Dr Fung teams up with USC-Keck for COVID19

Due to Dr. Fung’s expertise in 3D printing, he has helped local hospitals including USC-Keck with 3D printing personal protective equipment such as masks, face shields, ventilator parts, and most recently, is heavily involved in the development of COVID19 test swabs.

The following is an excerpt from three articles at USC noting Dr. Fung’s involvement.

COVID19 Test Swabs

Showcased is a design Dr Fung worked on with SprintRay to help with the shortages of nasopharyngeal test swabs like those from Puritan on the left.

There are two ways we can get through the disruption caused by COVID-19, said Lawrence Fung, BS ’07, DDS ’11, MBV ’15.

“We can sit at home and complain and feel sad for ourselves and stress over things,” he said. “Or we can get up and say, ‘You know what? I’m not going to stand by. I’m going to do something.’”

The morning after “shelter in place” orders closed his private dental practice, Fung started thinking about what that “something” would be.

As a U.S. Navy veteran and graduate of USC Marshall’s Master of Business for Veterans (MBV) program, the idea of serving others was second nature to him.

For the past year, he has been using a 3D printer in his practice and doing printing, research and development, and consulting for a printing company. When he saw a news story about ventilator parts being printed for hospitals in Italy, he realized: “This is the way I could help.”

He began making the parts, and tapped his Trojan network on Facebook and LinkedIn. Could someone connect him with the people who could get these parts to the medical professionals who needed them?

“It was amazing to pull from the Trojan Network and get connected to people who I never would have crossed paths with."— Lawrence Fung BS ’07, DDS ’11, MBV ’15

A dentist anesthesiologist George Jaber DDS ’13 had some bad news: The parts were only helpful in Italy. We have different systems in the United States.

“Well, that sucks,” Fung thought. But he quickly pivoted. “What can you guys use?” he asked.

The answer: N95 masks. Fung swung into action.

“It’s really easy to find an object and print it,” Fung said. He found a design for a 3D printed mask on the internet and consulted with Jaber and another important advisor, Henry Wu, BS’08, MD ’12, a fellow member of the USC Board of Governors. After sourcing filters from surgery ventilators,  he had a working prototype in 48 hours.

Point Person

The Trojan Family Network once again has shown its full worth.

In addition to his robust Marshall and veteran community ties, Fung maintains his USC School of Dentistry connections and sits on the Board of the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry and the USC Board of Governors. He also gives back by serving as the team dentist for USC Athletics.

“It was amazing to pull from the Trojan Network and get connected to people who I never would have crossed paths with,” Fung said. 

For example: Viterbi alumnus Amir Mansouri MS ’13, Ph.D. ’16, co-founder and CEO of SprintRay Inc., a 3D printing company, provided engineering and production support for the project and volunteered to produce more than 1,000 printed parts per day.

Burbank Dental, a dental laboratory that has a partnership with the USC Ostrow School of Dentistry, also provided engineering and production support. “They were gracious enough to retool their dental lab to help 3D print the initial prototypes,” Fung said.

In another example, his network connected him with a manufacturer of parts for fighter jets because their gaskets could be used in his printed masks.

USC alumni and other friends who are CEOs and COOs at local hospitals, including Keck Medicine of USC, gave him feedback and connected him with innovation groups within hospitals.

“They never would have picked up my phone call if it weren’t for the USC network,” Fung said.

Practical Solutions

Just as quickly as he had begun, Fung rolled off the mask project once the mask shortage came under control.

“Even though the design worked, it was not meant to be a replacement for the N95,” he said. “It was meant to bridge the gap, to give providers something until the shipments of N95 came in.”

Here’s why: It takes two hours to print a mask, making scalability difficulty, and the materials are very expensive. It costs $200 to make one mask the way Fung was doing it. The disposable N95 retails for about a dollar a piece.

