featured bio-natural h r t articles restor˜ yout˚€¦ · also beginning to get a little moody...
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Florida’s Largest Health Care Inform
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West Pasco County Edition
FEATURED ARTICLES
Winter 2019
(see Restore Youth and Vitality, page 4)
L isa Tomarelli is a registered nurse who works as clinical support for the sales team of a biologics company. Even
when she’s traveling, the 50ish nurse � nds time to work out and keep her body in shape for the many bikini competitions she enters. When she began putting on weight despite working out, she suspected the problem, and the answer.
“As a registered nurse, I taught bio-natural hormone replacement therapy, or BHRT, � fteen years ago for a local pharmacist in Sarasota,” relates the Scranton, Pennsylvania native. “When I was teaching and doing research on BHRT, I thought, I’ll probably benefit from this when the time comes.
“About � ve years ago, I started put-ting on weight. I was exercising, so that shouldn’t have been happening. I was also beginning to get a little moody and having some night sweats, and I could see other symptoms coming. I said, I know I’m perimenopausal. I should prob-ably seek out treatment before I actually swing to the other side.”
Initially, Lisa tried to in� uence her system by making changes to her diet and taking over-the-counter supplements to try to balance her estrogen levels. None of that worked, however, and she wasn’t convinced that the creams the doctors in Sarasota were o� ering her were the most e� ective method of BHRT delivery. So, she did more research, discovered pellet therapy, then looked further to find a pellet therapy provider nearby.
“I went back and forth to Tampa a lot, so I Googled who did pellet ther-apy in Tampa,” she states. “I found In� nity Medical Institute. � e sta� at
Lisa Tomarelli
In� nity Medical Institute is very good at explaining what they do, and so I decided to start going there.”
Matching HormonesInfinity Medical Institute offers bio-natural L3 pellet hormone replacement therapy, the most natural and e� ective solution for hormone-related issues.
“ Through In f in i t y Med ica l Institute’s bio-natural L3 pellet hor-mone replacement therapy, patients such as Lisa achieve consistent absorp-tion of the proper, predictable levels of the hormones their bodies require for optimum health through the sim-ple insertion of a pellet approximately every three to five months,” explains Moriah R. Moffitt, MD, staff physi-cian at Infinity Medical Institute.
The pellets used in bio-natural L3
pellet hormone replacement therapy are derived from wild yam plants, a natural plant material that’s molecularly changed in structure and function for a 98 per-cent bio-identical match to the body’s own composition. Synthetic hormones, by contrast, can be as little as six to eight percent bio-identical.
“Hormones a� ect everything, includ-ing our growth through childhood, our sexual development, our moods, how we break down our food, sleep patterns, stress, how much weight we gain – just about every function in the body, big and small,”
informs Dr. Mo� tt. “� ey also play a role in many health conditions such as diabetes, an over- or underactive thyroid, osteoporo-sis, obesity, anxiety and depression.
“Our bio-natural L3 pellet hormone therapy helps to give us an edge as we provide patients with a product that’s all natural, and we stand behind it. It’s the most e� ective hormone treatment on the market because it’s naturally replenishing normal hormones with biologically iden-tical hormones that the body is used to seeing rather than synthetic versions of the hormones.”
Comprehensive evaluations of over-all health are performed prior to the pellets being administered. � is ensures that the patient is receiving the proper amount of hormones.
“We want to be sure that the treat-ment we administer is going to be the overall best course of action for that patient,” Dr. Mo� tt observes. “We’re very thorough with the labs at every visit in order to see what has changed, and what needs to be altered.
“We want to be sure every patient is feeling the best they possibly can. We not only look at their labs, but we look at their overall health because other issues, like diabetes or high blood pressure, can a� ect how the treatment is administered.”
“I was perimenopausal for the � rst two years I went to In� nity Medical Institute before actually becoming menopausal,” Lisa states. “I decided to start treatment there before I reached the point where I gained twenty pounds, was really moody, had hot � ashes, night sweats and other symptoms.
Restore Youth
and VitalityFeel younger, stronger and sexier with BHRT
Noel S. Tenenbaum, MD, P.A.Rolling Back the Years
Physical Medicine Center, Inc.Second Honeymoon
Minimally Invasive Spine CareTriple Threat
Coastal Jaw SurgerySingle-Session Smiles
Regenerative Orthopedic Institute
Skip the Surgery
Trinity Hearing & Balance CenterToning Down Tinnitus
Griffith Dental
6No Pain, Much Gain for Skin Cancer Patients
Digital Dentistry
Walk of Life
2 Florida Cancer
Specialists & Research
Institute
8Sonlife
Prosthetics and Orthotics,
Inc.
Bio-Natural HormoNe replacemeNt tHerapy
Types of Skin CancerActinic keratosis is a precancerous condition that usually affl icts people with fair skin. Most patients see their fi rst growths after age because of years of sun exposure. � e growths are most common on the face, bald scalp, neck, hands and forearms. Actinic keratosis can lead to squamous cell carcinoma. Symptoms: rough, dry or scaly patches – fl at to slightly raised, and sometimes hard and wart-like – and usually less than an inch in diameter; pink, red or brown in color.
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of cancer overall and the most frequently occurring skin cancer. Sun exposure is a risk factor, and malignancies often appear on unprotected areas like the head, face, neck and hands. � is cancer rarely spreads to other parts of the body but can become disfi guring if ignored. Symptoms: persistent, non-healing sore; reddish patch; pink, red or white nodule; pink growth with elevated border.
Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common skin can-cer. Risk factors include substantial sun exposure, severe sunburns in childhood and natu-rally fair coloring. If left untreated, the cancer can also spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms: th ick , rough, sca ly patch that bleeds easily; elevated growth with rimmed edge that occa-sionally bleeds; persistent open sore that may crust over, then bleed.
Melanoma i s the deadliest skin cancer. It frequently develops in a mole or suddenly appears as a new dark spot that changes, itches or bleeds. Early diagnosis and treat-ment are crucial.
Gerald H. Sokol, MD, MSc, FCP, is board certi� ed in medical oncology, radiation oncology, internal medicine, quality assurance and utilization review, and clinical pharmacology. Dr. Sokol earned his degree in medicine from Indiana University. He completed his internship and residency at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Temple University in Philadelphia and USPHS Hospital, in a� liation with Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland in Baltimore and the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Sokol completed fellowships in radiation medicine/oncology and clinical pharmacology at Harvard Medical School and is certi� ed in skin
cancer medicine through training at the University of Queensland. He has served as a medical o� cer at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration and is a captain in the United States Navy Reserves.
Learn MoreThe staff at Florida Cancer
Specialists & Research Institute looks forward to meeting you. The practice
has two locations in Hudson:
7651 Medical Drive(727) 868-9208
14100 Fivay Road, Suite 380
(727) 862-9026Tell them you read
the article in Florida Health Care News! Visit Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute online at www.FLCancer.com
GERALD H. SOKOL, MD, MSC, FCPJORGE AYUB, MD
ARTHUR J. MATZKOWITZ, MDJOSEPH M. SENNABAUM, MD
GAIL LYNN SHAW WRIGHT, MD, FACP, FCCPGAJANANA A. KULKARNI, MDKAPISTHALAM S. KUMAR, MD
Electron-beam spray therapy o� ers better cosmetic outcomes without cutting
F rank Perrott began working on his family’s farm in the western Pennsylvania hill country when he was about ten years old. He
helped tend to chickens, hogs and cattle, plus corn and other crops.
“I had one right in the middle of my forehead. We had three rounds of digging that day and didn’t get it all,” he remem-bers. “When I went back, they did some more, and then more. Finally, at the end of that day, they bandaged me up and said, Okay, we think we got it all. I tried to work after that. It wasn’t pretty because I had a hole in my head.”
During another procedure, Frank’s dermatologist cut his left ear nearly in half to remove cancerous tissue.
“In order to repair my ear, the doctor took skin from the area where my side-burns would be, down past my ear on that side, to the middle of my neck,” he relates.
Frank was recovering from knee sur-gery and was at his physical therapist’s o� ce last spring when he learned about Florida Cancer Specialists. After further research, he began seeing Kapisthalam S. Kumar, MD, who ultimately referred Frank to colleague Gerald H. Sokol, MD, in Hudson.
No More Disfi guring Surgery“Frank had so many skin cancers on his scalp that a surgical procedure would have been deforming, painful and aggressive,’’ Dr. Sokol recounts. “I knew he would be better served by an alternative treatment.’’
He recommended Frank undergo electron-beam spray therapy, delivered through a linear accelerator. � e specialized machine sends electron beams to super� -cially penetrate the skin’s outer layer at the exact spot of the cancer lesion without a� ecting the tissue below. � e procedure takes less than � ve minutes per treatment.
Because no cutting or stitching is involved, electron-beam spray is painless and rarely causes infection or signi� cant scarring, Dr. Sokol educates.
“� e number of treatments, which can be anywhere from � ve to twenty, depends on the depth, magnitude and size of the � eld of the cancer,” reports Dr Sokol.
“If you’re treating somebody’s whole scalp, it may take twenty or twenty-� ve treatments to kill all the cancer. If it’s a small, single lesion, it could be done easily in ten or twelve treatments.”
An Excellent PrognosisFrank con� rms the therapy was “not pain-ful at all. When you walk into the room where the radiation is delivered, you lie on a movable cot,” which is controlled electroni-cally, and wear a mask to protect your eyes.
“While I’m having these treatments, I don’t go out in the sun as readily as I would in years past,” he adds. “But I still work outside, so I wear a hat and cover myself as much as I can elsewhere.”
After completing electron-beam spray therapy, Frank’s lesions have healed and his scalp is “as smooth as a baby’s behind,” he marvels.
Frank has recommended Dr. Sokol to several friends and has this advice for anyone considering such therapy: “Do it in a heartbeat.”
“Mr. Perrott’s prognosis is excellent because the cure rate with electron-beam spray is comparable to the cure of a surgical procedure,” Dr. Sokol empha-sizes, “without infection, bleeding, pain and signi� cant scarring.”FHCN staff article. Photo by Jordan Pysz. mkb
No Pain, Much Gain for Skin Cancer Patients
Frank Perrott
“It was more of a chicken farm than anything else,” he recalls. “We sold eggs and meat, which we’d truck into the city.”
In those days, Frank never gave sun-screen a thought. On bright sunny days he simply wore a hat, more to shade his eyes than to protect his skin. After moving to Florida 43 years ago, Frank continued to labor outdoors, mining sand on 60 acres in Hudson, operating heavy equipment and, for the past 18 years, helping to run his fam-ily’s Sunset Landing Marina in Port Richey.
Early on, though, sunscreen still wasn’t part of Frank’s daily routine. He was still just wearing a ball cap, but as it turns out, it wasn’t one that would ward o� the kind of problems that can come from overexposure to the sun.
“� e mistake I made, which I found out afterward from a dermatologist, was wearing a hat with mesh so air could go through it,” he concedes. “� e problem was that it also allowed sunlight to get through it, too.’’
Frank su� ered numerous sunburns over the years – some of them blistering – on his arms, head and legs. � e sun dam-age led to squamous cell carcinoma, which is the second most common skin cancer.
“I have been going to the dermatolo-gist over the past thirty years for di� erent types of treatments,” including creams and invasive procedures, to “dig out the cancer” or burn off the growths with liquid nitrogen, he shares.
Frank estimates he’s had 20 to 25 outpatient surgeries to remove malignan-cies from his arms, shoulders, ears, face and scalp. � e pain and resulting scarring were di� cult to endure.
Page 2 | Florida Health Care News | Winter 2019 | West Pasco County Edition medical oNcology/radiatioN
Kelly Hansen, AuD, has more than years of experience in the diagnosis and treatment of hearing, dizziness and balance disorders. Dr. Hansen obtained her undergraduate and graduate degrees at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana and her Doctor of Audiology degree from Arizona School of Health Sciences. She has attended numerous courses and workshops for dizziness, balance and hearing disorders throughout her career and is experienced in the most up-to-date diagnostic testing and treatment for these disorders. Dr. Hansen is one of a select number of audiologists board certifi ed in audiology. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology and the Academy of Doctors of Audiology.
