By: Dr. Elizabeth Eggert
Did you know that to be a licensed dentist in Minnesota, 50 hours of continuing education (CE) is required every 2 years? Did you also know that Dr. Elizabeth Eggert and Dr. Jeff Eggert of Eggert Family Dentistry in North Oaks, MN participate in over 4 times the amount of required CE, by attending over 100 hours of dental education courses EVERY year?! We are so thankful to be able to take the extra time to be able to give our patients the latest and greatest experience in dentistry.
This month, Dr. Elizabeth Eggert attended the American Equilibration Society (AES) meeting in Chicago. The AES is a world-respected group that holds a meeting each year, originating as a group that focuses on temporal mandibular disorders (TMD). This group has evolved to include what’s up and coming in dentistry. This year’s theme for the meeting was “The Better Dentist Project.”
Dr. Elizabeth Eggert was lucky to hear presentations about Digital Smile design and what is happening with digital mock-ups for case planning. There is so much that can occur digitally, but the question always remains – will the digital result be better than the tried and true analog methods? There really are a lot of exciting things happening in this realm.
Another topic addressed during the meeting is a concept Dr. Elizabeth is familiar with, but doesn’t get the opportunity to put into practice very often. Did you know there is a strong connection between pain, including pain in the TMJ, and full-body alignment? Without the body in a neutral position, the muscles are pulling, and dysfunction often occurs. The splints Dr. Elizabeth fabricates help to give the body a different neurologic reference point, however, at times other forces in the feet, hips, spine, or shoulders fight the progress until we can also work with a physical therapist (PT) to help get the body in that neutral position. Dr. Elizabeth is excited to see the strides PT and dentistry can make together once we train more PT providers in this area.
Dr. Elizabeth heard Dr. Erin Elliott from Idaho talk about the State of the Union of Dental Sleep Medicine – the Past, Present, and Future. This talk was again a good review of concepts Dr. Elizabeth works to put into practice for her patients so they can be the best versions of themselves. Without adequate sleep, especially great sleep quality, it is impossible to thrive! Dr. Elliott works with many sleep appliances to help her patients and it was great to get her take on what is working best. There have been improvements in the materials available in the last few years and it was nice to get a summary of what’s out there.
The meeting wrapped up with new concepts in periodontal health, implants, and the future of dentistry (“Dentistry in the Metaverse”). It’s an exciting time to not only be a dentist, but to be a dental patient! Call us at 651-482-8412 to schedule your next dental visit. Dr. Elizabeth Eggert and Dr. Jeff Eggert can’t wait to share their knowledge with you.