Dental Info

When a dentist is truly"in the groove",  he or she performs their procedures without thought about the degree of difficulty involved or the time a particular procedure is taking to complete. The only thing on their mind should be the proper performance of their work.  Thought  given to non essential matters can be counter productive. Most dentistry performed with a dentist's drill involves creating "micro sculptures" and as such is a a creative process, often accomplished by performing a series of small cuts into the tooth. Some are "milling motions" and other times the drill is used like a paint brush, refining the preparation, until it takes exactly the desired shape.  Because of the inherent artistic component, thinking about the time involved or the difficulty  can get in the way because it interferes with a dentist giving their full attention to the task at hand. The challenge should be fully embraced! The best analogy I can think of, is dri...

So, you’re missing a tooth—or a few! An apple a day will not take care of this one, unfortunately. It’s time to consider dentures or dental implants. A variety of personal and practical factors will determine which solution is best for your new smile. Don’t feel lost among all the pros and cons of choosing a tooth-replacement plan. Seattle dentist AJ Gollofon DDS is an experienced practice you can trust to help guide you on your journey from missing teeth toward a complete, natural, and healthy smile. Not your grandma’s dentures Thankfully, time and technology have greatly improved the denture experience for our patients. Today, dentures look and feel more natural than ever before. Dentures are a whole set of false teeth held into your gums with secure bonding glue. This can be an affordable option if you need to replace multiple teeth. For added stability, functionality, and peace of mind, dentures can also be secured with dental implants. Added security with dental implants ...

At Wagner Dental, we understand that dental insurance can be a tricky thing to navigate. Evaluating dental plans and considering deductibles, benefits, which treatments are covered, and the mountain of other information insurance companies provide can be a headache in and of itself. Drs. Wagner, Cannon, Lawler, and Nelson want every Las Vegas resident to have the power to control their own health, so here’s a simplified guide to the basics of dental health insurance. As always, if you have a question, don’t be afraid to contact us! Dental Insurance Dental insurance is an excellent investment that helps Las Vegas residents ensure a lifetime of healthy smiles. However, in order to get the best value from your dental insurance, there are a few things you need to know. Here are the answers to the most common questions we hear at Wagner Dental. What is Dental Insurance? Having dental insurance means that an insurance provider will pay for a percentage of the dental care that you need e...

In today’s calorie-obsessed culture, it can be hard to hear the truth among all the other health-conscious noise. Dubuque residents are frequently misinformed and misled about the health benefits of trends such as cleanses, sugar alternatives, diets, organic vs. nonorganic, and a myriad of other common topics. Today, Dr. Fili would like to clear up any misconceptions about dental health and diet soda. If you have any questions please contact us at Dubuque Periodontics. Are Diet Sodas Healthy? The short answer: no. Originally conceived as low-calorie alternatives to one of America’s first commercial legacies, diet sodas have become extremely popular amidst our country’s never-ending battle to lose weight. There’s only one small problem – diet sodas are only marginally better than regular soda. Compared to water, diet soda has zero nutritional value and contains many ingredients that are harmful outside of moderation. Diet Soda & Dental Health Diet soft drinks are not good for y...

In a great tale of opposites, lemon juice can be both acidic and basic, or alkaline. Read on to find out why people are talking about this, and what it means for your oral and overall health. What Is pH & Why Does It Matter? Drinking lemon juice (usually diluted in a glass of water or added to a cup of tea) is a beloved health tonic among fans of natural medicine. Potential benefits include lower cholesterol, lower inflammation in the body, and increased metabolism and energy. Lemon also contains high levels of antioxidants and vitamin C that boost your immune system. On a scale from 0-14, a pH of 7 is neutral (pure water) while numbers below 7 are acidic (unhealthy), while numbers above 7 are basic or alkaline (healthy). Believers in holistic health blame many ailments on the body’s pH being too low or too acidic. Increasing your body’s pH is called “alkalizing.” Lemon juice in its natural state is acidic with a pH of about 2, but once metabolized it actually becomes alkaline ...

There is a good chance you have heard Dr. Buck or someone else at Northern Trails Dental Care mention the term ‘bruxism’ and discuss the problems it can cause for your oral health. At the office, we talk about a lot of technical dental stuff that doesn’t necessarily concern our Gwinn patients, but bruxism is something we definitely want you to know about. Stress and bruxism go hand in hand, and we are going to tell you exactly what that means and how it affects your health. Alright, we know you are on the edge of your seat! What is bruxism and why does it concern you? Well, how often do you find yourself clenching your jaw or notice others doing just that? Bruxism is a common condition characterized by jaw clenching and the grinding of teeth. It is perfectly normal to clench your jaw and grind your teeth from time to time, but it can be very damaging if it gets to be a regular habit. The biggest issue with bruxism is that people are rarely aware that they suffer from this condition,...

