Drs. John and Michael Bixby, dentists in Little Silver, New Jersey, are fitting athletes with a high-tech mouth guard that literally enables the body to perform at the next level.

It’s called The Edge, a technological wonder developed by a Canadian dentist. It is helping Boston Red Sox superstar, Manny Ramirez, reach baseball milestones. By holding his jaw in a position that allows his jaw and neck muscles to completely relax; The Edge is literally giving Ramirez an edge in strength, balance and flexibility.

"Incredible," is how he describes it. "I pop this thing in my mouth before I go to the plate, and man do I feel a difference. Just like that, I feel stronger, and more relaxed. And when you’re feeling relaxed and in tune with your body, you can do some damage… I just love it." says Ramirez.

Drs. Bixby, specially trained neuromuscular dentists who are licensed in the state of New York and New Jersey, says that years of research went into designing the mouth guard. "It begins with looking at how the body functions as a whole," he says. "Over 90% of the population has an overbite, and one of the negative effects of an overbite is that it causes muscle tension. When the neck and jaw muscles are tense, the body can’t perform at its peak. Strength is lost and balance is diminished. So on the most basic level, what The Edge does is allow the body to perform at its absolute peak, in a purely natural way."

To achieve this kind of efficiency, athletes who are interested in using The Edge must be fitted by specially trained and licensed dentists, such as Dr. Bixby. Bixby says that the key to getting the perfect fit is the use of state-of-the-art equipment which monitors the condition of the jaw muscles so that a dentist can determine where the optimal bite position is.

"Once we know where the optimal bite position is, we can then fit the mouth guard," he says. "So whenever they put the device in their mouth, it will hold their jaw in the perfect position, freeing up the rest of the body to perform at it’s best."

In the case of star slugger, Manny Ramirez, he was fitted for The Edge during spring training in Fort Myers. During a session that lasted roughly 45 minutes, a machine called the J5 myomonitor was used to induce his jaw muscles into a state of relaxation. Once his jaw could be opened into it’s most relaxed position, a mold was made.

"There are a lot of dentists throughout North America and around the world who are fitting athletes with The Edge," says Bixby. "That number is growing at an exponential rate."

The Edge is indeed taking off. It is part of a comprehensive mouth guard system, which includes the Pure Power Mouthguard, or PPM. The PPM protects the upper teeth, while The Edge, worn on the lower jaw, holds the jaw in optimal position. Currently, there are over 200 dentists in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore, who offer the appliance to professional and amateur athletes. The list of world class athletes using The Edge is also growing.

The inventor of The Edge is Dr. Anil Makkar. Both Dr. Makkar and Dr. Bixby are alumni of the esteemed Las Vegas Institute (LVI) for Advanced Dentistry.

Another high-profile fan of the device is St. Louis Rams kicker, Josh Brown. Brown says that The Edge has allowed him to run significantly faster, which he attributes to making a number of tackles over the last season with the Seattle Seahawks. "Who thinks of a kicker making tackles?" he says. "But last season I made five or six, which is incredible for a kicker."

Brown says that The Edge allows him to lift an additional 20 or 30 pounds in each exercise he does in the weight room.

There are currently over 150 professional athletes using The Edge, from MLB, the NBA, NFL, NHL, and UFC. This doesn’t include the list of over 1000 collegiate athletes who are embracing The Edge phenomenon.

Dr. Bixby believes that The Edge will soon be a hit with athletes of all levels of ability.

"I would encourage anyone who is interested in improving their athletic ability to talk to us about taking a short and simple test for The Edge. We all have different goals when it comes to sports, but there isn’t anyone who wouldn’t like to have an overall increase in strength, balance, and range of motion. The Edge is a great, natural way to achieve these things."

As for Manny Ramirez’s goals? One only needs to watch him in batting practice to understand. One only needs to witness the grace, speed, and frightening power with which he swings the bat.

"This is the game I love," he says solemnly, after knocking one over the fence in left-centre. "Better believe I’m going to make the most of it."

For New York inquiries, please call: 888-819-6335, and New Jersey call (732) 889-1067.

