Episode 10 - PerioProtect PerioTrays for Healthier Gums

In this episode, Dr. Michelle breaks down the benefits of Perio Tray therapy for gum health. Learn more at https://jacksonvillebeachdentist.com/periodontist-in-jacksonville-fl/

Transcript

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Kevin (00:00):
About your smile and other interesting dental topics. And now here's Dr. Michelle DeFelice, Hucke of Jax Beaches Family Dentistry

Dr. Michelle (00:12):
At me,

Kevin (00:15):
And that puts a lot of pressure on us. You notice, he says, well, A, you're going to be here, which is always exciting, Dr. Michelle, but we have to talk about other interesting topics.

(00:25):
I know that's a lot of pressure, and as soon as he says that, you'll sweat beads up on my forehead. Actually, today we're going to have a lot of fun because we're going to talk about my favorite topic, me, right? It does make it easier. Yeah, it does make it easier. Dr. Michelle Deaky is here with us. She's a big part of our family here at WSOS, and we always talk about some items relating to your dental health. Today we're going to talk about though me getting these Perio Protect trays. So I'll try to set it up and then you can fill in where I've made errors in my description of things, right? So I go and I get my teeth clean, which I do every six months with Dr. Michelle and her team. Great experience, by the way. And then it's determined that I would benefit from these Perio Protect trays. Why?

Dr. Michelle (01:12):
Well, they are multiple benefits. They have the top three, in my opinion. They're custom trays that have a gasket around them, and you put 1.7% peroxide gel in them. For those of us that are watching this on Facebook, I'm holding up the gel.

Kevin (01:30):
We're on Facebook Live, by the way, at Check Beaches Family Dentistry.

Dr. Michelle (01:33):
So this paste is amazing. It's specifically designed for these trays. The reason the trays are amazing is there's a gasket around them. So if you have any periodontal disease, so you've been told by your hygienist who probes your periodontal pockets that you have some deeper pockets or you have occasional bleeding when you're getting your teeth cleaned or bleeding when you're flossing, these trays take the perio gel and drive that gel to the base of the periodontal pocket that oxygenates the pocket. And obviously peroxide is bactericidal. So it does both things and it does it at the bottom of the pocket. There aren't any other trays that can do that, because generally when you would put the tray in your mouth, most of the gel would leak out. This holds the gel in place and it holds it in place for 12 minutes. Now, we are going to tell Kevin to hold to put them in place for 15 minutes because most people under exaggerate how long they've had 'em in their mouth. And until you hold peroxide against your teeth for longer than 12 minutes, there's zero kill of the bacteria. So the 12 minute mark is really important. That's why we have you leave it in there. And that's why rinsing with applying peroxide gel, having things in your mouth transiently doesn't work as well as holding it in place. So that's the beauty of the trays. So

Kevin (02:57):
Let's talk. One thing I wanted to point out to folks, by the way, yes, we are on Facebook Live. If you just search Jax Beaches Family Dentistry, and we're talking about the benefit of these Perio Protect trays. So number one, what was cool was somebody that's ancient and lived through braces and all that back in the seventies that had to get the plaster Paris mold with all the gunk sliding down the back of your throat. Those days are over. I mean, I got these molds and it was all digital fancy. It was just emel with this little device that you didn't even feel anything going around my mouth. And then voila, now we have these trays that are custom to my mouth

Dr. Michelle (03:38):
From a video. Yeah,

Kevin (03:39):
How cool is that? Very cool. And the purpose of that and getting it exactly precisely using laser technology is

Dr. Michelle (03:49):
It specifically drives the gel to the base of the pocket. So we sent the video models, the virtual models that were taken from a video of your mouth, but then we also sent your periodontal probing depths. So the gasket that goes around the tray on the inside of the tray also invades the pocket when the gasket is invading the pocket. That's also what's forcing the gel to the base of the pocket.

Kevin (04:15):
Okay, I'm going to wear these for how long? I mean, I know it's more than 12 minutes because 15 minutes I was listening. 15 minutes, and you can just put a timer on your cell phone. That always works.

Dr. Michelle (04:24):
Just yeah, time it on my watch,

Kevin (04:26):
And I have to do this. How many times a day

Dr. Michelle (04:28):
To start out? You're going to do it twice a day, and then you're going to have a check to see how your gums are doing. Once you're stable, then you go to once a day.

