We want to wish all of our patients a very happy and healthy New Year!  As a part of our resolutions list, we want to appreciate the simple things in life a little more…just like Linus does in the photo below!

Tooth loss is a common problem, especially as we get older. Various problems can lead to loss of teeth, some of which are not under our immediate control. However, when you do lose teeth, you can now have them replaced with dental implants, which give you a natural look that will keep your mouth and jaw healthy for many years to come.

Causes of Tooth Loss

Many factors can lead to the loss of teeth. Some have to do with how we take care of our teeth and oral tissues on a daily basis, but others occur because of accidents, hereditary problems, or other issues.

Some of the common causes of tooth loss include:

• Tooth decay
• Gum disease
• Trauma to the tooth due to accident or injury
• Weak or thin tooth enamel

If you brush and floss your teeth regularly, you can reduce your risk of tooth decay and gum disease. If you are involved in contact sports, you can reduce the risk of dislodging a tooth through trauma by wearing a mouthguard. Wearing a seatbelt can reduce the possibility of injury during a car accident, as can wearing a helmet if you are riding a bicycle or motorcycle. All these precautions can help protect you from tooth loss. However, if you have weak tooth enamel or exceptionally brittle teeth due to genetics, all you can do is take the best possible care of your teeth.

What to Do if You Lose Your Teeth

If you do lose teeth due to any of the above problems, you can have them replaced. Dental implants have become a popular option for tooth replacement because they are practically indistinguishable from natural teeth and also help maintain the health of your jawbone.

If you have lost teeth, or even a single tooth, a consultation with an implant dentist will help you decide if implants are a good choice for you. If you have questions about implants, please give us a call at our office to schedule a consultation.

Many dental problems do not cause you to experience discomfort until they have progressed to a point where they are quite serious. to determine if you have problems you can’t see or feel, so a regular visit is important to ensure your continued oral health.  [pullquote]Dentists are trained to determine if you have problems you can’t see or feel, so a regular visit is important to ensure your continued oral health. [/pullquote]

Signs You Could Have Dental Problems

If you assume discomfort is the first symptom of a serious issue in your mouth, chances are good that you will wait far too long to see your dentist. The best way to ensure problems are detected when they are still minor and easy to treat is to see your dentist regularly. However, there are some symptoms that can indicate you have an issue that are easily noticed and do not involve discomfort. These include:

• Bleeding when you brush or floss. This can indicate the early stages of gum disease.
• A shiny or dark look to your gums. This is also a symptom of gum inflammation.
• Extreme sensitivity to cold. This could indicate gum disease, decay, or other issues.

Dentists can look at these issues in depth and determine the root cause of your symptoms. They use tools you don’t have access to, such as dental instruments, digital photography, and X-rays to look at not only your teeth but your gums, tooth roots, and the facial bones that support your teeth. In this way, they can determine if problems are developing and arrange for you to receive treatment before the problems become overly serious.

The Importance of Regular Dental Care

The best way to avoid dental problems is through regular dental care. This includes everyday brushing and flossing as well as regular visits to the dentist. Most dentists recommend that you have a general check-up and cleaning about every six months. This check-up includes not only examining your teeth for cavities or gum disease, but also includes a scan for oral cancer—another oral health issue that can progress without any immediately noticeable symptoms. So be sure to take good care of your mouth and visit our dentists at the doctor Family Dentistry—your teeth and gums will thank you, and it could even save your life.

With the rise of implant dentistry, people who have lost teeth have even more options to restore their natural look. The process for having an implant placed can vary depending upon the type of implant you have and the condition of your mouth and jawbone, but in general the procedure involves at least two phases.

The First Phase of an Implant Procedure

The first thing you’ll do when you decide to have a dental implant is consult with an implant dentist. This specialist will decide if you are a good candidate for implants. If you are, you’ll then discuss anything that must be done before you can have your implants placed. This could involve treatment for gum disease, bone grafts to ensure a secure foundation for your implants, or even smoking cessation to increase your likelihood of a successful recovery.

After these issues are dealt with, your dentist will place the root portions of your dental implants. You might have an implant placed for each missing tooth, or a few implants placed to support an entire arc of a denture. Different approaches to implant dentistry allow you some flexibility in how your implants are placed, what kind of implant you have, and what options you can pursue if you lack sufficient bone density to support traditional implants.

The Second Phase of an Implant Procedure

Some implant dentists will place the prosthetic tooth or teeth—the visible portion of your implant—immediately after the roots are placed. However, in most cases, after the root portion of the implant is placed, you’ll have a few weeks to heal from the surgery. This ensures that the roots, which are made of titanium or a titanium allow, have time to bond with the bone of your jaw. This bonding process, called osseointegration, means that your new implants will stimulate your jawbone to grow normally, as it would if you had not lost your teeth. Keeping your jawbone healthy prevents atrophy of the bone tissue, which can make your lower jaw move closer to your upper jaw over time. After this healing process is completed, your prosthetic teeth are set into place, giving you a long-lasting, natural-looking smile.

Consult with our team of implant dentists by calling our office today.

Smoking is detrimental to your health overall, but it is also detrimental to your dental health in particular. Smoking can cause a range of side effects that can lead to tooth loss and other complications. Most agree that smoking cessation is a highly positive step to take in preserving your oral health.

Side Effects of Smoking

In addition to reducing your ability to breathe fully and often leading to lung cancer or other cancers, smoking leads to several unwanted effects on your teeth and other oral tissues. Smoking can cause:

• Severe discoloration of the surfaces of the teeth
• Increased likelihood of decay and gum disease
• Dry mouth
• Oral cancers

The most common side effect of smoking is a brown stain on the teeth, caused by the nicotine in cigarettes. This is, however, far from the most serious side effect. Smoking increases the likelihood of decay and gum disease by changing the acid balance in the mouth and by triggering dry mouth. Severe decay and gum disease can lead to tooth loss.

