The Howie Carr Radio Network

Meet the Experts: Perfect Smiles

Regular listeners of the Howie Carr Show have heard glowing reviews week after week of the work performed by Dr. Bruce Houghton and his team at Perfect Smiles in Nashua, New Hampshire. This week on Meet the Experts, Howie speaks with Dr. Houghton about his dental practice, his specialties, and the future of Perfect Smiles. Then, Howie chats with Dr. Houghton's newest partners, Dr. Sai and Dr. Tamm—a husband-and-wife duo who exude the same passion for their profession and clients as Dr. Houghton.

Duration:: 17m
Broadcast on:: 29 Mar 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

[MUSIC PLAYING] Welcome to another episode of Meet the Experts with Howie Car, a new podcast featuring long-form interviews with guests who have a specialized field of expertise. Regular listeners of the Howie Car Show have heard Howie give glowing reviews week after week to Dr. Bruce Houghton and his team at Perfect Smiles in Nashua, New Hampshire. This week on Meet the Experts, Howie speaks with Dr. Houghton about his dental practice, his specialties, and the future of Perfect Smiles. Howie will also speak with Dr. Houghton's newest partners at Perfect Smiles, Dr. Sy and Tam, a husband and wife dental duo who exude the same passion for their profession and their clients as Dr. Houghton. Here's your host of Meet the Experts, Howie Car. [MUSIC PLAYING] We are joined by Dr. Bruce Houghton. He's the owner of Perfect Smiles. He's our longest running advertiser on the Howie Car Radio Network, and we love him and we love Perfect Smiles. It's in Nashua, New Hampshire. Dr. Houghton is growing and expanding Perfect Smiles, and we'll be talking both with him today and two of his new partners in the practice. Dr. Houghton, thanks for being with us here on Meet the Experts. Thank you for having me on. I've said it on the air many times. You're a dental artist. You do more continuing education than anybody I've ever met in any field of endeavor in my life. How did you get involved in your dental artistry? Oh, I've always had a penchant for both art and science, and dentistry just seemed to be the right fit. As a musician and a sculptor, it allows me to follow my dream and help people all at the same time. When people come to Perfect Smiles, what are the biggest problems they're facing? Oh, there's a variety of things. Most of all, there's a bad feeling of not being able to smile in public. They hide behind their hands, and they seek postures that discover up their smile, and they just don't let their normal personality come through. But when we're able to help them and provide the services that we do, it just changes lives. People come out of their shell, and they smile a whole lot more. As well, being able to function and eat and chew like they're supposed to, it's a big change. So it's not only a physical health involved in getting your smile back, it's also mental health. Absolutely. They're tied together. It goes hand in glove. What does a full mouth reconstruction entail? And how many visits does something like that take? Well, we're dealing with the big picture when we do a reconstruction. It doesn't take that long to do that process. Nowadays, the techniques and the technology that we have allow us to do it. And as little as three visits, sometimes if there are some implants involved, then we takes a little bit longer because the body has to heal. We have to work with mother nature. But it is much shorter than it ever before. The reason it takes less time than it used to is because of the technological advances and also the advanced training that you've gotten over the years during all this continuing education you've had. Absolutely. We've been at this for 40 years now. So we've had a lot of experience. We never say we've never seen it. We don't see anything new, but we've seen a whole lot. And we can handle that kind of thing nowadays. What sets perfect smiles apart from other dental practices? Well, we don't treat our patients as a number. We really focus on what they want and provide that. Our focus is to give them their beautiful smile and help them feel better about themselves. And that doesn't seem to be a major concern for other situations. But that's what we focus on is providing the best that we absolutely can't help them feel the best that they can. Dr. Houghton, I know I sound like I'm blowing smoke here, but you're not only the best dentist I've ever been to, but you have the best staff of dental hygienists I've ever been to as well. Tell us about what your hygienists can do for your clients at perfect smiles in Nashua. Our hygienists, they're absolutely wonderful. And they really help our patients stay as healthy as can be because smiles and teeth and our oral condition takes maintenance. And the hygienist is there to promote the help of that situation and to alleviate the problems that we see when people don't take care of their teeth from a hygienic point of view. And just because you're in Nashua, it doesn't mean that your practice is restricted to just that general area of southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts. Tell us where your clientele comes from. They come from all over New England. We've had quite often people drive three hours to come see us, but I think the longest someone has driven is about five hours. But because your reach is so far over New England, people come from all over. And Nashua is kind of the center of New England. It's the easiest