Unicare Dental: Patients First, in Sickness and for Health

May 7th, 2020

By Xander Thomas

With a global pandemic threatening the health, mental state, finances and general way of life for just about everyone, it might be safe to say that many will be hesitant to jump back into life once things begin to subside. The way people live and businesses operate will likely be changed forever, especially when it comes to medical services. Some healthcare business owners, such as Webster’s Dr. Farid Noie, are already preparing for this.

“Post pandemic, patients expect closer attention to infection control measures, which are easy to overlook in a hectic practice environment,” Dr. Noie said.

While he has chosen to continue seeing current patients through video visits for medical necessity in the meantime, the office is closed, and he is taking this time to completely remodel and upgrade to the best sanitary equipment and procedures possible.

“Other than improving our safety protocols, we are also completely remodeling and upgrading our operatories to the most germ resistant surfaces with ease of disinfection,” he said.

Seeing patients through this, although it wouldn’t seem easy for him, as people had to remain in their car until they could go straight to the dentist chair, he says wasn’t completely unmanageable.

“We have one section of the office closed off, and everything else is being worked on,” he explained, although the office is now closed.

Patient comfort, peace of mind and especially the safety of them, as well as staff are all things he has in mind for the upgrades. Dr. Noie believes that medical professionals should be held to a higher standard, as it helps them keep up to date information, follow proper protocol, and ensure that clients receive quality care. Disinfects are certainly not the only goal.

“We’ve also purchased and are upgrading our dental chairs and delivery system to a closed circuit distilled water technology with the latest filtration system to keep our patients and staff safe from any communicable diseases,” he said.

The entirety of the revamp is for everyone’s well being, so equipment was only one thing that he sees as outdated after a global crisis.

“In addition, we plan to double our periodic safety training to deal with our new post pandemic reality.“

In the past, Dr. Noie has been accused of being a germaphobe, but now people are seeing the benefits of his meticulous caution.

“There will be a lot of fear of close proximity with anybody else. In a dental office that fear is even more,” said Dr. Noie.

Dr. Farid Noie

He has hopes that with time, will come comfort and that people will regain a normal sense of life, but with more caution. He does warn that fear can have detrimental effects.

“Avoiding any kind of a treatment out of the fear of viral infection can actually make things worse,” he said. “Lack of routine maintenance and prevention can lead to some serious conditions.”

He wants his patients to have enough confidence to seek help when needed, and is fully prepared to be there when they are ready. He says he sees a future world of medicine in which professionals utilize single-use disposable protective equipment and pay close attention to new OSHA and CDC recommendations.

“The serious nature of this virus has heightened my need to protect my patients,” he said.

Dr. Farid Noie is known as a patient oriented, compassionate professional and plans to reopen his practice, located at 20814 Gulf Freeway in Webster, on June 1, assuming it is safe and legal to do so. Visit www.drnoie.com for more information.

Dental Health: A Lifetime of Issues Finally Gone

November 4th, 2019

Loretta Spivey, actual patient of Dr. Noie.

By Xander Thomas

Some people are blessed with perfect teeth from birth,some require minimal work or braces, and others get stuck with problems their whole life.  Loretta Spivey was not one of the more fortunate ones.

“I’ve always had problems with them,” Loretta said.

“One dentist told me I had my mom’s top jaw and my dad’s bottom, so they never sat together.”

Because her teeth were basically mismatched due to an overbite, she had always had difficulty chewing and eating. Loretta tried, without much luck, to get the offset fixed.

“I even had braces put on which I probably shouldn’t have done. They helped but when they were taken off my teeth went back, so I still didn’t have a good bite,” she said.

While her situation was troublesome enough, a few years back she developed gingivitis, which would go untreated for a while.  Because she didn’t like or trust many dentists, the problem worsened until she had to find someone to fix it for her.

“They were starting to become loose. I had some gum and bone loss,” she said. “They were pretty bad so I know I needed to see someone before they started falling out.”

