to take a chance to thank all of you for your kind words about our practice and for sending your friends and family our way. This month we want to thank: Ann Stella, Doug and Kathy Morrissey, Cindy Hollar, and Linda Ogle. Our practice relies on your referrals and wants you to know we appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts. Also, please keep in mind, for every referral you send our way, you will receive a complimentary cleaning

Sarah Absher

Since our last Hollargram, many things have happened. The biggest being that Mark and Susan’s daughter, Sarah, is now a part of the dental team. Blessed with her mother’s incredible artistic ability, Sarah is learning the art and science of dental ceramics. As our lab technician she is working side by side with Susan, Rhonda, and Richard who have a combined 80 plus years’ experience. Her ultimate goal is to learn to make porcelain veneers for her mom’s patients. Along with dad at the helm the “Art of Dentistry” is truly a family affair.

Playa del Secreto Mexico

In September, our office took its annual retreat to Playa del Secreto, Mexico. Led my our mentor, Bud Ham his wife Judy and son Mike, we enjoyed three days of perfect weather, sunny beaches, fabulous food, and team synergy.  We stayed in a huge house right on the beach complete with its own housekeepers and cooks. Needless to say, none of us wanted to come home!

Frisco Texas

Later in September, Dr. Hollar, Mark, Mary, Kyla, Rhonda, and Bud Ham met for a weekend in Frisco, Texas where we presented a seminar on “team building” and “patient communication”. We had five dental offices from Dallas, West Texas, Manhattan, California, and Oregon participate. It was an awesome learning experience and great fun for all involved.

In October, Dr. Hollar and Mark traveled to San Francisco and presented an all day lecture to The UCSF School of Dentistry on restorative and management techniques, and in November Susan lectured to the L. D. Pankey Alumni meeting in Miami, Florida. Susan also traveled to Madison, Wisconsin where she is part of a team of cosmetic dental examiners that judge cases for accreditation candidates to the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. Susan has also been active in her teaching roles with the Scottsdale Center for Dentistry and the L. D. Pankey Institute.

Other big news is Kyla, our hygienist, had a baby girl in November, names Tristyn Renee Taggart.  Her beautiful baby girl was born on October 24, 2009 weighing in at 6 pounds 12 ounces. Ask for pictures when  you come in to have your teeth cleaned.

Our Newest Team Members

Emily Foertsch - Dental Assistant and Hygiene Assistant

Our newest dental assistant is a native of Fort Worth and is a recent graduate of Adams State College in Colorado, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Cellular and Molecular Biology. Emily helps our office in many ways including assisting our hygienist, Kyla, with all of our patient’s dental hygiene needs.

Emily played collegiate soccer for four years, and was awarded female freshmen athlete of the year. She has worked in dentistry for almost two years and has participated extensively in dentistry with volunteer and observation work since she was in high school. Her passion for dentistry stems from the wonderful teachings of her long-time pediatric dentist, and she is currently an applicant for several dental schools. She hopes to join the 2010 dental school class in the fall if accepted.

Emily is an avid soccer player and competes on several adult soccer leagues including both indoor and outdoor soccer.

Sarah Absher – Lab Technician

Our newest lab technician comes to us with a great deal of enthusiasm. Extremely talented with her hands, Sarah assists Dr. Hollar, Rhonda, and all of our ceramists in the many hundreds of details that go into a successful ceramic masterpiece. She is learning the fabrication of diagnostic models, bite appliances, bleaching appliances and the duplication of models used in ceramic fabrication.

Sarah is Mark and Susan’s daughter. She is a graduate of Nolan Catholic High School where she enjoyed a fun filled career playing varsity volleyball. Sarah attended The University of Arkansas, where she majored in art. Her long-term goal is to be a dental ceramist.

In her spare time Sarah loves to play with her cat, Le Mouse, work out, play golf, and be with her friends.

Red Wine Fights Tooth Decay

By Sylvia Booth Hubbard

Red wine may stain your teeth, but new research shows it also keeps them from decaying. Italian scientists demonstrated red wine made it difficult for harmful bacteria to cling to teeth, and, in a statement on the United Kingdom’s National Health Service site, concluded that the prevention of tooth decay “may be another beneficial effect of the moderate consumption of red wine.”

The bacteria that causes the most dental damage is streptococcus mutans, which sets up housekeeping in the mouth by sticking to tooth enamel and living off sugar. Once this bad bacteria takes hold, it triggers demineralization, and acid begins making pits.

Following the lead of U.S. scientists, who last year discovered that chemicals in the seeds and skins of wine grapes blocked the ability of bacteria to bind with tooth enamel, researchers at Italy’s Pavia University conducted experiments using red wine. In order to rule out any effect of alcohol on the research, they used an Italian wine with all its alcohol removed, and found that it indeed had the same effect of making it difficult for bacteria to attach themselves and also kept them from forming a layer of biofilm on teeth.

