Dr. Sharon S Russell, DDS

Dr. Sharon Russell, a popular female dentist in the Cherry Creek area of Denver has built her dental practice around these principles:
The patient’s comfort is of primary importance
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
The goal is to keep a full set of healthy teeth and gums in each patient’s mouth for their whole life.
Patients must be educated and empowered to be the dentist’s partner in maintaining dental and whole-mouth health.
A “whole-istic” approach to dental health is the best way to achieve that goal.
Practice Philosophy – In Dr. Russell’s Own Words
“My primary professional concern is keeping a set of healthy teeth in my patients’ mouths,” says Dr. Russell.  “To do that requires a few things:
Comfort - The first is to help my patients feel comfortable enough about seeing a dentist that they do so regularly.  Whatever that requires is what I’m committed to doing. One of my favorite things is when a patient who used to be anxious about dental visits tells me “I’m not …afraid to come anymore.” In fact, I have a patient who used to be a wreck when she came in, and now she’s so relaxed during treatment that I have to wake her up when I’m done and tell her we’ll all through!
A Whole-istic Approach – In my opinion, optimal dental care requires seeing each person as an individual and as a whole.  My patients are not just a set of teeth to me.  Each is a whole person and so each exam includes checking in about their overall state of health and well being, including diet and wellness.  Then we look at their mouth as a whole – not just the teeth, but the gums, lips, cheeks, tongue, roof of the mouth, etc. Dental exams include a full mouth series of x-rays and a full periodontal and oral cancer exam.  Patients often remark, “That’s the most thorough dental examination I’ve ever had!”
Restoration -- Next, I fix any problems we find.  My goal is a perfect check up every time, but if there are problems that need to be addressed, I offer a full menu of dental services and restorations.
Keeping Your Teeth -- Prevention and Maintenance -- The next and most important part of my dental practice is to teach patients how to maintain their oral health. This includes proper brushing, correcting too vigorous or too frequent brushing, eliminating abrasive toothpastes, and teaching proper flossing and/or use of toothpicks. Prevention also includes home fluoride mouth rinses, and xylitol products that prevent bad bacteria from attaching to the teeth. Sometimes just by using a fluoride mouth rinse, my patients can save thousands of dollars in dental work every year.  Believing as I do that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and that the normal state of the body (including the mouth) is health, an important part of my job is teaching patients how to achieve, support and maintain oral health.
People are living longer these days, and need to have a healthy set of teeth and gums so they can keep their teeth their whole lives. Nothing beats keeping your own teeth as a critical element of maintaining lifelong health and vitality.
The patients I see regularly have their teeth. They’re healthy in body and mind because they’re able to eat normal, healthy foods. Dentures impact a person’s health; denture wearers tend toward softer food, and as I like to remind my patients, Donuts are not a health food!  I want all my patients to still be able to bite into a firm juicy apple when they’re 120 years old!”
About Dr. Russell
Dr. Russell grew up with the mistaken idea that everyone loved going to the dentist . . .  because she did.  She thought a dental office was a fun and interesting place that wasn’t the least bit scary.  And the dentist was a very nice man.  What was there to be nervous about? 
In college, Dr. Russell loved science, biology, anatomy and the study of cells.  She considered medical school, but was concerned that her holistic and patient-empowering approach would be at odds with the prevailing attitudes in the medical co