Loretta had a dentist that she had been seeing, but even he didn’t do much to fix everything that she needed, only pulling a tooth and putting in a partial.  Then, before she could get more corrections, he quit and she needed to find someone else to help her.  She began asking around to see who other people were going to.  One of her coworkers highly recommended Dr. Noie, of Unicare – Center for Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry, and she figured she would give him a shot.

“Dr. Noie said he didn’t even know how I ate all these years,” she said.

He took a look at her mouth and he knew exactly what to do to help her.  They scheduled a few surgeries, and he would take care of the teeth she was losing, along with the overbite that kept her self-conscious most of her life.

“I didn’t wanna smile, I always put my hand over my mouth when I talked or smiled,” Loretta said. “That’s one thing my husband noticed when I got my new teeth, I didn’t do that anymore.”

After two or three surgeries she would be good to go.  During the first round, Dr. Noie took out the whole bottom row of teeth out at one time.  While it sounds severe, she maintains that it wasn’t as bad as it sounds.

Her lifetime ailment was finally getting resolved, and she could chew food like a normal person.  Lorettea wasn’t really in pain from it all. After healing, she was able to consume regular food.

Dr. Noie and his expert staff were not the only ones that were there to help her the whole way.  Loretta says that she has

an amazing husband who drove her to and from appointments, stayed with her during every one, and took care of her when she needed it.

“My husband said I went through more than most men could bear,” she said with a laugh.

After everything life had thrown at her, the Unicare staff did everything they could, and never made her feel conscious about her teeth, they were just there to help.

“I’ve never been to a hygienist that’s as good as Laurie is! Usually you dread going cause they’re about to drown you,” she said, “She is wonderful.”

She says that she would highly recommend Dr. Noie, and his whole staff, to anyone needing corrections in their mouth.

Dr. Noie has been in private practice in the Bay Area since 1996. He is a Diplomate of Int’l Congress of Oral Implantologists, Fellow of Academy of General Dentistry, and Assoc. Fellow of American Academy of Implant Dentistry. He has completed his surgical training at New York University as well as Medical University of South Carolina, Temple University, and Wright State University School of Medicine. He completed his oral Anesthesiology training at University of Alabama in Birmingham. He is a member of American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.

Restoring Her World-Famous Smile

June 1st, 2019

Lynda’s beautiful smile was made possible by Dr. Noie’s skill and tenacity.

Former model, Lynda Michaelski’s smile was saved by Dr. Noie

By Xander Thomas

At one time, she was hand-picked for major advertisements because of a big beautiful smile. Unfortunately, an autoimmune disease threatened her ability to smile entirely.
For Lynda Michaelski, working on the occasional print ad, and having the ability to remain with her sons most of the time and take care of them was like a dream come true as a dedicated mother. She had been a stay-at-home mom from the time she was 18 up until 30, when she volunteer-taught at her children’s school. After that, she started a little business selling Mary Kay, which would present her with a whole new opportunity.

“I went to a convention when I was about 31 or 32, and the Mary Kay Makeup people said ‘you know, you ought to do the ads for us,’” Lynda recalled. “I had never even been out in the world, I lived in Iowa from about 18 to 30 or so!”

From here, Lynda would join a modeling agency and go on to do work for big names such as Gordon’s Jewelers and British Caledonian Airlines. It was all because of her big beaming grin that Lynda had been given these gigs.

“I was fortunately able to do a lot of print work for major companies, and I was hired because of my smile,” she said, “I looked at those pay checks and I thought I could smile for a living!”

That was, until she couldn’t. Lynda was diagnosed with scleroderma, and under times of stress, the disease began to take a toll on her body. She began noticing problems in her mouth back in 2009, right before Ike made its mark in the area. With the damage it caused, the weight on Lynda and her husbands’ shoulders became worse.

“It was a very trying time because of the hurricane and properties to repair,” She said. “And then to have a medical issue as severe as what I had because of stress, it was terrifying for me.”

