We want our website to be provide a wide range of helpful tips, covering both dental tips, information about cosmetic dentistry and also tips for living a good life in general. Here is a tip about credit scores.

Below are some super-fantastic gems we have discovered about credit agencies and how to figure out or even “fix” your credit! 

Let’s start with some basics… I’ll get to the good stuff in a minute.

• A credit score is your average score of payments with lenders.  It determines whether you are a risk to a bank or not. 

• Ken Clark, the author of ‘The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Getting Out of Debt’ says, “your credit score influences the amount of credit available to you and the conditions you may have to agree to in order to get that credit.”

• A credit score is an evaluation of your credit history.   The better you have been with your credit the higher the score will be.

• A credit report, on the other hand, is a report of your payment history over time. 

• Your payment history only makes up about 35% of your credit score.  The most current 6 months history is the most important in the evaluation.  Just so you know, the highest weight is placed on the largest payment, for example, your mortgage payment or your car payment. 

• Balances that you carry make up another 30% of your score.  How much you owe compared to how much you have as a limit on your card is what matters most.  For example, if you have a credit card that has $4000 available and you have a charge of $2000 on it, only 50% is available.  Now, to improve your credit you would want to have a credit card of $4000 available and a charge of $500 on it.  This leaves 87.5% available.  See how this can help the appearance of your score?

• Your credit history makes up 15% of your credit score.  The length of time you have had credit and how “on time” your payments have been help create this part of the score.   

Look at this interesting point that very few people know!

• Closing accounts that have been open a long time with a good payment history can actually lower your credit score!   

• A mixture of accounts makes up 10% of your credit score.  Credit bureaus like to see a mortgage (over 40,000), a car payment and get this, 3 to 5 credit cards!  This is good for your score.  

• Inquiries make up the final 10% of your credit score.  Yes, each inquiry takes points off your score.  Some inquiries of the same type count as one inquiry.  So beware of going to a store and running your credit for something that is not that important to you.  Fortunately, if you make a personal review of your credit it will not count as an inquiry and lower your score.

These things actually damage your score.

How much damage are “late payments” and “high credit balances” to my overall rating?

• 30 days late can damage the score by 50 points

• 60 to 90 days late can damage your score by 100+ points

• Balances of over 40%of your available credit can affect your score as much as 100 points 

So there you have it! I hope this is of some use to you!

Fun Facts from Your Dentist!

• China sets aside September 20th as a national holiday known as “Love Your Teeth Day."

• During the Middle Ages in Germany, you were advised to kiss a donkey in order to relieve your toothache.

• Lucy Hobbs was the first woman in the world to earn a D.D.S. degree from a dental school and become a certified dentist. The year was 1866 and the school was the Ohio College of Dental Surgery in Cincinnati, OH.

• Long ago, people used ground-up chalk or charcoal, lemon juice, ashes or even a mixture of tobacco and honey to clean their teeth. It was only about 100 years ago that someone finally created a minty cream to clean teeth.

• The average life span of a taste bud is ten days.

• A third of the population squeezes the toothpaste tube from the middle.

• A snail can have about 25,000 teeth on its tongue.

• Pigs have 44 teeth.

Click for a fun coloring activity! activity_coloring_sheet_en

Since 1986, Cosmetic Dental Associates has offered our clientele a truly unique approach to their dental needs by bringing together the latest in computer technologies and world class technicians. With more than 45 years combined laboratory experience, the art and science of spectacular, life-like restorations has been elevated to new levels. This is why CDA is able to design, craft and fully customize each restoration to every person’s unique situation while in the dental office.

The CDA dental lab consists of three lab technicians that work together to create beautiful teeth and smiles. The CDA lab team members are Karen who does the model work, Mingo who does the metal finishing and waxing and Susan who does the porcelain finishing.

“The most fulfilling part my job is creating a smile that the patients will enjoy forever and knowing their life will now be impacted because of my work,” said Mingo, CDA’s Lab Director.

Creating the teeth requires several careful steps and demands that all three lab members work together to make the teeth.

First, the dentist takes the impression of the teeth after prepping them. Then the impression goes to Karen, who pours stone into the impression, which will harden and become a duplicate of the patient’s mouth. Then, the stone mold goes to Mingo who uses the WaxRite machine to make a pattern of the tooth. The wax pattern is then put into a ring, which is filled with a plaster mold material. The wax is then melted out of the ring by putting it in to a burnout furnace. After the wax is burned out, melted metal is forced into the mold to create a super strong surgical grade frame. It is then covered with opaque porcelain and then sent to Susan who does the final steps. She meticulously applies porcelain to the opaque frame creating a beautiful natural sculpting of a tooth. This tooth then goes to one of our highly trained dentists, who uses it to give you a perfect smile.