Fung is not selling what he prints. Like all the Trojans involved in this project, Fung is donating his resources and time. He is simply serving as a point person to get what he makes into the hands of those who need it.

“I’m just connecting people,” he said. “I tell people to donate to the hospital or the manufacturer the hospital get parts from. I have general medical and business expertise, but the hospitals and manufacturers are the experts.”

Everyone Can Help

Now, at the request of local hospitals, Fung is printing face shields and test swabs for COVID-19.

He is heavily involved with Shawn Chapman, leader of the Keck+Sunweaver Creative PPE effort to produce extra PPE for Keck Medicine at USC Hospitals. 

Keck needs help with its COVID Emergency Response Fund. Any donation helps. Whether it’s an individual giving $20 or a rubber supplier donating 100 masks, it all adds up. “It’s the power in numbers,” Fung said.

As Fung pointed out, everyone has the ability to help in any number of ways during these challenging times.

“It could be as simple as checking on a neighbor, or calling someone you haven’t talked to in a while, or asking a UPS delivery person how they are doing,” Fung said. “Little things like that are what I’m hoping to inspire.”

Contact for Lawrence Fung:

Hello@siliconbeach.dental 

A Note from Keck Medicine:

By helping to contribute to our Keck Medicine of USC COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, you will ensure that our essential medical workers can focus on taking care of our community, while knowing that we will take care of them. This fund provides immediate support to protect our healthcare workers with masks, gloves, gowns, testing kits, ventilators and face shields. We are looking for our industry partners to support us with in-kind donations of the essential PPE items mentioned above, or unrestricted gifts that will go towards this fund and supporting the critical needs and shortages we are facing as a health system.

https://www.keckmedicine.org/coronavirus-donate/  (Includes information on the fund as well as a wealth of other information about the virus and our efforts) 

https://ignite.usc.edu/project/20644  (Includes information on the 4 funds the university has set up to respond to COVID efforts)

Original Article Links

https://usctrojans.com/news/2020/3/30/usc-ripsit-blog-trojan-family-steps-up-in-time-of-need.aspx

https://www.marshall.usc.edu/news/power-numbers

https://news.usc.edu/169081/usc-alumni-covid-19-medical-supplies-masks-ppe-doctors-nurses/

COVID-19 Prevention and Control Office Protocol

Hello Silicon Beach Dental Family,

It’s Dr. Lawrence Fung writing to you! First and foremost, I wanted to express my upmost gratitude for being such amazing patients and friends of ours.  We understand that you have many options for your dental needs and we are very thankful for your trust in us.

At Silicon Beach Dental, the health and safety of our employees and patients have, and always will be our top priority.  As many of you know, our practice takes cleanliness, infection control and patient safety very seriously prior and during this coronavirus outbreak. 

From the moment you book an appointment online with us, most of your patient experience will be done digitally. We will be adhering to this as much as possible mainly to reduce contact and maintain social distancing without decreasing your patient experience. For new patients and existing patients, you have the option to fill out your forms online, book and rebook on our online portal. We also offer contactless payment options as well. One unique change is that we have incorporated thermal cameras from Flir, the technology that is used to screen body temperatures in airports in our office along with contactless thermometers. We will also be providing COVID19 screening forms to all of our patients before they come in to help assess their risks levels as anyone who is at high risk will need to be reappointed 14 days out.

Please download pre appointment screening forms here

At our practice, our hospital grade sterilization center is in the middle of the office behind a glass wall to ensure that you are able to see the amount of detail we provide for sterilization.  In the treatment rooms, aside from our staff wearing personal protective equipment, we will be providing our patients with the same.  When you enter the treatment room, the instruments and products used for your visit are enclosed in the sterilized packs and not opened until you are seated.  You will also notice that we have barrier tape that is placed throughout the room and is replaced between every patient to protect against cross contamination.