The active protective ingredient, the Italians said, was a group of compounds found mainly in grape skins called proanthocyanidins, which are high in antioxidants. They are now investigating the possibility of extracting the compounds and using them as a form of treatment on their own.

If red wine is so good for teeth, what about white wine? It turns out that those who prefer white wine are out of luck at least as far as dental health is concerned. Another recent study demonstrated that white wine could actually be harmful to teeth because its high acid content erodes tooth enamel.

For the moment, at least, when glasses are raised with toasts of “Salud!” it might be best to hoist a glass of red (but no more than two a day for men and one for women). Besides the dental benefits, even more studies suggest that moderate drinkers of red wine score higher on mental acuity tests than teetotalers, and that it can improve the immune system as well as battle diabetes, obesity, and the onset of aging.

Welcome to
the HollarGram…

Welcome to another addition of the Hollargram, where we bring you up-to-date with our office, staff, and new developments in dentistry.

In addition to providing world-class restorative and cosmetic dentistry we are offering some new services to our office. With the help of our newest employee, Karen Sticka P.A., we are offering the area’s first painless injections of the products Botox, Restylane, Radiesse and Juvederm. Karen has many years of experience with these procedures and the results have been remarkable. The perfect frame to a perfect smile.

We are also offering two other beauty products, the Nu Skin Galvanic Spa System II, and the La Roche-Posay chemical peel procedures. We are very blessed to be able to provide our patients these new services. Please give us a call for more information.

We are very thankful to all of you who have faithfully supported us for the past twenty-five years. I look forward to seeing you at your next dental visit.

Susan Hollar, D.D.S.

Stars of
the Month

Missionaries of our Practice

What’s
happening in our Office?

2009 has kicked off to a very busy start for Susan Hollar, D.D.S. In January, Susan traveled to Key Biscayne, Florida and was part of a world-class esthetic dentistry continuum for the L. D. Pankey Institute. Susan is a lead faculty instructor for The Institute and has been instrumental in planning and implementing their newest esthetic dental program. She is teamed with some of the finest dentists from around the world including, Dr. Irwin Becker, Dr. Gerard Chiche, Dr. James Fondriest, Dr. Thomas Trinkner, Matt Roberts CDT, Dr. J. A. Reynolds, and Dr. Frank Shull Jr. Dr. Hollar is looking forward to the advancement of this program in the months to come.

In February Susan headed west to The Scottsdale Center for Dentistry, headed by Dr. Frank Spear, Dr. Gary DeWood, Dr. Lee Ann Brady and others. The Scottsdale Center is an advanced teaching facility, where dentists come to learn the latest in reconstructive and cosmetic dental techniques. Dr. Hollar is a visiting faculty member and student mentor for the Center. Susan is very excited to be part of this great organization and looks forward to sharing her knowledge and teaching skills.

In other news, our office will be offering some adjunct cosmetic procedures to go along with our world-class cosmetic and reconstructive dentistry. Beginning in March Karen Sticka, R. N. with be teamed with Dr. Hollar in offering cosmetic fillers, including Botox, Restylane, Radiesse and Juvederm. Teamed with Dr. Hollar, wrinkle elimination and enhanced lip contour can be achieved pain free. The perfect frame to the perfect smile! Please call our office for more information.

We are now offering the Nu Skin Galvanic Spa System. With the Galvanic Spa you are able to smooth the appearance of lines and wrinkles, rejuvenate your complexion, revitalize your scalp, and renovate your body. For more than fifty years, spa professionals have used galvanic current in customized treatments to refresh and energize the skin. Through a gentle massaging action, this current helps focus cellular energy and enhances circulation. The benefits of this treatment can now be found in the convenience of your home with the new Nu Skin Galvanic Spa System. Please ask for a free demonstration at your next visit. More can be learned about Nu Skin at www.nbuskinusa.com.

In other educational news, members of our staff attended the Southwest Dental Conference in Dallas, Texas January 22-24. Dr. Hollar and our ceramist, Richard Guerra, C.D.T, will be attending the Chicago Mid-Winter Dental Meeting, February 25 – March 1. Dr. Hollar will then travel to The Scottsdale Center March 8-11 and The Michigan Study Club in Jackson, Michigan March 12-14. Mark Absher has teamed with Mike Ham of Bud Ham Consulting, and will be doing a series of lectures on practice management later in the summer.

Continuing education is a priority for Dr. Hollar and all of her staff members. Each staff member attends a minimum of six days per year outside of the office learning various aspects of restorative dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, practice management, dental laboratory procedures, infection control, and hygiene advancements. Our commitment to education helps insure the finest in our patient’s care.

Did You
Know?

What Your Tongue is Telling You About Your Health

You may not give your tongue much thought, but chances are your doctor does. “Telling a patient to stick out their tongue is a valid way to start examining someone,” says Dr. Jordan S. Josephson, attending physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and author of Sinus Relief Now. “In fact, in Chinese medicine they believe that the tongue actually reflects all the diseases of the body.” If you have a mystery tongue problem, Josephson recommends going to see a board certified otolaryngologist (more commonly known as an ear, nose, and throat specialist).

