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Stop Agonizing! 7 Reasons Why Teeth Whitening By A Dentist is Better!

Why might you want a whiter smile? Your appearance isn't everything, but it says a lot about you as a person -- this includes your smile. When you flash a brilliant smile, people perceive you as healthier and more attractive. Business associates, significant others,...

“What Is Smile Rejuvenation And Did I Hear ‘Look Younger’?”

If you’re looking to get rid of those wrinkles, sags or jowls around your mouth, don’t call the plastic surgeon just yet – see your dentist first – here’s why…

Stop Agonizing! 7 Reasons Why Teeth Whitening By A Dentist is Better!

“What Is Smile Rejuvenation And Did I Hear ‘Look Younger’?”

If you’re looking to get rid of those wrinkles, sags or jowls around your mouth, don’t call the plastic surgeon just yet – see your dentist first – here’s why…

Before You Hit That Snooze Button, Consider This…

It’s a scenario we all recognize: the alarm blaring way too soon after a late night. “Just ten minutes more,” you tell yourself and hit the snooze button. You might even repeat the cycle another time or two. But there is a price you pay.

Extra! Dental News from Around The Web!

Presenting our roundup of cool articles in the world of dental health. Check them out regularly! They could mean snappier smiles for you and your family!

Before You Hit That Snooze Button, Consider This…

Extra! Dental News from Around The Web!

Presenting our roundup of cool articles in the world of dental health. Check them out regularly! They could mean snappier smiles for you and your family!

Dig! 5 Cosmetic Dental Problems Veneers Can Solve!

Beyond being a symbol of general health and vitality, your smile is the best advertisement for you! That's why proper dental care is so important. But sometimes, you're looking for something more -- a smile that sizzles. If you have ever seen a Hollywood star with an...

7 Natural Ways to Re-Mineralize Teeth and Prevent Tooth Decay

Did you know? Re-mineralizing your teeth can really help keep them in your mouth for a lifetime. Here are some simple ways to make sure the minerals keep flowing.

Dig! 5 Cosmetic Dental Problems Veneers Can Solve!

7 Natural Ways to Re-Mineralize Teeth and Prevent Tooth Decay

Did you know? Re-mineralizing your teeth can really help keep them in your mouth for a lifetime. Here are some simple ways to make sure the minerals keep flowing.

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Question: Do You Have … Dentalphobia?

If you have been avoiding the dentist because of fear, you are not alone. Dental phobias are among the most common, and in some cases they can be dangerous to your overall health.

What causes dental phobia? In some cases, it arose because of a negative experience with a dentist, possibly in childhood. In other cases, fear of the dentist is a manifestation of a deeper anxiety.

Whatever the cause, it is possible to overcome your fear of the dentist and get the care you need to keep your teeth looking their best. Here are some tips to get you started…

Find the Right Dentist

If you have a fear of the dentist, it is extremely important to choose the right dental professional. Not all dentists are equally skilled at working with patients who have a dental phobia, so choose your provider with care.

Seek out reviews of area dentists, talk to other patients and reach out to the office staff. You can learn a lot just by talking to others who share your same fear of the dentist.

Consider Sedation Dentistry

If you think you need a lot of dental work done, you might want to consider a dentist who uses sedation for routine dental care. Sedation dentistry can be an excellent alternative for those with dental phobias, since it eliminates most of the pain and fear associated with a trip to the dentist.

When you call the office, ask if they offer sedation dentistry and find out as much as you can about how they operate. The more you know about their practices, the more comfortable you will be when you head out for your appointment.

Be Honest About Your Fears

The worst thing you can do is try to hide your fear of the dentist. No matter which dentist you choose, you should be open and honest about how you feel and why you feel that way.

Whether your dental phobia is the result of a bad experience in the past or a more generalized anxiety, a good dentist will understand your concerns and help you work through them. Whether they provide you with medication to help you relax, employ sedation for routine dental care or just help you work through your fear, a good dentist will be willing to go the extra mile to soothe their anxious patients.