During any routine dental procedures (such as fillings), we utilize various isolation techniques such as a dental dam or the high vacuum suction devices such as an Isolite- to keep the aerosols from entering the environment that can also cause cross contamination.  In order to decease aerosol contamination, our office has six visible HEPA air purifiers. You may have questions about other things you have seen on the internet, UV sterilization (although we do have a unit for this) , negative pressure suction devices. We are only going with research proven methods to ensure we provide the highest safety standards without the need to increase our fees significantly to provide the same level of safety and quality. Dr Fung due to his involvement with local hospitals including USC-Keck on consulting for 3D printing , he will be sure to incorporate any hospital driven COVID19 changes as soon as possible to keep our staff and patients safe. T

https://usctrojans.com/news/2020/3/30/usc-ripsit-blog-trojan-family-steps-up-in-time-of-need.aspx

On the bottom of this message will be a few links I have included to show the types of products we have in our office that we use for your protection.

I hope this helps alleviate any concerns.

As always, please feel free to reach out to me personally if you have any questions at hello@siliconbeach.dental.

Dr. Lawrence Fung

https://www.flir.com/

https://www.pattersondental.com/Supplies/ProductFamilyDetails/PIF_412594

https://www.zyris.com/

https://www.metrex.com/en-us/products/surface-disinfectants/caviwipes

https://www.cardinalhealth.com/en/product-solutions/medical/infection-control/sterile-processing/sterilization-pouches-tubing-and-covers.html

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SiliconBeach.Dental Blog

Digital Smile Design

Ever wanted to see what it would look like if you were able to design your smile? If architects can draw up designs for the final outcome, us cosmetic dentists can do the same with a few technological aids. 

For a flat rate of $80 per tooth desired to have changed, working from a 2D photo and 3D scans of your teeth, we can create together a highly esthetic yet conservative restorative treatment plan for teeth based on your desired smile.

The total amount of time needed for this appointment is as little as one hour and we are able to get the first initial proposal in as little as 24 hours. 

From the final agreed upon digital proposal, we can fabricate the desired outcome with desktop stereolithography (SLA) 3D printer and do an intra oral mock up.  Digital smile design is perfect for patients to visualize and understand your comprehensive treatment options.  

From the following is an example of the process. Images except those watermarked are taken from Form Labs, a 3D Printing company.

https://formlabs.com/blog/digital-smile-design-with-3d-printing/

Example of a 3D scan of the patients teeth and the digital smile design mockup super imposed on the digital model.

A putty impression of the 3D printed digital smile design.

Here the putty copy of the digital smile design is being applied directly into the mouth.

Example of a mock up try in, see instantly the proposed changes.

Composite Veneers - Alternatives to Porcelain

In this most recent case, Dr Lawrence was able to restore the patients worn teeth without the need to shave teeth down.  In this case, due to the nature of the wear, we were able to do an additive process-- adding composite bonding to the face side of the patient's teeth.  Porcelain veneers are also a great option for these cases but they do require some slight reduction of the teeth.  The patient at this time was not ready to have her teeth prepped down for veneers and so composite veneers in this situation was the most ideal treatment option.  The cost per composite veneer ranges from $850 per tooth.  

Before

After

Special thanks to Dr. Rana Shahi for performing the gorgeous esthetic crown lengthening gum surgery before we had restored the teeth with composites provided by Ivoclar Vivadent USA.

Charcoal Toothpaste?

Looking for alternatives to regular teeth whitening?  At Silicon Beach Dental, the types of teeth whitening we offer is take home custom bleaching trays and in-office teeth whitening which are great ways to whiten your teeth but not necessarily the most cost effective for regular maintenance.  In the following link, Dr Lawrence talks about some whitening alternatives including the use of charcoal toothpaste.

““It’s recommended to avoid any type of whitening toothpaste or charcoal toothpastes if patients have a ton of tooth recession [or] sensitivity,” cosmetic dentist Lawrence Fung, DDS, founder of Silicon Beach Dental in California, tells Teen Vogue. “My recommendation on charcoal toothpaste is to use it like everything else: in moderation.””