White Coating:

When the tongue looks sort of white and pasty—in patches or in its entirety—it’s an indication that there’s probably some sort of infection present on the tongue, such as a bacterial overgrowth or an autoimmune-related inflammatory disease. One possible cause: Thrush, which is an overgrowth of candida (also called yeast) bacteria. Once the infection is treated with anti-fungal drugs (either topical or oral) and the infection clears up, the tongue will return to its healthy pink shade.

Too dark:

A healthy tongue should have a warm, pinkish color, so when it looks dark brown or black, you need to wonder why. And chances are, the answer will be in your diet, lifestyle or your medicine cabinet. “The filiform papillae on the top of the tongue—particularly if they’re elongated—can easily take on stains or various colors from the foods, drinks, antibiotics, lozenges, etc. that you consume,” says Sol Silverman, Jr., DDS, a spokesperson for the American Dental Association. A side effect of taking bismuth medications (like Pepto Bismol) is that the tongue may turn temporarily black. And drinking a lot of coffee, smoking or chewing tobacco can stain the tongue a brownish shade. The good news is that in both cases, it’s probably just stained from food or medicine, and simply brushing your tongue a few times should help it fade back to its normal shade. While the staining may not be permanent, beware that any kind of tobacco use increases your risk of oral cancer.

Getting hairy:

“The top of the tongue is covered with little projections called filiform papillae,” explains Silverman. “They’re made up of keratin—the same protein that makes up hair, but they’re not really ‘hair.’” And under normal conditions, you wouldn’t even notice them. But certain conditions can cause them to elongate, giving the tongue a “hairy” appearance. Several factors could be responsible for causing the filiform papillae to grow, including a bacterial infection, taking antibiotics, or having a very dry mouth.

Sore spots:

They may be small, but canker sores or mouth ulcers (which can occur anywhere in the mouth, including the tongue) can be extremely painful. “Most things that happen in the mouth are multi-factorial,” says Silverman. And these sores are no exception. Generally, those with a genetic predisposition to getting cankers will see them crop up when other factors fall into place—such as having a cold or fever, eating an excess of citrus fruits, or biting your tongue. But keep an eye on those spots. A normal canker will heal up and vanish in a week to 10 days. Something that lasts longer and doesn’t seem to be going away could be a sign of oral cancer and should be checked out by your doctor immediately.

A bumpy surface:

The filiform papillae—projections on the top of the tongue, including the taste buds—normally stick up a little bit. But occasionally one will get temporarily inflamed, red, and a bit sore. As with canker sores, as long as the area returns to normal within a time span of a few days, the inflammation is most likely harmless. “But if it turns very red or white, is painful and tender, and most importantly, doesn’t go away, it could be a sign of oral cancer,” Josephson warns.

Red and painful:

When the tongue’s healthy pink color mutates to bright or dark red, that can be clue to certain nutritional deficiencies—especially a lack of niacin (also called vitamin B3), a condition known as pellagra. Other nutritional issues can also cause this odd coloring. Anemia or a diet lacking in folic acid and vitamin B12 may be to blame. But a temporary redness and pain in the tongue is most likely caused by something you ate or drank. Sensitivity to certain flavors of toothpaste, mouthwash or gum (like cinnamon) and acidic foods (like pineapple) are potential culprits. If you suffer from frequent bouts of tongue pain, you might want to try eliminating these foods from your diet to see if the irritation clears up.

Turning yellow:

A yellowish tint on the tongue is probably a clue that there is some sort of fungal or bacterial infection in the mouth. Another possible cause of tongue yellowing is gastric reflux. “It may be that the acid rearranges the mouth’s normal bacterial flora, and some of it may have a yellow hue,” says Josephson. Occasionally, changes in the tongue’s color will happen only in patches—a condition known as “geographic tongue.” In that case, some spots on the tongue will become yellow while other areas remain normal and pink.

A burning sensation:

Burning mouth syndrome, also called oral dysesthesia, is a specific, not well-understood condition that goes far beyond simply eating certain foods that cause a temporary stinging sensation. The condition is characterized by pain and burning that can affect just the tongue or the entire mouth; the sensation may be constant or it may come and go throughout the day. For reasons that are not clear, burning mouth syndrome most commonly afflicts post-menopausal women. “It could be some damage to the nerves of the tongue that are somehow related to the hormonal changes of menopause,” Josephson says. Other possible causes include bacterial infections, dry mouth (a side effect of some medications), or nutritional deficiencies. A cure is elusive, but some of the current treatments for managing burning mouth syndrome include drinking water more frequently, chewing gum (to combat dry mouth), or taking anti-anxiety or anti-depressant drugs.