You’ve been hearing it for years – “make sure to visitDr. Case twice a year for your regular cleanings.” Just in case you’ve ever wondered why regular dental cleanings  are so important, we at Family Dental Health would like to take this opportunity to let Portland residents in on some information you don’t often hear. Let this article serve as your personal guide to the benefits of getting your teeth cleaned. Why You Should Get Your Teeth Professionally Cleaned Unfortunately, some folks in Portland believe that visiting the dentist is unnecessary as long as you brush and floss regularly. That just isn’t the case. In addition to keeping your teeth clean and healthy, regular visits to our expert hygienists  at Family Dental Health ensure that we can have a good look at your pearly whites and make sure nothing is wrong. If you don’t come in for cleanings, you’ll only need more expensive work later in life. Here are a few reasons get your teeth cleaned: Tartar We’ve all h...

We all remember losing our teeth as children and being delighted to find money from the tooth fairy under our pillow, but it’s just not as much fun losing teeth as an adult. According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research , adults between the ages of 20 and 64 have an average of 25 permanent teeth remaining, which is three shy of a full set (not counting wisdom teeth). Dr. Colleran wants everyone in San Luis Obispo to know that replacing a missing tooth is important to your dental health. Read on for more information and please contact Michael Colleran, DDS with any questions or concerns. Missing Teeth & Dental Health When people lose teeth in the movies, it’s usually from something high-impact and exciting, like getting kicked in the face. However, the leading cause of tooth loss is gum disease . If you are a San Luis Obispo adult who has lost a tooth in the back of your mouth, you might be inclined to ignore it if it doesn’t affect your smile. Unfortu...

Don’t be Afraid of the Dentist! Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry knows that some folks avoid the dentist’s chair like the plague. According to studies at the Dental Fears Research Clinic at the University of Washington, as many as 8% of Americans are too afraid to go to dentists and 20% are too anxious to visit a dentist for anything other than an emergency. Denver dentist Dr. William Paini understands that dental anxiety prevents a lot of people from getting the care they need, so we’ve designed our entire practice around your comfort. Read on to find out about how we can help! Overcome Your Fear of the Dentist First of all, don’t feel bad if you fear the dentist. It’s very common and understandable. Your mouth is sensitive and private, and having someone else poke around in there can be traumatic. However, there are a ton of things we do at Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry to make sure every patient feels safe and comfortable. That means that from the waiting room to Dr. Paini’s chair...

When it comes to your oral health, we hope you never have any pains or problems. Good preventive care will help you always feel your best! But even with the best habits, dental problems do happen. In that case, oral pathology is the science and medicine that helps diagnose and treat whatever is making you ache. If you think you have an oral disease, don’t be embarrassed, but get help as soon as possible. What is Oral Pathology? Sometimes things go wrong, even in the healthiest people. If you have pain, bleeding, or unusual symptoms in your mouth, oral pathology helps us find the answers you need. According to the American Dental Association : “Oral pathology is the specialty of dentistry and discipline of pathology that deals with the nature, identification, and management of diseases affecting the oral and maxillofacial regions.” In other words, oral pathology is the science that understands the causes and effects of these diseases. Common practices include clinical examinations,...

You did it! You got the consultation, booked the appointment, and you actually showed up on the big day. You saw the dentist and now all that has left you hungry! The question is: what can you eat after having dental work done? You need some soft food recipes! For some of us, it’s nostalgic to remember having a frozen treat after the dentist when we were kids. Depending on how extensive your dental work is—you will need to be cautious of what you consume in the days following major dental work -and milkshakes will only get you so far. Many foods can be troublesome after dental surgery or extensive dental work. Ask Dr. Kevin Brewer for their recommendation about specific foods and for how long you should avoid them. Brewer Family Dental in Lexington can be an especially helpful resource for patients navigating what to eat after dental restoration services. Here are some soft food recipes that will treat your mouth and your body well. Breakfast For a warm breakfast, oatmeal topped w...

Since you’re reading this article right now, you must be curious about sleep studies. You may have decided you need to undergo a sleep study because your partner complains about your snoring. Maybe you read my book and realized you have some of the signs of interrupted sleep that show up in the mouth . Or maybe you suspect that you’re not getting the best sleep, and your suboptimal sleep is causing another issue, like GERD, headaches, low energy, brain fog, depression, or even teeth grinding. No matter how you got here—congrats! This is an important first step in gathering the information you need to improve your overall health. I screen all of my patients for sleep disordered breathing, as sleep apnea and other sleep issues are a key contributor to conditions including cavities, teeth grinding, gum recession, and periodontal disease. And I’m not the only dentist who understands the link between sleep and oral and dental health. In fact, the field of dental sleep medicine is rapidly...