— https://www.teenvogue.com/story/hello-products-activated-charcoal-fluoride-free-whitening-toothpaste-review

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/hello-products-activated-charcoal-fluoride-free-whitening-toothpaste-review

Are You Afraid of the Dentist?

Well fear not, there are many things you can do to help alleviate that fear.  In this article that was recently published in the NY Post, I touched upon a few things that can help you take back control of your oral health!

“While going to the dentist can be scary, some of the ways you can help alleviate those feelings is by seeking a dentist who truly places a high emphasis on creating a welcoming environment to make you feel comfortable. When seeking a dentist, be sure to take a look at their bios and have an office tour to see if the place is welcoming.”

Foods We Dentists Love But Avoid

Recently Dr. Lawrence Fung was quoted in Readers Digest again.  In this article he amongst other dentists from around the country talk about foods they love but do avoid.  Hopefully the article linked here sheds some light on foods to avoid!

“15 Foods Dentists Never Eat—and You Shouldn’t Either”

https://www.rd.com/health/conditions/foods-dentists-never-eat/
“It's not just gummy bears, but all gummy-style candies should be avoided like the plague because they ruin teeth says Lawrence Fung, DDS, a cosmetic dentist at Silicon Beach Dental and spokesperson for Hello "Naturally Friendly" Oral Care. "They are terrible for your teeth since they stick to all areas of the tooth and the longer the contact the sweets have with the teeth, the more acid gets produced by cavity-causing bacteria."

9 Surprising Foods That Prevent Tooth Decay

Recently we were quoted in Readers Digest on a story about some foods that are great ways to prevent tooth decay naturally.  The following is an excerpt from the piece courtesy of RD.  

https://www.rd.com/health/conditions/foods-that-prevent-tooth-decay/

“Plain yogurt is loaded with calcium, vitamin D, and immunity-boosting probiotics, so you may not be surprised to find dairy on our list of tooth decay-fighters. However, you'll be excited to learn that yogurt has both mouth-healthy and gut-healthy properties, says Lawrence Fung, DDS, a cosmetic dentist located in Playa Vista adjacent area of Culver City and spokesperson for Hello Oral Care, a natural-focused dental hygiene company. "Since our teeth are made up of calcium, foods containing calcium are great at building up our teeth's enamel," he explains of how to prevent cavities. "To help increase the uptake of calcium in our teeth, foods that contain vitamin D, magnesium, and phosphorus can help as well."

Happy New Year!!

We just wanted to say thank you to all of our patients and friends for an amazing first year!! Here is to many many more!!

Oral Health During Pregnancy Tips

Pregnancy can be pretty daunting for new and existing mothers.  The body goes through some significant temporary changes and the status of your oral health is usually one of them.  Some of the common conditions that occur during pregnancy are the following

1.  Gum disease- During pregnancy, more attention than usual needs to be given to your teeth and gums.  Brushing twice daily, flossing once a day will keep gum disease at bay.  Pregnancy gingivitis (swollen easily bleeding gums) is very common, but regular home maintenance and two, maybe even three visits to your dentist office for a cleaning can help.  

2. Enamel erosion- Morning sickness which is common with pregnancy aside from causing the nausea, the acid if not buffered by rinsing with water or fluoride mouthwash can cause enamel to erode away.  

3.  Dry mouth- Be sure to drink plenty of water during pregnancy.  A dry mouth decreases your body's natural way of buffering and so it places you at higher risk for decay and erosion.  

In our practice, we recommend all women who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant to be on a three month recall, as there is research evidence linking periodontal disease and risk of complications with pregnancy.  If you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant and have more questions about oral health maintenance during these times, don't hesitate to reach our to the office at 310-929-7200 or you can email Dr. Lawrence at hello@siliconbeach.dental

Single Missing Tooth Replacement Options

Missing a tooth yet you are not ready for an implant?  We get it, there are many factors to getting a tooth replaced.  Cost being one of them.  What about a bridge you ask?  A bridge can be a great option however they are usually the most invasive option to replace a missing tooth.  The least invasive option is to have a denture that comes in an out, but those can be cumbersome as well.