Kevin (04:37):
Okay. And that might be how long, typically?

Dr. Michelle (04:40):
How long? Once

Kevin (04:41):
A day before I get to once a day.

Dr. Michelle (04:43):
Oh, usually about six weeks.

Kevin (04:44):
Okay. Alright. So I'm getting rid of this bacteria, which is going to help me in the following ways.

Dr. Michelle (04:52):
Well, it helps with the health of your gums because it's a bacterial disease. So there are certain bacteria, some of which are resistant to deep cleaning therapy. So traditional dentistry has always been, oh my goodness, you have gum disease, you're going to get a deep cleaning, and then we're going to yell at you about how you're flossing improperly.

Kevin (05:15):
They don't yell

Dr. Michelle (05:16):
Just dentistry, by the way. I didn't mean as in

Kevin (05:19):
Other practices,

Dr. Michelle (05:19):
I'm, I'm talking about traditional dentistry. And then things will resolve, right? Because we've cleaned stuff off and then you'll have a three month cleaning appointment and you'll be on this three month recare cycle for life, really. And then a lot of times what will happen is things will flare back up and then there's a review of how you are are not cleaning your teeth at home. The beauty of the periodontal protect trays and the gel is that it gives you another weapon. It allows you to more consistently actually maintain your health and not have these recurrences. Most people out there that are listening to me on the radio right now are on Facebook Live, who have a history of periodontal disease, have had multiple deep cleanings over their lifetime. The reason I know that is I personally have chronic periodontal disease and struggled and suffered with it until I found these trays.

Kevin (06:17):
And the other added benefit is I will end up with Ryan Seacrest like white teeth in a matter of weeks.

Dr. Michelle (06:24):
You are going to have stinking white teeth. It's amazing. That was the other struggle I had. As you have anybody out there listening who has increasing number of birthday candles on their birthday cake, know that if you want a youthful look, you really have to have white youthful looking teeth when you're smiling and talking. And my teeth were yellow, and I got very kind of angry about it, for lack of a better word. It didn't matter if I zoomed or this or that didn't matter what bleaching system I used, and obviously I have access to all of them. It would work for a little while, but I just generally had yellow teeth. So it's such a relief to finally have white teeth that just stay white because you're doing it every day. So

Kevin (07:10):
You have these same trays I do, just like me. I know. And other people. And so you've been using these trays, perio protect trays for how long?

Dr. Michelle (07:20):
I would say four years. I was the first patient,

Kevin (07:23):
Patient, zero,

Dr. Michelle (07:24):
Because somebody's got to be the Guinea pig. And I heard about it at a dental meeting, and I was at a low point in terms of feeling badly about my mouth. I felt like I was probably going to end up having some sort of periodontal surgery and start alternating between our office and a periodontal office. And I was worried I was going to lose a tooth on the upper left that no matter what I did, it just kept staying flared up. The other advantage, I'm about to hit the third advantage. The other thing that I was really struggling with, which you can imagine as a dentist is upsetting, is that I was starting to feel uncomfortable speaking to people and getting too close to them because I knew I had a certain amount of mouth odor. These para protect trays eliminate mouth odor in three days. Wow. So yeah, it's amazing in terms of your confidence, first of all, smiling because your teeth look better. And then also knowing that you can get as close to somebody when you're in a party or something and people get close to you. You just don't even have to worry about it anymore.

Kevin (08:31):
And then obviously, preventing gum disease, which is an issue, especially a lot of our listeners are over the age of 50. And as you get into 50, 60 seventies, it's

Dr. Michelle (08:38):
The birthday candle thing.

Kevin (08:40):
Yeah. You end up having, you're at higher risk for gum disease, right?

Dr. Michelle (08:42):
Absolutely.

Kevin (08:43):
So this is a system that doesn't just address one issue, just making your teeth wider. It actually makes your mouth healthier and even deals with bad breath and all kinds of other things. Pretty cool.