Pale and smooth:

When people are suffering from iron deficiency anemia, the tongue can take on an abnormally pale, smooth look. “That’s because when your body is dealing with a lack of iron, your blood doesn’t have the necessary oxygen-carrying capacity to keep the tissues red,” explains Josephson. And the result of that lack of oxygen in the blood is that all of the tissues—including the tongue—become pale and look, well, anemic. When the anemia is under control and the blood is once again well-oxygenated, the tongue will go back to its healthy pink shade.

Visit Your Dentist

Part of your regular examination with Dr. Susan Hollar is a routing examination of your tongue and the soft tissues of your mouth. All patients are visually screened for oral cancer. If you have any questions please call our office at 817-261-3392.

The History of Dentistry

Ancient Origins

• 5000 BC - A Sumerian text of this date describes “tooth worms” as the cause of dental decay.
• 2600 BC - Death of Hesy-Re, an Egyptian scribe, often called the first “dentist.” An inscription on his tomb includes the title “the greatest of those who deal with teeth, and of physicians.” This is the earliest known reference to a person identified as a dental practitioner.
• 1700-1550 BC - An Egyptian text, the Ebers Papyrus, refers to diseases of the teeth and various toothache remedies.
• 500-300 BC - Hippocrates and Aristotle write about dentistry, including the eruption pattern of teeth, treating decayed teeth and gum disease, extracting teeth with forceps, and using wires to stabilize loose teeth and fractured jaws.
• 100 BC - Celsus, a Roman medical writer, writes extensively in his important compendium of medicine on oral hygiene, stabilization of loose teeth, and treatments for toothache, teething pain, and jaw fractures.

166-20The Beginnings of a Profession

• 500-1000 - During the Early Middle Ages in Europe medicine, surgery, and dentistry, are generally practiced by monks, the most educated people of the period
• 700 - A medical text in China mentions the use of “silver paste,” a type of amalgam.
• 1130-1163 - A series of Papal edicts prohibit monks from performing any type of surgery, bloodletting or tooth extraction. Barbers often assisted monks in their surgical ministry because they visited monasteries to shave the heads of monks and the tools of the barber trade - sharp knives and razors - were useful for surgery. After the edicts, barbers assume the monks’ surgical duties: bloodletting, lancing abscesses, extracting teeth, etc.
• 1210 - A Guild of Barbers is established in France. Barbers eventually evolve into two groups: surgeons who were educated and trained to perform complex surgical operations; and lay barbers, or barber-surgeons, who performed more routine hygienic services including shaving, bleeding and tooth extraction.
• 1400s - A series of royal decrees in France prohibit lay barbers from practicing all surgical procedures except bleeding, cupping, leeching, and extracting teeth.
• 1530 - The Little Medicinal Book for All Kinds of Diseases and Infirmities of the Teeth (Artzney Buchlein), the first book devoted entirely to dentistry, is published in Germany. Written for barbers and surgeons who treat the mouth, it covers practical topics such as oral hygiene, tooth extraction, drilling teeth, and placement of gold fillings.
• 1575 - In France Ambrose Pare, known as the Father of Surgery, publishes his Complete Works. This includes practical information about dentistry such as tooth extraction and the treatment of tooth decay and jaw fractures.
• 1 AD - The Etruscans practice dental prosthetics using gold crowns and fixed bridgework.

The Development of a Profession-18th Century

• 1723 - Pierre Fauchard, a French surgeon publishes The Surgeon Dentist, A Treatise on Teeth (Le Chirurgien Dentiste). Fauchard is credited as being the Father of Modern Dentistry because his book was the first to describe a comprehensive system for the practice of dentistry including basic oral anatomy and function, operative and restorative techniques, and denture construction.
• 1746 - Claude Mouton describes a gold crown and post to be retained in the root canal. He also recommends white enameling for gold crowns for a more esthetic appearance.
• 1760 - John Baker, the earliest medically-trained dentist to practice in America, immigrates from England and sets up practice.
• 1760-1780 - Isaac Greenwood practices as the first native-born American dentist.
• 1768-1770 - Paul Revere places advertisements in a Boston newspaper offering his services as a dentist. In 1776, in the first known case of post - mortem dental forensics, Revere verifies the death of his friend, Dr. Joseph Warren in the Battle of Breed’s Hill, when he identifies the bridge that he constructed for Warren.
• 1789 - Frenchman Nicolas Dubois de Chemant receives the first patent for porcelain teeth.
• 1790 - John Greenwood, son of Isaac Greenwood and one of George Washington’s dentists, constructs the first known dental foot engine. He adapts his mother’s foot treadle spinning wheel to rotate a drill.
• 1790 - Josiah Flagg, a prominent American dentist, constructs the first chair made specifically for dental patients. To a wooden Windsor chair, Flagg attaches an adjustable headrest, plus an arm extension to hold instruments.

