SHAWNEE AND KANSAS CITY, KANSAS – Staples has the Easy Button, and now the Shawnee and the Kansas City dental office of Dr. Alberto Castaneda has The Dental Button.
The message behind the Easy Button campaign is that a simple button could help make life easier. Castaneda, a Kansas City cosmetic dentist, said The Dental Button does something even better- it helps prevent pain.
In a sense, The Dental Button puts patients in the driver’s seat when undergoing procedures they often deem less than pleasant, said Castaneda, whose Kansas City dental office added the device in December.
The Dental Button literally is a button the patient holds during a procedure that is a mainline to Castaneda’s drill. Press it, and the work stops.
Feeling too uptight at the sound of that whirring drill? Push the button and the drill comes to a halt. Need to take a moment while that cavity is being filled? One press of the button and it’s break-time for you and the dentist.
“It’s an empowering tool because it gives fearful, high-anxiety patients the feeling of control,” said Castaneda, who also specializes in Kansas City implant dentistry.
Psychologically speaking, that is a powerful feeling, said Paul Vandivort, a doctor of psychology. Psychologists have known for some time that the feelings of pain can be magnified in a person who feels helpless, or that they have no control over a situation.
This occurrence can be worse among men, Vandivort said, adding that there are good reasons why many people feel helpless or a loss of control when seated in a dental chair. People are in a vulnerable position: reclined; belly exposed. They don’t know exactly what is being done to their teeth, they aren’t able to stop the procedure and they often feel they are at the mercy of the dentist, should the procedure begin to cause pain.
The Dental Button quite simply addresses the patient’s sense of helplessness by giving them control of the drill. Give a patient the feeling of control, and the sense of pain lessens, said Castaneda, one of just a handful of Kansas City metro dentists using the tool.
Interestingly, Castaneda has found that most patients never use the button, even though they hold it throughout the entire procedure.
“There seems to be a great deal of benefit for the patient in just knowing they could press it if they had to,” he said. “Just that sense of feeling in control of the situation helps quell the anxiety level in most people.”
With that said, however, not all of the pain experienced in the dental chair is psychosomatic. Some can be legitimate. The inner layer of the tooth has fluid-filled tubules. When that fluid starts moving, it means pain. A drill running at hundreds of thousands of rpms can shake that fluid. That’s when the button really comes in handy.
“I certainly want to know if I’m hurting a patient, or if the anesthesia isn’t working,” said the Kansas City dental professional.
Castaneda said he hopes that as the word spreads about this tool, those who fear the dentist will give it a try. Studies have shown that about 20 percent of people fail to maintain routine dental check-ups because of fear.
But maintaining those routine cleanings and check-ups is important because it can have an effect on a person’s overall health, Castaneda said. Other studies have shown that poor dental hygiene links to serious illnesses including heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
An Idea Is Born
Dr. Michael Edwards, a Union, Missouri dentist-turned-inventor, created The Dental Button in 2009 after coming up with the idea of giving patients a drill shut-off button, according to a September 2009 broadcast on a St. Louis-area FOX network station. Edwards drew out his idea on a napkin, turned to a friend for assistance and the two created a working prototype within two weeks.
By late 2009, The Dental Button was in demand from dentists all over the world.
Learn More
If you would like to learn more about The Dental Button, Dr. Alberto Castaneda or you wish to schedule an appointment for a free consultation, please call (913) 268-1337, or visit his Web site: http://www.discoverdentalcare.com/.
About Dr. Alberto Castaneda
Dr. Alberto Castaneda graduated from The University of Missouri- Kansas City School of Dentistry in 1992 and in 1994, received a certificate in advanced education in general dentistry. He trained under some of the nation’s most prominent specialists during his residency at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Hartford, Conn.
Dr. Castaneda is a certified invisalign provider and his memberships have included: American Dental Association, Kansas Dental Association, American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, American Orthodontics Society, Appliance Therapy Practitioners Association and Academy of General Dentistry, to name a few.
He has been named a top dentist in the Consumer’s Research Council of America’s “Guide to America’s Top Dentists.” He also has been nominated previously for Kansas City’s “Super Dentist” by Kansas City Magazine.
Dr. Castaneda entered private practice in 1994 and opened his current location at 21620 Midland Dr. In Shawnee, Kansas in 2003.
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