Nikki Goldowski, AuD, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech and Hearing in from Cleveland State University and her Doctor of Audiology degree from the University of Louisville in . She completed her clinical fellowship year at Trinity Hearing & Balance Center and began working permanently at the practice in May . Dr. Goldowski is a member of the American Academy of Audiology.
KELLY HANSEN, AUD NIKKI GOLDOWSKI, AUD
For more information, visit www.trinityhearingandbalance.com or � nd them on Facebook
Hearing Loss or Dizziness?Help is available at Trinity Hearing & Balance Center. For more information or to schedule an appointment
with Dr. Hansen or Dr. Goldowski, call or
visit their o� ce in New Port Richey at:
8605 Easthaven CourtSuite 101
(727) 493-4641Phyllis is delighted her
hearing is improved and she no longer hears odd sounds
caused by tinnitus.
Toning Down Tinnitus
Hearing aids can o� er double bene� t: better hearing, less ringing
F or years, Phyllis DeVincentis endured a hissing in her ears that sounded like steam. Although she wasn’t imag-
ining it, no one else heard it because nothing was really there. Phyllis has tinnitus, commonly known as “ringing in the ears,” and the noise was coming from inside her head.
wasn’t what she might be missing due to poor hearing. It was the constant hiss-ing sound in her ears that really bothered her. After so many years of enduring it, she wanted relief.
Hearing and Tinnitus“Many people have tinnitus and it doesn’t bother them,” says Dr. Hansen, “but there are others who are really troubled by it. � e sounds they hear can keep them from sleeping at night and a� ect them through-out the day. People who have tinnitus can become very depressed.
“� e hissing in her ears was really bothering Phyllis,” recalls Dr. Hansen. “� e � rst thing we want to do when someone has tinnitus is to determine if hearing loss is present, so we do a diag-nostic hearing evaluation. Tinnitus is often present when people have hear-ing loss. However, not everyone with tinnitus has hearing loss, so we need to rule this out � rst.”
Phyllis’s audiology test revealed she had a signi� cant hearing loss. “She cer-tainly needed hearing aids,” continues Dr. Hansen, who fit Phyllis with two digital hearing aids. Although Phyllis was skeptical at � rst, Dr. Hansen assured her that the devices would help her hear better overall as well as help with the tinnitus.
Many people, like Phyllis, don’t notice their hearing has gradually become worse, says Dr. Hansen. Hearing loss frequently occurs due to aging, as well as from exposure to heavy noise, like working in a factory or shooting guns. It can also be hereditary.
“Hearing loss can be so gradual that people sometimes don’t realize how much of a loss they have. Or they tend to say, Well, people are just talking a little softer or mumbling and if they would just talk louder, I’d hear them,” she continues.
Hearing aids have the capacity to help relieve tinnitus as well as improve the ability to understand conversation and hear what’s happening around you, says Dr. Hansen.
“� ere are many good studies suggest-ing a correlation between nerve damage (also known as sensorineural hearing loss) and tinnitus. � us, when hearing loss is identi� ed, often the tinnitus is relieved by hearing aids alone.
“� e best known method to relieve tinnitus is sound therapy,” explains the doctor. “Sometimes just wearing hearing
aids is enough to help the patient for-get about the tinnitus as the brain turns its attention to the additional sounds it’s receiving.”
Certain hearing aids also have built-in sound therapy maskers, adds Dr. Hansen. � ey produce sounds like ocean waves that serve as gentle background noise and nudge the brain to stop processing the sound of tinnitus.
� e speed at which relief from tin-nitus occurs can vary, notes Dr. Hansen, depending on how much time the brain needs to adjust to the new sounds. For Phyllis, results came quickly. Only one week later, she was back in Dr. Hansen’s o� ce to report her hearing was remark-ably improved and the steam-like sounds from her tinnitus had gone away.
“It was unbelievable,” says Phyllis about the difference in her hearing. “I could hear everything, even papers moving. I could hear birds, and my husband talking to me, and my daughters talking to me.
“� e steam in my ears wasn’t there anymore,” she reports, “but when I took the hearing aids out, I could hear steam again. I thought to myself, How did I ever live with that? But I did.”
Commitment to PatientsPhyllis made a fortunate choice in con-sulting Dr. Hansen at Trinity Hearing & Balance Center, where experience and dedication work together for the best outcomes.
Dr. Hansen has diagnosed and treated hearing, balance and dizziness disorders for more than two decades. In addition, her practice is AudigyCerti� ed™, which gauges a practitioner’s experience, credentials and expertise along with a commitment to patient satisfaction, continuing education and application of current technologies.
One of the unique aspects of Audigy’s service is ePatient, which helps explain
complex topics to patients using digital tools. “� e ePatient program is an edu-cational tool that o� ers an overview of what’s going to happen during an appoint-ment and explains how someone’s hearing works,” Dr. Hansen explains. “It is a treatment-focused software tool that enables us to quickly and effectively explain products and procedures to patients. ePatient has excellent visuals to show the patient how their hearing works and what happens when someone has a hearing loss.”
In addition to assistance with hearing-related problems and fitting patients with the appropriate hearing aids, Trinity Hearing & Balance Center also offers assistance with vestibular problems, such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) using the Epley Omniax® System, and balance disorders.
“We work side by side with our patients to help � nd a solution to their hearing problems,” assures Dr. Hansen. “Many patients who have gone through our Patient for Life program experience greater satisfaction with their hearing technology and a greater quality of life.”
Also, as a hearing aid wearer herself, Dr. Hansen can relate to her patients in a way many audiologists cannot.
“Dr. Hansen is wonderful,” con� rms Phyllis. “I sent my daughter to her, and I sent another young lady who told me that going to Dr. Hansen was the best thing she ever did.”
Dr. Hansen’s skill and care in � tting Phyllis with hearing aids have made a big di� erence for the active retiree. “Being able to hear has improved my life one hundred percent,” she enthuses.FHCN staff article. Photos by Jordan Pysz. mkb
Tinnitus can be a malfunction occur-ring within the hearing system and varies widely in sound and severity. It might resemble a constant buzzing, whistling, hissing or swishing.
“I can’t tell you when it began. It just started and that was it,” recounts Phyllis. “It was terrible.”
Originally from New York, Phyllis has lived in Florida for more than 40 years. She worked as a waitress after mov-ing south and is now enjoying retirement at age 79. � e aggravation of tinnitus has never slowed her down. On Fridays and Saturdays, she and her husband still like to go dancing, and she makes time for a weekly bowling game.
Eventually, her three daughters began to notice their mom seemed to be having trouble picking up on their conversations. “� ey said I couldn’t hear them. � ey’d speak to me and I didn’t hear what they said,” remembers Phyllis.
� ey convinced her that she should get her hearing checked, so Phyllis made an appointment to see Kelly Hansen, AuD, at Trinity Hearing & Balance Center. Phyllis’s � rst concern, however,
Phyllis DeVincentis
West Pasco County Edition | Winter 2019 | Florida Health Care News | Page 3audiology aNd BalaNce disorders
(continued from page 1)
For more information, please visit www.in� nitymedicalinstitute.com
Moriah R. Mo� tt, MD, is the staff physician at Infi nity Medical Institute, Inc. Dr. Moffi tt earned her medical degree from The Ohio State University, where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. She also attended the University of South Florida Plastic Surgery Program. She has received board certifi cation from the American Board of Plastic Surgery and is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgery.
Look Good, Feel Great
The experienced sta� at In� nity Medical Institute looks forward to working with you. They are located in Tampa at:
N. Westshore Blvd.Suite
(813) 871-2929
“Now, I go back to In� nity Medical Institute every three months and based on where my hormone levels are, we adjust the pellets. � ey talk with me, and we’re in constant collaboration on whether a hormone needs to go up or come down, if I need more or less of something. � ey’ve been very good at working with me.”
From the Inside OutDr. Mo� tt and the In� nity Medical Institute sta� truly care about each patient and take the time to get to know the person they’re treating.
“Every patient is unique, and we understand that,” notes Dr. Mo� tt. “We get to know each one and understand their lifestyle so we can treat them appropriately.”
“At In� nity Medical Institute, we’ve been o� ering bio-natural pellet hormone therapy for nine years,” comments Mike Montemurro, president of In� nity Medical Institute. “We take an extensive thera-peutic approach. We customize the treatment for each patient, and we use a superior-quality product. We cater to our patients, and make sure they get the best possible care, as well as exceptional results.
“We work very closely with everyone to optimize and restore their hormone levels to what they were when they were in their prime – back in their twenties. � at’s our goal, and that’s why we get such signi� cant results for our patients.”
Mike notes that people often reach middle age and start experi-encing symptoms such as lack of energy, di� culty sleeping and loss of sex drive and strength.
“When these symptoms start occurring, people need to visit us at In� nity Medical Institute and have their hormones checked,” he emphasizes. “Once we get their hormone levels optimized with the bio-natural L3 pellet hormone replacement therapy, their lives will change signi� cantly for the better.”
“Many people come in saying they’re not feeling vibrant, ener-getic, and they have other symptoms,” adds Dr. Mo� tt. “Our aim for those seeking hormone replacement is to make them feel good from the inside out.”
High EnergyBio-natural L3 pellet hormone replacement therapy at In� nity Medical Institute was a good treatment choice for Lisa. It took away her uncomfortable menopausal symptoms and left her feeling energized.
“With pellet therapy, my energy level is very high,” she marvels. “After a full day’s work, I have enough energy to work out six days a week at a pretty high intensity level. It enables me to maintain my weight so I can compete in bikini competitions and win � rst place in my age category.
“I tell the In� nity Medical Institute sta� that I couldn’t compete if I didn’t have my hormones balanced in order to sustain the energy and the muscle I’ve built. I’m operating like I’m in my thirties.”
With a careful diet, routine exercise and her hormones balanced, Lisa can easily keep the weight o� . She feels good now, and she gives a lot of the credit to the bio-natural L3 pellet therapy.
“� ey always said in nursing school, When one hormone is o� , they’re all o� , and that can a� ect a lot of things in your life,” she states. “I don’t have any more night sweats. I haven’t had them since my � rst pellet therapy. I’m not moody. I don’t have any menopausal symptoms, and I feel bad for women who go through them and don’t seek out this therapy.”
Lisa doesn’t think any woman should have to go through the negative symptoms of menopause. She encourages them to seek out pellet therapy at In� nity Medical Institute.
“More and more people are � nding out about BHRT and pellet therapy, and are seeing how much better they can feel,” she says. “Even better, disorders such as cardiac disease and orthopedic issues are preventable by having your hormones in check. I absolutely recommend pellet therapy at In� nity Medical Institute.” FHCN staff article. Photo by Fred Bellet. Bikini photo courtesy of Lisa Tomarelli. mkb
Restore Youth and Vitality
Pellet therapy is helping Lisa stay toned for her bikini competitions.
The O-Shot is a unique treatment for urinary incontinence o� ered at In� nity Medical Institute. It can help reverse the condition’s uncomfortable symptoms.
“Incontinence often a� ects every aspect of a woman’s life, from her sleep patterns to her personal interactions,” reports Dr. Mo� tt. “� e O-Shot helps to tighten, or strengthen, the bladder muscles and stop the leakage.
“� ere are far too many women experiencing incontinence issues when they cough, laugh or sneeze, and we want them to know there is help available.”
Most women have a series of shots, usually a total of three, averaging one injection every three months, explains the doctor. Many experience a 90-percent improvement after the third shot, and typically, a vast improvement soon after the � rst shot.
Dr. Mo� tt assures patients that the procedure is pain free and there are no side e� ects.