Advances in Science and Education - 19th Century

• 1801 - Richard C. Skinner writes the Treatise on the Human Teeth, the first dental book published in America.
• 1825 - Samuel Stockton begins commercial manufacture of porcelain teeth. His S.S. White Dental Manufacturing Company establishes and dominates the dental supply market throughout the 19th century.
• 1832 - James Snell invents the first reclining dental chair.
• 1833–1850 - The Crawcours (two brothers from France) introduce amalgam filling material in the United States under the name Royal Mineral Succedaneum. The brothers are charlatans whose unscrupulous methods spark the “amalgam wars,” a bitter controversy within the dental profession over the use of amalgam fillings.
• 1839 - The American Journal of Dental Science, the world’s first dental journal, begins publication.
• 1839 - Charles Goodyear invents the vulcanization process for hardening rubber. The resulting Vulcanite, an inexpensive material easily molded to the mouth, makes an excellent base for false teeth, and is soon adopted for use by dentists. In 1864 the molding process for vulcanite dentures is patented, but the dental profession fights the onerous licensing fees for the next twenty-five years.
• 1840 - Horace Hayden and Chapin Harris establish the world’s first dental school, the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, and originate the Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree. (The school merges with the University of Maryland School of Dentistry in 1923).
• 1840 - The American Society of Dental Surgeons, the world’s first national dental organization, is founded. (The organization dissolves in 1856.)
• 1841 - Alabama enacts the first dental practice act, regulating dentistry in the United States.
• 1844 - Horace Wells, a Connecticut dentist, discovers that nitrous oxide can be used as an anesthesia and successfully uses it to conduct several extractions in his private practice. He conducts the first public demonstration of its use as an anesthetic in 1845 but the demonstration is generally considered a failure after the patient cries out during the operation. In 1846, another dentist (and a student of Wells), William Morton, takes credit for the discovery when he conducts the first successful public demonstration of the use of ether as an anesthesia for surgery. Crawford Long, a physician, later claims he used ether as an anesthetic in an operation as early as 1842, but he did not publish his work.
• 1855 - Robert Arthur originates the cohesive gold foil method allowing dentists to insert gold into a cavity with minimal pressure. The foil is fabricated by annealing, a process of passing gold through a flame making it soft and malleable.
• 1859 - Twenty-six dentists meet in Niagara Falls, New York, and form the American Dental Association. (See the ADA Timeline for more information).
• 1864 - Sanford C. Barnum, develops the rubber dam, a simple device made of a piece of elastic rubber fitted over a tooth by means of weights, which solves the problem of isolating a tooth from the oral cavity.
• 1866 - Lucy Beaman Hobbs graduates from the Ohio College of Dental Surgery, becoming the first woman to earn a dental degree.
• 1867 - The Harvard University Dental School, the first university-affiliated dental institution, is founded. The school calls its degree the Dentariae Medicinae Doctorae (DMD), creating a continuing semantic controversy (DDS vs. DMD).
• 1869 - Dr. Robert Tanner Freeman, graduating from Harvard University Dental School, becomes the first African-American to earn a dental degree.
• 1871 - James B. Morrison patents the first commercially manufactured foot-treadle dental engine. Morrison’s inexpensive, mechanized tool supplies dental burs with enough speed to cut enamel and dentin smoothly and quickly, revolutionizing the practice of dentistry.
• 1871 - The American George F. Green receives a patent for the first electric dental engine, a self-contained motor and handpiece.
• 1877 - The Wilkerson chair, the first pump-type hydraulic dental chair, is introduced.
• 1880s - The collapsible metal tube revolutionizes toothpaste manufacturing and marketing. Dentifrice had been available only in liquid or powder form, usually made by individual dentists, and sold in bottles, porcelain pots, or paper boxes. Tube toothpaste, in contrast, is mass-produced in factories, mass-marketed, and sold nation-wide. In twenty years, it becomes the norm.
• 1880 - Twenty-eight dental schools are established by this year.
• 1887 - Stowe & Eddy Dental Laboratory, the first successful industrial-type laboratory in the U.S., opens in Boston, marking the ascendancy of the modern commercial dental laboratory. The earliest known dental laboratory in the U.S. was Sutton & Raynor which opened in New York City around 1854.
• 1890 - Ida Gray, the first African-American woman to earn a dental degree, graduates from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry.
• 1890 - Willoughby Miller an American dentist in Germany, notes the microbial basis of dental decay in his book Micro-Organisms of the Human Mouth. This generates an unprecedented interest in oral hygiene and starts a world-wide movement to promote regular toothbrushing and flossing.
• 1890 - Almost 100 dental societies are established by this year.
• 1895 - Wilhelm Roentgen, a German physicist, discovers the x-ray. In 1896 prominent New Orleans dentist C. Edmond Kells takes the first dental x-ray of a living person in the U.S.
• 1899 - Edward Hartley Angle classifies the various forms of malocclusion. Credited with making orthodontics a dental specialty, Angle also establishes the first school of orthodontics (Angle School of Orthodontia in St. Louis, 1900), the first orthodontic society (American Society of Orthodontia, 1901), and the first de

