Dr. Rob Lipkowitz has been practicing Dentistry for over 30 years and he’s had this practice here in beautiful Magnolia, Massachusetts since 1990. Dr. Rob is known for his kind and gentle demeanor, his sense of humor, and his amazing ability to improve lives one smile at a time.
Below is his interview with Cara Chatellier, Founder and Creative Director of Bubbly Creative.
Preventive Tips from Jeb Fisher on Vimeo.
Dr. Rob. I understand that prevention is one of the key pillars of your practice. What are some of the most effective prevention practices?
Well, you know the mouth is not separate from the rest of the body. So prevention is really about choices that we make every day. So certainly a good diet that’s low in sugar high in vegetables and fruits, regular exercise. But of course, in terms of dental care, you want to be brushing and flossing twice a day, really effectively.
Okay, and why is preventive dental care important to overall health?
Well, we’ve all heard this, the buzzword of inflammation, these days inflammation is about everything. Well, it turns out that people with gum disease have very high rates of silent inflammation and that inflammation contributes to diabetes, contributes to heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, all of these diseases that get us when we get much older. And so, if we can silence this inflammation, we can stay much healthier for much longer. So by staying dentally healthy, you get to silence that inflammation.
And now for a patient question, “I haven’t been to the dentist in a while. How should I prepare?”
Well, I think the most important thing to prepare for a dental visit is to just come in with an open mind. And realize that the most important thing that you’re doing is getting back on track. You know, if it’s been a while since you’ve been to the dentist people come in and they’re really afraid of what they might hear. But the fact is that the day that you Come in, you get to know exactly where you are and create a plan to get you healthy again. So I think just keeping an open mind, and staying as relaxed as possible is the best thing to do when you’re going in for a new dental visit.
How many times a year should patients come in for cleanings?
That’s a very good question and it really depends on how healthy they are and how healthy they maintain themselves between visits. So in my practice, we see people anywhere between one and four times a year. If they come and they’re very healthy at their cleaning and checkups, then we don’t need to see them that often because they’re doing a great job at home. If they have trouble with their effectiveness and keeping their teeth in their gums clean, then we want to see them more often so that we can reduce the inflammation that’s in their mouths. And as I said before, the rest of their body.
