Richard Gottlieb, DMD

UP TO 20 PERCENT of habitually snoring children have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that results in brief but repeated interruptions to normal breathing during sleep. Not only is this a potentially life-threatening disorder, it also has a significant impact on oral health. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the result of a blockage in the airway, typically the tongue collapsing against the soft palate, which in turn collapses against the back of the throat, closi...ng off the airway. The interruption to breathing causes the person to wake up, which can happen many times in a night and severely harms the overall quality of sleep. So what’s the connection to teeth? In addition to leaving a child with all the usual symptoms of sleep deprivation, such as exhaustion, difficulty concentrating at school, irritability, and hyperactivity, sleep apnea has a number of effects on oral health. There is a significant association between OSA and moderate to severe periodontitis (gum disease), but the most common dental health complications are temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJ or TMD). Studies have shown that the jaw reflexively clenches to prevent the airway from becoming blocked when the throat relaxes during a sleep apnea episode. TMD leads to other problems like worn, cracked, or broken teeth, pain when chewing, chronic headaches, and neck and shoulder pain. This is why the dentist is often the first one to spot the signs of sleep apnea! #SleepApnea #tmj #tmd #osa

Although Covid cases are declining and vaccines are increasing we must remember that our office is considered as a health care facility and we will continue to provide you with a safe environment. That being said, we are continuing to follow CDC and PDA recommendations. Mask wearing, social distancing and other preventive measures against this disease will continue until further recommendations are made. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call us. Wishing that everyone remain safe and if you have not been vaccinated, please reconsider.

This one is for those soft drink junkies!

THERE’S A LOT OF strange stuff buried in the history of dental health and hygiene, but there are a few traditions that really stand out. The ancient Babylonians had a very peculiar way of treating bruxism (chronic teeth-grinding). They believed it was caused by demons, so the solution was to scare the demons away...by sleeping right next to a human skull. Supposedly the grinding habit would leave along with the demon. In ancient Egypt, someone who had a toothache could be t...reated with a pain-killing ointment. One of the main ingredients of this ointment? Mice. We don’t know how effective this was at managing the discomfort of a toothache, but we’re pretty sure we’d rather not find out. Modern beauty standards are all about having dazzling, straight white smiles, but that hasn’t always been the case in every culture. Many cultures in Asia historically preferred black teeth instead! In Japan until the end of the Meiji period, wealthy women and samurai often used the practice of Ohaguro to stain their teeth black. They liked the way it looked and believed it provided some protection against tooth decay. (We don’t recommend it.) #dentalhistory #funfacts

Searching for your forever home look no further My office is hiring a FT dental assistant, EFDA or front desk person. We are a small but busy private practice located in Oakland near Magee Hospital. Dental assistant applicant must have their radiology certification. We are looking for someone with great people skills, someone that could bring their experience and new ideas to help our practice continue to grow to an elite level, someone who is a team player. Benefits o...f working in our office would include: ~4 day work week. (Office is open Mon-Fri, but we all only work 4) ~ No weekends ~Paid parking ~Paid holidays ~Paid vacation ~Competitive/Fair wages ~401 K (after 1 year) ~Medical benefits are NOT provided, but pay can be negotiated accordingly Or a portion paid toward purchasing your own ~Paid CPR training and CE’s ~BEST BENEFIT-working with coworkers who are team players and NO drama If you are interested in joining our team or know someone that is looking for a dental position, please email Dr Gottlieb at: [email protected]

Thanksgiving is a very special time for us, and it wouldn't be so without our amazing patients, family and friends, all of whom make what we do so special. We at team Gottlieb would like to thank you and wish you the very best Thanksgiving that's filled with love, joy and togetherness. Happy Thanksgiving,

