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Whether you’re in the process of getting dental implants or just exploring them as a treatment possibility, it is helpful to know some of the terms that we use when discussing implants. We want you to be an informed participant in your dental care. Knowing what these words mean can help you feel comfortable and confident during every phase of treatment.
People tend to use dental implant as an umbrella term that includes the implant, crown, and abutment (see definition below). In fact, dental implant only refers to the part that is implanted into the bone of your jaw. The implant is designed to be an artificial tooth root, holding the artificial tooth itself securely in place while you bite, chew, talk, sneeze, and laugh!
This is the piece of hardware that connects a dental implant that’s anchored in your jawbone beneath your gums to the replacement tooth (i.e. crown). Abutments can be metal or zirconia (a white ceramic). Some dental implants include the abutment and are all one piece.
The crown is the part that actually looks like a tooth. Just like a standard crown that covers a broken tooth, an implant crown is made of specialized tooth-colored porcelain or porcelain fused to metal. This is the only part of the tooth replacement that will be visible. The crown is attached to the abutment either using a screw or a permanent dental cement.
This long and strange word is actually what makes dental implants possible. In the 1950s, scientists discovered that bone can grow and fuse with titanium, unlike other metals that the body sometimes rejects. This process of metal and bone fusing together is called osseointegration (“osseous” comes from Latin and means “having to do with bone”). Dental implants have spiral threading along the shaft and resemble screws. This threading creates a texture that bone can bond to securely.
As you may know, your teeth are as unique to you as your fingerprints. So as you can imagine, no two dental implant treatment plans are the same. There is a lot more technology and vocabulary involved than what we described above. If you hear or see something you don’t understand, please ask us about it! We want you to feel comfortable and informed.
If circumstances have left you without your teeth at a relatively young age, it can be easy to feel like you’re the only one. As a result, many patients think there is a stigma against younger people getting restorative dentistry. They think only seniors have dental implants and dentures. Not true!As dental professionals, we don’t want anyone to miss out on a functional and beautiful smile, so we want to guide you past you preconceived notions about restorative dentistry.
Young people can lose their teeth for many reasons. While bad habits like smoking and poor nutrition and dental hygiene during childhood are common reasons, other reasons include accidents, genetic conditions, drug use, and side affects of eating disorders.
Many patients avoid getting help because they are ashamed of their dental condition. Whatever caused you to lose your teeth, hiding your smile from the world and always worrying what people will think is no way to live your life!
No matter what your dental history, never be afraid to ask your dentist about the restorative and reconstructive solutions that may be available to you. Most dentists became dentists in order to help people, not judge them. Give us a chance to bring you all that our training and the latest dental technology has to offer.
There are many people as young as their twenties or thirties who have bridges, partial dentures, complete dentures or implants. These patients have put aside what’s happened in the past and embraced what modern dentistry can do for them today to give them healthier, more beautiful smiles.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the longer you put off dental restoration, the more damage there might be to repair, even if all your troublesome teeth have already been removed. When you lose teeth you also lose bone in your jaw, leading to a sunken or compressed looking facial structure that can make you look much older. This bone loss continues throughout your life unless we do something about it. Traditional dentures can restore the shape of your face, while implant supported dentures & individual dental implants can also help stop bone loss.
If tooth loss is keeping you from experiencing life the way you want to, please talk to the dentist about restoring your smile. We want to show you what’s possible!
Ideally, if you have a toothache, you’d be sitting in our dental chair right away. But the reality is that toothaches don’t always strike at a convenient time, and you will need some relief before you can get into our practice. Here a few remedies that may help with discomfort in the meantime.
Rinsing your mouth with a mixture of salt water can temporarily reduce pain for some kinds of toothache. This remedy works best when the toothache is the result of swelling or inflammation because the salt works to reduce inflammation by causing the tissues to constrict. Stir 2-3 teaspoons (4-5 mL) of salt into a glass of water. Rinse by swishing in your mouth, then spit out without swallowing. Repeat as often as necessary.
A cold compress can relieve a toothache by reducing swelling. The cold can also cause numbness, offering temporary relief. We suggest taking an ice pack (or even a bag of frozen vegetables in a pinch) and holding it against your cheek or jaw where the discomfort is worst. Place a paper towel or washcloth between the cold pack and your face to keep from irritating your skin.
Clove oil can be dabbed on the affected area for temporary pain relief. Clove oil contains a chemical called eugenol which is a natural topical anesthetic. You can buy clove oil at most drugstores or pharmacies. To apply, take a cotton swab or cotton ball, dip it in clove oil, and gently dab it onto the location of the toothache. Not everyone likes the taste or smell, but this home toothache remedy does work.