“We make sure patients are comfortable, well informed and at ease with the procedure before and during the treatment,” she stresses. “� ere is never any pain, and the results are felt very quickly.”
In� nity Medical Institute has also expanded its services to include CO2 laser treatments, microneedling, chemical peels, vaginal rejuvenation and weight-loss programs.
� e newer procedures being o� ered, notes Mike, are part of what makes In� nity Medical Institute a success.
“We want to provide more options for our patients, and I think we are well on our way toward doing that,” he says. “� is is all done in an e� ort to provide the most up-to-date services available for a wide range of patient needs.”
The O-Shot® and More
Page 4 | Florida Health Care News | Winter 2019 | West Pasco County Edition
Barry LevineExecutive Publisher
Dan OchmanSenior Associate Publisher
Gina L. d’AngeloCFO/HR
Roy CummingsEditorial Supervisor
Michelle BrooksCreative Director
Brian LevineProject Coordinator
Patti DiPanfiloAnnette MardisEditorial Staff
Laura EngelProduction Assistant
Nerissa JohnsonGraphic Designer
Nerissa JohnsonJordan PyszFred BelletPhotography
Steve TurkMario Hill
Kent BoothRobert Mize
Anthony Perera Distribution
Infinity Medical InstituteBio-Natural Hormone Replacement Therapy
Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute
Medical Oncology/Radiation
Trinity Hearing & Balance Center
Audiology and Balance Disorders
Coastal Jaw SurgeryOral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Griffith DentalDentistry
Sonlife Prosthetics and Orthotics, Inc.
Prosthetics and Orthotics
Regenerative Orthopedic InstituteStem Cell Therapy/ Pain Management
Physical Medicine Center, Inc.Erectile Dysfunction/PRP Therapy
Noel S. Tenenbaum, MD, P.A.Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
Minimally Invasive Spine CareMinimally Invasive Spine Care
215 Bullard ParkwayTemple Terrace, FL 33617
(813) 989-1330
Florida Health Care News
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Winter 2019
Bio-Natural HormoNe replacemeNt tHerapy
are affiliated with five area hospitals and are members and o� cers of numerous professional organizations, including the Florida Society of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons; American and Florida Dental Societies of Anesthesiology; American, Florida, West Coast, West Pasco, Upper Pinellas, and Hernando County Dental Associations; Academy of Osseointegration; and American Academy of Implant Dentistry. Additionally, the doctors sponsor dental implant study clubs for the area’s general dentists.
The Doctors at Coastal Jaw Surgery
See educational videos at www.CoastalJaw.com
BEFORE
AFTER
1. High school class president and valedictorian2. Summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa – The
Ohio State University3. Completed dental degree with honors from
Ohio State College of Dentistry4. Board-certi� ed oral and maxillofacial surgeon5. Diplomate, American Board of Oral and
Maxillofacial Surgery6. Diplomate, American Board of Oral
Implantology/Implant Dentistry7. Diplomate, International Congress of Oral
Implantologists8. Has completed over 5,000 hours of continu-
ing studies9. Aaron Gershko� Memorial Award for out-
standing contributions in implant dentistry10. Founded Coastal Jaw Surgery (1983)11. Has placed more than 20,000 dental implants12. First in Tampa Bay area to acquire cone beam
computed tomography equipment13. Founder of the Pikos Institute14. Has taught more than 3,500 dentists – at least
one from 43 di� erent countries and each of the 50 United States – surgical techniques relating to dental implants, bone grafting and soft-tissue grafting
15. Named Dentistry Today Leader in continuing education 2008 – 2017
16. Founder of Pinnacle Study Club in 198817. Serves on the Editorial Board of the following
journals: Implant Dentistry, Inside Dentistry, the Journal of Esthetic and Restorative Dentistry and the Journal of Implant and Advanced Clinical Dentistry
18. Scientific board member of Implant News Magazine
19. International educator and lecturer on dental implant reconstruction
20. Consultant for international surgical and regenerative technology-based companies
21. Adjunct Assistant Professor, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, The Ohio State University College of Dentistry, and Nova Southeastern University School of Medicine; Courtesy Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Periodontics, University of Florida College of Dentistry; and Courtesy Assistant Professor, Department of Prosthodontics, University of Florida College of Dentistry
22. Named Health Care Hero by Tampa Bay Business Journal
23. Direct a� liation with Sheri� ’s Youth Ranch, Gulf Coast Dental Outreach and St. Jude’s Research Hospital
24. Advisor to the Board for the Shepherd Center of Tarpon Springs, Florida
25. Recipient of the 2015 Saul Schluger Award for Top Educator Seattle Study Club
MICHAEL A. PIKOS, DDSJOSÉ F. LÁZARO, DMD
KENNETH L. ANDERSON, DDSLINDSEY PIKOS ROSATI, DDS, MS
PHILIP J. HEDGER, DMD, MSJASON B. BLUNDELL, DDS
Trinity Hawbuck Street(727) 375-0469
Same Day Teeth8740 Mitchell Blvd.
(800) NEW-LOOKOutside Florida: --
Spring Hill 4372 Commercial Way, Suite 4
(352) 596-6804
Palm Harbor 2711 Tampa Rd.
(727) 786-1631
Improve Your Bite!Coastal Jaw Surgery, The Center for Dental Implants/Facial & Oral Reconstruction, welcomes calls regarding this article and other oral surgical topics. Download
free reports at www.coastaljaw.com. For a free brochure about
dental implants or to schedule a complimentary consultation and
CT scan, please call or visit any of their locations:
Facts You Need to Know About Dr. Pikos
Single-Session SmilesUnique protocol restores appearance and self-con� dence in one visit
B efore retiring in October 2017, Jo Ann Forcino was supervisor of student services for the Hernando County
School District. In that role, she inter-acted with many individuals, and she possessed the poise and con� dence to do her job successfully.
Back in 2014, however, Jo Ann didn’t have that same level of con� dence. At the time, the Bronx, New York native was experiencing serious dental issues that robbed her of her oral health and her smile, which a� ected her self-esteem.
“My gums hurt and bled,” she con� des. “My teeth started to become loose and moved while chewing. Eating wasn’t always pleasant because I never knew what would happen with my teeth. I avoided hard-to-chew foods like hard rolls and Italian bread.
“I lost a couple of teeth, so there were obvious spaces in my mouth. My teeth also became discolored from a rinse I was using to treat the gum disease. I totally lacked con� dence because of the way my teeth looked. I didn’t want to smile. I covered my mouth because I didn’t want people to see my teeth.”
Jo Ann went to sev-eral dentists, who all told her she had periodontal disease. Because her gum disease was advanced, she was warned she would continue losing teeth. � ey also said she was not a candidate for dental implants because she lacked su� cient bone in her jaw.
Living in Spring Hill, Jo Ann had heard about board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon Michael A. Pikos, DDS, of Coastal Jaw Surgery, who is a global leader in dental implants and surgical reconstruction. She hadn’t vis-ited him previously because she already received identical diagnoses from other dentists. � en, she saw a news-paper article about a unique process Dr. Pikos o� ers called Same Day Teeth®, and she reconsidered.
“A copy of Florida Health Care News came in the mail,” she remembers. “I read the article about Dr. Pikos and Same Day Teeth and thought, Maybe Dr. Pikos can help me.
“I love the way my teeth look. Same Day Teeth gave me back my smile
and increased my self-esteem.” – Jo Ann
“When I went for my initial appointment, Dr. Pikos was very up-front, and he presented many options. Treatment wasn’t this or nothing, and it was my decision to make. I liked that. I made the decision for Same Day Teeth for both my upper and lower jaw.”
Planned ProtocolSame Day Teeth is an excel lent option for people with gum disease, decay, bone loss and teeth that are better served being removed, observes Dr. Pikos. Using this protocol, the oral surgeon can remove the teeth, posi-tion the dental implants and place permanent teeth in a single visit.
“To begin the Same Day Teeth process, we work with a laboratory out of Reno, Nevada, and together we use proprietary software to do a virtual workup for the patients,” he describes. “We operate using that as the plan, and it allows us to complete every step in one surgical session.”
Same Day Teeth has advantages over traditional dentures, even those secured by dental implants.
eating Italian bread again, make her happy. She credits her comeback to the single-session process.
“It’s the best thing I ever did for myself,” she reports. “I love the way my teeth look. Same Day Teeth gave me back my smile and increased my self-esteem. When I had the procedure done, I imme-diately felt my con� dence return.”
Since reading the article about Dr. Pikos and Same Day Teeth, Jo Ann has become a dedicated patient of Coastal Jaw Surgery. Even though she and her husband are relocat-ing and will be a distance away from Dr. Pikos, she still plans to make the drive to visit him.
“We are moving to Winter Garden, which is in Orange
County, but I will be continuing with Dr. Pikos for my check-ups and follow-up appointments,” veri� es Jo Ann. “I will and have recommended him. When peo-ple ask me where I went to have my teeth done, I tell them, To Dr. Pikos at Coastal Jaw Surgery!”FHCN article by Patti DiPanfilo. Photo by Jordan Pysz.
Before and after images courtesy of Coastal Jaw Surgery. mkb
Jo Ann’s new smile gives her more self-confi dence.
“If we use the traditional approach for patients like Jo Ann, and we always give them that option, we extract the teeth and replace them with implants,” he elab-orates. “Many times, patients may also need bone grafting in advance of placing the implants and possibly root canal or periodontal treatments as well.
“For those patients, the traditional approach requires many dental disci-plines to complete the work, so there are increases in cost and time. Many are in treatment for a year or more before the process is completed. � en, they still have those remaining natural teeth, which can be problematic later.”
With Same Day Teeth, all of the fail-ing teeth are removed, so there are none to cause issues later. Also, additional procedures such as bone grafting and gum disease treatment aren’t necessary to a successful outcome.
Returned Confi denceJo Ann left Dr. Pikos’ office ecstatic after her Same Day Teeth were done. � e look of her teeth made her feel like a new person. Even simple things, like
West Pasco County Edition | Winter 2019 | Florida Health Care News | Page 5oral aNd maxillofacial surgery
Bryan N. Griffith, DMD, P.A., began his education with an Associate of Arts degree from Pasco-Hernando State College. He then earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of South Florida and his Doctorate in Medical Dentistry in from the University of Florida. Dr. Griffi th currently serves as a board member of dePaul School for Dyslexia, and is a member of the American Dental Association. Florida Dental Association and West Pasco Dental Association.
A Visionary in Dental CareAs part of its vision, the Griffi th Dental team pays close attention to the fi nest details and commits itself to excellence. Dr. Griffi th and his staff would love to have you become a part of their dental care family. To learn more or to schedule a consultation, contact Griffi th Dental at its Port Richey offi ce.
11839 Oak Trail Way(727) 861-5575
Digital Dentistry
Advanced technology creates crowns in one visit
Having been a dental assistant for 13 years, Diana Jaks knew what she wanted in a dentist. � e current personal trainer
was skeptical when a friend suggested she try hers. After all, Diana didn’t know the man or anything about him. Still, she trusted her friend’s recommendation and gave her friend’s dentist a try.
“I’ve worked for really good dentists and really bad dentists, so I was very partic-ular about who I went to,” Diana explains. “I knew what I wanted for my teeth. I didn’t need any dental work at the time, just a routine cleaning, so I thought I’d do a meet-and-greet with this dentist my friend had recommended.”
This dentist was Bryan N. Griffith, DMD, of Gri� th Dental in Port Richey. Dr. Gri� th and his team made an excellent � rst impression on Diana. She felt comfort-able from the moment she walked through the practice’s doors.
“I noticed right away that the office seemed calm; it wasn’t hectic,” she describes. “I didn’t feel uncomfortable, and it smelled good, none of that clove-type smell you usu-ally get when you walk into a dentist’s o� ce.
