"I know just the person" is the exact answer you want to hear when you ask someone for a referral. Whether you are looking for a mechanic, electrician, or in our case, a dentist, people want to feel like they will be in good hands they can trust.

We are incredibly appreciative every time one of our patients refers someone to our office. Not only does it tell us they have had a great experience but it also helps build our Willow Creek Dental Community. And as part of that community, there are special perks to being a Willow Creek Dental patient. For example, for every friend or family member you refer to our office, you get to enjoy dinner on us! You will receive a $25 gift card to your choice of Rio Grande, Pasta Jay's, Old Blinking Light, or Clock Tower Grill as our way of saying thank you.

As an extra special perk during the month of June, you are also entered to win an iPad mini for every patient you refer! The lucky winner will be drawn on July 1st. So start telling your friends and family that you know a great dentist and start enjoying the benefits of being a Willow Creek Dental patient.

Do you suffer from cold sores? They are blisters or sores that appear on or around your mouth and are caused by the herpes simplex virus. Cold sores can be triggered by several things, including sunlight and stress, and usually appear on the lips, with a tendency to recur in the same area.

If you get cold sores, you know they can be embarrassing and often appear at the most inopportune times. Did you know you can treat your cold sore in our office? We offer laser treatment--a quick, painless procedure that can help prevent the blister from forming during the "tingling" phase or speed up the healing process if it is already there. The procedure takes less than 10 minutes and most patients describe the laser treatment as feeling a "warm" sensation in the area. 

So the next time you feel that dreaded "tingle", contact our office at 303-779-2797 to see if we can help.

We've all thought about the nightmare of breaking our teeth. We imagine it to be a worst-case scenario--painful, embarrassing and expensive. That nightmare actually came true for the husband of a staff member recently. Built up water pressure in his sprinkler system caused a metal cap to shoot up, hitting him directly in the mouth and breaking both of his front teeth. Luckily for him, his wife works for a dentist. 

The first step was to look for his broken teeth, however due to the amount of water gushing from the sprinkler system they could not be found. He quickly rinsed out his mouth and used a cold, wet paper towel to stop any bleeding. The next step was to call Dr. Blakeley, who is available for her emergency patients after hours. He surprisingly was not in much pain and she gave instructions as to what pain medication to take to help him be comfortable during the night. The next morning, Dr. Blakeley evaluated his teeth and determined a veneer could be used for one tooth however the other tooth was too damaged to save. Next stop, a visit to the oral surgeon's office to have the tooth pulled and a dental implant placed.

In about 3 - 4 months when the implant is fully healed, he'll have a false tooth placed along with the other permanent veneer. In the meantime, Dr. Blakeley made him a removable "flipper" to wear, which is essentially a retainer that fits to the roof of his mouth with a fake tooth to fill the gap. If you met him, you wouldn't know he was missing a tooth. Amazingly, he has had a great sense of humor about it all and calls it his summer party trick.

Most people don't expect to break their teeth turning on their sprinkler system however freak accidents do occur. How prepared are you in the event you have a dental emergency? Check out these tips from the American Dental Association and call our office at 303-779-2797 if you have an emergency occur. If it is after hours, our phone system will allow you to reach either Dr. Blakeley or Dr. Braasch on their cell phone. The best thing to do is stay calm and know that you will be in great hands with our office.

Before and After Pictures (CAUTION--Do not look if you are squeamish....)
 

Night of Accident

After temporary veneer and removal of tooth/dental implant placement

With temporary, removable "Flipper"

When we decided to move to our new office in Lone Tree, we were excited to work with Joe Architect on the design of the space. They did a beautiful job and were able to create exactly what we wanted--a relaxing and peaceful environment for our patients, with a modern and open feel. Check out the Joe Architect Blog.

One big perk of being a Willow Creek Dental patient is our patient referral program. Our patients get to enjoy dinner on us for every new patient they refer to our office! This includes family, friends, co-workers or anyone else they tell about Willow Creek Dental.

So if you have had a great experience at our office, tell someone you know! You'll get your choice of a $25 gift card to one of four great area restaurants--Rio Grande, Pasta Jay's, Clock Tower Grill or Old Blinking Light. Just our way of saying thank you!