Dr. Mickel Malek, a dental surgeon with iSmile Spa, balances his professional responsibilities with a love of the outdoors. An avid horseback rider, angler, and camper, Dr. Mickel Malek also enjoys skydiving.A skydiver's first jump is often tandem, which means the new skydiver goes through the entire dive attached to an instructor or experienced skydiver. The new skydiver wears a harness that connects to the instructor, who is thoroughly trained in the skills to guide a dive. The instructor wears both a parachute and a drogue chute, which slows descent to a speed at which the parachute is safe to operate. The jump itself typically takes place at 10,000 feet, with the new skydiver and instructor falling together at 120 miles per hour. This falling stage lasts approximately 45 to 60 seconds and feels more like flying than falling because of the wind pushing up against the descending bodies.Most new skydivers feel a falling sensation only after the instructor deploys the parachute. This part of the ride is often the most enjoyable because the parachute has opened, the wind quiets down, and the new skydiver can relax. Just before reaching the ground, new skydivers must pull their knees up to the chest and keep them up until the instructor has made ground contact.
A dental surgeon with I Smile Spa, Dr. Mickel Malek serves patients by providing them with advanced restorative dentistry services in Northern California. In conjunction with his day-to-day practice, Dr. Mickel Malek is a member of the American Dental Association.The American Dental Association (ADA) recently voiced its support of new regulations put in place by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the safe handling and disposal of dental amalgam. The EPA released the new regulatory guideline last December, which calls for dental practices to capture dental amalgam waste through a piece of equipment designed to separate it from other waste products. Dental amalgam is a filling material that is made up of several different types of metal, including copper, mercury, tin, and sometimes silver. The mercury content of amalgam accounts for less than 1 percent of the total mercury introduced into the world’s ecosystems, but the ADA and the EPA have said they still feel a responsibility to make sure these metals are handled and disposed of in a manner that’s safe for the environment.The ADA also praised the rule because it provides a uniform guideline for dentists across the nation, rather than the sometimes confusing framework of rules that can differ between different state and local governments.
As a dental surgeon with iSmileSpa, Dr. Mickel Malek brings advanced restorative dentistry to patients in Northern California. In his prior role with Santa Barbara Dental Care, Dr. Mickel Malek performed a number of such procedures, including guided tissue regeneration.As its name indicates, guided tissue regeneration encourages the growth of new connective tissue in a mouth damaged by periodontal disease. It involves the placement of a particular biomaterial, which often serves as a barrier to exclude tissue types that may otherwise interfere with regrowth.Medical science deems regeneration to have been successful when testing indicates that all lost tissue types have grown. In many cases, patients instead heal to the level of repair by new attachments. This occurs when epithelium or connective tissue links with a root surface previously bereft of its naturally occurring attachment tissue. Regardless of whether complete regeneration or reattachment occurs, this procedure can restore much of the structure and function lost as an effect of periodontal disease. To be indicated, the patient must have received treatment for periodontal disease, and the disease itself must be no longer active.