Dr. Michelle (08:56):
Yeah. It's sort of like a side effect, right? Of using the gel is that your breath gets better and your teeth are super

Kevin (09:02):
White. Yeah, it's all good. Well, pretty exciting stuff. So I just got my trace today. So tonight, here they are. Look, yeah. And we've got it on Facebook Live. Just go to Jax Beaches Family Dentistry. You'll see my trays, which we've dropped on the ground a few times now, and the dog is licking, I'm just kidding. But it comes with its own little case. I've got my little gel containers ready to go. So what I'll do is you should do a before and after. We'll do a before and after. I'll get Dr. Michelle to do a before picture, and then we'll do the after and then we'll talk about this again. Put your

Dr. Michelle (09:35):
Teeth on the radio Facebook

Kevin (09:38):
Page. I wouldn't even go there. Yeah, no problem. But what we'll do is we'll do this podcast again or a version of this. This is a live broadcast on the radio, but we also have it as a podcast on Jacksonville beach dentist.com. We can hear all of Dr. Michelle's previous sessions with us. But what we'll do is we'll do another one. It'll be part two in 90 days, and I'll share honestly what this has been like and we'll back it up with photographic evidence. There you go. I like it. Dr. Here with us live and in studio. Hey, you can learn more if you're hopping out of your vehicle. They are accepting new patients, by the way. You can ask questions about these perio protect trays and any other aspect of your dental health by going to jacksonville beach dentist.com. That's jacksonville beach dentist.com. We'll be back.

(11:09):
Janet Jackson there on 1 0 3 9 WSOS, Dr. Michelle DeFelice Hucke is with me live here in the studio. She joins us monthly. We talk about your teeth, how we can make them prettier, how we can make your smile a little bit better. That's key for self-confidence. A lot of detailed research out there that shows at any age. The first thing people look at when they start a conversation with you is your smile. Yeah, I think it goes, that's a point. It doesn't go smile because somebody's speaking with you, so you immediately look at their mouth to know when they're going to say something. Then you look at their eyes and then you might check out their hair. I think it's in that order. Right? It makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. So you want to make sure you have a confident smile. We were talking in the last break about something that I just secured, which is these perio protect trays that float out of my last time with Dr.

(11:57):
Michelle and the team at Jax Beaches Family Dentistry. So now I have my trays. They're all laser precision for my mouth. Did it mean that I have an extra large set of trays because I have a big mouth? No, you don't. I don't have a big, it's sort of median. I'm sort median. Yeah. It's average. It's average. So I'm ready to go. So now all I have to do is pop these bad boys in 15 minutes, put the timer on my cell phone, and then 90 days from now, magic's going to happen. So in addition to my teeth, perhaps being wider and dealing with any bad breath, did I have bad breath, Dr. Michelle? We don't know. Not that I ever noticed. Not that she ever noticed. Bacteria is the key thing though, right? That's what we're trying to kill. So if I brush my teeth twice a day and I follow Dr. Michelle's advice, which I have for years of gargling with Listerine, I mean the hardcore stuff too. Not the alcohol free Listerine, the stuff

Dr. Michelle (12:46):
That we're the original breath Brown Listerine.

Kevin (12:49):
Yeah, the brown stuff. Remember that your grandparents used

Dr. Michelle (12:52):
To use, oh yeah. My grandpa's bathroom smelled like it, but know what? He had all teeth when he died.

Kevin (12:56):
Yeah, there you go. So if I'm doing that, which I have been, that doesn't kill the bacteria.

Dr. Michelle (13:03):
So Listerine's great. I think it's an amazing product. We recommend it all the time. The main reason I prefer that product to all other products is that it has actual really good longstanding independent research, which to me is important. The difference between any kind of rinse and the perio protect trays is that the gel, the peroxide gel that we were talking about earlier, gets forced to the bottom of the pocket. And that's where the anaerobic bad bacteria are living and a solution that you're rinsing back and forth and around, even if you put it in there with a

Kevin (13:43):
Water pick

Dr. Michelle (13:44):
Thank you, water pick, it's not going to get all the way to the bottom pocket. And it's also not going to stay there for any length of time. So

Kevin (13:52):
How did that bacteria get there in the first place?

Dr. Michelle (13:56):
How do we get that? It's a bacterial disease. So there's all kinds of different studies, but a lot of times people say, oh, well, periodontal disease is inherited. Well, yeah, sometimes it is inherited, but a lot of times it's inherited or caught from your mother kissing on you when you were a baby or a partner, a whatever,

Kevin (14:20):
Romantic

Dr. Michelle (14:21):
Boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever, because it is a bacterial, orally transmitted bacteria.