place to reach. So we feel fortunate that we're here. And it's very easy to get to as well as I well know. It's just right off of Route 3, and it's just very easy. Simple to get to just off the highway, plenty of parking. It's extremely convenient. Absolutely. Yeah, we've tried to make sure that we are convenient to all. And then anyone that wants to come, will you welcome them? Now, perfect smiles is growing. Can you tell us about some of the dentists that you've added and what they specialize in? Absolutely. We've expanded our ability to provide the dentistry that needs to be provided. And we have some newer doctors to the practice. They are experienced in the areas of oral surgery and implants and modern advances in general dentistry in general. We've been beginning to become more digital. I guess you could call it rather than the old school. And because dentistry is changing, and we keep right up with the advancements that are out there. And our two new doctors are wonderful in that regard. We have Dr. Tam, who kind of focuses on what I do and does a lot of the general dentistry also. And Dr. Sai, she's a wonderful oral surgeon. She has focused all of her learning in the oral surgery area in extracting and placing implants and grafting and all those oral surgical types of things that we used to refer out of the office because we didn't have the capacity to handle that. We also are beginning to do a lot more of the Invisalign. As Dr. Tam is an Invisalign instructor for the company. And it's just allowed us to have a greater reach and potential for being able to make things happen for people. And we want them to be happy and happy about their smiles. This is one of the best ways that we've directed things to go. You will still be there in perfect smiles to oversee everything. And so that people can expect the same highest quality of dental care that they've come to expect over the years from perfect smiles. That is correct. I am there every day. We're excited to be a team now instead of just me by myself. Dr. Houdn, I can't thank you enough for all you've done for me and everybody around me. And I've been so, so blessed to have this relationship with perfect smiles. And it really does mean a lot when you can smile and not feel self-conscious about it. It's a blessing. That's what it is. Thank you. I appreciate it. Well, thank you. [music] By the way, you can see how he's new and improved smile, courtesy of Dr. Bruce Houdn and his team, at perfectsmiles.com. Now, with how he, let's meet the newest members of the Perfect Smiles family. [music] Joining us next here at Meet the Experts are Dr. Houdn's two new partners at Perfect Smiles in Nashua, New Hampshire, Dr. Cy and Tam, a husband and wife team. First up is Dr. Cy. Dr. Cy, welcome to Meet the Experts. Thank you so much, Houdi. My pleasure. Dr. Cy earned her doctorate in dental medicine from the BU Boston University School of Dental Medicine. She's a licensed and board certified general dentist in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. She limits her practice to surgical procedures. And she collaborates with her husband, Dr. Tam, forming a comprehensive implant team, both surgical and restorative, providing outstanding care for their patients. So, Dr. Cy, tell us about your background. I've originally had my bachelor's in dental sciences in India. That's where I met my husband in dental school. We chose to move to the United States because of the advanced educational opportunities, especially the New England area of the doctorates. We can improve our skill. And New England area also is known to have the best goals in the world. So, definitely for the advanced educational opportunities to improve our skills so we can serve our patients to the best that we can. And as a perk, we also get to enjoy the four beautiful seasons. Me and my husband, we have two little girls. I strongly believe that God has blessed us with this beautiful opportunity to raise our two little girls. I choose to work part-time as I want to be there as much as I can for my kids. And I also have an amazing support from my husband because of which I can still pass a pursue my passion for dentistry. We've been together for almost 21 years now and I strongly believe in a strong family unit. Like Dr. Hardon and Stephanie, they're wonderful. - Now, how do you stay on top of the latest trends in your field? - By taking a lot of continuing education courses, dentistry is an ever-evolving profession. There's always something new that's gonna make a lot of difference for our patients. A new technique or a new material. So, by attending various continuing education courses, I try to stay on top of things. - What are some of the latest advances you're implementing at Perfect Smiles? - So, we have, especially when it comes to dental implants, I have been using X-guide technology, which is one of the most updated recent technologies and it gives me precision on where I'm gonna place the dental implant that will work the best for the patient. It's like a GPS navigation into the bone. So, I really enjoy using that technology. - So, just as Dr. Houton has always been state-of-the-art in dental technology, you and your husband are gonna continue that tradition at Perfect Smiles in Nashua. - Absolutely, absolutely. Yes, that's the goal. - What do you see as the future of Perfect Smiles? - In a few words, I would say, providing the same high-quality expert care in a calm and a comfortable environment for my patients. I