Innovations in Techniques and Technology - The 20th Century

• 1900 - Fifty-seven dental schools exist by this year.
• 1900 - Federation Dentaire Internationale (FDI) is formed.
• 1903 - Charles Land devises the porcelain jacket crown.
• 1905 - Alfred Einhorn, a German chemist, formulates the local anesthetic procain, later marketed under the trade name Novocain.
• 1907 - William Taggart invents a “lost wax” casting machine, allowing dentists to make precision cast fillings.
• 1908 - Greene Vardiman Black, the leading reformer and educator of American dentistry, publishes his monumental two-volume treatise Operative Dentistry, which remains the essential clinical dental text for fifty years. Black later develops techniques for filling teeth, standardizes operative procedures and instrumentation, develops an improved amalgam, and pioneers the use of visual aids for teaching dentistry.
• 1910 - The first formal training program for dental nurses is established at the Ohio College of Dental Surgery by Cyrus M. Wright. The program is discontinued in 1914 mainly due to opposition by Ohio dentists.
• 1911 - The U.S. Army Dental Corps is established as the first armed services dental corps in the U.S. The Navy institutes its Dental Corps in 1912.
• 1913 - Alfred C. Fones opens the Fones Clinic For Dental Hygienists in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the world’s first oral hygiene school. Most of the twenty - seven women graduates of the first class are employed by the Bridgeport Board of Education to clean the teeth of school children. The greatly reduced incidence of caries among these children gives impetus to the dental hygienist movement. Dr. Fones, first to use the term “dental hygienist,” becomes known as the Father of Dental Hygiene.
• 1917 - Irene Newman receives the world’s first dental hygiene license in Connecticut.
• 1923 - American Association of Dental Schools is established.
• 1924 - American Dental Assistants Association is founded by Juliette Southard and her female colleagues. Female dental assistants were first hired in the 19th century when “Lady in Attendance” signs were routinely seen in the windows of dental offices. Their duties included chair-side assistance, instrument cleaning, inventory, appointments, bookkeeping, and reception.
• 1926 - The Carnegie Foundation-sponsored Gies Report, the first comprehensive report on the state of dental education, is published and has an immediate impact on the dental profession.
• 1928 - National Board of Dental Examiners is established.
• 1930 - The American Board of Orthodontics, the world’s first dental specialty board, is founded.
• 1930 - 1943 - Frederick S. McKay, a Colorado dentist, is convinced that brown stains (mottling) on his patients’ teeth are related to their water supply. McKay’s research verifies that drinking water with high levels of naturally occurring fluoride is associated with low dental caries and a high degree of mottled enamel. By the early 1940s, H. Trendley Dean determines the ideal level of fluoride in drinking water to substantially reduce decay without mottling.
• 1933 - The first National Board dental examinations are conducted. 83 candidates are examined in 4 cities.
• 1938 - The nylon toothbrush, the first made with synthetic bristles, appears on the market.
• 1937 - Alvin Strock inserts the first Vitallium dental screw implant. Vitallium, the first successful biocompatible implant metal, had been developed a year earlier by Charles Venable, an orthopedic surgeon.
• 1940s - 22,000 dentists serve in World War II.
• 1945 - The water fluoridation era begins when the cities of Newburgh, New York, and Grand Rapids, Michigan, add sodium fluoride to their public water systems.
• 1948 - President Harry S. Truman signs the Congressional bill formally establishing the National Institute of Dental Research and initiating federal funding for dental research. The name changes to National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) in 1998.
• 1950s - The first fluoride toothpastes are marketed.
• 1949 - Oskar Hagger, a Swiss chemist, develops the first system of bonding acrylic resin to dentin.
• 1955 - Michael Buonocore describes the acid etch technique, a simple method of increasing the adhesion of acrylic fillings to enamel.
• 1957 - John Borden introduces a high-speed air-driven contra-angle handpiece. The Airotor obtains speeds up to 300,000 rotations per minute and is an immediate commercial success, launching a new era of high-speeddentistry.
• 1957 - The Social Security Act is amended to include self-employed dentists.
• 1958 - A fully reclining dental chair is introduced.
• 1960s - Sit down, four-handed dentistry becomes popular in the U.S. This technique improves productivity and shortens treatment time.
• 1960s - Lasers are developed and approved for soft tissue procedures.
• 1960 - The first commercial electric toothbrush, developed in Switzerland after World War II, is introduced in the United States. A cordless, rechargeable model follows in 1961.
• 1962 - Rafael Bowen develops Bis-GMA, the thermoset resin complex used in most modern composite resin restorative materials.
• 1980s - Per-Ingvar Branemark describes techniques for the osseointegration of dental implants.
• 1983 - Susan Hollar, D.D.S. opens “The Art of Dentistry”, Arlington, Texas
• 1989 - The first commercial home tooth bleaching product is marketed.
• 1990s - New tooth-colored restorative materials plus increased usage of bleaching, veneers, and implants inaugurate an era of esthetic dentistry.
• 1999 - Susan Hollar, D.D.S. is accredited by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.
• 1997 - FDA approves the erbium YAG laser, the first for use on dentin, to treat tooth decay.
• 2008 - Susan Hollar, D.D.S., introduces PrepLessâ„¢ Veneers, the world’s strongest and most beautiful porcelain veneer.