Kevin (14:29):
So there's truth then to back in elementary school when you were running away from the girls, they had cooties.

Dr. Michelle (14:35):
Yeah, there is a, turns out there's definitely a cootie potential. Yeah. There's

Kevin (14:39):
Actually science to back this up.

Dr. Michelle (14:41):
Yeah. Yes. I spoke with a colleague who out of the blue suddenly is a dental colleague, so it makes it more horrifying, at least for her in her mind. But she had had an implant placed and it was in there for four or five years, and after 12 months, an implant failure is really low. It's like a 2% failure. Once it's been integrated for longer than a year, all of a sudden she's having a minor awareness on the upper left. They go to probe her with a periodontal probe, probe her implant, and it's failed. It's like infected. Wow. So she did bacterial testing. They found this nasty bacteria in there. She treated herself with a periodontal protect trays and antibiotics. They had to take the implant out. And she said, I know it's that boyfriend of my daughter's. So she had her whole family tested. The daughter was the only other one that tested. She

Kevin (15:35):
Was right. She was right. Wow.

Dr. Michelle (15:37):
She was right. So yeah, it's transmitted. And the problem with the bacteria being in there is that it keeps your gums inflamed. And the one thing that is interesting in our society, even in the dental field is that for the longest time, as long as it wasn't too much bleeding, we just kind of ignored the bleeding gum thing, unless it was bad or unless it changed or unless it progressed in a negative direction. The real problem that we're finding now, and you can just Google this on your phone, not if you're driving when you get home just for intrigue, the connection between oral bacteria and Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular disease, they're the same bad, what bacteria that are in your mouth, and the bleeding is a sign that the barrier, just like the skin barrier that keeps us safe. When it's broken, the bacteria goes straight into the bloodstream. So it's bad for your mouth and it's bad for your teeth because in the oral environment, it breaks down the bone. So then you don't have bone holding your teeth in your head. That's bad. You're going to lose your teeth. However, it also creates Alzheimer's and cardiovascular issues. And so we don't want that barrier broken. So we want your mouth to feel just like skin. And that's what people tell me when they use the trays. They're like, when I'm brushing my teeth, your gums don't feel fragile anymore. It feels like you're brushing skin.

Kevin (17:08):
Interesting.

Dr. Michelle (17:09):
Which is a great feeling. Yeah.

Kevin (17:10):
Well, we keep learning about how everything in our body is interconnected anyway, right? More and more. So over time, your mouth

Dr. Michelle (17:16):
Is actually part of your body.

Kevin (17:18):
Yeah, I know. And we've learned from Dr. Michelle over the years, because we've been talking for years now, that the mouth really is a window into your overall health. It really is. And that's another example of it. So hey, if you have any questions about these Perio Protect trays, they can benefit really anyone, right? Because we're all, I believe that and of course has the added add-on benefit of Amazing Teeth whitening and helping to deal with gum disease. And the overall goal that all of us have, especially if you're listeners to this radio station and you're probably over the age of 50, the goal is to be able to pass away with your teeth, your own teeth.

Dr. Michelle (17:49):
Absolutely. Right. And if you're listening to this and you're a dentist or a dental hygienist, or a dentist or a dental hygienist, I love sharing the product, and we can get a lot more people healthier in this country if people were to use them. So I like offering them to my patients, but we're going to get a lot more people healthier if I share the information with other dental professionals. So if you're a dental professional and this sounds interesting to you, feel free to reach out to me so you can get more information and then you can carry it or have it in your office to help your patients get healthy.

Kevin (18:32):
Very easy way to do that, just go to jacksonville beach dentist.com. There's an easy way to contact Dr. Michelle and her team on that website. Very easy. And in addition to having a telephone number where a live human being is going to answer the phone and get you connected with Dr. Michelle or get you scheduled for your initial consultation, you can do that. Also encourage you to check out Jax Beaches Family Dentistry on Facebook where you'll catch the video that we just did a little bit earlier that kind of explains in a little more detail what these Perio Protect trays are all about. It also is another way for you to easily connect with the practice and schedule that initial appointment. Right. Dr. Michelle, thank you for coming by. We appreciate you. Thanks.