Spring has arrived! Winter brought a lot of changes to our office by way of new faces and even a name change! You can find us now as Cramer Dentistry. As most of you know by now we said goodbye to Dr’s Megan and Ryan Bond at the end of January. The Bonds were a dear part of our work family and we miss them greatly, but we wish them luck on their new adventure! Some of you may have also had a chance to meet our new doctor, Dr. Stephanie Oh. We are so excited to have Dr. … Read More

  We can hardly go one day without hearing about the rising rates of drug addiction in our country. Or worse hearing the heartbreaking story of a loved one struggling with addiction. Drug addiction has crippling effects on families, communities and individuals. As dental professionals we are trained to look for the oral signs of drug abuse. It is a difficult but necessary conversation to have. We have our patients best interest and overall health always top of mind. If you know someone who is struggling with addiction, please share the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National … Read More

You’ve heard us say time and again that oral health is linked to overall health. Most individuals treat their mouths as a separate entity from the rest of their body and ignore the fact that what goes on here has a large correlation to many other health issues. This month we’re focusing on the link to heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the US. It’s estimated that 1 in every 4 deaths is due to heart disease. Periodontal disease affects nearly 50% of individuals with over 70% prevalence in adults … Read More

With the New Year here, many of us are contemplating how we can make this year even better than the last. Year after year “Health” resolutions are at the top of almost everyone’s list for improvement. These typically include, exercising more, losing weight, eating more healthily and taking a more active approach to health. It’s great that so many people have health at the top of their mind, but statistics tell us less than 10% of New Year Resolutions are ever met. We’re sharing some tips below to help you improve your oral health and subsequently your overall health with … Read More

  We were so happy to be asked by Oral Surgery Associates (OSA) to participate in their first ever Thurston County Dental Office Food Drive. We love giving back to our community so when an opportunity presents itself we can’t pass it up! OSA did a great job of coordinating with our local Thurston County Food Bank. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped us fill our donation box! Thanks to your generosity we were able to collect 175 pounds of food for our neighbors! The total for donations collected across all participating dental offices … Read More

Many of you may have heard about Xylitol. It is most often found in candies and chewing gum in place of sugar. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol sourced from corn or birch trees. It has a texture and sweetness both comparable to sugar, but with less ill effects. Xylitol is non-fermentable, meaning our oral bacteria can’t use it to produce cavity causing acids. It also prohibits bacteria from adhering to cellular tissue. This prevents oral bacteria from thriving. Xylitol contains about 40% less calories than regular sugar and has little to no effect on insulin and blood sugar levels. These … Read More

  Have you ever experienced dry mouth (xerostomia)? Or do you experience it on a regular basis? Well if you do suffer from dry mouth, you are certainly not alone. As many as 400 medications list xerostomia as a side effect. You can check this list, to see if your medication is one of them. Xerostomia can have unwanted consequences on our teeth. The lack of saliva disrupts the pH balance in the oral cavity, often making it more acidic. Cavity causing bacteria thrive in this environment so your risk for decay greatly increases. That is why your hygienist or … Read More

Every October our hygienists celebrate National Dental Hygiene Month. They are always striving to better serve their patients and October is a time to help us raise awareness about the importance of good oral health. It is also a time to celebrate the important work they do on a daily basis. We are so fortunate to have 6 wonderful hygienists that put our patients at ease and encourage them to work toward a healthier smile. National Dental Hygiene month is the perfect time to discuss the basics of periodontal disease. Read on to learn more about the disease your hygienist … Read More

The unstructured carefree days of summer are winding down and just like that another school year is upon us! This means kids will soon be waking up early and sports will be starting again. With sports comes the need to stay hydrated, but there are many drinks out there that can be deceiving. Many sports drinks are targeted toward kids. Most also have high levels of sugar, which is why kids usually prefer them over plain water. The constant intake of these sugary and acidic beverages though, can have unwanted ill effects on our teeth. Dental erosion is a loss … Read More

As many of you probably know, a little over a year ago we started offering Invisalign clear aligner therapy in our office. We are so happy to offer this service to our patients. Besides the aesthetic factor, the benefits of Invisalign are many. To help us provide this service we are implementing the Itero scanner. This scanner allows us to take a 3D image of your teeth, so no impressions are needed to create your aligners. We also use this image to create a simulation model of how your teeth will look after they are aligned. Watch the video at … Read More