Archive for June, 2016

Learn what you should and shouldn’t do to support a successful implant procedure.

Are you considering dental implants to replace your missing teeth? This option is far superior to bridges or dentures. It truly is a lasting, lifetime solution that you will love. However, if you want to be sure you’re among the over 90 percent of patients who enjoy a successful dental implant procedure, you will want to read up on these do’s and don’ts related to getting dental implants.

Do Choose an Experienced Implant Dentist: The skill and experience of your implant dentist is of tantamount importance…

Learn why your teeth hurt and how your dentist can help.

Do you suffer from sensitive teeth? This can make simple pleasures like a tall glass of ice water, a mug of steaming tea, or even a breath of cold air into a painful experience.

What Makes Teeth Sensitive?

The root cause of tooth sensitivity of any kind is stimuli reaching the nerves inside your tooth. This occurs because the dentin—which should be covered by enamel above the gums and cementum below the gums—has somehow become exposed. Dentin is full of microscopic holes, which can allow stimuli such as heat, cold, or pressure…

Learn how your oral health and your emotional health affect one another.

As believers in holistic dentistry, we know that in order to provide the best possible care for your oral health, we need to consider your overall health as well. After all, the two are definitely related! In fact, even your emotional health and your oral health are related. Here’s how.

When You’re Stressed, Your Oral Health Suffers

You may already know that stress can have a negative impact on virtually every system in the body. Repeated or prolonged feelings of stress can actually cause inflammation and weaken your immune…

Learn why getting braces put on in summer can make for an easier adjustment to orthodontics

Does your teenager need braces? Sometimes, kids may feel so self-conscious about their misaligned teeth that they are actually eager to get braces. But many teens think their teeth are okay as they are and loathe the idea of calling attention to themselves with braces. Of course the fact of the matter is that orthodontic treatment is in your child’s best interests, no matter how they may feel about it. After all, crooked…

Helpful information to help you decide whether metal braces or Invisalign braces are right for you.

Are crooked, gapped, overlapping, or otherwise misaligned teeth detracting from your smile? You may already know you want to get orthodontic treatment, but have you decided whether to get Invisalign or traditional metal braces?

If your treatment will require rotating canines or premolars, moving teeth vertically, or correcting back tooth bite issues, the decision may be made for you—Invisalign is not suitable for these kinds of treatments. However, in most cases you can have your choice of whichever orthodontic treatment you feel is going to suit…

Learn when wisdom teeth extractions are recommended.

When they come in correctly, wisdom teeth or third molars can help you chew better. But when they come in incorrectly, you can end up with a lot of potential complications on your hands. For many years, dentists advised that just about every patient get their wisdom teeth pulled as a precaution against the risk of future complications.

However, these days, attitudes have changed, and the new wisdom is that wisdom teeth should only be extracted if they are causing or seem likely to cause a specific oral health problem. This is of course good news for…

Suit serves as reminder that the best way to whiten is in your dentist’s office.

Just how white should “whiter” teeth appear after using a teeth whitening treatment? This is the question being debated in a consumer fraud lawsuit recently filed against Colgate Palmolive, the maker of Colgate Optic White toothpaste.

Colgate claims their whitening toothpaste “goes beyond surface stain removal to deeply whiten teeth” and “deeply whitens more than three shades.” Yet toothpaste user Lori Canale says she hasn’t seen this promised whitening improvement, and now she’s suing.

Colgate is perhaps relying on the fact that the claim…

Get answers to some frequently asked questions about dental care for kids.

When Do Kids Need to Start Going to the Dentist?

According to the American Dental Association, kids should have their first dental visit by their first birthday. This first visit will be a simple wellness checkup, where the child gets a chance to start becoming comfortable in the environment of a dental office, and the dentists gets a chance to take a quick look at their teeth for any signs of tooth decay or other issues.

Are Cavities in Baby Teeth Really a Big Deal?

Yes! Although baby teeth will be lost eventually, it is very important to…

The typical side effects of dental implant surgery include pain, swelling, and bruising lasting about a week.

Are you considering getting dental implants to replace one or more of your missing teeth? You’re making a wise choice! Dental implants are the single most effective solution for missing teeth, because only dental implants replace the entire structure of the tooth, both above and below the gum line. This is important because without stimulation, the bone in the area of the missing tooth root will lose density. Titanium dental implants will bond with the bone to stop…

Dental experts warn “cake culture” is fueling an epidemic of tooth decay and obesity.

Does someone seem to bring cake, cookies, or donuts to your workplace just about every day? Do you find yourself sneaking more and more snacks because of it?

Your oral health—and your overall health—may be suffering as a result of this “cake culture” in the workplace, warn experts from the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the UK’s Royal College of Surgeons.

Here’s why cake culture is such a problem:

You eat more sugar that you really want: Most people find it hard…