have a great partner, my husband, who does the restorative side of my dental implants and I am very lucky to be on board with Dr. Houton so we can keep more procedures in-house that will greatly benefit our patients. - So, how can you help the people who are listening to meet the experts today? - So, I love the fact that I have the skill to help my patients to be out of discomfort or help them feel better about themselves and lead a healthy life and I will continue to improve my skill, be it in extractions and dental implants. I can be the best dentist I can be for my patients and I want to know that my priority is to make my patients comfortable and I would do the same treatment I would do if it's for a family member or if it's on myself. Also, all my patients leave with my person's cell phone number after the procedure so that way they can contact me any time. So, I want to make sure that post-operatively they're comfortable as well. - It's just great that Dr. Houton is expanding his practice and I'm sure this is going to work out great for both you and your husband, Dr. Tam. - Thank you so much and yes, we've always been into small family businesses and I'm just so happy to be a part of one. - Thank you, Dr. Sai. - Thank you so much, how are you? - Finally, today we want to talk with Dr. Houton's other new partner at Perfect Smiles in Nashua, New Hampshire. Dr. Tam, he's married to Dr. Sai who we just spoke to. Dr. Tam also received his doctorate in dental medicine from B.E.O. He was graduated with honors and he has a licensed dentist in the state of New Hampshire. He's triple board certified by the Dental Board Northeast Regional Board, Western Regional Examining Board and the Canadian Board. In 2022 and last year, he was selected as one of the top 50 dentists by the American Dental Society in addition to many other awards and recognitions. Dr. Tam, welcome to Meet the Experts and tell us a little something about your background. - I am originally from India and I did my bachelor's in dentistry in India and I graduated in 2009. And then I came to Michigan and I did my Master's in Health Care Administration. And after that, I went back to BU to do the advanced standing program and got my DMD degree from Western University. I've been practicing dentistry since 2012 in the United States. I've worked in New Mexico for three years and ever since I came back to New England and I've been practicing years since 2015. - So what is your specialty in dentistry, Dr. Tam? - I'm a general dentist, but I've done a lot of training and classes in Invisalign. I've been an Invisalign mentor for six years now and I'd love to do cosmetic dentistry and Invisalign. - How do you stay on top of the latest trends in your industry? - So we have these dental conferences that we attend and we get to know what's new in dentistry and then we have some of the leaders in dentistry like Dr. Christensen and we follow him and then we travel all around the country to take these continuing education classes to make sure we're up to date and we're aware of what's new in the field. - We asked Dr. Sai about some of the latest advances that you and her will be implementing at Perfect Files. Could you elaborate on some of the advances that new clients could be getting from you and Dr. Sai? - I've been using a internal digital scanner for the past 10 years and we just got the latest version of the ITERO scanner so that eliminates the need for the party, impression, the goofy stuff that we use and then we are in the process of getting a 3D printer where potentially we could make some of the appliances in-house like night guards and temporary crowns, even immediate temporary dentures, we can print them in the office using the digital scanner and the 3D printer and there is less turnover time and also we have an equipment called X-Guide for implants and that's like GPS navigation system for placing implants. We plan exactly where we want the implant to go and the machine will kind of guide us when we're putting an implant. So we can see where we are going. - Going forward, Dr. Tim, what do you see as the future of Perfect Smiles in Nashua? - We wanna make sure we give the best experience to the patient, keep up with the new updates in the field of dentistry and do the best dentistry we can to the patients and give them a comfortable experience. We wanna treat every patient like how we treat our own family member. I wouldn't treat anybody different. Our listeners and I love Dr. Houghton. So you're gonna be continuing in the tradition of Dr. Houghton of just caring greatly about his patients and also giving them the absolute best most state-of-the-art dental technology available. Is that correct? - Yes, absolutely. I'm very thankful to be a part of Perfect Smiles and Dr. Houghton. I look at him as a mentor and there is a lot to learn from him and I would definitely continue his path and try to be the best friend as I can. - Dr. Tam, we really appreciate you being with us and it's a pleasure to talk to you and Dr. Sai, your wife. - Thank you so much, thank you for your time. - I look forward to seeing all of you at Perfect Smiles in Nashua, New Hampshire when I return and thanks to all the listeners for joining us for this edition of Meet the Experts. (upbeat music) - Thanks for joining us on this episode of Meet the Experts with Howie Car. We'll be back soon with even more interesting guests you're sure to learn a great deal from. (upbeat music) (dramatic music) [BLANK_AUDIO]