Periodontist stresses need for oral hygiene

By Bethany Chambers

Staff writer

DAYTONA BEACH - Forget dentistry as a dark art complete with whirring drills and saws that usually results in a whole-head sling and slurred speech.

In Dr. Bryan M. Bergens' Daytona Beach office, dentistry is more like a spa treatment, where plain old cutting is replaced with cutting-edge technology.

"I decided early to keep up with the best technology because I want my patients to have the best," the 47-year-old Ormond Beach resident said. "I read up on it, I research it, I make sure there's sound documentation behind it."

Dr. Bergens does all this so visits to his office are not like pulling teeth.

Periodontists specialize in a field of dentistry devoted to the gums and bones that surround the teeth. Often, it means seeing some of the most serious cases of dental deterioration.

Gum recession, ill-fitting dentures, decay and infection: Each challenge is also an opportunity, Dr. Bergens said, to create the smile that some patients have wished for their entire lives.

"Several (patients) have said they don't want to smile. They say they're very self-conscious; they talk with their hand in front of their mouth," he said. "Cosmetically ... this improves their outlook."

For Dr. Bergens, a New Orleans native and graduate of Louisiana State University Dental School, a love of helping people and the "hands on" nature of his work are a passion.

From the outside, Dr. Bergens' South Beach Street office in the Marina Oaks building is straight out of a quaint New England oil painting, a tranquil nautical-themed building surrounding a fish pond and waterfall and surrounded by tropical plants.

And while the office décor reflects that serenity, the equipment is straight out of a space-aged sci-fi flick.

His office features a medical-grade CT scan, a 3D X-ray machine, titanium bone implants, and ultrasonic cleaners, to name a few of the high-tech accoutrements.

Finding the technology is a pastime Dr. Bergens and his wife, Bridget, who works at the office part-time, enjoy.

Because of their relentless search, gum disease is now treated not with a scalpel, but with PerioLase, a laser that vaporizes bacteria with less pain, less bleeding and less recovery time, Dr. Bergens said.

Cutting bones or tissues is not the work of a saw, but of a Piezosurgery technique, using ultrasonic vibrations for a precise cut.

Platelet Rich Plasma speeds healing, dentures are fixed into place for maximum chewing effect and a VELscope uses fluorescence to detect oral cancer before it would otherwise be clinically possible.

And if that's not enough to soothe the nervous patient, Dr. Bergens' office offers IV sedation; a service not offered everywhere despite the general anxiety dentistry elicits, Dr. Bergens said.

Despite all the strides in dentistry and periodontics, many patients still hesitate to make an appointment, Dr. Bergens said.

"You see a lot of fear in people. They had a bad experience when they were very young and it scared them," he said. "I have patients who haven't seen a dentist in 30 years."

And without a visit - and a sit-down with a patient-friendly software program that explains all of this in layman's terms - it's hard to ensure that everyone's taking care of their mouths by nixing oral fixations like smoking and sugary gums and drinks and taking up a daily regimen of brushing and flossing.

"People see their gums and teeth differently from their bodies. Periodontal disease affects the whole body. It's an infection like any other infection, but a lot of people just let it go."

Some evidence even links periodontal disease with heart disease, diabetes, stroke, Alzheimer's and arthritis, Dr. Bergens said.

Being the steward of his patients' overall health from the teeth on out can be stressful, he said, but he overcomes it by riding his bike and motorcycle through the Ormond Loop and hitting the gym and the tennis courts with his wife.

Helping others is also an outlet for the pair, who volunteer with the Special Olympics, Rotary Club of Daytona Beach, Junior League and their Ormond Lakes homeowners' association.

But even outside the office, Dr. Bergens is dedicated to dentistry, educating people through the Volusia/Flagler County Dental Association and as a part-time professor at the University of Florida Dental School and Daytona State College dental hygiene program, leader at the East Coast Hygiene Study Club and international guest lecturer.

"I want to educate people," he said, "that you can keep your teeth until you're 90 years old."