“� e sta� at the front desk knew who I was when I walked in, and they greeted me warmly. � ey took all the steps to provide
CEREC produces a computer
image (right) and sends it
to the milling machine (above)
that fabricates the crown.
Diana Jaks
the kind of service I expect. � e front desk is like the curtains to the stage. � en, I went into the treatment room.”
Diana recalled working with dentists who looked into patients’ mouths and immediately determined extensive den-tal work was required. She was pleasantly surprised when Dr. Gri� th didn’t do that. She was also pleased with his gentle and earnest chairside manner.
“I knew I had what dentists call craze lines,” she admits. “Crazing in your teeth happens when your chew ice or eat some-thing hot, then something cold. Your teeth get these little lines in them that look like little cracks.
“Dr. Gri� th looked in my mouth, took an x-ray and told me about a craze line in one of my teeth. But then he said, Let’s just keep an eye on it, which set my mind at ease. His approach was more conserva-tive and managing, which was amazing. It suited me. I’m a conservative person when it comes to treatment.”
There were, however, two nagging dental issues that Diana decided to address with Dr. Gri� th. Since she felt she could trust him, she � rst told him about a space between two molars on the lower left side of her mouth that trapped small particles of food, which can allow bacteria to grow. She then explained her other concern.
“It just so happened that one of the molars had a small crack in it, and even-tually, that tooth could break in half and cause pain,” she relates. “I figured it’s going to crack someday, and a tooth that has a food trap can cause gum disease. I decided if I can close that space and save that tooth from cracking and causing me pain, I’m going to do it.”
Certainly CEREC®For Diana’s tooth, Dr. Gri� th recommended placing a crown, and Diana agreed. Unlike a � lling, a crown is a dental restoration that � ts over the entire tooth. In the past, having a crown made was at least a two-visit process, with patients having to wear a temporary for several weeks while the permanent crown was fabricated in a dental lab.
Dr. Griffith, however, made Diana’s new crown using digital dentistry. He used his high-tech CEREC in-office system. CEREC, which is an acronym for Chairside Economical Restoration of
Esthetic Ceramics, uses state-of-the-art optical imaging and CAD/CAM technology to design and mill a customized crown that � ts perfectly and matches the color of the patient’s surrounding teeth.
“CEREC enables us to make all-ceramic dental restorations right here in our office,” clarifies Dr. Griffith. “With CEREC, creating a restoration is a one-appointment process; there are no temporaries involved. In one visit, we can have a patient’s crowns completed.
“It’s also nice that patients only have to be numbed one time because there is no second visit. � ere’s also no gagging impression material.”
CEREC is true digital dentistry, notes Dr. Gri� th. It uses a digital camera to take photos of the patient’s teeth. � en, it creates images on a computer that the dentist uses to digitally design the crowns. � is information is sent to the milling machine, which fabricates the crowns from blocks of ceramic that match the color of the patient’s other teeth.
“The crowns are manufactured and � red here right before we cement them in the patient’s mouth,” observes Dr. Gri� th. “If something isn’t right with a crown, which is rare because CEREC is so accu-rate, I don’t have to send the crown back to the lab. I can correct the issue right here and re-� re a new crown.”
“After Dr. Gri� th prepared my tooth, he said, We’re going to go make your crown. I’ll be right back,” recalls Diana. “I was really surprised. I’ve never seen that done before, where you sit there for a little while, and you leave with a crown. I didn’t have to worry about a temporary coming o� , because I didn’t have a temporary crown.”
Spot-On ResultsAfter Diana’s appointment at Griffith Dental, she had a brand-new crown. She was delighted that Dr. Gri� th used digital den-tistry to do the job. It made the process of getting a crown simple and quick. Diana was pleased with the � nished product as well.
“I left Gri� th Dental with a perma-nently cemented crown,” she states. “It � ts right. It functions well, and I don’t have a space between my teeth anymore. I no longer have a food trap, and I know I’ve protected my cracked tooth. Dr. Gri� th’s treatment plan was spot on. He did the right thing.”
Diana is grateful she followed her friend’s advice and made an appointment at Griffith Dental. She says her experi-ence partnering with Dr. Gri� th and his team was outstanding. She’s happy about the way the dentist uses state-of-the-art digital dentistry, yet treats every patient like family. She’s impressed by Dr. Gri� th’s advanced techniques.
“I like that Dr. Gri� th uses high-tech equipment,” she says. “I like that he took an image impression of my tooth instead of using that horrible-tasting stu� you have to keep in your mouth for twenty minutes.
“I also like that within a few hours, I was out the door of Gri� th Dental with a crown that was permanent. I tell people all the time about how incredible Dr. Gri� th’s treatment is. I say, It’s worth a try.”
“Dr. Gri� th did the evaluation and came up with a few things that were wrong. He said I needed some dental work, including a bridge. I knew the bridge was necessary because I was missing a number of teeth and had nothing to bite on on the right side of my mouth. I said, Let’s take this one by one and spend this year � xing up what needs to be � xed.”
� e treatment plan Dr. Gri� th devel-oped for Louis included some � llings and a few crowns as well as the bridge. To create the crowns, Dr. Gri� th used his CEREC in-office crown-making system. Louis is happy with the outcome of his dental work, but what impresses him most about Gri� th Dental are the atmosphere and the people. He says the practice has personality.
“For Louis, it wasn’t the advanced technology we have that made him return for his treatment, it was our personality,” veri� es Dr. Gri� th. “It was who we are and how we treated him with respect and like family that did it. As a result, he trusted us enough to let us go into his mouth and make his smile great again.”
“I trust Dr. Griffith and his staff,” shares Louis. “Dr. Griffith and I have formed a good bond, and I don’t have any fears that I’m going to get a bad job with him. � e thing for me now is to make sure I keep going to him.”
Service and Lifelong HealthPart of what gives Gri� th Dental its person-ality is its unfailing commitment to quality dental care and superior customer service. � e � rst part of Gri� th Dental’s vision statement reads, “Our vision is to provide matchless ser-vice to all people we come into contact with.”
“� e statement goes on to say that our team pays attention to the finest details and is distinctly committed to growing relationships with our patients,” notes Dr. Gri� th. “Our goal is to partner with our patients to achieve lifelong dental health. At Gri� th Dental, we do that as a team with only the best people in every area. It speaks of integrity and trust.
“We care about lifelong health. For example, we perform a test to classify patients as high-risk or low-risk for the purposes of x-ray radiation. Based on their risk, patients might not get x-rays every year. Not only does this minimize patients’ radiation exposure, it also saves them from using their � nancial resources on the tests.”
Customer service is not just the sta� ’s job. Dr. Gri� th personally calls patients in the evening after signi� cant procedures to
check on how they’re feeling and answer any questions they may have. � e dental hygien-ist calls patients who’ve had gum therapy.
“Dr. Gri� th called me one time when I had a little incident with an abscess,” relates Louis. “I think he was out of town. He gave me his personal cell phone number to call in case I had a problem. All that makes ours a very trusting relationship.”
Dr. Gri� th and his sta� also make every e� ort to make their patients comfortable during a visit.
“We ask patients what type of music they like to listen to, and while we’re treat-ing them, we give them a set of custom headphones tuned to a station playing their favorite artists. We also have Net� ix, so if patients prefer, they can watch a show or movie during treatment.
“We also have warm blankets if patients want them and all types of snacks and drinks for them to enjoy while they relax and wait for CEREC to make their crowns or other restorations. � ese are just a few things we do to make patients comfortable.”
� e personality of Gri� th Dental really comes out in the way the team members do everything they can to treat their patients right. � ey want their patients to feel at home, especially Dr. Gri� th.
“If someone came over to my house tonight, my family and I would be very focused on making sure that person was
treated well,” observes the dentist. “We do the same thing when patients come to Gri� th Dental.
“Our team has worked hard to develop a strong set of skills that enables us to deliver great care and make everybody feel comfort-able, like part of the family. � at’s what brings patients back to us over and over again.”
It’s what has kept Louis coming back.“Louis now has a smile that will last him
a lifetime, and it should not be a challenge for him to maintain it,” says Dr. Gri� th. “He’s currently on a strong maintenance plan with us. All he has to do is the routine care, which should be no problem for him.”
Terrifi c BridgeBoth Diana and Louis are impressed by Dr. Gri� th’s advanced equipment and tech-niques, but those are not what he likes most about Griffith Dental. He returns there because of the people and their commitment to making him comfortable and happy. He returns because the practice has personality.
“� e whole sta� is very friendly,” Louis reports. “� ey call me by my � rst name and treat me like family. Dr. Gri� th has a good operation, and he makes it easy to go and see him. It’s easy to like him, too. He’s a very nice young man, and I trust him a lot.”
� e important thing now for Louis is to continue his relationship with Dr. Gri� th and the rest of the team at Gri� th Dental. � ankfully, there are a few personable people around him helping him stay on track with his regular visits.
“� e girls in the o� ce have a persua-sive way of reminding me when I have an appointment coming up,” Louis says. “� ey tell me in a nice way. I’ve gotten married since I moved to Florida, and my wife also reminds me when I have to go to the den-tist. It’s easy to make the appointments, and they’re very good experiences.
“I’m thrilled with the work Dr. Gri� th has done. � e bridge he put on the right side of my mouth is a godsend. It works terrif-ically. Dr. Gri� th knows his job is to take care of the teeth I have remaining, and he does a good job of that.”FHCN article by Patti DiPanfilo. Patient photos by Jordan Pysz.
Staff photo courtesy of Griffith Dental. CEREC graphic courtesy
of Sirona. mkb
Get to know Griffi th Dental better by visiting them at www.gri� thdental.com, where you can fi nd links to their social media pages on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and
The CEREC machine was used to help Diana (shown here with her dog
Darby) resolve two dental issues.
The Practice With Personality Like Diana, Louis Zone knows what he wants in a dental practice. He wants to be welcomed and to feel comfortable. He wants a dentist who will encourage, not judge, him, and will make him feel good about going to the dentist.
“My teeth as a child was a sad story,” he shares. “Let’s just say, I didn’t take very good care of my teeth. When I was an adolescent, my mom took me to some dental places, and I developed a dislike of dentists as a result. One dentist told me I was a dentist’s nightmare.
“I did have a pretty good family dentist in Virginia, which is where I lived before moving to Florida in 2010. I liked that dentist. We formed a good relationship, but then I just stopped going to him. I didn’t fear or dislike him. I just decided that since nothing was wrong with my teeth, why go to the dentist?”
Not going to the dentist is not good for anybody, but the e� ect it had on Louis was especially harsh. During his time without routine dental care, Louis’ teeth deteriorated, and he ended up with a number of serious dental issues.
“I hadn’t been taking care of my teeth for the past ten years, and I developed problems that needed to be addressed,” he con� rms. “I had cavities here and cavities there, a loose tooth, you name it. I needed to � nd a dentist. One day, I was talking with a friend, and this friend suggested I give Dr. Gri� th a call, so I did.”
When Louis arrived at Gri� th Dental, his experience mirrored Diana’s. He found the o� ce to be well-organized, and he was warmly greeted by a friendly front-desk sta� . Like Diana, he was pleased by Dr. Gri� th’s practice style and chairside manner.
“� e sta� was very kind and helpful,” he describes. “I immediately got the feeling that Gri� th Dental was a good place. Dr. Gri� th was very personable, and he explained what he was going to do and why he was going to do it. I thought, He’s a good dentist. He knows what he’s doing.
Louis Zone
BRYAN N. GRIFFITH, DMD, P.A.
Page 6 | Florida Health Care News | Winter 2019 | West Pasco County Edition deNtistry
Bryan N. Griffith, DMD, P.A., began his education with an Associate of Arts degree from Pasco-Hernando State College. He then earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of South Florida and his Doctorate in Medical Dentistry in from the University of Florida. Dr. Griffi th currently serves as a board member of dePaul School for Dyslexia, and is a member of the American Dental Association. Florida Dental Association and West Pasco Dental Association.