So what other options you have?  You may want to ask your dentist about a Maryland bridge.  A maryland bridge can be a great option to replace a front tooth that requires very little or in this case, no drilling.  There is usually a wing attached to one or both sides of the replacement tooth and it is bonded to the adjacent teeth.  These can be great short or long term temporaries that allow for the spacing to be maintained between the teeth so you can always have the option to pursue an implant whenever you are ready.  Feel free to contact the office to see if you are an ideal candidate for this conservative, cost effective, yet esthetic missing single tooth replacement option.  

We’ve Been Featured!!

We’re happy and proud to announce that our office has been selected for the national magazine Best Practice.  We are so thankful for our patients and the support we have had throughout our journey so far!  Feel free to download a link to the digital version of the magazine!

Bitcoin at the Dentist?

An exciting announcement from SiliconBeach.Dental!!!!

We will be one of the very first and few dental practices in Los Angeles to be accepting Bitcoin!

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a form of online payments that can occur only between a merchant and a customer.  These digital cyptocurrencies are stored in a “digital wallet”, and with these digital wallets bitcoins can be transferred.  

Why accept Bitcoin at SiliconBeach.Dental?

At SBD, we are all about challenging the status quo.  Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are to do the same.  With Bitcoin being a decentralized form of currency, transactions fees are extremely low if not free.  Bitcoin also is anonymous, although it has received a bad rep for some of its uses, it provides privacy and protection to third parties having access to personal financial data with traditional currency systems.  

http://money.cnn.com/infographic/technology/what-is-bitcoin/

The Test Drive

Excellence in function and aesthetic dentistry is never achieved by accident.  It is with heavy planning in the form of data collecting, diagnosis and communication that leaves to highly predictable outcomes that helps us meet and exceed our patient’s aesthetic expectations. 

Whenever someone comes to our office as a new patient, your first visit is for data collection.  The goal of data collection consists of acquiring medical and dental information.  We obtain prior dental history, photograph your existing dental condition, check for oral cancer, establish caries risk, evaluate how the teeth come together, and the health of the periodontium (the gum and bone, supporting structures of the teeth). 

Aside from gathering clinical details, the most important data we collect is the needs and desires of our patients.   From there, we establish whether our office is the best solution for your needs.   Existing and new patients that have cosmetic needs will get the opportunity using photography and digital smile design to get a preview of any requested or proposed changes. 

So what is digital smile design?  Digital smile design utilizes your photographs, from there we can alter the teeth shape and color in accordance to your desires.  From there we can preview the proposed changes digitally.  After the patient signs off, we will then send molds of your teeth and the appropriate photographs to a ceramist who will then create in wax (diagnostic) the proposed changes.  Once we receive the diagnostic wax-up back, we will then do a test drive in the mouth, using temporary material you will get to evaluate the proposed changes while staying in a reversible state. 

The following video highlights the process of evaluation to diagnostic wax-up to the test drive. 

Composite Veneers

I commonly get asked by patients-- I want to change the shape and color of my teeth but I don't want my teeth shaved down or I'm on a budget.  In the past, dentistry may have been a bit more black and white, but there is a new grey area...maybe grey is the new black? 

Dental composites have been around since the 70's.  Prior to that, silver amalgam filings (and arguably up to recently) have been consider the gold standard.  Today, dental composites are much stronger, esthetic, and economical than before.  Dental composites when used correctly with the right situations, can be a very long lasting, esthetic, highly functional alternative to more costly materials.  In the following link, see how our practice is able to provide dental composites as an alternative to traditional porcelain veneers.  

