Auburn Opelika Dental in LaFayette meets local dental needs

Dr. Abigail Adams

BY KADIE VICK

THE LAFAYETTE SUN

LaFayette — Auburn Opelika Dental in LaFayette provides dental services to the Chambers County community by helping patients improve their oral health and meet their aesthetic goals.

“The community has been really welcoming since I took over after Dr. Busby,” said dentist and owner of Auburn Opelika Dental in LaFayette, Dr. Abigail Adams. “It’s nice because, if we need something, likely the person that we’re going to call is a patient. In a small town, you end up knowing most people when you’re the local health care provider.”

Adams said she has enjoyed working with LaFayette Main Street and the city of LaFayette, and that she feels supported as a business owner.

“We’re working with the city of LaFayette as a business owner, and working with LaFayette Main Street, and they try to make it as easy for business owners as possible,” she said. “They still want to maintain the character of the Main Street area and everything, but it’s not overly complicated; they’re very supportive.”

When providing for patients, Adams said that she and her team work to help patients while ensuring they feel heard and that they are comfortable.

“Our team cares for our patients,” she said. “We know that people are afraid of the dentist a lot of the time, but we hope that they give us the chance to get to know them, to try to calm some of those fears, so that even if they do not like coming to the dentist, at least they are not afraid to come.”

Adams said flossing is important and suggests flossing at night might be easier for busy families.

“I suggest people floss at least at night,” Adams said. “I know sometimes getting out the door in the morning is a struggle for families, so I recommend flossing at night.”

While brushing and flossing are important, Adams said people often underestimate the importance of a healthy diet.

“People underestimate the power of your diet, specifically drinks, and the type of toothbrush that you use,” she said. “As far as the toothbrush, like a spinning electric toothbrush, it is just going to clean so much more efficiently and more thoroughly than a manual brush. It can reach places a manual brush can’t.”

Adams said sweet drinks are bad for teeth and that it is important for people to pay attention to how frequently they eat acidic and sweet foods.

“As far as diet goes, sweet and acidic foods really sneak up on people, even if they have good hygiene,” she said. “If they’re sipping on a Coke at their desk all day or having sweet tea with most meals, those sweet and acidic drinks wash over our teeth, and they can get into nooks and crannies that can cause cavities that are hard to reach to clean.”

Maintaining good oral health is more than just preventing cavities; Adams said oral health impacts the health of the body overall.

“Our mouth is the gateway to the rest of our body, so we see signs of other systemic problems in the mouth before they can even show up in other places sometimes,” she said. “So that does show the importance of your checkup.”

In addition to helping patients maintain oral health, Adams also helps patients achieve their aesthetic goals.

“It’s really fun to see patients who want help with their smile,” she said. “That’s when we really get to make an impact on people, when they’re missing front teeth or have cavities on visible teeth. That really makes me feel good, and it’s kind of an artistic version of medicine and science.”

Adams said that she enjoys helping her patients improve their oral health, meet their aesthetic goals and listening to her patients.

“I think the thing that sets our practice apart from others is the time that we take to listen to people and really ask good questions so that we know what their priorities are for their oral health, as well as giving them a variety of ways to achieve the things that they want,” she said. “So that’s what makes me feel good, when people take ownership of their oral health and really want treatment to better themselves, not just because I told them it’s something that they need.”