A Visionary in Dental CareAs part of its vision, the Griffi th Dental team pays close attention to the fi nest details and commits itself to excellence. Dr. Griffi th and his staff would love to have you become a part of their dental care family. To learn more or to schedule a consultation, contact Griffi th Dental at its Port Richey offi ce.
11839 Oak Trail Way(727) 861-5575
Digital Dentistry
Advanced technology creates crowns in one visit
Having been a dental assistant for 13 years, Diana Jaks knew what she wanted in a dentist. � e current personal trainer
was skeptical when a friend suggested she try hers. After all, Diana didn’t know the man or anything about him. Still, she trusted her friend’s recommendation and gave her friend’s dentist a try.
“I’ve worked for really good dentists and really bad dentists, so I was very partic-ular about who I went to,” Diana explains. “I knew what I wanted for my teeth. I didn’t need any dental work at the time, just a routine cleaning, so I thought I’d do a meet-and-greet with this dentist my friend had recommended.”
This dentist was Bryan N. Griffith, DMD, of Gri� th Dental in Port Richey. Dr. Gri� th and his team made an excellent � rst impression on Diana. She felt comfort-able from the moment she walked through the practice’s doors.
“I noticed right away that the office seemed calm; it wasn’t hectic,” she describes. “I didn’t feel uncomfortable, and it smelled good, none of that clove-type smell you usu-ally get when you walk into a dentist’s o� ce.
“� e sta� at the front desk knew who I was when I walked in, and they greeted me warmly. � ey took all the steps to provide
CEREC produces a computer
image (right) and sends it
to the milling machine (above)
that fabricates the crown.
Diana Jaks
the kind of service I expect. � e front desk is like the curtains to the stage. � en, I went into the treatment room.”
Diana recalled working with dentists who looked into patients’ mouths and immediately determined extensive den-tal work was required. She was pleasantly surprised when Dr. Gri� th didn’t do that. She was also pleased with his gentle and earnest chairside manner.
“I knew I had what dentists call craze lines,” she admits. “Crazing in your teeth happens when your chew ice or eat some-thing hot, then something cold. Your teeth get these little lines in them that look like little cracks.
“Dr. Gri� th looked in my mouth, took an x-ray and told me about a craze line in one of my teeth. But then he said, Let’s just keep an eye on it, which set my mind at ease. His approach was more conserva-tive and managing, which was amazing. It suited me. I’m a conservative person when it comes to treatment.”
There were, however, two nagging dental issues that Diana decided to address with Dr. Gri� th. Since she felt she could trust him, she � rst told him about a space between two molars on the lower left side of her mouth that trapped small particles of food, which can allow bacteria to grow. She then explained her other concern.
“It just so happened that one of the molars had a small crack in it, and even-tually, that tooth could break in half and cause pain,” she relates. “I figured it’s going to crack someday, and a tooth that has a food trap can cause gum disease. I decided if I can close that space and save that tooth from cracking and causing me pain, I’m going to do it.”
Certainly CEREC®For Diana’s tooth, Dr. Gri� th recommended placing a crown, and Diana agreed. Unlike a � lling, a crown is a dental restoration that � ts over the entire tooth. In the past, having a crown made was at least a two-visit process, with patients having to wear a temporary for several weeks while the permanent crown was fabricated in a dental lab.
Dr. Griffith, however, made Diana’s new crown using digital dentistry. He used his high-tech CEREC in-office system. CEREC, which is an acronym for Chairside Economical Restoration of
Esthetic Ceramics, uses state-of-the-art optical imaging and CAD/CAM technology to design and mill a customized crown that � ts perfectly and matches the color of the patient’s surrounding teeth.
“CEREC enables us to make all-ceramic dental restorations right here in our office,” clarifies Dr. Griffith. “With CEREC, creating a restoration is a one-appointment process; there are no temporaries involved. In one visit, we can have a patient’s crowns completed.
“It’s also nice that patients only have to be numbed one time because there is no second visit. � ere’s also no gagging impression material.”
CEREC is true digital dentistry, notes Dr. Gri� th. It uses a digital camera to take photos of the patient’s teeth. � en, it creates images on a computer that the dentist uses to digitally design the crowns. � is information is sent to the milling machine, which fabricates the crowns from blocks of ceramic that match the color of the patient’s other teeth.
“The crowns are manufactured and � red here right before we cement them in the patient’s mouth,” observes Dr. Gri� th. “If something isn’t right with a crown, which is rare because CEREC is so accu-rate, I don’t have to send the crown back to the lab. I can correct the issue right here and re-� re a new crown.”
“After Dr. Gri� th prepared my tooth, he said, We’re going to go make your crown. I’ll be right back,” recalls Diana. “I was really surprised. I’ve never seen that done before, where you sit there for a little while, and you leave with a crown. I didn’t have to worry about a temporary coming o� , because I didn’t have a temporary crown.”
Spot-On ResultsAfter Diana’s appointment at Griffith Dental, she had a brand-new crown. She was delighted that Dr. Gri� th used digital den-tistry to do the job. It made the process of getting a crown simple and quick. Diana was pleased with the � nished product as well.
“I left Gri� th Dental with a perma-nently cemented crown,” she states. “It � ts right. It functions well, and I don’t have a space between my teeth anymore. I no longer have a food trap, and I know I’ve protected my cracked tooth. Dr. Gri� th’s treatment plan was spot on. He did the right thing.”
Diana is grateful she followed her friend’s advice and made an appointment at Griffith Dental. She says her experi-ence partnering with Dr. Gri� th and his team was outstanding. She’s happy about the way the dentist uses state-of-the-art digital dentistry, yet treats every patient like family. She’s impressed by Dr. Gri� th’s advanced techniques.
“I like that Dr. Gri� th uses high-tech equipment,” she says. “I like that he took an image impression of my tooth instead of using that horrible-tasting stu� you have to keep in your mouth for twenty minutes.
“I also like that within a few hours, I was out the door of Gri� th Dental with a crown that was permanent. I tell people all the time about how incredible Dr. Gri� th’s treatment is. I say, It’s worth a try.”
“Dr. Gri� th did the evaluation and came up with a few things that were wrong. He said I needed some dental work, including a bridge. I knew the bridge was necessary because I was missing a number of teeth and had nothing to bite on on the right side of my mouth. I said, Let’s take this one by one and spend this year � xing up what needs to be � xed.”
� e treatment plan Dr. Gri� th devel-oped for Louis included some � llings and a few crowns as well as the bridge. To create the crowns, Dr. Gri� th used his CEREC in-office crown-making system. Louis is happy with the outcome of his dental work, but what impresses him most about Gri� th Dental are the atmosphere and the people. He says the practice has personality.
“For Louis, it wasn’t the advanced technology we have that made him return for his treatment, it was our personality,” veri� es Dr. Gri� th. “It was who we are and how we treated him with respect and like family that did it. As a result, he trusted us enough to let us go into his mouth and make his smile great again.”
“I trust Dr. Griffith and his staff,” shares Louis. “Dr. Griffith and I have formed a good bond, and I don’t have any fears that I’m going to get a bad job with him. � e thing for me now is to make sure I keep going to him.”
Service and Lifelong HealthPart of what gives Gri� th Dental its person-ality is its unfailing commitment to quality dental care and superior customer service. � e � rst part of Gri� th Dental’s vision statement reads, “Our vision is to provide matchless ser-vice to all people we come into contact with.”
“� e statement goes on to say that our team pays attention to the finest details and is distinctly committed to growing relationships with our patients,” notes Dr. Gri� th. “Our goal is to partner with our patients to achieve lifelong dental health. At Gri� th Dental, we do that as a team with only the best people in every area. It speaks of integrity and trust.
“We care about lifelong health. For example, we perform a test to classify patients as high-risk or low-risk for the purposes of x-ray radiation. Based on their risk, patients might not get x-rays every year. Not only does this minimize patients’ radiation exposure, it also saves them from using their � nancial resources on the tests.”
Customer service is not just the sta� ’s job. Dr. Gri� th personally calls patients in the evening after signi� cant procedures to
check on how they’re feeling and answer any questions they may have. � e dental hygien-ist calls patients who’ve had gum therapy.
“Dr. Gri� th called me one time when I had a little incident with an abscess,” relates Louis. “I think he was out of town. He gave me his personal cell phone number to call in case I had a problem. All that makes ours a very trusting relationship.”
Dr. Gri� th and his sta� also make every e� ort to make their patients comfortable during a visit.
“We ask patients what type of music they like to listen to, and while we’re treat-ing them, we give them a set of custom headphones tuned to a station playing their favorite artists. We also have Net� ix, so if patients prefer, they can watch a show or movie during treatment.
“We also have warm blankets if patients want them and all types of snacks and drinks for them to enjoy while they relax and wait for CEREC to make their crowns or other restorations. � ese are just a few things we do to make patients comfortable.”
� e personality of Gri� th Dental really comes out in the way the team members do everything they can to treat their patients right. � ey want their patients to feel at home, especially Dr. Gri� th.
“If someone came over to my house tonight, my family and I would be very focused on making sure that person was
treated well,” observes the dentist. “We do the same thing when patients come to Gri� th Dental.
“Our team has worked hard to develop a strong set of skills that enables us to deliver great care and make everybody feel comfort-able, like part of the family. � at’s what brings patients back to us over and over again.”
It’s what has kept Louis coming back.“Louis now has a smile that will last him
a lifetime, and it should not be a challenge for him to maintain it,” says Dr. Gri� th. “He’s currently on a strong maintenance plan with us. All he has to do is the routine care, which should be no problem for him.”
Terrifi c BridgeBoth Diana and Louis are impressed by Dr. Gri� th’s advanced equipment and tech-niques, but those are not what he likes most about Griffith Dental. He returns there because of the people and their commitment to making him comfortable and happy. He returns because the practice has personality.
“� e whole sta� is very friendly,” Louis reports. “� ey call me by my � rst name and treat me like family. Dr. Gri� th has a good operation, and he makes it easy to go and see him. It’s easy to like him, too. He’s a very nice young man, and I trust him a lot.”
� e important thing now for Louis is to continue his relationship with Dr. Gri� th and the rest of the team at Gri� th Dental. � ankfully, there are a few personable people around him helping him stay on track with his regular visits.
“� e girls in the o� ce have a persua-sive way of reminding me when I have an appointment coming up,” Louis says. “� ey tell me in a nice way. I’ve gotten married since I moved to Florida, and my wife also reminds me when I have to go to the den-tist. It’s easy to make the appointments, and they’re very good experiences.
“I’m thrilled with the work Dr. Gri� th has done. � e bridge he put on the right side of my mouth is a godsend. It works terrif-ically. Dr. Gri� th knows his job is to take care of the teeth I have remaining, and he does a good job of that.”FHCN article by Patti DiPanfilo. Patient photos by Jordan Pysz.
Staff photo courtesy of Griffith Dental. CEREC graphic courtesy
of Sirona. mkb
Get to know Griffi th Dental better by visiting them at www.gri� thdental.com, where you can fi nd links to their social media pages on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and
The CEREC machine was used to help Diana (shown here with her dog
Darby) resolve two dental issues.
The Practice With Personality Like Diana, Louis Zone knows what he wants in a dental practice. He wants to be welcomed and to feel comfortable. He wants a dentist who will encourage, not judge, him, and will make him feel good about going to the dentist.
“My teeth as a child was a sad story,” he shares. “Let’s just say, I didn’t take very good care of my teeth. When I was an adolescent, my mom took me to some dental places, and I developed a dislike of dentists as a result. One dentist told me I was a dentist’s nightmare.
“I did have a pretty good family dentist in Virginia, which is where I lived before moving to Florida in 2010. I liked that dentist. We formed a good relationship, but then I just stopped going to him. I didn’t fear or dislike him. I just decided that since nothing was wrong with my teeth, why go to the dentist?”