For more information, please visit Dr. Bixby’s website: www.purepoweredge-ppe.com

By Dr. Mike Bixby DMD FAGD

What do the following questions have in common?
1)  “Doc, my dentist fixed this chip on my front tooth, but it keeps coming off.  Is it the Glue?”
2)  “I get headaches around my temples and neck every day.  Can you help?”
3)  “My teeth are getting smaller as I get older.  I am afraid they are going to wear to nothing.  What can I do?”
The answer to all three of these questions may be your bite.  The Jaw is a complicated joint that has muscles, bones, discs and is kept in balance by the position of your teeth.  A healthy joint requires a balance between all of these parts.  Think of it as a battle between the muscles of the face and your teeth.  Ideally the muscles and joint are happy and the teeth mesh nicely as you close.  The problem for many people is where the teeth mesh is not where the muscles and joints are happy.  Posture, breathing, worn out fillings and missing teeth all have an effect on your bite. 
In the battle for a healthy joint, there will be a winner and a loser.  If the muscles win, you will chip teeth, break fillings, or wear down your teeth as in questions 1 and 3. The teeth are in the way, so they try to get them out of the way.  If the teeth win, your muscles have to work really hard to get your teeth to meet or they may not be able to find a comfortable spot.    This can lead to pain, headaches, neck aches, or jaw pain as is question 2.  The muscles are working really hard to go where they want, but they can’t.  This leads to tired and sore muscles.
What can we do about this?  Neuromuscular dentistry looks at all of these things and tries to get you in balance.  When you’re in balance, your teeth are no longer in the way, so your muscles don’t have to work very hard.  Your muscles don’t have to get teeth out of the way, because the teeth fit where the muscles and jaw are most happy.
If you find yourself asking these questions about your teeth, it may be your bite.
 If you don’t have a dental home, you are welcome to call our office (732-224-1160) and schedule an appointment so we can discuss your unique situation.  You can e-mail me at Mike@drbixby.com

Dr. Michael Bixby of the Atlantic Center for Advanced Dentistry practice in Little Silver, NJ was recently selected to be one of 150 dentists across the country to be a Champion of Evidence-Based Dentistry by the American Dental Association (ADA). Evidence-Based Dentistry helps make sure there are consistent standards through which dentists can diagnose and treat their patients. “Without evidence-based standards, it can lead to diagnosis by the dentist or rulings by the insurance companies that are based on feeling or whim, not sound science. I look forward to helping my other colleagues determine the standards that will help keep the future of dentistry moving forward.” Dr. Bixby said. The meeting is in Friday, May 2-4 at the ADA headquarters in Chicago, IL.

Dr. Michael Bixby maintains a cosmetic and neuromuscular dental practice in Little Silver, NJ. He practices with his father Dr. John Bixby at the Atlantic Center for Advanced Dentistry, where they treat a wide range of patients, from general family care to complicated cosmetic or TMJ pain patients.

Starting Today April 24 - May 1 Drs. John and Michael Bixby are conducting free oral cancer screenings

in conjunction with the Monmouth County Cancer Coalition.

New Jersey’s rates of Oral Cancer are higher than the national average.  The mission of the Drs. Bixby and the Cancer Coalition is to increase awareness, education, and access to cancer screening and care.

“Early detection saves lives.  When found early, Oral cancer is a very treatable disease.  The problem is many patients are getting diagnosed in the later stages.” says Dr. Michael Bixby. 

Who may receive a screening test?

Any adult age 18 and over may receive a test free of charge.  The Monmouth Coalition particularly wants to target high-risk populations such as those who smoke or drink excessively.

For more information

Call 732-418-3219 or Visit

www.monmouthcancercoalition.org

Drs. John and Michael Bixby can be reached at

732-224-1160 or www.cosmeticdentists-nj.com

Gum Disease, it can hurt you

People often ask me if they really need treatment for their gum disease. “It doesn’t hurt so there probably is no real problem.” The answer of course is yes!

Gum disease is not curable. It can only be controlled. There usually is no pain involved, so it can go a long time without being noticed. As time goes on, bone is lost around the teeth. This may lead to tooth loss. It is kind of like having a house built on a swamp. You can have a nice house but the foundation stinks.

Treating gum disease helps prevent further bone loss by removing the bacterial colonies and allowing the gums to heal.

Beyond the teeth, gum disease is linked with a number of health risks:

• Heart Disease
  People with gum disease have twice the risk for a fatal heart attack and are more likely to be diagnosed with heart disease. Bacteria from diseased gums can enter the blood stream irritating the blood vessels and increasing the chance of blood clots.
  
  
• Respiratory infection
  Gum disease is a major factor for bacteria entering the lungs. This can lead to Chronic Lung disease which leads to less lung function.
  
  
• Diabetes
  A Diabetic is four times more likely to develop gum disease. Plus, having gum disease impairs the body’s ability to make and use insulin. This makes your diabetes harder to control.

The moral of the story is: gum health is a very important factor in overall health. If you have any questions about the health of your gums you should ask your dentist. It can save your life. If you don’t have a dental home, you are welcome to call our office (732-224-1160) and schedule an appointment so we can discuss your unique situation.

