MANSFIELD — Winfield Meek, DDS, isn’t “just” a dentist. He’s a periodontist.
The word is from Latin, meaning “around the tooth.” Forty-one years out of dental school, having practiced in Mansfield since 1972, Meek is immersed in the art and science of cleaning and caring for teeth and passionate about sharing that knowledge with his patients. In fact, he calls himself “dentist as educator.”
“Take care of your teeth,” he said. “The things that cause periodontal disease begin with the patient, not in the dentist’s office. Periodontal disease is just ‘dirt’ that collects in cracks and crevices in the teeth.”
Periodontists take additional years of education after dental school to learn to diagnose, prevent and treat the serious bacterial infections of the teeth, gums and mouth, infections that cause people to lose teeth or develop other illnesses. Services include evaluation and diagnosis of disease and such reparative work as regenerating bone, shaping of teeth, gingival grafting, recontouring tissue, dental implants and aesthetic improvement of appearance. When possible, Meek prefers to help a patient keep his or her own teeth.
“God still makes better things than we do,” he said.
Keeping teeth healthy starts with effective cleaning, Meek said. Food particles hide between teeth and decompose, forming bacterial plaque, which then turns into calculus and leads to periodontal disease.
“A good brush is important, and flossing is important. People tell me they like the flavored floss and the waxed floss, but when you clean a window, would you put wax on it? No. Use unwaxed and unscented floss. When a window is really clean, what do you hear? A squeak, right? So listen for the squeak of clean teeth.”
Meek noted that right-handed people usually will begin brushing in the left side of their mouths, so often the teeth on that side will be cleaner than the rest. He recommended focusing attention on carefully and slowly brushing all the teeth and all their surfaces.
“People are impatient; they’re already focusing on something else when they’re brushing,” he said. “But brushing your teeth is like driving in the country. You have to slow down and go around each curve one at a time. Use extreme attention to detail to get that ‘dirt’ out of there.”
Meek is in his element when talking about dental health.
“We think it’s really fun to help somebody make changes and get control. It’s knowing what health should be and knowing how to get there,” he said.
As important as a nice smile is, there are even more important reasons to take care of your teeth.
“There are definite links between diabetes, heart disease and periodontal health,” said Meek. “The bloodstream is a plumbing system. Bacteria from periodontal disease gets into the bloodstream and causes an inflammatory disease that can lead to heart attack.”
The American Academy of Periodontology notes that the bacteria can raise blood sugar, wreaking havoc for diabetics. It can even interfere with pregnancy and fetal health, and may also cause respiratory problems and strokes.
Meek, who has taught and lectured at The Ohio State University for years, wants people to know that drinks high in acid are extremely damaging to the teeth. Those include wine, pop and power drinks. He added that people who sip such drinks over long periods of time actually do more harm to their teeth than someone who drinks them all at once. And if the teeth can’t be brushed after consuming such drinks, he advised, at least rinse the mouth with water.
It’s never too late to start taking care of your teeth, even if they’re in bad shape.
“Prevention is always less costly than repair,” said Meek.