Visit the Dentist Regularly

It may seem counter-intuitive, but visiting the dentist regularly is one of the best ways to cure a dental phobia. The more you visit the more you will see that going to the dentist is no big deal, and that there is nothing to worry about.

Visiting the dentist on a regular basis will also allow your dentist to spot problems early – when they are easier and less painful to treat. If your dentist spots a bit of plaque and treats it with a good cleaning, you head off a cavity and a filling later on.

Take Care of Your Teeth at Home

Taking care of your teeth between dental visits is essential, especially for patients with dental anxieties. The better your oral hygiene at home, the more routine your office visits will be. Brushing your teeth after every meal and before bedtime, flossing regularly and eating a healthy diet can prevent cavities and stop dental problems in their tracks.

If you care of your teeth properly at home, you might find yourself looking forward to your next trip to the dentist. Over time, you will see that those regular cleanings and exams are no big deal and that there is truly nothing to be afraid of.

Dental phobias are all too common, but there is no reason to succumb to them. No matter how severe your fear of the dentist there are ways to overcome the problem and help you get the dental care you need.

Contributing Writer – B.E. Conrad

How Modern Tech Lets Us Remodel Your Teeth and Smile

Here’s look at some of the modern technological advances in the field of dentistry that enable us to reshape your teeth to a more natural appearance.

Six Tooth And Other Bone-Saving Irresistible Superfood Recipes!

Everyone knows, calcium protects teeth and bones, but keeping levels high enough can be a challenge. Presenting six super foods packed with calcium, and some fun recipes to help you make them taste great!

Can Dental Bonding Improve Your Zoom Ratings?

Dental bonding can solve a myriad of cosmetic and structural issues, and is a tool relied upon by thousands of cosmetic dentists. Can it enhance your next Zoom call?

Debbie has a noticeable gap between her two front teeth but she doesn’t want to have to go through a course of expensive orthodontics. Bill has a small chip in his tooth that he reckons is too small for a veneer. These patients are the ideal candidates for a process known as dental bonding.

What does dental bonding do?

Dental bonding has a wide variety of uses. Chipped, cracked and stained teeth can be helped by dental bonding. Dental bonding can also hide hereditary flaws and forms of structural damage caused by decay.

Dental bonding uses composite resin that can be matched to the color of a patient’s teeth, creating results that look totally natural.

How does it work?

The dentist begins by examining the tooth area for decay and drilling that out before proceeding with bonding. The bonding procedure starts with the practitioner applying an etching solution to the damaged tooth, which creates small grooves that create a base for adhesion of the composite resin.

Once the solution sets, the composite resin is then applied in layers. Each layer is hardened with a specially designed light device. After the layers are in place and hardened, they can be sculpted and polished to assume the shape of a natural tooth. This is where the skill of the dentist comes into play.

A great advantage is that many dental bonding procedures can be completed in about an hour in the dentist’s chair. Of course, more advanced cases will take longer than that.

Can orthodontics be used instead of dental bonding?

In cases where teeth are not damaged or unstable, and the goal is to fill space between, or properly realign teeth, orthodontics may be a better choice than bonding, but this decision should be made only with a qualified dentist or orthodontist. It is very wise to discuss all the options.

Is bonding covered by insurance?

Insurance companies often cover dental bonding procedures, especially when your current situation is causing pain, discomfort or difficulty eating. Out-of-pocket costs are still favorable compared with other treatment options.

Any true stories available about dental bonding?

Plenty! Here’s Vlogger Ciemonne, a with a great description of her journey to more beautiful teeth through bonding.

What did they do before dental bonding?

Before dental bonding technology was developed, teeth were reshaped with silver amalgam fillings. These could be unsightly and required more of the natural tooth to be removed.

Are there any precautions I should take?

There is a very slight chance you could be allergic to the resin used in this procedure. If you are the least bit worried about this, see an allergist who can check for you. After all, it’d be a shame to do all that dental work, only to find it must come out. In most cases there will be no reaction.

