Schedule A Checkup For The Whole Family!

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The Whole Family El Paso TXAs we enter into October, it means that Halloween season is finally into full swing. Before your little ones start to become excited about the prospect of all that candy, take some time to bring the family into the dental office for cleanings and examinations. If the whole family could use an oral health refresh, this can be a great opportunity to find your way to a positive schedule of preventive care. Even with a dedication to your brushing and flossing, you need the help of a professional at least twice each year.

With our team of family and children’s dentistry experts at Sunny Smiles in El Paso, TX, you can take advantage of the Halloween season with a semiannual dental checkup. You know that the upcoming few months will be filled with temptations from sugary treats of all kinds, so help your little ones to understand the value of keeping up with their smile. A combined appointment for both you and your child can also help them to be brave, so show them how it’s done with a cleaning and examination for each member of your family! (more…)

filed under: Children's Dentistry

Do You Open-Mouth Breath?

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sunny smiles mouth breathing

Breathing is the most natural thing we do, so you may not pay much attention to HOW you breathe. While normal breathing occurs through the nose, some individuals habitually engage in open-mouth breathing. This refers to the act of consistently breathing through the mouth instead of the nose. At Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, we understand what open-mouth breathing could mean for the airway and its potential impact on dental health.

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filed under: Preventive Dentistry

Teeth Whitening In Under An Hour!

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El Paso, TX, Teeth Whitening

Have you been thinking about treatments to enhance your smile’s natural shade? If discoloration or blemishes are beginning to take hold of your once bright enamel, teeth whitening from your dentist can go far beyond the abilities of an over-the-counter solution. That is because we customize professional-grade dental bleach to bring out the specific shade you select. Using a powerful light, we can accelerate the lifting of stains and perform multiple rounds one after the other. This leads to immediate results that are apparent upon leaving our office. Before going forward with treatment, we will examine the nature of your discoloration to ensure that you are an appropriate candidate. If we find that damage to the enamel itself is the reason for the change in your smile’s appearance we may suggest another cosmetic procedure such as placing porcelain veneers. This can save disappointment from receiving the improper cosmetic approach.

At Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, we believe your smile plays a central role in your appearance. By being the center of attention whenever you speak, even minor imperfections in your smile can become highly noticeable. By addressing stains and yellowing teeth, you can regain confidence in your professional and personal life. For added convenience, we offer the same strength treatment in a take-home kit for personal use. If you prefer this option, you may apply touchups after your initial procedure.

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filed under: Cosmetic Dentistry

Expert Care For Your Tooth Infection

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El Paso, TX, Tooth Infection

What should you do if you wake up with a toothache that will not go away on its own? If it has been more than a day, call your dentist right away! A toothache is a common symptom of a severe infection that without treatment, could spread to other parts of your body. This is because bacterial deposits take hold in your tooth’s inner chamber. If material from your infection breaks off, it can enter the bloodstream and quickly travel. By scheduling an emergency dental visit, we can take X-rays of your problem tooth to determine if foreign material is present. If this is the case, we will suggest an immediate root canal to clear all bacteria and resolve your pain. Because this treatment permanently alters the structure of your tooth, we will design a custom dental crown that returns your tooth’s strength and appearance following your root canal.

At Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, we are standing by to help you treat any sudden emergencies. When you have a toothache, waiting for it to heal on its own can be a risky proposition. By heading to our office, we can inspect your tooth and provide expert guidance on relieving your pain. While you may be disappointed to hear you need a root canal, you should know that this treatment should be no more uncomfortable than a standard filling or dental crown. We apply local anesthetics that numb the affected area throughout the entire procedure.

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filed under: Emergency Dentistry

A Custom Guard Can Relieve TMD Symptoms

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El Paso, TX, TMJ Disorder

Over the years, protecting your smile can take additional effort due to certain conditions that can develop. By maintaining a healthy relationship with your dentist, you can often identify active threats and receive treatment before they get out of hand. While cleanings and exams help prevent cavities and gum disease from plaque and tartar deposits, sometimes more complex oral disorders can occur. A gum infection can destabilize teeth and lead to significant dental loss for example. But what can you do to identify conditions that take hold while you are asleep? If you wake in the morning with a consistent ache through your jaw, head, and shoulder muscles, you may suffer from a condition known as temporomandibular joint disorder or TMD. Without treatment, TMD can lead to difficulty properly articulating your jaw open and shut. This problem is associated with a bad bite, leading to accelerated wear and tear on your teeth’s surfaces and an increased risk for decay and infection. After helping get your TMD under control, we could help you explore functional and cosmetic treatments to restore your smile’s appearance.

At Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, we provide a nonsurgical treatment for TMD through the use of oral appliance therapy. By taking custom measurements of your teeth and surrounding oral structures, we create a mouthguard that fits neatly on each row of teeth. By wearing your guard before bed, you gently slide your jaw into a more comfortable position, relieving tension on the joints of your jaw. Because your teeth are covered, this treatment also stops any grinding damage associated with your disorder.