Most information for this article was obtained from the American Dental Association.

Did You Know?

Cosmetic Bonding:

What’s the Procedure for Having a Tooth Bonded?

Preparation. Little advance preparation is needed for dental bonding. Anesthesia is often not necessary unless the bonding is being used to fill a decayed tooth.

The bonding process. Next, the surface of the tooth will be roughened and a conditioning liquid applied. These procedures help the bonding material adhere to the tooth. The tooth-colored, puttylike resin is then applied, molded and smoothed to the desired shape. An ultraviolet light or laser is then used to harden the material. After the material is hardened, Susan will further trim and shape it, and polish it to match the sheen of the rest of the tooth surface.

Time-to-completion. The procedure takes about 30 to 60 minutes per tooth to complete.

What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Composite Bonding?

Advantages: Bonding is the most conservative esthetic treatment we have available today. Unlike veneers and crowns, which are customized tooth coverings that must be manufactured in a laboratory, bonding usually can be done in one or two office visits. Another advantage, compared with veneers and crowns, is that the least amount of tooth enamel is removed. Also, unless dental bonding is being performed to fill a cavity, anesthesia is usually not required. The cost of dental bonding is about a third less than porcelain veneers. Dr. Hollar is an expert at composite bonding and very much enjoys its conservative nature. Cosmetic results are amazing.

Disadvantages: Although the material used in dental bonding is somewhat stain resistant, it does not resist stains as well as crowns. Another disadvantage is that the bonding materials do not last as long nor are as strong as other restorative procedures, such as porcelain veneers. Additionally, bonding materials can chip and break off the tooth. Our office warrantees against chipping and breaking for a one year period.

“It has been said a picture is worth a thousand words. I think that applies in my case. Dr. Hollar and the entire team were ultra professional, supportive and outlined everything in detail. I feel great about my choice. The whiter, cleaner look allows for a more confident radiant smile, from the inside out. Thank you”

I can remember like it was yesterday. I had gone to see my father’s banker to secure a loan to begin my dental practice in 1981. As I began filling out the paperwork, I came across the words “What collateral do you have?” and I actually had to ask him what that meant! He was very kind and said that I should list my assets. After much deliberation, I slowly wrote “a car, a couch, and a dog.” When the bank president read my application, he asked, “Susan, would you be able to have your father co-sign this note?” I informed him that since my parents had paid for my dental education, I felt that their job was done and it was time for me to take charge of my own debt. Somewhat hesitantly, he signed the $70,000 loan (at 21 percent interest!). I then asked if it would be possible for me to take a $10,000 check to my computer consultant, whom I would meet within the hour. To my amazement, I left the bank with that $10,000 check and went directly to my new lease space for my appointment with Kip Parker, owner of Compedent Dental Systems.

It turned out that I was Kip’s first paying client. (He later told me his hands were shaking as I handed him the check!) Our business relationship has continued through the years, and I am still his client. But back in Arlington, Texas, in 1981, as we launched our respective careers, I had no idea how many other “leaps of faith” I would take - or that others would take with me - along my life’s journey.

After my first six months in practice, the bank president called to tell me that the interest on my loan was due. I sweetly (and naively) asked if I could just add that to my tab, and he said it would be OK. What a guy! By that time it was pretty clear that I wasn’t much of a businessperson, so I thought I’d better hire a business consulting team. They sought the opinions of my staff members, family, and friends about my decision, and their consensus was that my boyfriend, Mark, had an exceptional business aptitude and I should hire him to manage my practice. About that same time, Mark asked me to go to San Francisco with him to a friend’s wedding. I went, we fell in love, and on the way home from the airport he stopped at his office at the bank where he worked as a computer programmer. He cleaned out his office and never looked back. Talk about another leap of faith! We have lived and worked together ever since that day 25 years ago.

The consultants whom I had hired presented us with a notebook full of goals and objectives they projected would take us a year to accomplish. To save money, we decided to forge ahead without the consultants, and we accomplished every goal within three months - we were rolling! After a year of working and living together, we decided to get married. From the beginning, we’ve been a team at home and at work, with a balance that enables us to grow and have fun. We were well-grounded in this philosophy of teamwork even before we had our wonderful children, Sam and Sara, and it has served us well. Now that they are 16 and 15 years old, I can honestly say that Mark and I have both contributed to the family and our business on a 50/50 basis (give or take 10 or 20 from time to time). We work hard to maintain that balance, but even more importantly, we trust and love each other, our kids, and our work.