Not going to the dentist is not good for anybody, but the e� ect it had on Louis was especially harsh. During his time without routine dental care, Louis’ teeth deteriorated, and he ended up with a number of serious dental issues.
“I hadn’t been taking care of my teeth for the past ten years, and I developed problems that needed to be addressed,” he con� rms. “I had cavities here and cavities there, a loose tooth, you name it. I needed to � nd a dentist. One day, I was talking with a friend, and this friend suggested I give Dr. Gri� th a call, so I did.”
When Louis arrived at Gri� th Dental, his experience mirrored Diana’s. He found the o� ce to be well-organized, and he was warmly greeted by a friendly front-desk sta� . Like Diana, he was pleased by Dr. Gri� th’s practice style and chairside manner.
“� e sta� was very kind and helpful,” he describes. “I immediately got the feeling that Gri� th Dental was a good place. Dr. Gri� th was very personable, and he explained what he was going to do and why he was going to do it. I thought, He’s a good dentist. He knows what he’s doing.
Louis Zone
BRYAN N. GRIFFITH, DMD, P.A.
West Pasco County Edition | Winter 2019 | Florida Health Care News | Page 7deNtistry
David S. Goris, CPO, LPOBill Woslum, CO, LO
To learn more, please visit www.sonlifeprosthetics.com
Inspired SolutionsLet Sonlife Prosthetics and Orthotics put their
years of experience to work for you. To learn more about their full range of services, call or visit:
Like a lot of young girls her age, seven-year-old Isabella Every is fascinated by unicorns, enjoys watching the TV show PAW Patrol and sometimes wishes she could live under the sea
like Ariel in � e Little Mermaid.A � rst grader who describes school as “great,” her
favorite subject is math, and when she’s not in school, she enjoys playing on her swing set, bouncing around on the family trampoline and playing outside with her friends.
Ankle-foot orthoses play critical role in correcting childhood condition
Playing outside on her swing set is one of Isabella’s favorite activities.
Walk of Life
Since she first began walking, some of those outdoor activities had been a bit of a challenge for Isabella, who has struggled to break out of a walking pattern that most children leave behind when they exit the toddler stage of development.
� e pattern is called toe walking, and the moniker aptly describes the gait of someone who walks almost exclusively on the balls of their feet or toes while their heels seldom, if ever, make contact with the ground.
Most often a learned habit, toe walking can also develop as a result of Achilles tendon tightness or in association with cerebral palsy. In Isabella’s case, however, it developed as a result of a sensory processing disorder and proprioception.
Proprioception refers to the level of awareness a per-son has to their body position or certain parts of their body. Anyone who su� ers from a loss of proprioception may � nd it di� cult to realize their legs are crossed or their arm is raised above their head.
“Isabella has had a problem with proprioception since she was little, and because of the toe walking, her father and I were told that she could do muscu-loskeletal damage to herself if she kept on doing it,” explains Isabella’s mother, Pamela.
“She was around two years old when her physical therapist recommended we get her some special inserts for her shoes to help correct the toe walking, and that’s when we � rst started going to Sonlife.”
Full-Service ProviderPamela’s reference is to Sonlife Prosthetics and Orthotics, a full-service prosthetics and orthotics laboratory in Spring Hill that has provided premium care to patients throughout Hernando, Pasco, Citrus and Sumter Counties since 1985.
Since her first visit to Sonlife, Isabella has been treated exclusively by Bill Woslum, CO, LO. Now in his 40th year in the medical � eld, Bill decided to get into this � eld after he was forced to wear custom ankle-foot orthoses, or AFOs, himself.
“I was a nurse in the Army and got busted up coming out of a helicopter the hard way,” Bill relates. “I had to wear custom knee-high AFOs for a couple of years after that and had to use polio crutches, so I learned what it’s like to be on the other side.
“� at’s why I decided to go into bracing, and since I got started in this � eld, I’ve literally designed, built and � t thousands of braces. What I really like about this facility is that we’re allowed to utilize what’s best for the patient’s needs.
“We’re very outcome oriented, and I like that, because some people will wear these for a short period of time, but others have physical needs that continue into adulthood. For those, we continue to tailor the devices to meet their lifestyle and level of activity.”
Isabella is among those whose needs have continually changed. Because she is still growing and is now becom-ing more active, she has had to be � t with several custom devices over the course of the past � ve years.
“Isabella is the sweetest little girl you can possibly imagine!” Bill exclaims. “When she comes here, she just lights up the room, and the � rst thing we did for her was � t her with some custom foot orthotics that were made from molds of her feet.
“We tried the smallest, most user-friendly device we could at � rst. We made one for each of her shoes, and what they were designed to do was redistribute the pressure and help her control her collapsing arches and help her walk more normally balanced.
“We made them very sti� because we were hop-ing that by changing the weight distribution when she walked, it would coax her to do less toe walking. Unfortunately, she eventually overpowered them and continued walking or running on her toes anyway.”
Isabella wore those � rst orthotics for about a year. It was then determined by her physician that she was not getting the desired bene� t from them that was sought, so a second generation was developed for her, again by Bill at Sonlife.
“Some kids will simply grow out of their toe walk-ing without any sort of treatment at all, but others will require more support in order to try to coax them into utilizing the limbs more functionally,” Bill educates. “� at was the case with Isabella.
“After that � rst year, it was clear she wasn’t outgrow-ing the toe walking situation, so we had to go with taller and more supportive devices that wrapped around her ankles and gave her additional lower extremity stability.”
� is second-generation device was an AFO that was worn inside the shoe over a sock and was designed to hold Isabella’s mid foot and ankle in a neutral position. � at position, in turn, forced Isabella to walk with a more natural walking pattern.
Meeting Ever-Changing NeedsAs hoped, the second-generation AFO helped reduce the amount of toe walking Isabella did, but as a result of her natural growth, she recently needed to be � t for a third-generation AFO that is largely a modi� ed version of the second.
“As her needs evolve, we continue to meet those new needs, so when she sprouted up more, we needed a lon-ger lever arm to get the control we wanted of the lower extremities,” Bill states. “To do that, we had to go higher up the ankle with the lever arm.
“� e additional stability allows her to walk and run and do other activities much more safely than she would otherwise be able to do. Our goal, of course, is to allow her to do all activities and still maintain balance and functional control of the lower extremities.”
� e AFOs Bill has produced for Isabella have done that. Isabella is as active as most other children her age, and because of the corrective devices, she is not restricted from running, climbing or jumping, according to Bill.
“She’s doing things we never imagined she’d be doing,” Bill enthuses. “She’s as active and independent as any other kid her age and even more so because she’s got this unconquerable spirit. She’s like a little, mini dynamo. And her mom is so supportive and caring. It’s wonderful to see a family that puts their child’s needs � rst.”
That unconquerable spirit appears to be help-ing Isabella overcome her challenge with toe walking. She will still fall back into her old walking pattern on occasion when she’s not wearing the orthoses, but when she wears them, she usually walks naturally.
“She’s de� nitely improved,” Pamela says. “Her toe walking is nowhere near as prominent as it used to be. My hope, of course, is that she’ll get to a point where she doesn’t do it all anymore and no longer needs the AFOs, but I don’t know when or if we’ll get there.
“Right now, though, it’s not a big concern, really. She doesn’t like that kids at school are always asking her about them, but that’s how kids are. Other than that, she seems to be okay with them, and they’re clearly making a di� erence.”
Isabella con� rms her mother’s assessment, saying the AFOs “feel � ne” while adding, “I’m used to them now, so they don’t bother me.” And she wants everyone to know that she actually enjoys her visits to Sonlife and her visits with Mr. Bill.
“Bill is so unbelievably good with her, and the work he’s done for her is just incredible,” Pamela exudes. “We’re lucky to have found him and Sonlife. I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. � ey’ve been great, and we absolutely trust them. � ey’re the best.”FHCN article by Roy Cummings. Photos by Jordan Pysz.mkb
Isabella Every
Toll-free at
(800) 562-4133
Spring Hill 6111 Deltona Blvd.
(352) 596-2257
Inverness2024 Hwy. 44 West
(352) 344-8200
Page 8 | Florida Health Care News | Winter 2019 | West Pasco County Edition prostHetics aNd ortHotics
Burnie Herring
ERICK A. GRANA, MD
Erick A. Grana, MD, is a diplomate of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine, with subspecialty certi� cation in pain medicine. After he received his medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, he completed his internship and residency at the university’s hospital and was subsequently awarded a fellowship from the department of rehabilitation medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Grana is a former assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and a member of the American Medical Association, the International Spinal Injection Society and the Florida Academy of Pain Medicine.
Burnie is walking comfortably again after having stem cell therapy on her right knee.
Skip the SurgeryNonsurgical procedure regenerates aching, arthritic knee joint
T ime was when Burnie Herring would while away most of her downtime hours working in her yard. � e now 86-year-old retired school bus driver has long considered
herself a “yard person.” � e same goes for just about everyone else in her family as well.
“My two sons and I, we’re all yard people,” Burnie enthuses. “We love a beautifully manicured and landscaped yard. To a lot of people, that seems like work. But I never considered it work. For me, getting out in the yard was more like therapy.
“I had these old clothes that I would wear when I worked out in the yard. I’d throw those on along with a headband and a wide-brim hat and go out there and mow and edge and garden and just have a ball with it. I really enjoyed it.”
A longtime Brandon resident, Burnie now lives in Plant City, where she recently had to scale back the time she devoted to making her yard look beautiful because of a painful knee that reached its peak during a family crisis last March.
“My husband had a heart attack, and I was hobbling down the corridor at the hospital one day when my daughter noticed how much difficulty I was having walking, and ran and got me a wheelchair,” Burnie remembers.
“It was my right knee that was hurting so much and making it hard for me to walk. After that incident at the hospital, I � nally decided to go see my ortho-pedic surgeon in Lakeland. I was hoping he’d be able to take care of this for me.”
After conducting a thor-ough examination, Burnie’s orthopedic surgeon learned that the cause of Burnie’s knee pain was osteoarthri-tis. He initially attempted to treat the knee with a series of cortisone injections.
“But that didn’t help one bit!” Burnie exclaims. “So, I called them back and told them I still had the pain, and this time they prescribed prednisone. But that didn’t do me any good either. � at’s when the doctor’s assistant started talking about a knee replacement.
“I absolutely did not want to go through that, and then one day while I was at my eye doctor’s o� ce, I saw an article in Florida Health Care News about a woman who had stem cell therapy for her knee problem and had nothing but good things to say about it.
“After reading that article, I decided to call the doctor’s o� ce where the woman went for the stem cell therapy. � e woman I talked to on the phone was very nice and said, Why don’t you come in and we’ll talk about
it, so I made an appointment.”� e practice Burnie called was
Regenerative Orthopedic Institute, where Erick A. Grana, MD, special-izes in regenerative medicine. He treats patients such as Burnie with a nonsurgical regenerative technique called stem cell therapy.
Scalpel-Free TechniquesUnlike traditional invasive surgery, which can result in blood loss, scarring and long, painful recovery periods, stem cell therapy requires only injections of stem cells into the damaged joint. � e injections are administered by the doctor right in his o� ce.
In addition to providing pain relief, stem cell therapy can reverse damage caused by osteoarthritis. � is reversal is accomplished by regenerating the cartilage and connective tissues in and around the joint area.
“Regenerative medicine treats disease and inju-ries by harnessing the body’s own healing powers,” Dr. Grana clarifies. “The natural healing process is accelerated by a combination of growth factors and the patient’s own bioactive cells, resulting in a safe, e� ective, nonsurgical treatment.”
Dr. Grana has developed a system for the delivery of stem cells and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) into the pain generators in and around joints such as the knees, shoulders and hips that he calls RegenaJoint™.
He has also developed a similar system to treat the spine. � at process is called RegenaSpine™. Both treat-ments use live x-ray guidance to ensure precise placement of the stem cells, which restore function, improve quality of life and reduce or eliminate the need for surgery and nar-cotic medications.
