After caring for his patients' preventive and restorative needs for over 8 years, Dr. Bruce Howell has decided to no longer practice at Longmont Dental Health (now known as Dental Health Colorado Longmont) on Main St. (and the now closed location on Hoover St). In Dr. Howell's opinion, dentists are expected to use their experience and clinical judgment in decisions about patient care. During his 35+ year career as a practicing dentist and as an associate professor at the University of Texas Dental School in Houston, he has been dedicated to staying at the forefront of new dental technologies and techniques when caring for his patients. Although he is familiar with and trains on new technologies, from his experience, new technologies should never serve as a substitute for a dentist's clinical judgment and should never dictate a course of treatment. In short, Dr. Howell refuses to drill on teeth based solely on indications from a technology, including laser fluorescence. The Longmont Dental Health office recently purchased two Sopro cameras that are based on laser fluorescence. This technology purports to assist in the early detection of surface cavities (called occlusal caries). Quoting this article, "experts say the new devices are easily abused, and can lead to filling teeth that are not decayed". Click HERE for more information on this laser technology. The Longmont Dental Health office, where Dr. Howell formally cared for his patients, is part of a Boulder based dental group. Throughout the years, Dr. Howell has been aware that this group has tried concepts including counting taste buds, taste testing, pH testing saliva, and something called Coda Kitchen. In Dr. Howell's opinion, these are not mainstream concepts in the practice of dentistry. A recent concept adopted by this group is called "ProBiotic Dentistry" which is marketed as helping patients to rid their mouths of "poo." Dr. Howell does not agree with this marketing approach. He does not believe that "ProBiotic Dentistry" is effective, but believes it is similar to other non-mainstream concepts that the group has previously embraced. Because of Dr. Howell's objections to these concepts and other philosophical differences on patient care, he ended his relationship with the group. Dr. Howell is very happy to announce that he is now practicing and treating patients with Dr. Craig Larson on the north side of Longmont. Drs. Howell and Larson have known each other for over 10 years and share the same philosophy on conservative, caring patient care - a pivotal issue for Dr. Howell to make this change. Dr. Larson's office is the only place where Dr. Howell practices dentistry. Dr. Howell's new website is www.BruceHowellDDS.com