Meet Dr. Snell

We have been excited to have Dr. Heath Snell join our practice. Not only is he incredibly good at what he does, he is an incredible person as well. We hope you get to meet him soon! Here is a little more about him:

Dr. Heath Snell completed his undergraduate studies, graduating Summa Cum Laude, from Arizona State University. He then went on to pursue his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Colorado School of Dentistry. While in dental school Dr. Snell received several honors and awards and was nominated in to the prestigious Omicron Kappa Upsilon dental honors society.

Following dental school, Dr. Snell completed a one-year course of study in Advanced Education in General Dentistry where he gained the needed training to perform such complex dental procedures as placement of dental implants and extraction of wisdom teeth. Because of this extra training, he is also certified to perform “sleep dentistry” using either oral or IV sedation.

Dr. Snell is a member of the American Dental Association, the Arizona Dental Association, the Academy of General Dentistry, and the American Dental Society of Dental Anesthesiology.

When he is not working, Dr. Snell really enjoys spending time with his wife, Chelsea, and their three kids, Brooklyn, Caden and Brynlie. He also enjoys athletics, photography, and is very active in his church and community.

Whoopi's Words of Wisdom

CEREC - Computer Designed Dentistry

Last week we got a new addition to our office and I am so excited about it! It is the CEREC 3D CAD/CAM machine.

This machine is amazing! It allows us to design a crown, inlay or onlay with a computer and then a machine in the office takes the design and cuts the crown out of a solid block of porcelain!


So we don't have to take an impression with all of that goopy stuff and then put in a temporary crown and then make the patient come back two weeks later to get their crown. It all happens in one visit of about an hour.

And these crowns are all-porcelain which is superior to most other types of crowns commonly fabricated in a dental lab. They look so much more natural than crowns with a metal substructure.

So here are some pictures of the process:
The first one is a "Before" picture of a couple teeth with old broken-down silver fillings.

Once we've removed the fillings and prepared the teeth for the crown, we take a picture with our special scanning camera and it turns the picture into a 3D model on the screen.






From the 3D model we can design a crown that will fit the tooth. The computer software actually goes through thousands of calculations to produce a crown that not only fits, but mimics the natural shapes and contours of the other teeth in the mouth. From there I can change the shape, size, or even carve my initials into it.



Once we have a design we like, we click a button and place a porcelain block in the milling machine. The machine has two rotating diamond burs that cut our crown out of the solid porcelain. It takes about 10 minutes to cut it and then we are ready to bond it to the tooth in the mouth.











As long as the crown has been designed right, it fits perfectly onto the tooth and, as you can see, looks incredibly natural. It is hard to even tell where the tooth and porcelain meet.

The CEREC technology has been an incredible advance in the way we practice dentistry in our office. We can now provide the highest quality dentistry available in a way that is convenient to our patients.

What Happens If You Miss Your Cleaning?

I am often asked, "What would happen if I missed my 6 month cleanings?" I could give a generic answer but I thought it would be better just to show it with pictures. This is a patient who missed his regular cleaning appointment and came in 2 weeks late. He probably regrets it...




Actually this is a picture my dad just sent me from his mission in Africa. I'm not sure what the underlying cause is here, infection or tumor but it just goes to show what a need there is for medical care in those countries. He's probably had to live like that for a while.
We can all be happy we live in a country with such great access to health care!

Worst Celebrity Smiles

I was watching a movie this weekend and I couldn't get over how bad most of the main actors' and actresses' teeth were. Maybe my curse in life now is that I can't help but to look at everyone's smile in a critical manner. I don't mean to do it but I can't help it. But I thought it would be fun to put together some of the "Worst Celebrity Smiles." So here it goes...

Tom Cruise

He is an interesting case because you don't notice that his teeth are bad until you know what you are looking for. His teeth are all straight but his entire upper jaw is shifted to the left...a lot. Instead of his middle teeth being lined up with the middle of his nose, they are lined up an entire tooth to the left. Unfortunately for Tom, the only way to really fix this would involve breaking his upper jaw away from his skull and repositioning it to the right. It feels as good as it sounds so I think he'll keep it as is.


Kirsten Dunst

Kirsten's teeth have always bothered me. Mostly because they could be fixed so easily. You can see how her middle teeth are slanted backward and her little teeth right next to them are flaring out slightly. Plus, she has very short teeth. Her gums cover so much of her teeth that they almost look like baby teeth.

Treatment recommendation: Invisalign clear braces followed by teeth lengthening.
Treatment time: Probably 4-5 months total including the Invisalign braces.