She said that while she had learned to manage her scleroderma before, it was now causing problems that she couldn’t handle, and it now required quite a bit of help.

“It was literally bone deteriorating,” she said, “My entire upper mandible was in jeopardy, that’s the bone right underneath your nose, part of your jaw bone.”

This not only affected her ability to eat, but of course, made it difficult for her to show off her once world-famous smile.

“I consulted with three or four other doctors, and they simply didn’t have the capabilities to handle something like this,” she said.

Ultimately, it was while having breakfast in a local restaurant in 2011 that an ad in a particular local magazine caught her eye. While reading Bay Area Houston Magazine over her meal, she decided to give Dr. Noie a call to see if he could help her.

“He said ‘We’re going to be joined at the hip for the next few years, but I can fix you. I can handle this,’” Lynda said with a laugh.

It was a difficult process, involving complex bone grafting procedures and many implants. The end-result: she finally has her beautiful pearly whites back to the same state as before.

“I had 14 surgeries. Dr. Noie had to take bone out of my chin and graft it up into the upper mandible,” she said, “The man does not give up. He’s just a genius at overcoming problems.”

Lynda says that she and her husband consider Dr. Noie a godsend, and highly recommend him to anyone they know needing dental work, and they are extremely thankful for all he has done for her.

“I appreciate being able to smile, talk and eat and go on with my life!” She says, “I’m Back! I’m Here! I’m Smiling!”

Dr. Noie has been in private practice in the Bay Area since 1996. He is a Diplomate of Int’l Congress of Oral Implantologists, Fellow of Academy of General Dentistry, and Assoc. Fellow of American Academy of Implant Dentistry. He has completed his surgical training at New York University as well as Medical University of South Carolina, Temple University, and Wright State University School of Medicine. He completed his oral Anesthesiology training at University of Alabama in Birmingham. He is a member of American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.

Teeth in One Day – A Successful Reality

February 1st, 2019

You can now replace your missing or badly damaged teeth or dentures with a beautiful, natural, and permanent smile in just 1 day while asleep!   

If you enjoy a juicy bite of a crisp, sweet apple, consider yourself blessed. For thousands of people, this is not a pleasant experience because of the poor condition of their teeth, or because they are denture wearers. Eating should be one of life’s greatest pleasures, yet for many Americans this simply is not the case. They are in pain or unable to enjoy the simple delights most of us take for granted—enjoy chewing our food. I still remember my father’s noticeable struggle at the dinner table. I witnessed first hand how inability to eat a juicy piece of steak or salad affected the quality of his life. My father felt ashamed of his false teeth and suffered at the dinner table night after night. I remember having nightmares about losing my teeth and I began to really pay attention to people’s teeth. While that experience sparked my lifelong passion for finding the perfect replacement for natural teeth, there was no real solution for another three decades, until dental implants entered the arena.

Dental implants proved to be completely functional, comfortable, and beautiful as well. It is now realistically possible make dentures history! We live in awesome times. We now have the ability to replace natural teeth in just one day while in deep sleep. Thanks to experiments done by Swedish orthopedist, Dr. Ingvar Branemark, we learned that the hard tissue does not reject foreign objects so long as they are inserted under certain conditions and principles. In fact, our body completely integrates the new body part in a few short weeks and with proper maintenance will preserve it for life.

The evolution that Dr. Branemark began over 50 years ago by inserting a metal rod into a rabbit’s femur has blossomed into replacing vital body parts such as teeth, knee and hip in just one day.  This knowledge completely transformed orthopedics and dentistry and is changing lives dramatically, everyday.  Regrettably, my father passed away before I had the skills to help him, but in pursuing that lofty goal, I have been able to treat tens of thousands of Americans suffering with removable teeth and missing teeth!

To find out if dental implants are right for you, please contact Dr. Noie’s office, Unicare Center for Cosmetic and Implant Dentistry at 281-332-4700 or online at www.drnoie.com to schedule your no obligation, complimentary consultation with Dr. Noie.