Improve YOUR next Zoom call. Ask us about dental bonding for your own cosmetic or structural issues. It could mean a dazzling smile for less than you’d expect!

Phantom Tooth Pain — A Nightmare For Your Mouth?

Stacy was a patient with tooth pain that radiated from her lower right jaw. Her history showed that awhile back, she had a filling in that location, which led to a root canal and crown, and then finally a tooth implant six years ago.

After a thorough examination, which included X-rays, there seemed to be no identifiable cause for the pain. The X-ray showed the entire root, including the nerve and blood vessels, had been removed to make room for the implant’s titanium post, which acts as the support for the tooth restoration or crown attached to its abutment. With a 98 percent success rate, implants have never been more popular. Overall, implants provide improved oral health with the look and feel of natural teeth.

But for Stacy, the aggressive and overwhelming “dental treatment” she needed for a natural smile and healthy teeth may have contributed to a condition known as Atypical Odontalgia, otherwise known as phantom tooth pain. This pain sometimes occurs after a root canal or a tooth extraction. But a study published by the Journal of the Minnesota Dental Association and supported by the National Institutes of Health estimates that of the 870,000 new cases wherein persistent oral pain was reported by patients, 550,000 of those cases were found to have no known identifiable reason patients continue to experience pain after corrective dental treatment.

Some professionals have even suggested that the sensation is often similar to what an amputee experiences. The pain is referred to as “atypical” because it’s quite different from pain that is felt from a typical toothache. Toothaches are aggravated by chewing or biting, or when the affected tooth comes into contact with hot or cold temperatures. Typical tooth pain has an identifiable source, such as decay or gum disease, unlike atypical or phantom tooth pain, which has no underlying cause.

For Stacy the tooth pain was a consistent ache with no tooth decay or periodontal disease. In some patients, just like Stacy, phantom tooth pain can spread to other areas of the face or jaw, and can occur without reason.

For many patients and dental professionals, this condition can be both a frightening and frustrating situation that can lead to more dental treatments that provide no effective pain relief. If a thorough history, clinical examination, and X-ray assessment fail to identify the source of the pain, a diagnosis of atypical odontalgia or phantom tooth pain may be appropriate.

What is Phantom Tooth Pain?

Currently, most clinicians treat phantom tooth pain with medication. According to the Academy of Oral Medicine, an antidepressant is used most often because of their pain-relieving properties. While medication has been helpful in pain reduction, it’s done little for eliminating the problem at its source.

While a definitive cause is yet to be found, what health professionals do know is that the condition may be caused by a variety of factors, such as sex, age, and genetic predisposition. In addition, the condition is more common in women than men, and more prevalent in people of middle age and older.

Why Might It Occur?

Researchers seem to point to a “short circuiting” of the nerves that carry pain sensations to the jaw and teeth. During scans such as a positron emission tomography (PET) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) areas of the brain show transmissions of nerve signals to the brain. These nerve signals appear to malfunction, and the result is a persistent pain sensation. In some cases, the pain is intermittent and spontaneous, ending just as quickly as it began.

There are no specific treatments for phantom tooth pain. But any of the following approaches can help when a flare-up occurs:

Find ways to relax. Use meditation or rhythmic breathing to reduce muscular tension.
Participate in fun activities. Distractions, like playing a board game or listening to music, can help relieve the mind.
Stay active. It sounds counter-intuitive, but maintaining enjoyable hobbies such as swimming or even gardening burns calories and reduces emotional tension.

If the pain is persistent, speak with us about other alternatives to relieve symptoms.

Question: Do You Have … Dentalphobia?

If you have been avoiding the dentist because of fear, you are not alone. Dental phobias are among the most common, and in some cases they can be dangerous to your overall health.

What causes dental phobia? In some cases, it arose because of a negative experience with a dentist, possibly in childhood. In other cases, fear of the dentist is a manifestation of a deeper anxiety.

Whatever the cause, it is possible to overcome your fear of the dentist and get the care you need to keep your teeth looking their best. Here are some tips to get you started…