This question has no simple, cookie cutter answer. Careful consideration of a particular patient's over all health, their ability to sit through treatment, and their finances are necessary. I try to avoid complicated restorative treatments for senior, but that approach is not always what they really want.In our new age people are living longer. Due to advances in medicine,  for most seniors their seventies are the new sixties and this should be kept in mind when treatment planning. Five years ago an 87 year old family friend came to me for treatment. She had recently moved to NYC and needed a new dentist. She is delightful and is a good conversational list but has an impaired short term memory. She often doesn't remember conversations we had five minutes before and often asks me the same questions. It's a little like having multiple "ground hog's day" conversations with her. I try to mix it up by changing my answers to her same questions. She is a good pat...

 initial x-ray showing extensive caries Restoring a missing lower central incisor can be extremely challenging for a dentist. Most implant designs are wider than this tooth and the resulting implant restorations can be too wide at their emergence profile ( the width at the gingival portion of the implant crown). radiographic image of another patient's single tooth implant Note that diameter of the neck is slightly wider than the adjacent tooth.   Prepping the remaining  lower anterior teeth can present an additional challenge, since lower anterior teeth can sometime be too small in diameter to prepare properly for ceramometal crowns or bridges without weakening the remaining tooth structure or necessitating the need for multiple root canals and post and cores. When confronted with a patient with a missing lower anterior tooth and an adjacent teeth with extensive decay, most of my collogues at our Study club would seriously consider extraction o...

A great number of patients participate in their dentist's recall program. Most dentists establish a regular schedule of recommended cleaning and examination for their patients and clearly it's best if these are adhered to. That being said, less than half of active patients adhere to their planned hygiene schedule. Why is that? Well, what I have observed is that most "new patients" initially stick with the program for a period of time (one to two years). During this time their mouth has been restored to health, their defective fillings and cavities repaired and their mouth is in a "happy" state. Some of our patients continue to keep their recare appointments as scheduled and their mouth for the most part continue in health. Occasionally a tooth or two may need maintenance but in general most who "are with the program do very well overtime. Of course not all my patients stay on course and somewhere down the road, things happen and they can become to...

Ribbond splint on typodont from the Ribbond site As a general dentistry a dentist has to be a jack of all trades and the "Buck stops here" is sometimes true. We are called on to perform some procedures infrequently. While I can perform Crown preparations and fillings almost on automatic pilot, but not so much for procedures I called on for once every two or three years. Several years ago a patient came to my office with extremely loose lower anterior teeth. Her radiographs showed that her lower front teeth had experienced over 50 percent bone loss and taking some of them out and having implants placed was her best option. As it happened, she was referred to me by my periodontist and the orthodontist who practiced with him to do something else. She explained that they felt that maybe I could do some ribbond splinting so she could retain her teeth. I took a study impression and did some online research on the best technique for ribbond splinting. I had done some ...

One of the most common and destructive myths about dental hygiene is that it’s normal for gums to bleed. Salt Lake City dentists Dr. Thomas Brickey and Dr. Laura Provine would like you to know that this is not the case! Imagine if we weren’t talking about gums-should any part of your body start to bleed whenever you touch it? The truth about bleeding gums is they are a sign of infection and/or irritation and can lead to serious problems that go way beyond your mouth if left untreated. Please read this article and educate yourself on how to keep your family’s teeth and gums safe. Gums Are Not Supposed to Bleed No matter what you may have heard, gums are never supposed to bleed. If your gums are bleeding during brushing or flossing, it is likely because you have a mild form of gum disease, known as gingivitis. It may also be because you are brushing too hard or flossing too deep into the gum tissue. Whatever the reason, bleeding gums is a sign that something isn’t quite right with ...

Have you been meaning to try oil pulling, but it just seems too messy? Whether you already enjoy oil pulling or would like to start, I’ve created a recipe that is a must try! These oil pulling chews make it easy to get the full benefits of oil pulling ; I carefully selected each of these ingredients to nourish the oral microbiome, help promote remineralization of the teeth and to enhance the biofilm of the tooth; resulting in fewer cavities, better breath, and better gut health. Arginine: Also known as l-arginine, this amino acid supplement is the real star of the recipe.   Recent research has revealed arginine’s role in preventing tooth decay while preserving the health of the oral microbial flora. Coconut oil: Coconut oil contains lauric acid, a selective oral antimicrobial. It has been shown to inhibit the growth of Streptococcus mutans in vitro, a bacteria found to be a significant contributor to gum disease and tooth decay. Avocado oil: Like olive oil, avocado oi...