The Pure Power Mouthguard is now the rave in the world of golf.  The PPM improves strength and balance and also cures aches and pains. The device accomplishes all this by correcting a person's bite. The technology the mouth guard utilizes is the decades-old field of neuromuscular dentistry. Its application to the athletic world - as a natural performance enhancer - is new.

Scott Smith, who is the World Record Holder in Long Drive (539 Yards), has been using The PPM for the last six months. “I am seeing a higher range in motion increase, and when I am hitting balls my turn is bigger and better,” he says. “Since using the PPM, I have also noticed a big difference in oxygen flow.”

Josh Brown, former kicker for the Seahawks who just signed on with the Rams, is also using Bixby’s appliance. Brown states, “I noticed this past season that the PPM helped my accuracy, balance and strength.”

The PPM is not available at your local sporting good store; only specially trained neuromuscular dentists can fit individuals with the device through using state-of-the-art technology. "I would recommend to anyone who is serious about their athletic competition to come in and try the PPM out."

"Everyone has different goals they want to reach, for an athlete that wants to jump higher, run faster, lift more weight, drive farther and have an all-around improvement in flexibility and range of motion - this appliance will create the edge."

There are currently 250 professional and collegiate athletes using The PPM from the MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL, UFC, NCAA ( football and basketball ), PGA tour members, pro boxers and arm wrestlers.

In early January 2008, the American Dental Association, (ADA), announced that as of this year, in Sweden and Norway the use of mercury-silver, or amalgam, dental fillings has been banned. There has been much discussion about the health or environmental risks of the use of mercury fillings in those countries for some time.

However, in the USA the use of mercury in dental fillings is still considered safe by the government and the ADA. It is only in recent years that some of the better insurance companies have approved payment for alternatives to mercury-silver fillings.

An alternative to the mercury-silver fillings is a resin or composite filling. Since these fillings are tooth colored the dental insurance companies felt they were only cosmetic and therefore not covered under the policies they had written. Resin fillings are more technique sensitive and time consuming to bond into place. But, if a person is starting to get decay around a resin filling the decay can be easily seen compared to the decay starting between a black mercury filling and the white enamel.

Porcelain inlays are another alternative to fillings. The porcelain material is harder than the resin and therefore should last longer than the resin filling. These are also bonded into place and help to reinforce the tooth for strength.

Advantages of porcelain/composite restorations:

1. The mercury-silver filling does not bond to the tooth like a porcelain/composite restorations. Hence, a mercury-silver filling weakens the teeth, making them more susceptible to breaking. Since broken teeth can be costly to restore, porcelain/composite restorations can save a lot of expense over the long run.
   
   
2. Porcelain/composite restorations restore the natural appearance of the tooth where the mercury-silver filling can easily be seen.
   
   
3. Teeth restored with white porcelain/composite restorations are less sensitive to hot and cold than teeth restored with amalgam, if correct techniques are used.
   
   
4. Mercury-silver fillings require more of the tooth structure removal than porcelain/composite restorations. Especially with new cavities, the size of the hole made for the restorations can be dramatically smaller with porcelain/composite restorations.
   
   
5. The largest advantage of a mercury-silver filling is that it is less expensive than the newer porcelain/composite restorations.

If you have mercury-silver or amalgam fillings in your mouth the chances are you will be fine. It is considered unethical for a dentist to advise a patient to have mercury fillings removed for health reasons. If a patient wants to have them removed for their own concerns or even for cosmetic reasons it is OK.

If you have questions concerning mercury fillings you should ask your dentist. If you do not have a dental home you are welcome to call our office (732-224-1160) and schedule an appointment so we can discuss your unique situation.

You would be surprised how many people live with the wish of wanting to make some cosmetic changes to their smile. But, there is always something else on their mind or on their plate and they never take the time to ask about it. So, as the holiday season approaches, I want to encourage everyone to take a few minutes and do something for yourself.

I see it all the time. There is never time for something for yourself. Children, work, family, the holidays and all of your other obligations take up all your time. People tell you to take a minute for yourself or think of yourself first for once. It’s good advice. So, this holiday season, I encourage you, even for one day, to stop and do something for yourself.

And, if that thing is cosmetic dentistry, please call or email me. I will be happy to answer all of your questions and give you my informed opinion on what are the best options and what might be the best options for you.

Why not ask? Why not take a minute and send me an email? You might be surprised where it takes you.

