Today, Dr. Shvartsman participated in Smithtown's long tradition of Smithtown Festival Day. It was a fun filled sunny day. There were many vendors with variuous wares, trinkets food and raffles. Our own tooth whitenig raffle had over 200 entries. Tomorrow we will pick the lucky winner! Good Luck!

Esthetic dentistry is a dental treatment approach which restores the  esthetics and beauty of natural teeth.  Few dentists have the natural born art ability and patience to reproduce dental restorations as naturally as possible.  Most dental restorations, especially fillings, are nothing more than space fillers. Great effort and skill  is invested in building dental restorations that mimic the tooth's original esthetic.  Esthetic dentists, like Dr. Shvartsman take pride in recreating  the natural beauty of your teeth.

A crown is indicated in several instances. In general, when a substantial area of your natural tooth is missing because of a large cavity or tooth breakage there is not always enough healthy remaining tooth left to hold the filling in place. Placing large fillings in such weakened teeth may cause the filling to fall out and further tooth fracture which results in a need for a crown anyway or even loss of the tooth.  It is common to see crack lines around large amalgam (silver-mercury)fillings.Read more

Several studies have suggested there is a connection between organisms that cause gum disease, known scientifically as periodontal disease, and the development of heart disease, but few studies have tested this theory. A  recent study conducted at the University at Buffalo, where the gum disease/heart disease connection was uncovered, now has shown that two oral pathogens in the mouth were associated with an increased risk of having a heart attack, but that the total number of germs, regardless of type, was more important to heart health.Read more

 Many people have concerns about the mercury in their silver fillings. Since 1990, when “60 Minutes” ran a story on the alleged risks of dental amalgam, there has been a tremendous amount of media coverage. Reports were made claiming that there have been miraculous “cures” for a variety of medical conditions after these types of restorations are removed, and that dental amalgam is a potential source of mercury toxicity. Mercury, a neurotoxic metal, constitutes approximately 50% of dental amalgam fillings, and trace amounts of mercury vapor escape in the process of chewing.Read more

Bad breath--and we're talking persistent halitosis, not the temporary kind caused by that pastrami sandwich with extra onions you had for lunch--is caused by an organism with the scary name Solobacterium moorei.Read more

 Many patients want the perfect Hollywood smile. But these days, instead of heading to their dentist's office, some are heading to the mall.

Teeth-whitening kiosks and centers run by nondentists are popping up in malls across the U.S. and are attracting attention because they offer a less expensive alternative to having the work done by a dentist. But are they safe?Read more

 Based on a review of new and existing scientific evidence, most dental patients with heart disease no longer need antibiotics before dental procedures to prevent Infective Endocarditis, a rare, but life threatening heart infection.  According to the recently revised guidelines from the American Heart Association with input from the American Dental Association, antibiotics are now only recommended for patients that are at the greatest risk for negative outcomes form Infective Endocarditis including those with artificial heart valves, heart transplant recipients who develop heart valve probleRead more

The FDA this week settled a lawsuit that sought to have mercury fillings banned from the U.S. market. While not agreeing to a ban, the agency has agreed to add warnings regarding the use of amalgams in some patient groups, and to complete a review that could lead to more stringent regulation of the substance. "Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses," the agency now states on its Web site .Read more

Many of us grew up with toothpaste commercials, which ended with “brush your teeth every day and have your teeth cleaned every six months”.  In addition, most Dental Insurance Plans only cover one or two cleanings per year.  One would imagine that a cleaning every six months is enough to maintain everyone’s optimum oral health.   However, this is not the case since treatment must be based on everyone’s individual needs.  In order to understand this we need to look a little closer at gum disease and how to prevent it.Read more