The good news about tooth loss is that it isn’t as big of a deal as it used to be. With fewer options for replacing lost teeth and rudimentary technology, dentists of the past were limited in their ability to design appropriate prostheses. Today, however, custom restorations can rebuild virtually any smile. In addition, advanced technology and dental treatments has also improved to the point where most people can successfully prevent tooth loss from occurring in the first place. (more…)
Things You Can Do with Porcelain Veneers
A porcelain veneer is an ultra-thin, highly customized shell of dental porcelain that can be bonded to the front surfaces of one or more teeth. If you want to restore your smile’s healthy, beautiful appearance but are worried about undergoing extensive cosmetic work, porcelain veneers may be the ideal solution. In many cases, custom veneers can provide a number of improvements to the size, shape, and appearance of your teeth, without needing multiple cosmetic procedures to do it. (more…)
Answering Common Questions About TMJ Disorder
TMJ disorder is common, but it is still one of the lesser-known and understood of all chronic dental health issues. Because many patients are aware of what TMJ disorder is or how it can affect their oral health, they often aren’t aware that there’s an issue when they begin to show signs. Understanding TMJ disorder and alleviating the wide range of symptoms it can cause require a conversation with your dentist about the state of your jaw health. If you do have TMJ disorder, then your dentist can design a customized treatment plan to help you get over it. (more…)
Replacing a Single Tooth with a Dental Implant
Since they became a part of clinical dental health care, dental implants have become an essential resource for rebuilding patients’ smiles after having suffered tooth loss. For patients who’ve lost a significant amount of teeth, implants are well-known for their ability to preserve the health and integrity of their jawbones. However, even if you’ve only lost a single tooth, a dental implant can offer the same benefits to your smile that they do for patients with more severe tooth loss. In fact, with the help of a dental implant, your replacement crown can also help you reduce your risks of losing more teeth in the future. (more…)
Why Do Teeth Wear Down?
Your teeth are the most formidable parts of your body, which they have to be given the fact that they’re also the most used. When healthy, your teeth can withstand an incredible amount of bite pressure with minimal effort. However, under certain circumstances, even highly resilient tooth structure can eventually wear down or become damaged, and repairing it could be vital to your long-term oral health. When your teeth become worn down, your dentist can help restore their strength and the balance in your bite with an appropriate cosmetic or restorative treatment, depending on the nature and extent of your tooth wear. (more…)
A Few Benefits of Cosmetic Gum Contouring
When you think of your smile’s appearance, your main concern may be how your teeth look. However, there’s more to a smile than just teeth, such as the gum line that surrounds and protects them. When your gum tissues cover an excessive or uneven amount of your teeth, their asymmetrical appearance can impact the overall appearance of your smile, making your teeth seem imbalanced even if they’re even. Fortunately, cosmetic gum contouring can help you perfect your smile’s appearance by correcting the outline of your gums, creating a healthier and more attractive frame around your smile. (more…)
Tips to Teach Kids Good Hygiene
Good hygiene is one of the first things we teach children, and it’s also one of the longest-lasting lessons that they carry with them. Nevertheless, those lessons aren’t always easy, and working together with your child’s dentist can be the best way to teach them. Fortunately, good hygiene practices aren’t necessarily difficult to learn; the trick is to make learning how to care for their teeth fun enough for children to stay engaged. Today, we take a look at a few ways in which you can make learning about dental health and hygiene fun and entertaining for your children. (more…)
Deciding to Remove a Wisdom Tooth
With a name like “wisdom teeth,” you might expect your third and final set of adult molars to be something to look forward to. Unfortunately, for many people, they’re not. The last four teeth to erupt on your dental ridges bring the average total of permanent teeth to 32. The problem with wisdom teeth, however, is that the average adult dental mouth can only comfortably accommodate 28 teeth. The discrepancy proves troublesome for many patients, who eventually have their wisdom teeth removed due to complications. (more…)
Is It Time for Root Canal Therapy?
The good news about treating tooth decay is that you have several options for doing so. Each treatment is designed to address a specific level of decay while preserving a maximum amount of your healthy tooth structure. Root canal therapy, for instance, is preferable in severe cases, when infection has reached the inner chamber of your tooth and a filling will not suffice to treat it. If your tooth is in severe pain because of lingering tooth decay, or if you’ve had a filling placed and it has failed, then it could be time to consider root canal therapy to save the tooth. (more…)
Can Bonding Fix Your Chipped Tooth?
Tooth damage isn’t like a cut to your skin or a sprained ankle. Both of these will heal over time, provided there are no unforeseen complications. Your tooth, however, will not, no matter how much time you give it. This makes little things like a chipped edge or cracked surface a more serious concern than they may at first seem. If you don’t fix the chipped tooth, then the damage can grow increasingly worse. Fortunately, a chipped tooth can often be repaired easily and effectively with custom, minimally invasive tooth bonding. (more…)