Dr. Gigi Meinecke grew up in New Jersey and is a second generation American. She is first in her family to go to college, and that’s where her love for health care began. At first Dr. Meinecke wanted to become a nurse, but then decided to pursue dentistry instead. Dr. Meinecke is now active in organized dentistry and has held leadership roles in the American Dental Association and the Academy of General Dentistry. In addition to private practice, Dr. Meinecke maintains a faculty position at the Boston University School of Dental Medicine teaching facial injectables. She also teaches this subject nationally in conjunction with facial anatomy.

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Show Notes

[3:32] I realized there was more to it than simply treating patients. There was this artistic part to it which really resonated with me.
[4:44] But I definitely feel that nursing has held me in such good stead in my pursuit of dentistry. And I think my patients benefit from that.
[6:04] And one of the consistent things you'll see with, say, X disease is poor oral hygiene or periodontal disease or something like that. So it's really nice that it's finally out in the open.
[8:13] Dental disease is one of those things that is so totally preventable.
[8:50] From an early age, your child should understand that oral hygiene is kind of like washing your face.
[16:26] So if you have enough saliva, your saliva has a PH of around seven, which is neutral. It can buffer that, it can wash it away and it can be mineralized, all those areas that are starting to form cavities. So saliva is important in that regard.
[19:35] There tends to be the plaque builders and the cavity creators. And if you have somebody who gets a lot of plaque, it's really bizarre. I would see for years that if they had a lot of plaque, they didn't get cavities and vice versa.
[21:09] Routine care doesn't necessarily mean it's dispensable.
[30:18] So don't just think of teeth as something that's pretty and something that gives you a beautiful smile. Think of it as your way of maintaining your ability to go to Thanksgiving, to go to all the different holidays, and then to go to your four o'clock early bird special with your significant other. So I would put that in as a pitch for dentistry long term as well.

Thank you for joining us on Health Gig. We loved having you with us. We hope you'll tune in again next week. In the meantime, be sure to like and subscribe to this podcast, and follow us on healthgigpod.com.

“From an early age, your child should understand that oral hygiene is kind of like washing your face.” - Dr. GiGi Meinecke
“Don't just think of teeth as something that's pretty and something that gives you a beautiful smile. Think of it as your way of maintaining your ability to go to Thanksgiving, to go to all the different holidays...I would put that in as a pitch for dentistry long term as well.” - Dr. GiGi Meinecke
“Dental disease is one of those things that is so totally preventable.” - Dr. GiGi Meinecke

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Ep. 106: More than Just A Smile with Dentist Dr. Gigi Meinecke

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Show Notes