In addition, RegenaJoint and RegenaSpine both use autologous cells, which are stem cells, platelet-rich plasma and growth factors obtained from the patient’s own body, to regenerate the cartilage and connective tissue in the joints, spinal discs, tendons and ligaments.
When combined with concentrated platelets and growth factors, these stem cells become a powerful, natural repairing mechanism for aching backs and painful joints that allows patients to avoid surgery and the risks that come with it.
“We extract stem cells from bone marrow or fat and platelet-rich plasma from the patient’s own blood to use in the problem areas,” explains Dr. Grana, who obtained the stem cells for Burnie’s treatment from her belly fat.
“He took about two ounces of fat from below my navel,” Burnie con� rms. “I told him that he could have gotten more if he had gone around the sides and back. He could have gotten himself a gallon of fat that way.
“� ey then drew blood from my arm to get the platelets and mixed that with the stem cells from my belly fat, injected my knee and that was it. � ey didn’t have to use any anesthesia or anything. � e whole process was very simple.”
Eff ective ResultsIt was also e� ective. Patients typically begin to feel a noticeable decrease in pain levels after six weeks, and that was the case with Burnie, who returned to Dr. Grana after about a month for a booster.
“I was already starting to feel a little better when I went in for the booster shot, and after that, I really began to notice a di� erence!” Burnie exclaims. “Ever since then, my knee has just continued to feel better and better.
“It’s really remarkable the di� erence the stem cell treatment has made. I can walk about a mile or more without any problem, which is good because my cardiol-ogist wants me to get out and walk more. I’m really glad I chose to do this, and I would do it again in a minute if I had to. In fact, I might do it again.
“My untreated knee causes me some problems now and then. It’s not yet to the point where I feel as if I need to do anything about it, but if it ever gets there, I know exactly where to go, who to see and what to have done about it.”
Burnie says one of the things that made the entire experience so good was the personal care she received from Dr. Grana, whom she describes as very knowledge-able, caring and informative.
“He was very thorough and did a great job of explaining everything,” Burnie recalls. “I read up a lot on stem cell therapy before I went to see Dr. Grana, so I knew what it was all about, but after talking to him, I was convinced this was the right thing to do.
“Dr. Grana and his sta� were just great. � ey’re really good people, and I’ve already told a couple of my friends about him. I told them that stem cell ther-apy is the way to go and that Dr. Grana is the doctor to see to get it done.”FHCN article by Roy Cummings. Photos by Fred Bellet. mkb
“It’s really remarkable the difference the stem cell treatment has made...
I would do it again in a minute if I had to.”
- Burnie
Don’t Operate, RegenerateFor more information about stem cell therapy,
please call or visit Regenerative Orthopedic Institute in Tampa at:
8011 North Himes Avenue, Suite 3
Visit Regenerative Orthopedic Institute on the web at www.dontoperate.com (813) 868-1659
West Pasco County Edition | Winter 2019 | Florida Health Care News | Page 9stem cell tHerapy/paiN maNagemeNt
Dr. Robert Lupo is the clinic director and a chiropractic physician at Physical Medicine Center, which o� ers holistic health care, chiropractic and primary medical care as well as physical therapy. Treatments include spinal decom-pression, stem cell/PRP, addiction management, bio-identical hormone replacement, weight loss and IV nutrition. Dr. Lupo received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Life University in Marietta, GA, and has done post-graduate work in nutrition, chiropractic orthopedics, neurology, spinal disc injury care and auto accident injury care. He is a member of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Physicians.
For Radiant HealthPhysical Medicine Center is a multidisciplinary treatment and care center. To schedule a consultation, please contact or visit the offi ce in New Tampa at:
14522 University Point Place
(813) 978-0020For more information on Physical Medicine Center, go online to mybackinplace.com
Second HoneymoonED treatment returns
spark to sex life
Emory Allen
E mory Allen, 74, worked con-struction all his life. For the last few years of his career, he owned his own business but
also worked for a large contracting com-pany, from which he retired. � e North Carolina native, who spent his young-adult years in Southern France with the Army, always felt proud when clients turned to him for his construction expertise.
“I had a lot of fun doing construc-tion, so I started my own company,” he recounts. “� e name of it was Professional Industrial Contractors. Clients I did work for included Coors® Brewery, Gerber® Baby Food and Frito-Lay®. I also worked on several ethanol plants, a few bakeries and many other projects.”
As Emory got older, he faced a few common health issues that sometimes a� ect men as they age, including prostate disorders. In Emory’s case, treatment for those disorders contributed to a frustrat-ing problem – erectile dysfunction (ED).
“I hadn’t been able to do anything in the bedroom since I had prostate surgery � fteen years ago,” Emory con� rms. “My wife was very understanding. We have more than sex going on in our relation-ship. We are best friends.”
“� at’s true,” con� rms Emory’s wife. “� e sex wasn’t as good as it was in the past, but there’s more to our relationship than that. � at made it easier for me to be understanding about his problem.”
� e couple lived with an incomplete sex life for years, then Emory learned about a treatment that o� ered signi� cant improve-ment without pills or surgery. � e treatment was provided by Robert C. Lupo, DC, of Physical Medicine Center in Tampa.
“I was already a patient of Dr. Lupo for chiropractic services,” relates Emory. “One day, I was in the waiting room and saw an article in Florida Health Care News about Dr. Lupo and his GAINSWave® therapy, so I asked him about it. He told me there was calcium plaque in the vessels of my penis, and GAINSWave works like the treatment they use on kidney stones to break it up.”
“GAINSWave is a unique treatment that uses sound-wave technology to clear the tiny microvessels in the urogenital region,” describes Dr. Lupo. “� is increases circulation to the penis, which improves sensitivity and the quality of the erection, intensifying the entire sexual experience.
During his initial appointment with Dr. Lupo, Emory was given a sample GAINSWave treatment. Emory later returned for five subsequent treat-ments, during which he says, “Things started looking up.”
Tune-Ups for EveryoneBecause sexual health can affect over-all well-being, the impact of untreated erectile dysfunction, as well as decreased
sensitivity and performance, can extend beyond the bedroom.
“We all want to feel good, be healthy and have great sex,” reports Dr. Lupo. “In fact, studies have shown that good sexual energy does many things for health and well-being. � ese include decreasing stress, providing a stronger-functioning immune system, improving sleep, increasing self-esteem and happiness, and much more.”
Difficulties in the bedroom are not limited to men in their 70s, such as Emory. Even men in their 30s and 40s can begin to lose sensitivity or have trouble achieving and maintaining the strong erections necessary for great sex. It’s important that men experiencing these symptoms seek the advice of a medical professional.
“ Tro u b l e w i t h erections is a sign that blood � ow issues, hor-monal changes or other serious conditions are beginning to develop,” notes Dr. Lupo. “We o� er bio-identical hor-mone therapy as well as GAINSWave to get men su� ering with treatable conditions back on track and working like they’re supposed to.”
Dr. Lupo stresses that while GAINSWave is an excellent treatment for men with ED, it is also very e� ective for achieving sensitivity and volume improve-ment in younger men.
“Some younger men come in to tune-up their sexual functioning and improve their experience,” he says. “� ey simply want to keep their bodies in good working order, which leads to better per-formance in the bedroom. These men report that GAINSWave provides a very dramatic result.”
GAINSWave helps improve a man’s sexual health in another way as well. It also stimulates the growth of nerve tissue vital for increasing sensitivity and achiev-ing and maintaining healthy erections.
Stronger, Longer, BetterMen have experienced a renewed abil-ity for healthier erections after only a few GAINSWave treatments, points out Dr. Lupo. Just two painless treat-ments per week over a three-week period is all most men need to restore or improve erectile function.
“GAINSWave’s ability to improve blood � ow, increase new vascularization and increase nerve sensitivity in the uro-
genital region has been pretty phenomenal,” asserts the doctor. “� e erection ability is stron-ger, longer, better and more impressive. It’s tak-ing men back to more youthful times in their lives without the neces-sity for medications.”
The noninvasive therapy is also used to successfully treat a painful syndrome that causes curva-
ture of the penis, called Peyronie’s disease, that is the result of scar tissue.
Dr. Lupo says GAINSWave uses the same technology that has been e� ective for years in the US and Europe to treat plantar fasciitis; heel, knee and elbow pain; scar tissue, tendonitis and connec-tive tissue injuries.
“GAINSWave emits concentrated blasts of sound waves akin to ultrasound or sonar technology. � ese sound waves travel faster than the speed of sound, and when applied through the correct number of pulses, frequency and energy, they can have
a positive e� ect on tissue to restore blood � ow and nerve sensitivity,” he explains.
“We’re very encouraged by how GAINSWave has been used to treat hun-dreds of patients without harmful side e� ects,” he adds. “Any man who wants to restore youthful performance should call us to explore this option.”
Complete TrustGAINSWave was definitely the right option for Emory. He’s very pleased with the outcome of his treatment, as is his wife.
“� e GAINSWave must have broken up all of those calcium plaque deposits in my penis,” Emory reports, “because everything is up now. My wife is happy.”
“It’s wonderful,” says his wife. “Our sex life is back to the way it was years ago.”
Emory credits his excellent results to Dr. Lupo. He thinks very highly of the doctor and trusts him completely. � anks to Dr. Lupo, Emory always has a good experience at Physical Medicine Center.
“Dr. Lupo is a good, honest man,” states Emory. “He has high morals. His good character means a lot to me. He’s very good.”
Men gain the most benefit from GAINSWave when they � nish the full course of treatment. Many men, how-ever, experience positive e� ects after just a few treatments. Emory was one of those men who noticed bene� ts from GAINSWave early on.
“I started seeing a di� erence after two or three treatments,” he recalls. “I began having some sensation down there, the blood started � owing and things started getting better. I de� nitely recommend GAINSWave and Dr. Lupo.
“Now, I’m doing very well for an old man. I’m almost seventy-� ve years old, and everything works!”FHCN article by Patti DiPanfilo. Photo by Fred Bellet.
Graphic courtesy of GAINSWave. mkb
ROBERT C. LUPO, DC
Page 10 | Florida Health Care News | Winter 2019 | West Pasco County Edition erectile dysfuNctioN/prp tHerapy
NOEL S. TENENBAUM, MD, P.A.
Learn more at www.drnoeltenenbaum.com
Noel S. Tenenbaum, MD, is board certifi ed by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. He graduated Cum Laude with an undergraduate degree in biochem-istry from Union College in Schenectady, New York and received his medical training at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. Dr. Tenenbaum com-pleted his fi ve-year general surgery residency in at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, NY. He completed his plastic surgery residency at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He was awarded fellowship training in aesthetic and craniofacial surgery under the direction of Dr. Daniel Marchac in
Paris, France. Dr. Tenenbaum has published articles in medical journals and publications, and his studies have been presented at medical conferences and scientifi c meetings.
Options abound for those seeking change through cosmetic surgery
Amiee Rothrock is one of those people for whom age is just a number. She’s 66, but she bounces through each day
with a youthful exuberance fueled by a quest for adventure that a lot of people half her age lost years ago.
Dr. Tenenbaum provides an array of professional surgical and nonsurgical
services, including: � Smartlipo Triplex � Facelifts & Facial Rejuvenation � Upper & Lower Eyelid Lifts � Breast Augmentation � Breast Reductions � Breast Lift � Abdominoplasty � PicoSure® Laser
Tattoo Removal � Dermal Fillers � Dysport® � Chemical Peels
Amiee looks and feels younger after her procedure.
Be Your Best SelfDr. Noel S. Tenenbaum has established himself as a leader in the cosmetic surgery and body contouring field. If you are ready to transform your body and find the self-confidence you’ve been dreaming of, call or visit his offi ce in Dunedin at:
2323 Curlew Rd.Suite 6B
(727) 786-6921
“I feel very energetic on the inside,” says Amiee, an accomplished business development manager who still works for a local title company. “I’m willing to explore new things and new ways of doing things and looking at things.
