Everybody Has Something

My wife Paula reassured our new patient, "everyone has something." Our new patient Connie presented last week, and was able to share with us that she had difficulty going to the dentist because of her agoraphobia. Her travels from a neighboring town and venturing into a new environment was difficult, but she knew that something had to be done about her teeth.



"Some people are afraid of heights, others worry about getting cancer or losing a loved one. You just happen to have difficulty with new situations, people, and traveling to unfamiliar places." Paula explained to Connie. "Everyone has something, whether you realize it or not."



Connie came for her first treatment appointment today, and did well. She had three root canals done, laser gum removal to get at her decay under the gums, and four teeth built up so they are white and shiny again.



Connie shared with us that she has been ashamed of her smile and of how she has let this go so long. She told us that she doesn't even kiss her husband anymore because she won't let him get that close to her decayed smile. A few short years ago, she had a beautiful smile and felt so much better about herself, but her agoraphobia kept her from maintaining her teeth. They had suffered greatly, as you can see by her before photo.



Connie asked that I share her story with others, and that she is continuing to make progress, both with her agoraphobia and also with her dental treatment. She did great today! At her request, I took this photo so she can have it as a record of her progress and so that it may serve as an inspiration to others. Our ability to take care of Connie is mostly because of our understanding of agoraphobia. Someone who is very close to me has struggled with agoraphobia for years. Few people know this, and fewer understand that someone's hardship can be a comfort to others.



Dear Friend;
It is because of your struggles and sharing your experiences with agoraphobia that I have been able to care for this precious young woman Connie. Without your help and without your suffering, I could never have understood what she was going through or what I could do to improve the quality of her life. You must know that I appreciate you so much and that Connie's life will be enriched more than you can know. Thank You!
God Bless You - Paul

Gummy Smile Repair

Gummy smile repair is now accomplished with lip repositioning. At one time, the only option for someone who showed too much upper gum and jaw tissue was complex surgery to remove some of the upper jaw bone and wire the jaw into a different position. Today, thanks to modern conservative techniques, Dr. Paul Jacobs is able to limit the movement of the upper lip with a simple intraoral procedure.

During the surgery, Dr. Jacobs employs his technique of Reversible Lip Repositioning first. The patient is able to view their approximate gummy smile repair in the first few minutes of the procedure before deciding to proceed with the permanent procedure. The reversible procedure enables the patient to decide if they want more or less change in their smile, thereby giving them more control over the final esthetic result.

Our patient pictured above was able to choose the degree of change that she was comfortable with prior to her surgery. She is shown before and after the Lip Repositioning with her maximum smile.

Shout It Out Loud: 2011 Is The Year of The Mouth!

Founding Members: President Dr. Chris Kammer, Paula Jacobs, RN, and Dr. Paul Jacobs

The Chinese have designated 2011 "The Year of the Rabbit," however, the bunnies are being asked to step aside because the president of North America's fastest growing health organization, The American Academy for Oral Systemic Health (AAOSH) is proclaiming the year 2011 as the "Year of the Mouth."

"Because the Mission of the American Academy for Oral Systemic Health is to educate the world this Proclamation serves to illustrate the Academy's commitment to put its money where its mouth is." declares Paul Jacobs, DDS, professional speaker and Founding Member of the Academy.

AAOSH is taking a stand that the mouth is the first place to start for overall body health and longer life. In recent years the studies have been piling up connecting poor oral health to the deadliest of diseases including heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. Oral health problems have also been shown to have close connections to many other serious health concerns like Alzheimer's, arthritis, pneumonia and pregnancy complications. Founding member Paul Jacobs from Escanaba, Michigan shares his concern and goal, "Unfortunately, it just isn't common knowledge that oral health can add years to your life. Our group is committed to changing that!"

"AAOSH is aware we can only get so far with this "most important message ever" using the regular scientific and medical information outlets." AAOSH President Dr Chris Kammer says, 'It's time to open new doors for the public and use new ways to communicate this message about the body-debilitating and life-shortening consequences of poor oral health." Since one of the primary missions of AAOSH members is to "Shout It Out Loud" and communicate the importance of this mouth-body connection, they have borrowed the popular song title from the legendary rock group KISS as their rallying cry. The organization hopes to make it official as well; since adding a rock-and-roll theme to this life enhancing and life extending message will likely get it heard by more people in their public service announcements. "When lives are at stake, our group will go the distance to get the public's attention," continued Dr. Jacobs. "That's what 'The Year of the Mouth" is all about."

For more information on AAOSH, please visit, http://www.aaosh.com/

Deformed Permanent Molar

Thomas, age 9, came in yesterday with what looked like an infected baby tooth. After looking closer, I decided to take an x-ray and was surprised to see that his lower right first PERMANENT molar tooth was infected. There was no apparent explanation for this other than it had developed abnormally.

I hadn't ever seen this before, so I thought it might be interesting to others. Below are his panoramic x-ray and a photo of the deformed, infected tooth removed. Time will tell what will happen on the other side, as the permanent molar tooth there also appears to be developing the same way.

Gummy Smile Solution with Lip Repositioning Surgery

There is new hope for gummy smiles with lip repositioning surgery. Below is our most recent patient just one week after her procedure. Smiling big! But . . . fortunately not as big as before her lip repositioning.


Just the right amount of change resulted from this procedure because of our use of a new technique developed by Dr. Paul Jacobs called the Reversible Lip RepositioningTM. Patients are able to preview their intended result and adjustments can be made for more or less change to the smile depending on the desires of the patient. This new technique is more predictable and controllable than other methods used in the past.

Dr. Jacobs can be consulted by patients and practitioners for more information on the Reversible Lip Repositioning procedure. He speaks in different locations throughout the United States and is available in his office in Escanaba, Michigan for one on one training. This exciting new procedure is making a difference in the lives of many people.

Reversible Lip Repositioning Surgery

World's first Reversible Lip RepositioningTM Surgery!

I continue to enjoy incredible interest in my lip repositioning procedure from all over the world. In response to the demand, I developed a technique where our patients can visualize the final result prior to the actual surgery. During this procedure, no cutting is done, and the patient can "trial" the lip repositioning for feel and appearance for a day or for five minutes before fully reversing the procedure.


Patients have control to decide whether to have more or less of their gums showing in the permanent procedure after they have seen the temporary, reversible procedure.

The photo above shows the Before and After of the Reversible Lip Repositioning. You can see that there is less of a gummy smile. There is also the added benefit of increasing the fullness of the upper lip for this young lady. The entire procedure including the permanent lip repositioning takes about 40 minutes.

Invisalign Colors Rock!

Invisalign Colors rock at the Jacobs Smile Center in Escanaba, Michigan!

Invisalign straightens teeth with a series of invisible, clear aligners, but what about teenagers who feel the need to express themselves with the colors of rubber bands on braces? Now Invisalign wearers can custom design any shape, size or color to wear on their teeth. The greatest thing about this awesome option is that every two weeks they can change it to something different or just go "wireless" again.



Above is an example of an Invisalign aligner with bling for the holidays using a permanent marker. Patients can even pretend they're wearing the old fashioned "wires" if they want to surprise their friends.