If you have missing teeth or unwanted gaps in your mouth, whether because of aging or because you’ve been in an accident, rest assured that there are ways to bring your perfect smile back to life. Here’s how partial dentures can help do that!

Partial Dentures: What Are They?

Unlike full dentures, which are designed to replace an entire set of teeth – top, bottom or both, partial ones are designed to fill in gaps where just a tooth or two might be missing. Of course, everything mouth and situation is different, but you can either fix partial dentures permanently into your mouth by getting dental implants or receives removable ones by getting dental bridges. The former is anchored directly into your jaw while a mental frame in your teeth anchors the latter.

Partial Dentures: What Are the Benefits?

In addition to providing you with a complete smile, partial dentures:

• Improve your ability to chew food and speak fluidly
• Reduce the risk of dental diseases like periodontal disease
• Stop your existing teeth from shifting into the current gaps

Partial Dentures: What to Expect?

Upon walking into your local dentist office, you can expect a full examination to determine the health of your teeth and which gaps you’d like filled. The steps following your examination will be determined by whether you opt for permanent or removable dentures. Your dentist will help you every step of the way. For more information about partial dentures, contact our office. We’re happy to help you decide on which denture option is best for your set of teeth and smile.

Tooth whitening is a cosmetic dental procedure that helps remove stains and discoloration while lightening your teeth. To maximize the effect of this procedure, you’ll have repeat it from time to time to keep your teeth in sparkling white shape.

Why People Want to Whiten Their Teeth

The outer most layer on your teeth is known as the enamel. When light reflects off the enamel and combines with the dentin underneath it, it creates the natural color of your teeth. There are many things that affect how thick and smooth your enamel is, including genetics. The thinner the enamel, the more dentin shows through.  Although age naturally makes teeth less bright as the enamel thins and the dentin darkens, tobacco, coffee and poor dental hygiene all contribute to yellow teeth.

How Dentists Whiten Teeth

There are two types of tooth whitening procedures used in cosmetic dentistry. The first is called vital whitening and the second is called non-vital whitening. Dentists perform the former on teeth with live nerves and the latter on teeth without live nerves (or teeth that have had treatment for a root canal).

Tooth whitening usually takes about 30 to 90 minutes, and you’ll need one to three appointments to complete the treatment. Although you can buy tooth-whitening
products over the counter, they aren’t as strong as your dentist’s supply. 

Although you might experience sensitive teeth for some time, there aren’t any serious health risks associated with tooth whitening. If you feel like you could benefit from this cosmetic procedure, contact our office about turning your depressed frown upside down into a smile that lights up any room you walk into.

It’s a perfect day, and you are enjoying a delicious ice cream cone... And then right in the middle of taking your first bite your teeth feel like they are being squeezed and your gums go numb. Sensitive teeth can be common in some mouths, so when it comes to reducing any potential pain, take a peek at these simple suggestions.

Treating your teeth with a lot of care can be the first step to reducing tooth sensitivity. Brush you teeth gently with a soft-bristled toothbrush, making sure to be careful around the gum line so no gum tissue is damaged. As for toothpaste, opt for one designed to treat sensitive teeth. The utilization of fluoride can decrease sensitivity in teeth and can be found in all different sorts of products. Make sure to brush your teeth as well as floss on a regular basis; it is most common to brush and floss your teeth every morning and night.

It is also important to be aware of what you are putting in your mouth, not just how you are treating it. Foods and drinks that are highly acids can cause tooth enamel to wear away. Watching what foods you intake on a daily basis can insure that your teeth are exposed to more natural and less harmful foods. When eating, do not grind your teeth, as that can also cause increase tooth sensitivity and have physical consequences.

Visit your dentist on a regular 6-month basis, as they can help to treat and correct any problems with your teeth and ensure that you are keeping the beautiful, white smile that you deserve.

When patients visit a dental office and receive a visual exam of their teeth, they often think that’s the only thing needed to determine whether there are any outstanding issues inside their mouth. To provide the best dental care possible, though, dentists need dental x-rays to take a closer look at what’s happening.

With today’s technologies, dental x-rays help dentists accurately diagnose and treat an array of dental issues early before they become serious problems in the future. If
you leave the dentist’s office without cavities or other concerns, you can rest assured that your dentist has done a thorough examination, if he or she took x-rays.

Dental X-rays Are Necessary to Help Dentists See the Entire Picture

Also known as radiographs, x-rays allow a dentist to peak into the dark corners in the back of your mouth and the hard-to-reach spaces in between your teeth. More
importantly, he or she will be able to see the bone underneath your gums and the tips of your roots (both places aren’t normally visible to the naked human eye).  The
best way for a dentist to find a cavity, periodontal disease, cysts, tumors, cancer, and infections and abscesses is through the use of a dental x-ray.

Dental X-rays Are Necessary for Good Oral Health

Finding a minor oral health issue before it develops into a major one is critical to dental health. Considering that dentists diagnose about 30,000 Americans with oral
cancer – a highly preventable disease – each year, an x-ray is vital to early detection.

Contact your local dentist for an x-ray exam today to make sure your teeth are in good health. Doing so could prevent oral problems from arising in the future.

Everyone loves the occasional smile from strangers – unless that smile consists of cracked, discolored teeth. Because a smile can go a long way, dental crowns are one of the best ways to restore those pearly whites for a picture-perfect grin.

With situation and purpose in mind, a dental crown is placed overtop of a problematic tooth to become its new working surface; there are a few types of crowns that can work perfectly for each individual.

The most durable option is a metal crown. Silver or gold in color, these crowns are the strongest, but their obvious visibility can cause issues for some, thus they are more commonly found towards the back of one’s mouth.

Porcelain Fused to Metal crowns, or PFM crowns, sport a subtler look than that of the metal crowns. With durability still in mind, this type of crown has all the strength of metal, yet a porcelain upper surface acts to conceal most of the metal’s shiny finish.

For the most natural and realistic smile, all porcelain or all ceramic crowns are what you need. Though not as durable as a metal or PFM crown, these types of crowns give the appearance of a natural tooth. However, when using all porcelain or all ceramic material, one must consider its possible change of color when absorbing certain foods and drinks.

If price is an issue for you, then a resin crown is your best option. Though visually appealing, resin crowns are more likely to need a replacement sooner than most other crowns, as they are not as durable.

No matter what type your smile needs or desires, dental crowns can be just what you need to get your smile back into tip-top-toothy shape.