A couple of years ago, I sat on a women’s panel at a meeting of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) in Honolulu, Hawaii. When I told the female audience that my husband does all of the grocery shopping and cooking and that we have at least four dinners a week as a family, he received a huge round of applause. In addition to being the business manager for our practice, this multitalented man does 90 percent of the photography and all of the computer imaging in our office. He types all of the treatment plans and dental reports for our patients (he hasn’t missed one in 15 years), and handles the marketing, including helping to create our Web site, www.susanhollar.com. He also does about 85 percent of the driving for our children. However, he’s not perfect - he snores and acts like a you-know-what on occasion, just like all husbands do!

After being in practice for several years, I realized I had a lot to learn about occlusion. I did my research and informed Mark that I needed to take Peter Dawson’s courses. He planned and budgeted for it (he’s so much more left-brained than I am), so we were able to go through the Dawson continuums and most of the programs of the L.D. Pankey Institute in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This education totally changed our practice. We bought articulators and began taking mounted study models on all of our patients, as well as performing much more thorough exams. We went from 120 new patients per month to 16 per month, and found that our patients and staff were much happier. I now see three to six new patients a month, perform an even more involved examination, and stay busier than ever.

In the 1990s, I became interested in the accreditation process sponsored by the AACD. I took courses from Jimmy Eubank and Jeff Morley to learn about esthetics, photography, and case selection. After becoming accredited in 1999 with help and encouragement from my consultant, Corky Willhite, I went on to take more courses from Jimmy and Jeff that gave me the confidence to charge the necessary fees to accomplish “comprehensive” dentistry, the ultimate combination of function and esthetics. I can say from a woman’s point of view that function and esthetics are like family and work; they are equally important and must be combined like an algebra equation to create balance and harmony.

Dr. Susan Hollar with her husband, Mark, son, Sam, and daughter, Sara.
Click here to enlarge image
In 2000, I completed the continuum at the L.D. Pankey Institute under the direction of Dr. Irwin Becker, and have since had the honor of teaching there. I am also an examiner for the AACD accreditation process and a lecturer at several university continuing-education pro-grams and dental meetings. What a wonderful feeling it is to give back to the dental profession! I am thankful for the mentors on my journey who have had faith in me, challenged me, and helped me to become a better dentist and a better person through their teaching and role modeling.

One of my favorite examples is Dr. Pankey. In 1984, I wrote a letter to him, thanking him for his contributions to dentistry. I promptly received a reply in his own handwriting. The letter was dated July 4. He sat down on a holiday to write one of his thousands of students. It made a big impression on me. My love of dentistry is fed by the exhilaration of helping others and the opportunities to continue learning and growing alongside people like Dr. Pankey.

Mark and I wanted to set a certain tone for our practice, but each of our staff members has played a vital role in actually creating the relaxed, caring atmosphere we envisioned. Patients tell me on a daily basis that they can feel the empathy and concern that emanates from our people. I frequently thank God for all of them. Mark, my assistant Rhonda, my hygienist Mary-Beth, and I have all worked together for more than 20 years. My associate Diana, my in-house dental ceramist Richard, and my second assistant Kelly add incredible amounts of energy and talent to our practice and have been with us for more than six years. Like Mary, our receptionist, our younger staff members keep us feeling young and on our toes. These are the people who have developed the systems that make our practice such a great place. To reward their hard work and to help ensure our continued growth, we take a yearly trek to an exotic destination or a dental meeting where we set goals and celebrate our successes as a team.

Thanks to my loyal and talented staff, as well as the awesome teachers and mentors of our profession, I have been able to limit my practice to comprehensive, restorative care, which I define as maximum function and esthetics. Comprehensive dentistry takes a lot of time - no shortcuts. Consequently, six years ago we doubled our fees and stopped taking insurance assignments. I take twice as much time with each case, so that I am able to make the same amount of money. However, both the practice of dentistry and the relationships with my patients are 10 times more fun and rewarding.

Ever since I can remember, my mother encouraged me to have a career and a family. She pursued landscaping as her six children got older, and found that the balance of work and family was more fulfilling than either one alone. She felt very strongly that women should have options in their lives. Her encouragement was a tremendous catalyst in my decision to apply for dental school after I graduated from dental hygiene school at Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas. My parents took that initial leap of faith in funding my education, and then I had to take my own. I am awed by the example of my mother and others like her who showed that it is possible for women to reach their full potential both as women and as professionals.

As I write, my 50th birthday is in exactly two weeks; it seems an appropriate time to reflect on my life. In approaching this milestone, I am thankful for so many things. Having two wonderful children like Sam and Sara to love and watch blossom like beautiful flowers, enjoying a happy and cooperative marriage, and doing work that I have passion for are blessings I will treasure forever. Of course, problems and challenges will continue to arise, but we take one day at a time and appreciate the opportunities each moment brings. We still have faith, and we’re still leaping!