Blending Art and Science

In this photo, a preparation was scanned and a 3D model was printed. The STereoLithography (STL) file was sent to two separate labs with two different price points. Both labs were given the same amount of time to work on the restoration and each unit was tried on the same model to check for the accuracy of fit. The results are clear as shown by the restorations on the right side--a high quality lab technician is irreplaceable, irrespective of the costs.

At SiliconBeach.Dental, we are very proud and honored to work with such an amazing team of staff and network of specialists.  There is one team member that rarely gets the credit they deserve, our lab technicians.  In dentistry, crowns, veneers, dentures, and partials are made in a laboratory by a technician.  

A highly skilled lab technician is able to blend the eye of an artist with the precision of a scientist.  With the use of CAD/CAM technology, 3D Printing, digital scanning, 3D facial analysis, cloud computing and digital photography,  these artists can create restorations that truly mimic what nature had given us.

Thank you Makomic, Beverly Hills Dental Lab, and Ultimate Styles for helping me provide the best for our patients from Playa Vista, Culver City, Fox Hills, Ladera Heights, and many other neighborhoods within Silicon Beach.  

http://www.makomic.com/

http://www.beverlyhillsdentallab.com/

http://ultimate-dl.com/

Sincerely, 

Dr. Lawrence Fung, DDS

Whitening Traumatized Teeth

Do you have a front tooth that has turned dark over the years? As we age, our teeth naturally become more yellow, and in some instances more grayish due to the natural wearing of enamel. There are certain situations where a tooth can become dark very quickly, its cause being trauma or a root canal.

In a healthy tooth with a healthy pulp (the nerve), blood is cycled in and out. In a tooth that has lost the vitality of the nerve, blood is no longer able to be cycled in and out and so the expired cells become to accumulate leading to the dark color.

In the past, many would immediately restore these rather unaesthetic presentations with a conservative veneer or a crown. In many situations, dependent on the amount of healthy tooth structure available, these are still the preferred methods of treatment for root canaled or traumatized teeth. In situations where the teeth are preserved, the root canal treatment is done conservatively, then the treatment options to address color issues can be even more conservative.

In this situation, we have elected to whiten the tooth from within. The process is as easy as two or three visits. The first visit is an evaluation after the tooth has been seen by an endodontist (a root canal specialist). Once the tooth is determined healthy enough to proceed to bleaching or "restoring", can we begin the process. For internal bleaching, we will make a small access hole without the need for anesthetic so we can place a special type of bleaching material. Depending on how dark the tooth is, there may be a need to have multiple follow-up appointments to reapply the bleaching material inside the tooth.

Once the tooth color has become stable, we flush all of the bleaching material out, place a temporary and wait for 10 days before placing a final filling. The reason we need to wait between flushing out the bleaching material and placing a filling is to allow for all of the bleaching material to stop oxidizing, as this can interfere with the adhesion of the bonding system. If the bonding is unable to be at its maximum strength, we run the risk of decreasing the life of the restoration. The following is a video of our latest case that outlines the steps involved. Enjoy!

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Minimally Invasive Cosmetic Options

No longer is it necessary to remove more tooth structure than necessary to get an aesthetic result. In the earlier days of dentistry, due to limitations of materials and techniques, it was common for dentists to recommend multiple porcelain veneers or crowns in the front to fix simple shade and shape issues.  With better materials and a clearer understanding of how to use these new materials, no longer are such invasive solutions necessary.  While porcelain is a great material for crowns and veneers, teeth whitening and direct composite bonding can be a very aesthetic yet cost effective way to address your various cosmetic needs.  In this video, the steps to do a direct composite veneer are demonstrated.   Contact our office to make an appointment for a consultation to see if you are an ideal candidate for this minimally invasive procedure!  #smilesbd #hellobetter

We've been featured on Voyage LA Magazine!

Voyage LA Magazine has featured our office and Dr. Lawrence on their "LA's Most Inspiring Stories".

Click the following to see what was said!