“I just feel very youthful, and you’ll � nd that most of my friends are honestly quite a bit younger than me – ten to fifteen years younger, actually. I think that’s because I just seem to be more of that kind of a mindset.
“And I’m very happy and content with where I am in life. I love my family, I love my job and the work that I do, and so every day, I want to show o� the best version of me that I can, the best version of Amiee.”
It was only recently that Amiee truly began showing off that best version of herself. What was missing previously, she admits, was an appearance that matched her youthful exuberance. A visit to Noel S. Tenenbaum, MD, took care of that.
“I � rst went to see him on a friend’s recommendation,” Amiee says of Dr. Tenenbaum, a board-certifiedcosmetic surgeon who has established himself as a leader in the cosmetic surgery and body contouring � eld.
“It was something that I had wanted to do for a long time, but I was always too busy to take care of it,” Amiee adds. “Just recently, however, I decided it was time to � nd a way to make this happen. I wanted to look more like I feel on the inside.”
A Variety of OptionsUpon hearing of Amiee’s goals, Dr. Tenenbaum began his work by � rst explaining the various ways in which he could improve the loose skin she had across her face, including in the eyelids, the jawline and the neckline.
One of the options Dr. Tenenbaum mentioned was a mini facelift, in which only the skin on the face is tightened
through a process that includes pulling and tightening the fat and cheek pad areas, which are made of fat and muscle.
Dr. Tenenbaum performs mini facelifts in his o� ce after administering a local anesthetic. It is one of a grow-ing number o f techniques he now per forms under loca l anes thes ia and requires mini-mal post-operative downtime.
“I also perform eyelid surgeries and minimal-incision brow lifts under local anesthesia,” Dr. Tenenbaum explains. “I also do something called Smartlipo® Triplex®, which is a laser-assisted liposuction treatment for the abdomen, thighs or neck under local anesthesia.
“� e patients are all awake during these procedures, and they walk out of the treatment room about � ve minutes after they’re done. � ey don’t have any kind of long-term or even full-day recovery as you do with a general anesthetic.
“� ose procedures are obviously a bit simpler and easier to recover from, and the other part of that is they are less expensive
and more cost e� ective because the patient doesn’t have to go to the surgery center and be placed under general anesthesia.”
Magic HandsDespite the many advantages associated with the mini facelift, Amiee opted to do a full facelift, which includes tightening the neck area. She says a simple touch applied during her initial consultation with Dr. Tenenbaum was what sold her on
the procedure.“I went in for my initial appointment
with Dr. Tenenbaum, and from the very start, I really liked his demeanor,” Amiee asserts. “I liked his manner. I liked the way he looked at me and listened to me, because I explained to him that I really did like me.
“I told him that I really do like the way I look and that I didn’t really want to change that part of it. I just wanted to look the way I feel. And he said, Okay, and he put his hands on my face, and it was like he had magic hands.
“He pulled upward in one direction
very gently, and it was perfect. At that moment, I thought, � is man knows what he’s doing, and so I went ahead and said, Yes, I want to do the surgery.”
Dr. Tenenbaum, who performs approximately 600 cosmetic procedures a year, describes his work on Amiee as “pretty straightforward,” meaning he tightened the muscles and eliminated the excess fat beneath the skin of her face and along the jawline and neckline.
“From there, it’s just a matter of elevat-ing the skin to make sure everything is tight and symmetrical,” he adds. “And Amiee did fine. She did very well in terms of recovery right from the get-go because she was very compliant with our instructions.”
Outstanding ResultsIn the wake of performing a full facelift, doctors typically ask patients to get plenty of rest and to keep their heads elevated as much as possible to minimize swelling and bruising. In Aimee’s case, those sug-gestions worked wonders.
“The recovery was very, very fast,” Amiee con� rms. “I was very happy with how Dr. Tenenbaum took care of me afterward, the way he followed up on my recovery and how he addressed all of my questions. He checked and checked and checked on me to make sure everything was going the way it should.
“It’s probably been three or four months now since I had the surgery, and the results are exactly what I was expect-ing. I’m very, very pleased, and it’s kind of funny because everybody notices the di� er-ence, but they think I’ve maybe been going to a di� erent hairdresser or something.
“� ey tell me, Amiee, you look great. What’s really interesting is that my hair-dresser actually said to me that a lot of women have come in and asked her what I had done and where did I go and could I get some cards from Dr. Tenenbaum and leave them here with her so that she can give them his name.
“Of course, I said, Yes, I’d be happy to. I de� nitely recommend Dr. Tenenbaum to anyone who might be looking to have some-thing like this done because he was absolutely great throughout the entire process.
“He was always very calm and reassur-ing, and not in a placating way. He was open about what was going to happen, and when he came to see me just before the surgery, he left me with a very comfortable feeling that he knew exactly what he was doing.
“I knew all along I was in good hands, and the results prove it.”FHCN article by Roy Cummings. Photo by Jordan Pysz.
Before and after images courtesy of Dr. Tenenbaum. mkb
Before After
West Pasco County Edition | Winter 2019 | Florida Health Care News | Page 11plastic & recoNstructive surgery
Five months ago, Anna Nico caught a miserable cold. With it she developed a deep, intense cough. She realized it was a
complication of the cold with her exist-ing breathing problems. What she didn’t understand was why her back hurt so badly every time she coughed.
“I couldn’t pinpoint the pain, but it was awful. It felt like my whole back was on � re,” she describes. “Each time I coughed, I got this pounding pain in my back. It was like I was su� ocating.
“The pain was excruciating, and I couldn’t get out of bed. One time, it took my husband and son thirty-� ve minutes to get me up. After that, I slept in a chair for four months.
“I went to my lung doctor, who gave me something for my cough. When I explained about my back pain, he told me I needed to get it checked out; it didn’t sound like it was related to the cough. He gave me a prescription, and I went and got an x-ray.”
� e x-ray showed A n n a’s p r o b l e m clearly. She had two compression fractures in her thoracic verte-brae. A compression fracture is a break in a spinal vertebra, which collapses onto the one below it. As a result, spinal nerves get pinched, causing pain and weakness.
Right away, Anna sought help from the doctor who’d been treating her sciat-ica pain, Gerald E. Trimble, MD, who is a board-certified pain management practitioner. His practice is Minimally Invasive Spine Care, which has o� ces in St. Petersburg and Clearwater.
Identifying the SourceAfter consulting Dr. Trimble about her back pain, he con� rmed Anna su� ered from vertebral compression fractures. Dr. Trimble typically treats the fracture
MINIMALLY INVASIVE SPINE CAREGERALD E. TRIMBLE, MD
MISC
For more information, please visit www.west� painmanagement.com
D r. Tr i m b l e w e l c o m e s questions regarding the advanced treatment options available at M inimally Invasive Spine Care. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call or visit one of his o� ces:
Clearwater N. Belcher Rd.
Suite A
St. Petersburg th St. South
Suite
(727) 553-7313
Helping You Feel Better
Gerald E. Trimble, MD, is board certifi ed by the American Board of Anesthesiology. After receiving his medical degree from the University of South Florida College of Medicine, he completed a transitional internship at Michigan State University and Edward W. Sparrow Hospital and a residency in anesthesiology at the University of South Florida, where he served as chief resident and was awarded a fellowship in pain management. Dr. Trimble was awarded a certifi cate of additional qualifi cation in pain management by the American Board of Anesthesiology. He is a diplomate of
the American Board of Anesthesiologists, and a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Florida Society of Anesthesiologists and American Society of Regional Anesthesia and has published and lectured on numerous pain management topics.
Three valuable
advantages of kyphoplasty
with conservative measures, such as a back brace or management through medication.
“Vertebral fractures can sometimes be treated conservatively,” con� rms Dr. Trimble, “because some will eventually heal on their own. With a patient whose symptoms are mild, or who is essentially asymptomatic, we prescribe a back brace to postpone or elimi-nate the need for additional treatment.
“If the fracture compresses further – or if the patient does not improve – we don’t hesitate to recommend taking more aggressive action to alleviate the pain.”
To some degree, acute pain can be bene� cial, observes Dr. Trimble. It serves as a warning signal that a medical con-dition needs to be addressed. “Chronic pain, however, serves no purpose except to make you uncomfortable – even miserable,” he elaborates.
“At our practice, we view chronic pain as a disease process, not merely a symp-tom to be tolerated as part of an underlying
condition. Our first objective is always to determine where the pain originates and then apply specific techniques to treat it.
“ O n c e t h e source of pain – the pain generator – has been identi-� ed, the underlying pain mechanism is addressed and the treatment sched-uled. In each case, we approach pain relief with the least invasive methods available, with the
goal of postponing – or even eliminat-ing – the need for invasive surgery.”
“Dr. Trimble checked my x-ray and ordered other tests, including blood work. He’s very thorough,” notes Anna. “He’s also very compassionate and understanding, and he knows what he’s doing. He decided to do an injection procedure on me.”
� e procedure he chose stabilizes the fracture and eases pain. It’s called kyphoplasty.
Refi ned TechniqueDr. Trimble reports that newer technology enables surgeons to provide a fast, e� ective solution to vertebral compression fractures.
“We now o� er kyphoplasty, which is proving to be valuable in three key areas – providing signi� cant pain relief, stabilizing the fracture and re-establishing much of the lost vertebral body height.”
Kyphoplasty is actually a re� nement of a procedure called vertebroplasty, and offers additional advantages. During kyphoplasty, a balloon is inserted into the fractured vertebra that elevates the com-pressed bone. � is helps return the spine to a more natural position. � e newly created space allows for the injection of fast-drying bone cement, which helps achieve the correction in the deformity of the vertebra.
“As we in� ate the balloon, we can often reproduce much of the height in the bone,”
informs Dr. Trimble. “� e other advantage to the balloon is that it pushes the healthy bone to the periphery, leaving a cavity that can then be � lled with bone cement.”
“During the procedure, Dr. Trimble told me exactly what he was doing,” states Anna. “He said, Now you’re going to feel a little pinch. Don’t worry about it. It’s going to be okay. I felt a little pinch when the needle went in, and that was it. � e procedure wasn’t painful.”
The doctor adds that kyphoplasty is an improvement over its predecessor, vertebroplasty.
“Vertebroplasty is an injection of cement without in� ating a balloon into the area � rst,” he explains. “It doesn’t attempt to correct the deformity. Secondly, vertebroplasty requires us to put slightly more pressure on the cement in order to get it between the cracks of the fracture. Consequently, I prefer kyphoplasty to vertebroplasty.
“With kyphoplasty, the bone cement hardens quickly, stabilizing the fracture, and the stability from the cement o� ers signi� cant pain relief for
the patient – usually within hours of the procedure or even sooner.”
Up and RunningKyphoplasty was an excellent option for Anna. Now when she coughs, she doesn’t feel the � ery pain in her back. Like many patients, she felt relief quickly and was soon able to be active again.
“After the procedure, I went home and I was walking,” she enthuses. “� e nurses told me to put ice on my back, so I did, and it was � ne. I was up and run-ning the next day. Before the kyphoplasty, my pain ranked about a nine out of ten. Afterward, it was zero.”
Today, Anna sleeps in a bed. She suf-fers minor discomfort in her back, but it’s likely related to the osteoporosis she battles. Osteoporosis puts her at risk for additional compression fractures. If that happens, she knows the right treatment and where to get it.
“I really like Minimally Invasive Spine Care and Dr. Trimble,” she says. “I’d recommend him to anyone!” FHCN staff article. Photo by Jordan Pysz. nj
After kyphoplasty, Anna can play for hours without pain.
“Before the kyphoplasty,
my pain ranked about a nine out
of ten. Afterward,
it was zero.”
Page 12 | Florida Health Care News | Winter 2019 | West Pasco County Edition miNimally iNvasive spiNe care