NOT MUCH TODAY, but back in the Middle Ages, the roles of barber, surgeon, and dentist were all rolled into one. Trained physicians were only available to the wealthy, but everyone had access to a barber! Some of the operations these barber-surgeons performed included lancing infections, applying poultices, setting broken bones, and you guessed it pulling teeth. Nobody understood what caused cavities back then, so if someone was unlucky enough to get one and it resulted... in a painful toothache, the only option was to head to the barber dentist to have the problem tooth pulled. As limited as medical and dental knowledge were, a lot of barber-dentists were pretty impressive. One of them, Ambroise Paré, is even considered the father of modern surgery. He made important strides in dentistry in the 1500s, developing a procedure to help an impacted tooth erupt, improving extraction techniques, and even inventing dental implants. One of his satisfied patients was a princess who had lost a front tooth, which he replaced successfully! We’ve come a long way since Paré and his fellow barber-surgeons. Now we can do so much more to keep teeth healthy that extractions have become a last resort, and there are specialists who focus entirely on treating pediatric patients or straightening crooked teeth or saving infected teeth with root canal therapy, just as a few examples. It’s amazing to look back at how dentistry used to be!

VETERANS DAY IS THE PERFECT day to remember how thankful we are for those who have served for our country. What are some ways you show your gratitude for them? #veteransday #military #thankyou

Dental Visits Are Safe, Essential: During ABC’s Good Morning America (10/19) show, medical correspondent Dr. Jen Ashton responded to viewers’ coronavirus questions, including whether it is safe to receive nonemergency dental care during the pandemic. The ADA and the CDC say dental care is considered essential health care, noted Dr. Ashton at the 1:50 mark of the video segment, adding dentists have been taking extreme precautions since even before the coronavirus pandemic.... With this in mind, you should not delay dental care, said Dr. Ashton. This is the second time that GMA and medical correspondent Dr. Ashton have told viewers that dental care is an essential service. The first segment aired in August. (See mention at 2:30 mark.) In addition, in an opinion piece in The Hill (10/18), Dr. Jonathan Fielding, M.D., a UCLA professor of Health Policy and Management, discussed the potential impact of delayed health care. While some dental patients are delaying care due to concerns about COVID-19 transmission, Dr. Fielding stated that dentists and the ADA have been a model of how to approach COVID-19 safety proactively.

Dr. G was impressed at Heinz Field for Sunday's Steeler game that all the ushers were carrying signs like these to promote social distancing and wearing face masks. Great idea!!!

OUR BOSS is a total boss! Happy Boss’s Day to all of the amazing bosses out there! #bossday #bestboss #thankyou

Kansas City Chiefs head football coach Andy Reid is taking health and safety seriously on the sidelines taking all precautions wearing a shield hat duringThursday night football game. Excellent!!!!!

WE’RE REMINISCING ON the very first scary movie we ever watched! Do you remember yours? If so, comment below! #scarymovie #halloween #spookyseason

WE WANT TO ASSURE our patients that their health and safety is our number one priority. Thank you for your continued support. #support #community #healthandsafety

CULTURES FROM ANCIENT EGYPT to the Roman Empire and all the way up until the Age of Enlightenment blamed their cavities and toothaches on something really weird: tooth worms. Where did this incorrect theory come from? We still don’t entirely know. It could be that they saw diseased pulp (without much ability to magnify it) and thought it looked like a worm. It wasn’t until pioneering dentists like Frenchman Pierre Fauchard came along that the tooth worm theory was debunked ...and they got closer to the real causes of cavities. We can’t make fun of ancient physicians for their theory too much, though. While it’s not true that parasitic worms are boring holes through teeth, cavities are indeed caused by tiny organisms: bacteria! They probably would have figured that out much earlier if they’d had access to microscopes. Fortunately, tooth decay wasn’t very widespread in those days because sugar wasn’t widely available. Sugar is harmful oral bacteria’s favorite thing to eat. That’s why the modern dental health community recommends limiting sugar intake to mealtimes and cutting back as much as possible! #toothdecay #history #dentalhistory

Wearing your mask properly will minimize the spread of the covid virus. You can help to slow the exposure to others.

RIGHT NOW it’s so important to manage stress. Getting good sleep, staying hydrated, and exercising can really help you manage stress and anxiety. #mentalhealth #healthylifestyle #youvegotthis