All of these remedies only address the symptoms of your toothache, not the cause, which could be a cracked tooth, a cavity, or an infection. If you have a toothache, please contact us immediately! The sooner we see you the sooner you’ll have relief.
Of course, the best toothache remedy is to never have one in the first place. That’s why it is so important for you to keep up with your regular dental visits at our office. At your cleaning and exam visits we can spot potential problems long before they become a toothache and fix them before they cause you trouble. For sudden emergencies, such as cracking a tooth on a rogue popcorn kernel, we’re here to relieve your discomfort and get your smile back to normal.
Having braces is a big step toward having a beautiful, functional and healthy smile for the rest of your life. In order to make sure you get the best possible result from your braces treatment, you’ll need to be especially dedicated to your oral hygiene routine. Braces create a lot of new places for food and bacteria to hide and potentially cause problems like decay and bad breath. Here are a few tips to keep your smile fresh and healthy when you have braces!
Contrary to what some people believe, brushing your teeth doesn’t change very much when you have braces. However, it is extra important to be thorough. If you don’t brush your teeth properly when you have braces, you can end up with stains on your teeth around the brackets, which will leave behind a bracket-shaped mark on your teeth after the brackets are removed at the end of your treatment. You should brush after every meal, being sure the bristles get under the arch wire and reach the sides of the brackets. You may have to try out some new angles with your toothbrush to order to get at all the surfaces of your teeth and brackets.
Also contrary to rumors we’ve heard, you can absolutely use an electric toothbrush such as a Sonicare or Oral-B when you have braces.
Flossing is a little trickier with braces, but still absolutely necessary. To floss effectively, you will need to thread the floss under the arch wire as you clean each pair of teeth. This makes flossing with braces a little more time consuming, but it will get faster as you get the hang of it. There are also tools called floss threaders that can help make this process easier. You can find them at drugstores and supermarkets, or order them online.
There are a few other specialized tools that can help you maintain your oral hygiene when you have braces.
Inderdental brushes are thin cone-shaped brushes that sort of resemble a tiny pipe cleaner. You can use these to get to tricky spaces between teeth or along the sides of brackets.
Many patients also find a Waterpik as a helpful addition to flossing. A Waterpik is a small tool that shoots a thin jet of water to gently clean between teeth and other hard-to-reach areas.
And don’t forget to visit us regularly for your teeth cleaning appointments during your braces treatment. There’s nothing as smooth and fresh as a professionally cleaned smile!
TMJ pain is more than a pain in the neck, it can be a pain in the neck, head and face! If you already know what TMJ stands for, chances are you’re among the unlucky folks who have had a problem with this powerful and finicky part of your craniofacial system. TMJ stands for temporomandibular joint, and it’s the powerful joint that controls the opening and closing of your mouth by moving your lower jaw (i.e. mandible).
People with TMJ problems often experience headaches, oral and facial pain, or even neck pain. Many of these symptoms can be identified and treated by a dentist.
Think back to your last dental checkup and you may remember the hygienist or dentist asking you if you ever experience pain or clicking when you open your mouth up wide. They may have also asked you to clench your teeth and then pressed on the sides of your jaw and asked if it was tender. This is how a dental professional checks for TMJ symptoms.
Because TMJ is often linked to teeth grinding and clenching, another way a the dentist or hygienist can check for TMJ symptoms is by looking at your teeth. The TMJ is a very powerful joint, and teeth that are frequently clenched together under these extreme forces start to show distinct signs of wear. The dentist will check for this wear during your routine cleanings and exams. If they see significant signs of a problem they may ask you more questions to see if you may be having TMJ issues. A common treatment for clenching or grinding is a mouthguard (sometimes called a nightguard if you wear it when you sleep). This can protect your teeth from wear and can also help absorb the forces exerted on your jaw, which can reduce or eliminate related headaches or facial pain.
Sometimes TMJ problems can be caused by an uneven bite instead of teeth clenching, though one tends to lead to the other. Particularly if you have jaw pain focused on one side, this may be a sign that you’re biting down more on one side of your mouth and your TMJ is overcompensating. Dentists can help analyze your bite and determine if this may be contributing to your problems.
If any of these symptoms sound familiar to you, discuss them with us and we can take a look to see how we may be able to identify and relieve your TMJ symptoms.
Most of us associate wisdom teeth with adolescence because that’s when they first show up. Wisdom teeth are an extra set of molars that come in between ages 17 and 25. The best thing to do is to have them removed when they first show up, but many people put this off and still have their wisdom teeth as older adults. Here’s what you should know if you’re an adult and still have your wisdom teeth.
