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Sandra Kirk
Grand Dental Studio
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Grand Dental Studio Office: 405.848.3719

Dr. Michael Kirk and Grand Dental Studio: Something to Smile About Article for Nichols Hills News of Oklahoma City: By Christine Dillon

Dr. Michael Kirk and his team have brought a new and innovative concept in dentistry to Oklahoma City. It’s a merger of sorts, of the science of dentistry and the ambience of a day spa. A great idea. Make that a Grand idea.

Most of us know what dentistry is about: cleanings, x-rays, the filling of cavities and so forth, and those things are a part of Dr. Kirk’s family dental practice. In fact, new patients receive an extensive examination, which includes an oral cancer screening and investigation about the patient’s dental habits, feelings about their teeth, concerns and expectations. The approach is highly professional, and each staff member is bright, kind, and down-to-earth.

The Ambience: An Anxiety-Free Zone

“Almost everyone has anxiety about going to the dentist,” said Dr. Kirk. “Therefore, we want to do everything that we can to alleviate this anxiety. It shouldn’t be scary anymore. Unfortunately, I treat a lot of adults that either had a bad experience as a child or went through something traumatic. Making people feel comfortable so that they can get the treatment that they need to be healthy is very important to me. The teeth and smile can be a reflection of what is going on with a person’s general health. We want to help people be healthy. That’s our primary concern always!”

Toward that end, Dr. Kirk has made sure his new office is a very refreshing and wonderful place to be. There is a lot of natural light and the color scheme is calming to the nerves. Plus, it’s full of amenities designed for comfort and convenience. Before a patient’s visit, he or she can enjoy the coffee, herbal tea and juice bar, and then make selections from a Relaxation Menu provided to you when you check in for your appointment. The services on the Relaxation Menu are free of charge and include items such as eye and neck pillows, chair massagers, aromatherapy products, and your own personal CD-rom with an extensive music selection. Oxygen therapy and nitrous oxide are also available for a fee.

Cosmetic Dentistry: The Science and the Art

The specialty of the house, however, is implant and cosmetic dentistry. At Grand Dental Studio, ‘smile makeover’ procedures like porcelain veneers, implants, and other restorative treatments such as crowns and bridges are aesthetic triumphs performed to the highest standards by Dr. Kirk and his team.

“Our office does porcelain crowns, veneers, implants and other advanced restorative dental care several times a week,” he said. “You can receive the same care in our office that a celebrity would receive in Los Angeles or New York City. I have patients who visit our office regularly from places as far away as Nashville and Las Vegas because of the quality of care and fairness of fees. Honestly, the quality of dental care is outstanding in Oklahoma. Our practice and many others are providing cosmetic dental care for a fraction of the charges that you see quoted in ladies’ fashion magazines.”

“Being healthy and feeling happy are the primary benefits to the patient. Depending on the person, different things make different people happy. However, my staff and I have treated people who frankly had a poor self image because of the way that their teeth looked. They walked out of our office healthy and happy with new self-esteem because they felt transformed. A great smile can help someone get a job. It can make them feel more comfortable in their personal relationships. It can increase their confidence no matter what they are doing.”

But what does it mean?

Preventive care is all care necessary to prevent dental disease and ensure optimum oral health. It is proactive care to handle any disease process while it is small and easy, inexpensive and painless to treat.

Restorative care is restoring teeth damaged by tooth decay, breakage or wear to natural form and function. It also includes replacing missing teeth.

Oral Cancer Screening is perhaps the most valuable service that Grand Dental Studio provides. Oral cancer death rates in the United States have not been declining significantly in the past 30 years. And Oklahomans, because we are in the Sunbelt have a higher incidence than many areas of the country. At Grand Dental Studio every new patient and returning patients in our preventive care program receive a thorough head and neck, and oral cancer screening. It is actually a relaxing process that feels like a facial massage.

A dental implant is an inserted replacement for a missing tooth root and can be used to anchor one tooth, many teeth, or a denture.

A porcelain veneer is a cosmetic dental procedure to change the color, shape, size and correct spaces between teeth or even crooked teeth. A porcelain facing is bonded to the front of the treated tooth to correct the fault.

A porcelain crown is used instead of a veneer when a tooth has been damaged from past decay or breakage.

Power Whitening is a cosmetic dental procedure to whiten your teeth in the office during a 45-minute appointment. Normally it will brighten your teeth 2-6 tooth shades and when used with a take home follow up kit can make your smile whiten many more shades. It is quick, painless and fun.

Power Whitening: My Appointment

Intrigued by the idea of dental whitening after reading so many articles about it, I agreed to allow Dr. Kirk’s office to perform their Power Whitening treatment on me. My teeth were pretty white to begin with so I was somewhat skeptical about seeing any significant results. On the other hand, I didn’t want to walk out of the office with a mouthful of blinding, Chiklet-white choppers. I was hoping for something in the middle. Cleaner and brighter looking.

I arrived in the office for Phase One: the mold-making. In the waiting room, which is bright and filled with good, original art, I sat for just a moment, flipping through a magazine. Adjacent to this room was the complimentary juice, herbal tea, and coffee bar. After going over my paperwork with Frances the friendly office administrator, I was led back to a treatment area. Dr. Kirk’s dental assistant came in and after comparing my teeth to a progressively whiter row of synthetic teeth on a plastic card, she and I determined my starting shade.

Her tone of voice changed ever so slightly as she explained how we would make the impression that my whitening trays would be made from. “No matter what you may think, it is not possible for the impression gel to run all the way down your throat so don’t worry,” she said confidently, looking me straight in the eye. “And it’s bubblegum flavored!” she added cheerfully.

Well, I don’t know what kind of bubblegum she’s used to chewing. She was right about the goo not sliding all the way down my throat, though. And if I had to choose which I’d have wanted her to be most correct about, that would have been it. Done for the day, I headed out the door glad to be done with the gooey gel.

The next day was power whitening day. I sat in the chair, placed my organic flax seed-filled neck pillow behind my head, turned on the chair massager and started getting relaxed and drowsy. The dental assistant filled the trays with whitener, placed them in my mouth and left me relaxing for ten minutes during which time I dozed a little. Then, with the trays still in place, each tooth was zapped with a high powered ultra violet light for about twenty seconds. It felt warm on some teeth. However, to my pleasant surprise, it did not hurt at all. After that, another relaxing ten minute nap.

Out came the trays, and voila! Whiter and brighter! Just liked I had hoped. For three days following, I used at home whitener and the trays and at my follow-up appointment I’d brightened and paled by about four shades. Power whitening was not a significant dental treatment but I felt happy with my brighter smile. In fact, this was fun. I know what you are thinking relaxing, fun – is this a dental office? Well, I could see how this whitening thing could get addictive.

Grand Dental Studio is centrally located right off interstate 44 and interstate 235, at the intersection of north Western Avenue and Grand Boulevard, so you can literally arrive from almost anywhere in the metro in less than 20 minutes. Call 848-3719 to schedule your new-patient appointment or visit online at www.dentistokc.com.