Don’t Settle for Half

April 1st, 2015

ThinkstockPhotos-481365767By Farid Noie

Recently I was talking to a friend about his daughter’s upcoming cochlear implant surgery. He had some real concern about the decision of the insurance company to only fund placement of one cochlear implant as opposed to two.

Even though I completely understood his frustration, I also knew how important it is for him that she can hear and be able to distinguish and understand the meaning of various sounds before entering Pre-K. I decided to play devil’s advocate and stress the importance of time that would be wasted in the process. He replied that he is also very concerned about the time factor but he said, “The bottom line is that I don’t want my daughter to settle for half. She deserves better.”  I couldn’t argue with that. He was right. If technology can help restore the full function of a lost body part, settling for half is not ethically justifiable.

Hours later, while reviewing my conversation, I discovered the parallel analogy between this concept and replacement of missing teeth. As we all know, conventional dentistry did not have a solution for replacement of a missing tooth that would allow restoration of the full range of functions that our teeth provide us, as opposed to addressing only their cosmetic and digestive consequences. Just because we don’t see something, it does not mean that it does not exist or is less significant. After all, we don’t need to see the roots of a tall oak tree to know they are there and extend far beyond the boundaries of the tree’s hole in the ground. The same analysis holds true for replacing missing teeth. We can’t deny existence of roots because without them our teeth would not stay in our mouth. But is it really necessary to replace them? Well, they are as necessary to longevity of our dentition as a strong foundation is to any building or load bearing architectural structure.

Aside from providing surface area to chew our food and the cosmetic and sociological effects of having all our teeth, our teeth also provide mechanical stimulation for the neighboring jawbone, jaw muscles, salivary glands, and gums. This simultaneous stimulation in turn keeps the jawbone dense and strong, the jaw muscles stimulated and toned, and salivary gland stimulated, allowing the presence of ample saliva to help break down food chemically and neutralize the billions of pathogens that invade our oral cavity every single day.

There is little argument in the professional community that the dental implant is the most suitable replacement for our natural dentition. It addresses and replaces all the functions that were performed by the tooth that it replaces. Other traditional options may fill the space but they come at a cost. They have to sit on top of the gum. Imagine replacing a load bearing column in your house with a new post that is not even planted in the ground. It is just being held in place by other posts. It may look identical to the way it did before but there is little question that it is not providing the same function.

Luckily, thanks to dental implants, when it comes to our oral health and smile, we don’t have to settle for half of what we deserve.

Of course not all patients are medically fit to receive dental implants. To find out if you are a suitable candidate, please call Dr. Noie at 281-332-4700 to schedule a one-on-one complimentary consultation with him.

Dr. Noie has been in private practice in the Bay Area since 1996. He is a Diplomate of Int’l Congress of Oral Implantologists, Fellow of Academy of General Dentistry, and Assoc. Fellow of American Academy of Implant Dentistry. He has completed his surgical training at New York University as well as Medical University of South Carolina, Temple University, and Wright state University School of Medicine. He completed his oral Anesthesiology training at University of Alabama in Birmingham. He is a member of American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.

Dr. Farid Noie, DDS, DICOI, FAGD

June 1st, 2014

DSC_0973Unicare Center for Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry Offers Same Day Digital Dentistry

Dr. Farid Noie has a history of always searching the horizon to find a new, better way to treat dental and oral maxillofacial challenges.

He also is known for having the patience to wait until that treatment is proven safe and effective.  Well, Dr. Noie and Unicare Center for Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry now offers Digital Dentistry.  “At last, the age of Digital Dentistry is here, and it’s more exciting than anything I could have dreamed of. That was the last piece of the puzzle. We can now completely regenerate a missing tooth or protect and repair damaged teeth from start to finish,” says Dr. Noie.

Q:  Can you give us some background on CAD/CAM technology and Same Day Dentistry?