Usually any problems with your wisdom teeth are detected by examining them on an x-ray when you’re still a teenager and before they become symptomatic. However, wisdom tooth pain and problems can show up out of nowhere when you’re older if you’ve put off removal.
Wisdom teeth that are partially erupted (have only come through the gums part of the way) can create a pocket between tooth and gum where bacteria can grow. This can cause infections and cysts that can keep getting worse and even spread throughout your body.
Impacted wisdom teeth are teeth that haven’t erupted at all. They are still trapped beneath the gum or bone. Impacted wisdom teeth can put pressure on neighboring molars and cause discomfort.
If you start having symptoms that may be caused by your wisdom teeth, it’s important to tell the dentist right away so we can examine you and discuss a treatment plan of your wisdom teeth need to be extracted.
Some people’s wisdom teeth don’t cause any problems for years. While this sounds like a good thing, it means that when and if the teeth do start having problems (such as mentioned above), the teeth have had more time to grow roots. These deeper roots run close to certain nerves, which can be damaged during wisdom tooth removal, potentially causing permanent numbness. Deeper tooth roots may also mean a longer recovery time. Typical recovery time is about 3 days in younger people, but may be longer with older wisdom teeth.
If you have any concerns about your wisdom teeth or have felt changes in your mouth that may be related, please talk to us sooner rather than later.
You can have a great dental hygiene routine and never miss a dental checkup and still be putting your teeth at risk for wear. Worn teeth are weaker and less able to resist the problems that cause toothaches and other kinds of urgent dental visits. Here are a few ways you can keep your teeth strong in addition to brushing, flossing and visiting us regularly!
This may sound like the kind of advice that we would give to a child, but it applies to patients of all ages! If the backs of your pens and pencils are dappled with bite marks and your fingernails are ragged stubs, it’s time to make a change. While plastic, wood or fingernails may not feel hard enough to damage teeth, chewing on these materials a lot can wear down your tooth enamel and lead to toothaches. Chewing on ice is also a big no-no. Some people say the act of chewing helps them think. If that’s the case, we suggest opting for a sugar-free gum instead.
Bruxism is a fancy dentist’s word for grinding or clenching your teeth. Many people clench or grind their teeth and don’t even know it, especially those who grind at night while they’re asleep. Considering the average human can exert about 160 pounds of force when they bite down, it’s easy to see how subjecting your teeth to this kind of relentless pressure can cause problems. Bruxism can cause toothaches, but also less obvious symptoms such as tooth sensitivity and worn tooth enamel, which makes your teeth more vulnerable to tooth decay, cracks, and chips. The dentist can check for signs of bruxism by examining your teeth and the muscles of your jaw. If you’ve been diagnosed with bruxism and have a nightguard, please wear it and prevent future problems!
Acid is a major enemy if you want strong teeth: it can eat through your teeth’s strong enamel, exposing the softer insides of your teeth and creating bigger cavities for bacteria to hide and grow in. If you’re continually bathing your teeth in acid because of what you eat and drink you may be setting yourself up for cavities and toothaches. Most people know that citrus fruits like lemons and oranges (and their juices) are highly acidic, but there are some other, sneakier foods that are also highly acidic, such as wine, soda (especially diet), pickles, cranberries and tomatoes. If you’re prone to decay, tooth sensitivity, or we’ve told you that you have weak enamel, we suggest minimizing these foods or brushing well after eating them.
Having gaps in your smile can affect your bite, your speech and your appearance. If you are missing teeth, both dental bridges and partial dentures are common options for replacing teeth. Which one is best for you depends on your oral health and your lifestyle. The dentist is best qualified to help you make this decision, but here are the basics of bridges and partial dentures as a primer.
Dental bridges are artificial teeth which are permanently attached in your mouth. We call this kind of restoration a bridge because it bridges the gap between your existing teeth. They are most often secured by being bonded or cemented to neighboring teeth. A typical bridge consists of an artificial tooth flanked by two crowns, which fit over prepared neighboring teeth. If there are no stable neighboring teeth or multiple teeth are missing, bridges are sometimes attached to dental implants. Bridges are made from gold, metal alloys, or porcelain. Which material is used depends on your preference and the dentist’s recommendation. Just to make things confusing, bridges are sometimes called “fixed partial dentures”.
Unlike bridges, partial dentures are a removable option for replacing teeth. Just like a denture that replaces an entire arch of teeth, a partial denture is removed to be cleaned and while sleeping. Another difference is that partial dentures usually include both artificial gums made from pink acrylic into which false teeth are mounted. Bridges are just the teeth. A partial denture is attached in your mouth using clasps or precision attachments that clip on to your natural teeth.
