An infected tooth must be dealt with promptly to prevent infection in the rest of the body. Root canals, though often feared, serve as an essential dental procedure in maintaining oral health and preventing other health issues. In today’s blog, your helpful dentists in El Paso, TX, explain the root canal process and shed light on the importance of crowning the tooth afterward for the best and strongest protection.
If it has been a while since the last time that you were in the dental office for a checkup, take the time to schedule your next visit. These appointments are vital to your oral health, and if you have been putting them off, you are doing your smile a disservice. Most patients require these appointments at least twice each year, so if you are struggling to remember your last semiannual dental checkup, it is time for your next cleaning and examination.
With our team of helpful dentists in El Paso, TX, you can find your way back to a positive path of dental prevention. Set aside some time for your next checkup, and we can help you to renew your dedication to your oral health. Your visit starts with a thorough cleaning of the surface of your teeth, helping you to be rid of any bacterial accumulation of plaque and tartar. These forms of biofilm lead to tooth decay and even loss, so your cleanings are an important step in your prevention. You will also have time to talk with your provider about any changes that you are seeing in your smile, and take advantage of this opportunity! (more…)
A beautiful smile relies on more than straight, white teeth. The gums play a crucial role in framing our teeth. Gum contouring is a procedure that restores harmony to your smile. In today’s blog, your team at Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, explains the benefits of gum contouring, determines candidacy, and highlights the simplicity of the process and recovery.
Are you wondering why you’ve been told to remove your third molars? Wisdom teeth, also known as third molars, are the last set of teeth to come in, usually during the late teens or early twenties. Many times, they can bring discomfort and complications, leading to the need for removal. In today’s blog, your team at Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, explains what wisdom teeth are, what happens when they get stuck, and why they often need to be taken out.
Living with gum disease requires constant monitoring of your oral health to maintain a healthy smile. This is because an infection that reaches the jawbone become permanent. However, by attending cleanings and exams on a regular basis, you may be able to detect an infection when it is in its reversible initial stage. At each exam, we create a dental record that allows us to quickly identify when active threats appear. If we detect a gum infection, we can perform a periodontal maintenance session to get your infection under control. For patients with ongoing outbreaks, we can place you on a 3 to 4 times per year schedule to offer the cleanings you require. Because gum infections are the leading cause of tooth loss, taking care of this aspect of your health is key to preserving your smile.
At Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, we help patients protect their smiles after taking on a gum infection. By prioritizing your oral health, you can reduce the risk for developing gum disease and lessen its effects when it takes hold. When you attend routine checkups, we will clear bacterial deposits that contribute to disease.
If tooth loss strikes your smile, it can be rather upsetting. Not only are the esthetic effects obvious, but losing a tooth can destroy your bite’s function as well. Tasks you once took for granted become measurably more difficult. Certain foods you love must be avoided lest they harm your open gap. Because we rely on our teeth to help form words, our speech can begin to sound strange. As you move your jaw in awkward angles to work around the missing tooth, you can develop pain or strain in your joints. As remaining teeth take additional force from your bite, they can wear down at an accelerated rate. This can worsen your misalignment, increasing your risk for decay and infection. Fortunately, we could restore your smile with a prosthetic implant tooth.
At Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, we design and place replacement teeth to help our patients regain the function and beauty of a full grin. This requires measuring your oral structures and determining if your jawbone is healthy enough for a titanium implant post. By inserting this prosthetic directly into the bone, it fuses to secure your false tooth for a lifetime. Enjoy your restored smile once again!
Is your smile beginning to dull with stains or a yellowing appearance? If you would like to regain the bright, white appearance you enjoyed in the past, your dentist can help! Our cosmetic treatments address the nature of your discoloration to bring out your natural beauty. We can examine your teeth to determine if the staining lies within the enamel layer itself. If so, a powerful professional teeth whitening session can remove foreign contaminants using our custom bleaching gel. We offer in-office treatment that can bring out your white shade in under an hour. For patients who prefer a more gradual approach, we create take-home kits for you to apply at your speed. Smiles that suffer from the loss of white enamel may benefit from a custom set of porcelain veneers. When designing your new smile, we select the shade of your ceramics to match whatever color you would like.
At Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, we want to help you unlock the attractive smile you crave. You may be surprised at how quickly we can offer significant results that target the specific nature of your dental blemishes. (more…)
When you lose one of your teeth, speak with your dentist about prosthetic options for restoring your smile. By taking on tooth loss early, you can prevent many of the the consequences that can harm the function of your bite. Because we rely upon our teeth to help form speech, your voice may sound off without a dental aid. Left open, a gap can attract neighboring teeth that begin to drift. This harms the alignment of your bite, leading to an increased risk of tooth decay and gum disease. Because gum disease is the primary cause of tooth loss among adults today, failure to restore your smile can lead to additional tooth loss.
At Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, we encourage our patients who experience tooth loss to explore dental implants. This versatile smile aid can mimic the function of a tooth’s root, burrowing deep into your jaw to provide permanent stability. For individual teeth, we attach crowns above your gumline to recreate your smile. A dental implant can help treat more advanced forms of tooth loss by holding bridges or dentures as well. Each implant transfers the force of your bite, stimulating the jawbone underneath, and contributing to the maintenance of its density. This helps you avoid the loss of tissue that accompanies so many people dealing with tooth loss.
If you notice the shape of your gumline beginning to recede, it could be time to call the dentist. The movement of this tissue results from an infection that risks becoming permanent without timely treatment. Other common symptoms include chronic bad breath, bleeding when you floss or brush, and sore tissues. Do not wait until your next checkup, as gum disease that reaches the jawbone must be treated for life. We can perform a cleaning and examination to clear plaque and tartar and determine if you require additional periodontal therapy. A scaling and root planing procedure can lift the gumline to clean bacteria in pockets between the teeth. As your body heals, the tissues reattach to smooth tooth roots, allowing your symptoms to subside. Gum disease is the primary cause of missing teeth among adults today, so please take this condition seriously if it takes hold of your smile.
At Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, we teach our patients preventive strategies to fight gum disease and other oral threats. By perfecting your daily oral hygiene routine and attending regular checkups, you can minimize your chance of an infection. However, when gum disease takes hold, we help you manage the symptoms and enjoy a high-quality smile. (more…)
If you experience a toothache that lasts more than 24 hours, it is important to see a dentist as soon as possible. This condition cannot wait until your next scheduled checkup, as it is a common symptom of a dangerous infection. Without treatment, bacteria could break off a deposit in your tooth’s inner chamber and travel through the bloodstream. By scheduling an emergency appointment, we can examine your problem tooth to determine if you need a root canal. With local anesthetics, this procedure should be no more uncomfortable than placing a common dental filling. Because root canal treatment permanently alters the structure of your tooth, we complete the procedure by placing a crown to restore your tooth’s function and appearance.
At Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, we know that sudden emergencies can strike when you least expect them. That is why we offer appointments outside of normal business hours to offer your relief when you most need it. After getting your pain under control, we can review the conditions that led to your infection. We could schedule regular checkups and cleanings to improve your oral health and help prevent any future toothaches.
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“Good personal care and appropriate focus on your problem and available treatment. They have improved the music and TV news in the waiting area, and are very responsive at front desk. Excellent interaction with patients and family.”
-William G.
“Very professional and friendly office staff. They made my dad feel welcome the second we walked in to their office. My dad received an excellent service and they took care of his problem right away.”
-Betty C.
“Clean office and friendly staff. My procedure and costs were explained to me very thoroughly and all my questions were answered. Very happy to be a patient here!”
-Michelle S.
“The dentists are fantastic and the office staff are patient and kind. I am recommending everyone I know to go there.”
-Saroya P.
“I got a crown done and it was no problem. I was comfortable and felt no pain. He really took the time to check how comfortable I was. I am very happy with the result. Everyone there is professional and the girls are friendly. Definitely recommend.”
-Lauren G.
“Best dentist I had in 30 years. Dr K is concerned, compassionate and most all competent. Wish I'd found him long ago. Staff is wonderful as well. This is a team you will value.”
-Tom L.
“Fantastic front desk and beautiful ladies that always remind you of your appointment through text, email and a phone call. I had a hard time getting back to the dentist and the Drs made it pleasurable for me. Good people all around and a very clean office.”
-Matthew G.