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filed under: TMJ Disorder

Restore Your Tooth With An Implant Prosthetic

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El Paso, TX, Dental Implant

Have you lost one of your teeth recently? If so, you know how sudden the change can affect your smile and bite. While the esthetic impact of tooth loss is apparent, you quickly learn how your smile’s function becomes compromised. Simple abilities like enjoying your favorite foods can become difficult as you avoid harming the sensitive open socket in your jaw. Because we rely on our teeth to form speech, the sound of your voice can alter strangely. Without a replacement, neighboring teeth begin to drift out of position, increasing problems with dental misalignment. This can increase your risk for decay and infection as certain teeth wear away from disproportionate bite force. Fortunately, we can restore your smile with the aid of a dental implant prosthetic.

At Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, we offer restorative treatments to repair smiles after tooth loss. When designing a custom prosthetic, we take careful measurements of your oral structures to ensure a comfortable fit that complements the natural members of your smile. This means selecting the shape and color of your replacement tooth to look at home in your bite. By returning stimulation to your jawbone under the socket, a dental implant can help maintain the shape of your face.

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filed under: Dental Implants

Removing Discoloration From Your Smile

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El Paso, TX, Cosmetic Dentist

Is your smile the same bright white shade it appeared in years past? If discoloration or stains are beginning to build on the surface of your teeth, cosmetic dentistry could provide options for returning the color you desire. By scheduling a consult with your dentist, we can evaluate your teeth to determine the nature of your imperfections. If we find that stains live within the enamel itself, we can offer a professional whitening treatment that lifts foreign material with the aid of a bleaching agent and powerful light. While over-the-counter solutions may seem convenient, professional whitening has the strength necessary to perform this service in under an hour. If we see that your discoloration is due to damage to the enamel itself, you may respond better to the placement of porcelain veneers. These cosmetic restorations simply sit in front of your natural teeth to provide a look you design with us. Whichever treatment best suits your situation, we will help you tackle your dental stains!

At Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, we are happy to serve El Paso residents who have concerns with their smile’s appearance. In addition to our preventive and restorative treatments, cosmetic dentistry allows you to realize a smile that matches how you feel about yourself. When you are proud of your smile’s look, you can regain the confidence that can be lacking when imperfections build on the surface of your teeth.

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filed under: Cosmetic Dentistry

Wearing A Mouthguard To Treat TMJ Disorder

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El Paso, TX, TMJ Disorder

As we age, protecting our smile from wear and tear becomes more and more important. What steps can you take to preserve as much healthy material as possible? By brushing and flossing your teeth each day, you prevent the accumulation of harmful dental plaque that occurs from the combination of oral bacteria and food debris. When you attend regular checkups and exams, we help remove deposits you cannot remove on your own. This also helps protect your smile from the ravaging effects of gum disease, the number one cause of tooth loss among adults. But what if a certain threat strikes while you are sleeping? If you wake each morning with pain in muscles near your jaw, you may have a condition known as TMD or temporomandibular joint disorder. With no treatment, TMD makes opening and closing your jaw rather difficult. You may experience excruciating pain as well. Because TMD is associated with bruxism, or constant grinding of the teeth, treating your condition can help preserve your smile. Fortunately, we can provide a non-surgical intervention with the creation of a custom oral mouthguard.

At Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, we know that successful treatment for TMJ disorder can greatly improve your quality of life. When are more fully able to articulate your jaw’s range of motion, you wake feeling more refreshed. Wearing a custom mouthguard at night can free you up to more easily enjoy meals and speak as well.

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filed under: TMJ Disorder

Dental Implants Restore Your Smile Permanently

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El Paso, TX, Dental Implants

If you have recently lost one of your teeth, you understand how disruptive it can become immediately. While the esthetic effect of tooth loss is apparent, the loss of function your bite experiences may be even worse. This is because your smile relies on every single tooth to operate fully. When a single tooth is missing, the neighboring teeth can begin to drift out of position and toward the open gap. This increases your level of bite misalignment, increasing the likelihood of tooth decay, gum disease, and other oral threats. When certain teeth take a disproportionate amount of force from your bite, they wear down the enamel, exposing sensitive inner material to bacteria that live in your mouth. By damaging other teeth, you become at risk of losing additional teeth. Fortunately, a dental implant could provide a permanent replacement tooth with the aid of a post inserted directly into your jawbone.

At Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry, we offer restorative treatments to combat dental loss with prosthodontics that return form and function. This means designing an implant that replicates your natural tooth’s appearance while restoring the strength of its bite. To determine if you are healthy enough for this procedure, we will take X-ray scans of the jawbone to evaluate its density. If you qualify, we can schedule an implant procedure shortly.

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filed under: Dental Implants