Having our own full service dental lab is a part of our pride as premier San Antonio dentists and it is because of all this that CDA is able to consistently achieve beautiful lasting results for every individual patient in one or two visits.

Invisalign was founded in 1997, and has treated more than one million patients worldwide. This revolution has changed the face of orthodontics, as we know it. An Invisalign aligner is a clear plastic mouthpiece that is custom fitted to each individual for a specific movement of a person’s teeth. Technicians and dentists arrange teeth step by step to the desired location by sequencing the aligners. Certain teeth are moved by a controlled force each treatment, transforming your smile and appearance gradually.

Not only is this technology clear and removable, but also the dentist is able to view the results using a computer image, and plan the new smile before beginning treatment. Healthier gums, easy cleanings, improved chewing and speech, are just a few benefits of this technology. Patients will be able to maintain comfort and tooth structure, eliminating abnormal stress caused from misaligned teeth and jaws.

Invisalign technology has recently developed techniques to treat cases that dentists previously thought uncorrectable by Invisalign. Invisalign is able to treat cases from mild spacing to severe surgical cases, such as underbites or overbites and extraction cases. It was also discovered at the 2009 Invisalign Summit for US dentists, that Invisalign gives more stable and longer lasting results than conventional braces.

The Align Tech Institute reported a case where a patient was to receive Invisalign, and were told they would need a tissue graft repair after the straightening of their teeth. After the Invisalign alignment, the dentists involved in this case found the tissue grew back completely. This eliminated the need for grafting, surgery or electro laser surgery.

Here at CDA we have two of the most experienced Invisalign dentists in San Antonio.

To prove how truly revolutionary this technology is, Cosmetic Dental Associate’s Dr. John A. Moore Jr., an expert in Invisalign, clears up common myths and misconceptions often thought about Invisalign.

Misconception #1: Invisalign will take longer than conventional braces
False. In many cases, Invisalign gives the final results faster than conventional braces. Aligners are replaced every two weeks, while traditional orthodontic appointments are spread out, usually a month, for adjustments. In the course of a year, you will receive 26 orthodontic adjustments with Invisalign, whereas you may have 10 adjustments with traditional braces. And although you are coming in to see our dentists in North San Antonio more often, this treatment is not necessarily more expensive than traditional braces!

Misconception #2: Invisalign will not work for me!
Often, patients with overbites and under bites are told by some dentists that they are not candidates for Invisalign, and that there case won’t be corrected with Invisalign. If you have been told Invisalign will not work in your case, you will need to get a second opinion. You can visit, www.invisalign.com, to find a dentist who is an Elite Provider of Invisalign in your area. The reason Invisalign is revolutionary is because it is able to treat many cases, both simple and severe!

Misconception #3: It costs more than conventional braces.
False. Conventional braces and Invisalign cost about the same, and in some cases Invisalign is less. If you are told the Invisalign treatment will be more expensive, consult the Invisalign Web site to locate a recommended dentist in your area.

Misconception #4: It won’t work as well.
False. The number one cause of Invisalign failure has been traced to the patient not wearing the aligners for the required amount of time. The aligners are easily removable, therefore allowing the patient to slip them on and off as they wish. In order for the treatment to be successful, the patient must wear the aligners as recommended. Invisalign developed a sensing system that detects how often the patient wears the aligners. This allows the doctor to see how the patient is keeping up with the treatment. Also, recent developments show that Invisalign gives results that last longer and are more stable.

Misconception #5: If I lose them, there are no replacements!
False. Most dental offices provide replacements for a nominal charge, and some offices will even replace as many as six aligners at no charge to the patient. Furthermore, some offices will provide you with retainers to help you maintain your straight smile.

Because this revolutionary technology is clear, it allows teenagers to breeze through their adolescence, and adults to disguise their treatment. Invisalign gently and precisely re-aligns teeth while being discreet. Invisalign is changing the face of orthodontics, from wiry and time consuming to clear and efficient. Can you imagine the extra time and money you would save on surgery and recovery? Invisalign is truly revolutionary.

CDA Denists are Elite Invisalign Providers

To our knowledge, the Invalign website lists no other San Antonio Dentists who have this level of recognition from Invisalign.

 (Dr. John A. Moore received his D.D.S. degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center of San Antonio in 1981, where he also taught for 10 years. He has taught and lectured both nationally and internationally since 1990. Dr. Moore has extended training in Aesthetic Dentistry, Orthodontics, occlusal rehabilitation, computerized dentistry, prosthodontics and ceramics. Dr. Moore has been a practicing dentist in San Antonio for over 25 years. )