If you have several teeth in a row that are missing, the dentist is more likely to recommend a partial denture. However, if only one or two are missing, a bridge may be more appropriate. Another big factor is the dentist’s predictions about your dental health in the future. If there is a chance that you may lose more teeth, it makes less sense to attach a restoration to existing teeth. In this case, the dentist may opt for the partial denture.
While these are the basics you need to know, there are more detailed factors regarding your oral health that we may need to consider when replacing missing teeth. Any treatment we recommend will be customized to your situation and we gladly answer any questions you may have about the details of our dental bridge or partial denture treatments.
Caring for your dentures is very different from caring for your natural teeth. It’s important to know what not to do so your dentures stay looking good and serving you well. The most affordable dentures are dentures that are well cared for!
Dropping your dentures is a surprisingly easy (and common) way to damage them. When you’re handling your dentures for cleaning, try thinking of them like a delicate china teacup. We suggest standing over a water-filled sink or lining your countertop with a hand towel. That way, if you do get butterfingers, there will be cushion for your dentures when they fall.
Your dentures are made out of softer stuff than teeth (a.k.a. the hardest substance in the human body), so the products intended for teeth are too harsh for dentures. Toothpaste contains abrasives that can create micro-scratches in dentures where bacteria can hide and grow. Instead, you can use a dental cleanser or even a mild dish soap to clean your dentures.
You should also avoid hard-bristled toothbrushes (which should be banished from the Earth as far as we’re concerned). Only use a soft-bristle brush to clean your dentures, ideally a denture brush made for that purpose, but in a pinch you can use any soft-bristle or “baby” toothbrush.
Sleeping in your dentures is not recommended because it doesn’t give your gums a chance to rest. You should remove and clean your dentures before bed. Be sure to place them in a denture soaking solution or water. Dentures that dry out can crack or warp, so be sure they’re always moist. You should never put your dentures in hot water because this can cause them to warp.
Even if you have a full set of dentures, you still have to care for the rest of your mouth. Be sure to brush your gums, tongue and palate (roof of your mouth) with a soft bristle brush to remove any debris or bacteria. This will freshen breath and stimulate circulation. If you have partial dentures, remove them before brushing your natural teeth with fluoride toothpaste, paying special attention to where any metal clasps attach to your teeth.
If your dentures don’t feel like they fit right and are creating significant discomfort, don’t just ignore it or stop wearing them. Even though they’re custom-made, new dentures often require a few adjustments to get the fit just right. Going back to the dentist one or twice is normal. Your dentures will also need adjustments over the years as your mouth gets used to them and as you age. Be sure to let the dentist know at your regular checkup whether there have been any changes in how your dentures fit or feel. The dentist may re-adjust, re-line, or re-make them, depending on your situation.
We think everyone should feel comfortable in their own skin—and smile! That being said, in the age of selfies and social media, we get lots of questions about cosmetic dentistry. There’s one “Hollywood” white smile treatment that seems to breed a lot of curiosity: porcelain veneers. Here are a few basic pointers to help determine whether veneers are right for you.
When it comes to transforming your smile, there are a number of options that range in cost, permanence and complexity. Porcelain veneers fall somewhere between professional teeth whitening and dental implants. Veneers cost more than whitening, but can also solve problems that a simple whitening can’t, such as crowded, crooked, or gapped teeth. Veneers cost less than smile reconstructions that involve dental implants, and they can’t replace teeth that are missing or severely damaged (you’ll need an implant, crown or bonding for that).
Because most veneers procedures involve removing some of the natural tooth structure in order to fit a porcelain “sleeve” on top, they are irreversible. Once you get veneers, you will always have veneers and should take future maintenance (and often replacement) into account when deciding whether to get them.
While for most of us a smile makeover is a self-confidence and health decision, for some people it is also a career decision. Certain jobs require or at the very least reward a very polished and idealized physical appearance. High standards of appearance in the entertainment industry are the reason that veneers are known as a “Hollywood” smile. But there are other people for whom a great-looking smile is a career asset, such as real estate agents, politicians and even social media brand influencers. For these people, investing in their smile may be a good long-term choice.
As with any cosmetic dentistry procedure, porcelain veneers are only recommended for people with relatively great oral health. If the dentist has identified you as being at high risk for cavities or periodontitis (gum disease), the dentist may recommend that you don’t get veneers, or at least hold off on the decision until your habits and oral health are better.
There are some people whose teeth discoloration doesn’t respond well to traditional teeth whitening products, whether they’re the professional grade kind used at the dentist or the over-the-counter kind. For example, certain antibiotics can change teeth to a grayish color from the inside out, meaning that teeth whitening treatments, which are applied to the outside of the teeth, don’t have much of an effect. Someone with this type of staining can achieve the white smile of their dreams with porcelain veneers.
