By Terry Beigie

You have probably heardthe saying that if you smilethe whole world smiles withyou. It’s amazing that thisfeature can make such adramatic difference in youroutlook—and those aroundyou. For those who aren’tconfident in their smiles theymight hold back, which isa true shame. This is whereDr. Jay Knight DDS inCharlottesville comes in.Knight—and his teams atCharlottesville and SpringCreek Family Dentistry—offer a one-stop shop for oralhealth.The locations offer gen-

eral dentistry, pediatric den-tistry, orthodontics, oral sur-gery and implant dentistry.“In the past you were sentsomewhere else,” Knightsays. “My vision was to cre-ate a state-of-the-art facilitywhere all of a person’s treat-ment could be provided inone practice.”Knight purchased the

Charlottesville locationfrom his father in 2004—apractice deeply rooted in thecommunity after openingin 1960. He opened SpringCreek Family Dentistry inLouisa County in 2009.“I knew that Zion Cross-

roads was going to be an ex-ceptional growth area. I alsoknewthat therewerenootherdental health care providersin this area. This area reallyserves the counties of Albe-marle, Louisa, Fluvanna, Or-ange and even Goochland,”Knight says. “We had manypatients from these areaswhowere driving all thewayto our Charlottesville officefor dental needs. Folks whoreside in these areas werehaving to drive to Charlot-

tesville, western Richmondand even Culpeper for treat-ment by an oral surgeon, or-thodontist, periodontist andpediatric dentist.”Now those in that region

have high-tech oral health-care in one location. “Noother practice in our area canoffer all of these services inone location,”Knight says.In recent history the link

between overall health andoral health has been clearlyestablished. “We’re notjust interested in teeth andcavities,” he says. “We’reinterested in the whole per-son—everything about ourpatients’health.”Knight notes that those

who have Type 1 or 2 Dia-betes are more likely to de-velop gum disease. “That’sbecause they may have adecreased ability to fightbacterial infections, includ-ing those that occur in themouth. Serious gum diseasecan make it more difficultfor people with diabetes tocontrol their blood sugar,”he says.As well, Knight says,

pregnant women with seri-ous gum disease may de-liver prematurely. Also, gumdisease may increase risk ofheart attacks and strokes.“Researchers are inves-

tigating the links betweengum disease and cardiovas-cular disease,” Knight adds.“One potential link is that

inflammation in the mouthincreases inflammation inother parts of the body, in-cluding the arteries. This in-flammation may play a rolein heart attacks or strokes.”So, what can you do to

protect your oral—and over-all—health? Knight offersthese tips:•Brush at least three times

a day. You can never brushtoo much.• Use floss.• Use a daily mouth rinse

with fluoride.• Be diligent about twice-

yearly cleanings if you’rehealthy. For those who havea periodontal condition itmight be every three to fourmonths.• Bring children to the

dentist around age 3 to intro-duce them to the dental team.“Wemake all visits as fun aspossible,” Knight says. “Itis also good not only to getthe children in for educa-tion about how to take careof their teeth, but also veryimportant for parents to un-derstand nutrition, brushingand flossing as well.”Knight notes that nutri-

tion plays a key role in over-all oral health. “Foods anddrinks that are high in sugarsincrease the risk of dental de-cay,” he says. This includessoda, as well as juices andsports drinks.Knight and his team can

handle any dental treat-ments, including InvisalignOrthodontics (clear bracealternative) and comprehen-sive implant dentistry.Comprehensive implant

dentistry, Knight says, is be-coming the standard of carein tooth replacement. Thisis when a titanium replace-ment for the root of the toothis implanted in the jaw anda crown is attached to theimplant after healing. “Thisis the best thing to do to re-place one or more missingteeth,” he says. “When welose teeth we also lose boneand our jaw lines change be-cause of it, but the implantreplacement stimulates thebone growth — prevent-ing such bone loss.” Usinga high-tech 3-D cone beamx-ray called an I-CAT, thedoctor can get a 3-D imageof the patients’ head to ana-lyze the quantity and qualityof the bone there and usingdesign software can create asurgical guide for exactly theright spot for the implant.Patient education is very

important to the staff, aswell.“We take extra time to be

sure all of our patients under-stand their dental conditions,how to have better overalloral health that translatesinto better systemic healthand all of the treatment op-

tions available for their den-tal conditions,”Knight says.Knight and his staff work

very hard to make patientsfeel as comfortable as pos-sible and develop relation-ships with each patient.“Our dental team does an

excellent job of making peo-ple who have a high level ofanxiety feel very comfort-able with the treatment they

will receive,” Knight says.“We are here to help all ofour patients with their den-tal conditions. My teams atboth offices make every oneof our patients feel like theyare part of our family. Thestaff is very, very person-able. They care about eachother, they care about theirprofession and they careabout patients.”

Dentist Offers Comprehensive Practice in our CommunityPaid Advertisement

OFFERING TWO CONVENIENT LOCATIONSTO MEET ALL OF YOUR DENTAL NEEDS

Located at Zion Crossroadsacross from Wal-mart Supercenter

34 Jefferson Court, Zion CrossroadsJohn H. Knight, Jr DDS • Mark P Sapon, DDS

2202 North Berkshire RoadSuite 203, Charlottesville

John H. Knight, Jr DDS

DENTISTRY FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY!

Accepts Most Dental Insurance

Friendly Caring Staff and Individualized CareChairside TV/Internet • Porcelain Veneers • WhiteningDental ER • Crowns and Bridges • Sedation Dentistry

Oral Surgery and Orthodontics

KidsWelcome!