Noie:  Everything you need for Same Day Dentistry is now under one roof. With the help of digital technology we can envision, capture, and create your perfect smile in just one visit with an astonishing accuracy not possible before.  This technology was first introduced in the 1980’s. As with any new technology, there were a few bugs that had to be worked out. The 3D images, using red scanning laser were not accurate, and required use of aluminum silicate powder. The ceramic blocks utilized also were susceptible to fracture. The new generation systems use blue laser rays to scan which is far more accurate. The new ceramic blocks are also re-engineered to be completely monolithic, very similar to cultured pearl. They are so strong and durable that the manufacturers guarantee them to last more than 10 years. The result is a better experience for the patient and an amazingly strong and life-like all ceramic restoration which feels and looks like perfect natural teeth and can last a lifetime. We have come a long way from old style crowns that were temperature sensitive and caused the gum to recede and led to the dreaded visible black line around the crown. A recent comprehensive study at NYU concluded that results seen with new crystal diamond restorations are comparable to the “gold standard.” The study further concluded that performance of these new products has exceeded that of traditional porcelain-fused-to-metal restorations as well as many other all-ceramic restorations.

Q:  You seem to really enjoy what you do. What are some of the highlights of your very successful and accomplished career?

Noie: I consider myself very fortunate to have found my passion and be able to practice it every day. I like to think every patient that I have the pleasure of serving and helping is a highlight, but the happiest moment of my professional life was when I first learned about dental implants (around 22 years ago). Giving my patients sub-standard replacement for their lost teeth never sat well with me. Growing up, I had seen firsthand the profound effect of teeth loss and removable and fixed bridges on my own father. I can honestly say that his oral issues and flawed replacement options available at the time significantly affected the quality of his life. I knew what I had to do and I did it. It took me over six years of post doctoral training in oral & maxillofacial surgery, advanced restorative and cosmetic dentistry to finally be able to help patients with their teeth loss. I had to learn how to regenerate lost bone (guided bone regeneration) and soft tissue that gradually melted away after loss of teeth. It was also very important to me to not only provide my patients with strong teeth, but to make them look beautiful as well. I feel very blessed to witness and be a part of the evolution of restorative dentistry.

The dawn of digital dentistry that was just a dream several years ago marked the second most exciting moment in my professional life. My patients now enjoy perfectly fitted chair-side CAD/CAM crowns. I have to admit that early CAD/CAM restorations left a lot to be desired, and I have seen a number of cases that were far from ideal. But, like so many technological advances, reaching perfection took time and experimentation. From my experience, I can conclude that the technology has finally matured. The marginal fit, the contours and the occlusion of these digitally designed and computerized fabricated crowns are just amazing.

Q: What is the leading cause of tooth decay and tooth loss?

Noie: In my opinion and experience, dental issues are primarily hereditary. Some lucky people are just born with strong resilient teeth while others are genetically predisposed for a lifetime of dental related problems (including my father and myself). Today, dental implants, 3D imaging (CT scan), and digital dentistry have helped even the genetics odds for thousands of my patients. Accidental damage also plays a role. Athletes and people with high-risk professions such as construction workers are obviously more prone to oral damage.

Dr. Noie has been in private practice in the Bay Area since 1996. He is a Diplomate of Int’l Congress of Oral Implantologists, Fellow of Academy of General Dentistry, and Associate Fellow of American Academy of Implant Dentistry and Academy of Cosmetic dentistry.  He has completed his surgical training at New York University center for Oral & Maxillofacial excellence as well as Medical University of South Carolina, Temple University, and Wright State University School of Medicine.  He completed his oral anesthesiology training at University of Alabama in Birmingham.  He is a member of the Texas Academy of General Dentistry. Dr. Noie and the Unicare Center for Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry offers Dental Implants, Cosmetic Dentistry, Orthodontics, Invisalign, Bone and Tissue Grafts, High Quality Lumineers, IV Sleep Sedation, and Free CAT scan.  They are located at 20814 Gulf Freeway, Suite 40, Webster TX 75598; 281.332.4700; www.drnoie.com.

Bay Area Houston Magazine