All you need is a quick trip to the grocery store to realize how much sugar is poured into the Halloween holiday each year. If you have kids, most likely you will have a sugar rush to deal with this week. To make the most of it, use this influx of sugar as a reminder to reinforce good brushing and flossing habits.

Sugar, saliva and bacteria can work together, leading to tooth decay that causes cavities. That is why brushing and flossing at least twice daily is important. This attention to cleaning should include between teeth and along the gumline.

You always hear about what you should do but sometimes it is important to review what happens if you don’t. In general, sucrose (which comes from sugar) and glycoproteins (a combination of a carbohydrate molecule and a protein molecule, can stick to teeth and begin the formation of plaque, which attracts bacteria.

Lactic acid is a byproduct of the bacteria when it metabolizes sugar in this anarerobic environment. It is the lactic acid that dissolves tooth enamel, leading to a cavity.

In addition to a diet that is rich in calcium and fluoride, brushing and flossing is crucial to preventing cavities. So, on Halloween, is it okay to indulge in some treats. Why not? Just make sure and brush and floss afterwards.

Did you know migraine headaches can be caused by TMJ issues? A misaligned jaw can be the reason for many pains and discomforts.

Normally, you would not think of taking your migraine headache issues to a dentist. Most people go to the doctor and get medication if the need persists. Or, they just live with it and ride out the headaches. It takes some research, a heads-up referral, and often a lot of frustration before some migraine sufferers finally seek out a neuromuscular dentist.

Misaligned jaws can cause a number of issues beyond simple jaw popping and pain. This is how most people know TMJ, so to connect TMJ with migraines may seem a difficult jump to make. In truth, it is not. In layman’s terms, the muscles and nerves that surround the jaw area are affected when the bite it not right. A misaligned bite may cause localized pain at the jaw but the effects radiate out to nearby areas. Naturally, this can cause severe headaches and even migraines.

If you or someone you know has migraines, why not ask them to call my office for a TMJ test that will let them know if I can help their migraine problem. Better to treat the cause for a lifetime, than to continue to treat the symptoms for the moment with medications that may not always work.

There was a recent article on The American Dental Association web site that published a recent revision in the recommended use of antibiotics prior to a dental visit. These new recommendations apply to many dental procedures, including teeth cleaning and extractions.

For years, The American Heart Association advised patients take anti-biotics just before a dental visit if they have certain heart conditions. The prevailing thought has been that doing so would prevent infective endocarditis, also known as bacterial endocarditis.

The latest guidelines published in the AHA’s scientific journal in April 2007 adjust their recommendation. In short, the AHA recommends that most patients with heart conditions not take short-term anti-biotics before a visit to the dentist as a precaution for endocarditis.

Preventive anti-biotics prior to a dental procedure still are advised for patients with:

1. artificial heart valves
   
2. a history of infective endocarditis
   
3. a cardiac transplant that develops a problem in a heart valve
   
4. certain specific, serious congenital (present from birth) heart conditions, including:
   
   unrepaired or incompletely repaired cyanotic congenital heart disease, including those with palliative shunts and conduits
   
   a completely repaired congenital heart defect with prosthetic material or device, whether placed by surgery or by catheter intervention, during the first six months after the procedure
   
   any repaired congenital heart defect with residual defect at the site or adjacent to the site of a prosthetic patch or a prosthetic device.

Patients with congenital heart disease can have complicated circumstances. They should check with their cardiologist if there is any question at all as to the category that best fits their needs.

You can learn more about this at ada.org.

Periodontal care is one of the most important aspects of dental health because periodontal disease ( or disease of the gums ) has been linked to several other health problems. We are interested in your general wellness and that means remembering periodontal care.

A few common facts you may know are that there is link between periodontal disease and heart disease. And, surely, you know that proper brushing technique includes brushing the gums and that you should floss regularly as part of your daily care for you gums.

What many people do not know is that certain conditions can increase the likelihood for periodontal disease. For instance, if you are in a high stress life style or career or if you have poor coping skills in dealing with stress, you are at higher risk for periodontal disease.

So what do you do about that? Go back to the basics in caring for your gums. Take that extra few minutes while brushing to make sure you are doing a good job on your gums, in front and behind the teeth.

And, while you are doing it, take a breather. Try to relax and take care of yourself !

We hope that our patients know our commitment to personal attention. This is one of the important elements that we think separates our practice from other dentists. It has always been our intention to make patients feel at home in our dental office. This goes well beyond simply being polite while performing your dental care.

There is an obvious, warm quality that goes along with genuine personal attention. It is our goal for our patients to experience this when they come to us for a visit. Why? It's how we really feel. So, it is importa