Interview with Dr. Lewis Cummings of Houston Oral Healthcare Specialists - Kingwood

As part of our ongoing "Getting to Know Your Local Businesses" series, this week we sat down with Lewis Cummings DDS MS, owner of Houston Oral Healthcare Specialists (HOHCS).

Tell us a bit about your businesses: What does your businesses offer, and how long have you been around?
We offer a wide range of minimally invasive dental surgical procedures such as treatment of gingival recession, tooth removal, tooth replacement with dental implants, dental crown lengthening, treatment of periodontal disease and various other regenerative procedures to reestablish your oral health.  We pride ourselves by striving to provide the finest oral healthcare possible, using the most advanced technology, while making our patients feel at home and unrushed. At HOHCS, we've been making beautiful Kingwood smiles for over 15 years.

How did you decide to get involved in this line of work? How did the businesses get started?
As a Kingwood native, I gained my initial interest in dentistry by spending time around the Kingwood office of my childhood dentist, Dr. Jerry Hudgins, and orthodontist, Dr. Michael Woehst. Both were influential in my early decision to pursue a career in dentistry. In dental school, I developed an interest in surgery and began to focus my training on periodontal regenerative medicine and dental implants. After graduating from dental school at The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, I continued my education with a residency in periodontics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Lincoln, where I earned a Master of Science in Oral Biology. Throughout my residency I received advanced training in dental implants, hard tissue grafting and oral plastic surgery. I returned to Kingwood in the summer of 2003 to begin treating traditional periodontal disease with a special emphasis on minimally invasive techniques for oral rehabilitation and dental implant therapy.
  
Tell us a couple things you are proud of about your businesses. What are you known for? What separates you from the competition?
We continuously educate ourselves on the latest surgical and technological advances to remain an established leader in our field of dentistry. As a testament to this commitment, our office was the first surgical office in the area to offer cone beam imaging technology, providing three dimensional radiographic images of the facial anatomy for diagnostic and treatment planning purposes. We also were the first in the area to offer digital impression scanning for dental implant restorations utilizing the Trios intraoral scanner. To capitalize on the potential of this technology, we can now merge these systems to generate dental models, oral appliances, surgical guides and full arch restorations.

By combining the data gathered from the three-dimensional x-rays with the intraoral digital impressions, we can generate the desired product through our in-house 3D printer or via a local dental laboratory.  When this peripheral technology is combined with our standard cutting edge surgical procedures, such as the utilization of growth factors, dermal matrices, collagen scaffolds and micro-surgery, healing is accelerated and patient satisfaction is increased. This technology allows us to offer our patients the fastest and most predictable treatment possible through the most advanced techniques available in dentistry today.

What is your favorite part of running this business?
My favorite part of what I do is helping people regain their oral health. Often, people have had bad dental experiences that have kept them from returning to the dentist out of fear of hurt or shame. It doesn't have to be this way. No one's oral health is in too bad of shape to be fixed. With the technology we have these days, we can treat even the most diseased teeth with minimally invasive procedures that allow for minimal discomfort and maximized outcomes -- all the while being mindful of providing the longest term predictable, functional and cost-effective solutions for the patient's specific oral health and personal desires.

Far too often, patients are being priced out of comprehensive implant and restorative dentistry and feel that they are not able to get the care they need. I love showing people that this is simply not the case. Everyone is a candidate for complete oral health.

Who is your ideal customer/client? Who do you serve best?
Treating patients from 5 to 100 years old, we really don't have an "ideal" patient for our office. If someone has a mouth and needs some form of periodontal or dental implant therapy, they are the ideal patient for our office. Whether its extractions of baby or permanent teeth, correction of gingival issues, treatment of periodontal disease or replacement of missing teeth with dental implants, our office offers comprehensive oral health care for everyone.

Is there any other information you'd like your potential customers/clients to know about your businesses?
My mother taught at Woodland Hills Elementary her entire career and passed her love of teaching and learning on to me. During my residency in Nebraska I researched tissue engineering and developed a passion for minimally invasive surgical techniques. This foundation gave me the opportunity to begin lecturing about these techniques internationally. In conjunction with lecturing, I also teach advanced surgical courses on hard and soft tissue regenerative techniques for oral rehabilitation utilizing both dental implants and natural teeth.  I am also an instructor for the American Institute of Implant Dentistry in Washington, DC, teaching advanced periodontal plastic surgery and dental implant procedures to dentists from around the world.

How do you see your businesses growing and improving over the next couple of years?
I like to stay on the cusp of technology, so we will constantly work to expand the technology and techniques we have to offer. We will continue to work very intimately with our patients restorative dentists to make their overall oral health a seamless and attainable goal. Lastly, we will always challenge ourselves to be able to offer our patients the best treatment available anywhere in the world, right here in their own home town. 

To learn more about HOHS, visit my Kingwood.com profile at https://www.kingwood.com/business/business_detail.php?merchant_id=11421 or visit my website at http://houstonoralhealthcarespecialists.com.