Steve Buscemi

Poor Steve is a mess. I guess it is a good thing he is mostly only a supporting actor in comedic roles. I don't know how you ever audition for a movie with a smile like this but it works for him. Just watch some of his movies (Armageddon, Desperado, every Adam Sandler movie). His teeth look a little advanced for just veneers. Probably porcelain crowns would be needed to give him a good shape, color, etc,

Recommended Treatment: Teeth whitening, Porcelain Crowns
Treatment Time: Less than a month


Amy Winehouse

Multiple Grammy winner Amy Winehouse is a good example of what drugs, alcohol, and neglect can do to your teeth. One is obviously missing and by the looks of the picture, the decayed tooth root is still in there. Farther back she has the same thing happening to another tooth. She looks bad but wouldn't be too incredibly difficult to get fixed up.

Treatment Recommendation: Dental implants to replace missing teeth, porcelain crowns and veneers to fix broken teeth, and...lots of counseling.


Mike Tyson

I had to put this one in here because it makes me laugh. Iron Mike Tyson was the baddest guy around when I was a kid. He knocked out everyone (except for me on the Nintendo game!) Now he is just like a circus show. Anyway, not that you would want to change anything with this smile...but if you did,crowns and veneers would be great to replace those gold crowns and also to close that huge gap between his front teeth

Treatment Recommendation: Porcelain crowns and veneers
Treatment Length: As little as 2 weeks but I'm thinking he would be one of those problem patients...in fact I don't think we'd even treat him.


So there it is. Some bad smiles and possible ways to fix them. For some others, see: Madonna, Hillary Duff (she got veneers but they look so fake), John Heder, Jewel, and many more.

Our First YouTube Video!

Hello! So I put together a small movie of some of the work we do at our office. I stuck it on YouTube but you should be able to view it here. Hope you enjoy it. It's done in High-Def but you'd have to come into the office to see it on the flat-screens for that becuase the quality isn't the best on YouTube. Enjoy!

Cosmetic Smile Simulation

Now you can see your new smile before any work is done!

How great would it be to know what you could look like through cosmetic dentistry before going through the whole procedure?

Not only is it possible, but we do it every day and our patients love it. New software for digital imaging has made it able for us to show you your new smile in just a few minutes.

It is really amazing to see how a smile

makes a difference in the overall facial features.

Our patient Becky had veneers that she wasn't happy with. They had

become crowded and weren't

the color she wanted them to be.

She wanted to fix them but wasn't sure if new veneers would make much of a difference.

So we took some pictures and designed a new smile. It may not be zoomed in enough to appreciate how much better it looks and how it improves the facial features.

What is even more exciting is that because of the amazing labs we use to create our veneers, we can reproduce what is shown in the simulation.

So it isn't just a picture to look at and think, "That would be nice if it could be like that." It can look like that. Or we can make any modifications you want.

Before we even start we go

through a sort of "catalogue" of teeth to pick out the shapes you want. Or you can bring in a picture of a celebrity and we can match their smile.

This is Becky's picture after treatment. She actually brought in pictures of Catherine Zeta-Jones' smile for us to create. With cosmetic dentistry these days, you can completely design your smile to look exactly how you want.

We always offer completely free cosmetic consults and we will even do smile simulations at no charge. We want anyone who is interested in enhancing their smile to see how they can look.

Give us a call any time if you are interested!

480-892-1711

You can also see other cases we've completed by clicking here: Gilbert Cosmetic Dentist

Invisalign - The Clear Revolution

By now I'm sure everyone has heard of Invisalign Clear Braces.

I just wanted to add my excitement to the mix. Our office has become one of the preferred Invisalign providers in Gilbert and Mesa because we love to offer this procedure so much.

We all have a little crowding, whether we already

had braces as a kid or not. And most of us would

love to fix it but there is no way your getting us

back into those metal wires again.

But now there is an incredible, clear way to restore our straight teeth to their former glory!

Invisalign straightens the teeth through a series of thin, clear, plastic trays that fit right over your teeth and are practically invisible.

Check out the special report I wrote on

"Invisalign - The 7 Amazing Benefits Your Orthodontist Isn't Telling You About"

Ask your dentist about Invisalign. Compared to metal braces

it is cheaper, faster, looks better, and removeable.

What more could you ask for?

Feel free to browse other special reports at

our website by following this link:

Lakeside Cosmetic Dentistry

Blog on Our Official Website

Hey there! Hope you enjoyed the "Dancing Molars" post. I started a blog on our official office website as well that covers some of the different questions that patients have had. Feel free to check it out or e-mail me if you have any questions you would like to have answered.

Thanks! Here's the link:

http://www.lakesidesmiles.com/blog/Blog.htm

Dancing Molars

   Sometimes teeth have roots that go every direction. Every once in a while we get what I call "dancing molars". Aren't they cute. They are so happy to have been removed from someone's mouth. If you send in money, I will tell them to do tricks for you!