Veneers

As we were taking finishing pictures for a before and after of a veneers case this week. I was looking at the before and after pictures with my patient. The teeth looked great and I think we are both really happy with the results. The intangible part was the noticeable difference in the smile. The before smile was hesitant and almost forced. After we seated the veneers, the smile was ebullient and effortless. The self-awareness of teeth that were causing hesitation was completely gone. It's funny because in the full-face shot, I feel like you can see a difference in the eyes.

Magnification and Illumination

Spoiler alert - this post is nerdy.

I have been using dental loupes, since my days in the 'pink palace'. (see paragraph 3, sentence 2)

The UTSD taught me the fundamentals and foundations for clinical dentistry that I rely on every day.

See also: UTSD alumni nominated for statewide honors

One of the tenets of improving from good dentistry to excellent dentistry was a firm recommendation from the operative teaching staff that every dental student should be using surgical loupes. I bought the hi-res 2.5X Orascoptic loupes and I have been using them ever since.

Since then, many dentists that I trust and respect have encouraged me to consider adding a headlight, stating that the overhead light is just adequate, but not excellent. So, I am taking the next step. I have placed an order for the Surgitel 3.5X Oakley loupes with a headlight. I am always trying to keep up with the best practices, and I think this added lighting will advance the quality of the work we are doing at http://mcfarlanedental.com.

Here is a little remembrance from November 2003, my dental school interview.

This was right before the group info session.

Dr. Phil Pierpont

Check out those monitors kids

The old computer lab was classic.

CD Johnson, DDS - a loving teacher

Keep your back and neck healthy in 2012

Dentistry is a physically demanding and exacting surgical healthcare professional job. I can remember a dentist from UT Health School of Dentistry (UTDB) telling me, "Dentistry is a young man's game." What he meant is that your neck and back, eyes and hands are all in coordinated function and your body may not last as long as your mind. Being very cognizant of this, I have tried to keep my body in good function by working out, but recently my neck was hurting some. So, I went to my friend down the hall Dr. Tim Harrington. He fixed me up, so I wanted to offer a public thank you.

Likewise, my friend Alycia Fisher is a massage therapist and keeps my muscles in good working order. So, thank you to her as well.

I completed major updates to mcfarlanedental.com over the past few days.

Here are the major changes:

• I designed a new blog logo with some texture effects. I did this using 3 layers in Photoshop Elements using varying levels of opacity.
• I reorganized the layout of the primary landing page to make it easier for patients to find the login to update medical history. This change may seem small, but people could never find the link before. Moving it to the left side of the front page should help. 
• On the Patient Education portion of the site that includes the "Comprehensive Assessment of Oral Health," I have now included all of the individual jpeg images. The booklet was available in a Prezi format before, but, this PowerPoint -esque format is not mobile-friendly. 
• In an attempt at making this blog accessible, I wrote my first ever Facebook app to allow RSS feed of this blog to plug in as a pagetab on FB; my app is named austindentist, which fits the theme of the blog itself. 
• I separated the videos onto their own tab.

Practice Philosophy

At McFarlane Dental, we strive to deliver quality care, while making each patient as comfortable as possible. Our service-oriented professionalism comes from our desire to care for patients, preventing disease, and treating patients when they find themselves having an emergency. We try to follow an evidence-based dental practice model. This strategy means that we try to make our clinical practice reflect the best practices available. The only way we can do this is through continuing education (CE), which allows our practice to stay up to date with the latest scientific advances. Since graduating from the UT Health School of Dentistry in Houston, TX, I have completed over 290 hours of CE. The minimum necessary to fulfill the requirements is 12 hours of CE per year in the state of Texas, by rule. 290 + hours of CE means that I have finished more than 250 more hours of CE than the average dentist over the past 4 years, since 2008. I am seeking Fellowship in the AGD (Academy of General Dentistry), which means I am committed to lifelong learning.

Austin TX New Dentist of the Year 2011 - 2012

Hello blogosphere,

This is my second blog. My first blog is lifefax, which covers the facts of life. This blog is austintxdentist, about the views of one Austin, TX dentist. Here is a really really brief history covering my professional career as a dentist. My name is Dr. Russell McFarlane. My father is Dr. John McFarlane, (he is a semi-retired Ear, Nose and Throat physician). I graduated from UT with a BA in Biology. Patients often ask, "Don't you need a BS (bachelor of science)?" I always tell them that you still need all the prerequisites to get into dental school. For me the only difference between getting a BS in Biology versus a BA in Biology, was the choice between taking Calculus 2, or taking Spanish 4. I chose espanol, y todo siguiendo es historia. I graduated a semester early from UT, in December 2003. So during the spring of 2004, while I awaited starting dental school, I took 1 more class that Houston UTDB required biochemistry, and worked part-time at my father's ENT clinic. Upon entering dental school, I took the lead as the class president for our first year from 2004-2005. I passed the reigns off to Melissa Lent, and never looked back. I considered specializing while I was in dental school. I took a special interest in oral surgery, pediatrics, and orthodontics. I decided that since I really enjoy doing all those different things that I would choose to be a general dentist. This choice was perfect for me since it allowed me to do all kinds of different procedures, I can continually explore and never get bored. This week our office has done root canals, extractions, invisalign, fillings, implant procedures, crowns, esthetics, and even a denture. We really have a good time keeping all our skills fresh. This past year (2012) I received 2 awards the Capital Area Dental Society New Dentist of the Year, and the James R Fricke Jr Mentoring Award. I was recognized this past weekend as a nominee for the TAGD New Dentist of the Year. This brings us up to date.