Smoking also affects your ability to heal because it reduces efficient blood circulation. If you lose teeth, you might not be a good candidate for dental implants because of your impaired healing ability.

Smoking and Oral Cancers

The various substances that lead to lung cancer can also lead to oral cancers. Dentists now check for signs of oral cancer such as irregularities in the mouth tissues or unexplained lumps or growths. Other forms of tobacco use can also trigger oral cancers. Chewing tobacco is particularly likely to lead to cancer of the mouth or jawbone. Treating this type of cancer often leads to severe deformation of the face. In addition, oral cancers tend to have a lower recovery rate than many other forms of cancer.

Our dentists can help treat any problems that might result from your smoking as well as offering referrals to help you stop smoking. In the long term, if you smoke, smoking cessation is the best thing you can do for your health.

For more information about quitting smoking, schedule your appointment with our dental office by calling our office today.

After you have implant surgery, it’s important to continue to see your dentist regularly to ensure your gums and remaining teeth are healthy. Your dentist will also examine your dental implants to check for any problems. Maintaining good oral health will ensure the health of your gums, which help anchor your implants, and keep your remaining teeth from becoming endangered. [pullquote]Maintaining good oral health will ensure the health of your gums, which help anchor your implants, and keep your remaining teeth from becoming endangered.[/pullquote]

Why Are Dental Visits Important After Implants?

Regular visits to the dentist are important to your oral health even if you have dental implants. The success of implants depends upon keeping the rest of your mouth healthy. If you experience gum disease after implant surgery, you could risk losing your implants.

Keeping your mouth clean and your remaining teeth healthy is also important to your overall oral health. You’ll still brush and floss regularly to keep bacteria from building up in your mouth. This bacteria can cause decay in your remaining teeth, inflammation and infection in the gums, and halitosis. Regular brushing and flossing should be augmented by regular trips—about every six months—to your regular dentist.

Ensuring the Health of Your Implants

Your implant dentist will provide information and guidelines regarding keeping your teeth, mouth, and implants safe and healthy over the long term. Be sure to follow these guidelines to optimize the lifespan of your implants. If well taken care of, implants can last for decades.

Even though your teeth have been replaced, the tissues that support them still must be kept healthy and clean. Bacterial buildup in the mouth can lead to gingivitis, which is a relatively minor inflammation of the gum tissue. If this is not treated, it can develop into more severe gum disease. Gum disease leads to the gums pulling back from the tooth roots—and from the roots of your implants. Additional surgery might be required to keep your implants from failing.

If you have questions about how to care for your implants as well as the rest of your mouth, be sure to consult with your implant dentist. Post-operative care is vital to ensure your implants will provide a bright, healthy smile for many years to come.

Contact our experienced team of dentists at the doctor Family Dentistry for more information about dental implants.

With in-office tooth whitening, having a great smile can be a part of preparing for a special occasion. Your cosmetic dentist can remove mild to moderate staining in a matter of an hour so you can look your very best for a wedding, reunion, an important meeting, or any other important event.

Teeth Whitening in Only an Hour

In-office teeth whitening typically only takes about an hour. It’s performed right in the dentist’s chair, and you’ll see results immediately. So if you have a special event coming up, you can have your teeth whitened the same day and be confident that your smile will be ready to impress.

Your whitening appointment begins with your cosmetic dentist applying a protective gel over your gums, lips, and soft tissues. This is to protect them from the whitening agent, which can cause irritation if it comes into contact with your sensitive oral tissues. Then the dentist paints the whitening agent onto the front surfaces of your teeth. In some cases, the whitener is activated with a special light. It’s left on for about twenty minutes, then removed, after which the procedure is repeated two more times.

Keeping Your Teeth White After Whitening Treatment

Your teeth will appear noticeably whiter immediately after treatment, but you’ll see more extensive results after a few days. However, the immediate results are dramatic and can give you a big confidence boost for a special occasion.

After whitening, it’s important to brush and floss regularly to help prevent decay and to remove staining agents from your teeth. You should also avoid staining agents in general. Beverages like tea and coffee or substances like nicotine can cause your teeth to become discolored again, ruining the effects of your whitening procedure.

If you avoid staining agents and practice good oral hygiene, your whitening treatment is likely to last for several months. You’ll probably want to go in for touch-up treatments to maintain the look you desire, but these will not be as intensive as the initial whitening visit.

Contact our experienced cosmetic dental team at our office to learn more about achieving the smile you’ve always wanted.

As you grow older, maintaining good oral health continues to be important. In addition to seeing your dentist regularly, you should maintain everyday oral hygiene that helps prevent gum disease and decay. In addition to causing issues with your teeth and gums, these conditions can have a negative impact on your overall health.

Dental Health and Whole-Body Health

Oral and dental health are important not only in maintaining your teeth and gums, but in preventing problems such as heart disease and cardiovascular disease. Gum disease has been found to increase the risk of cardiovascular problems. Bacteria that builds up in the mouth if you have severe decay or gum disease can pass into the rest of the body, causing inflammation in the cardiovascular system. This can lead to severe and even fatal illness. [pullquote]Oral and dental health are important not only in maintaining your teeth and gums, but in preventing problems such as heart disease and cardiovascular disease.[/pullquote]

Making sure your teeth are strong and healthy also helps ensure that you can eat a healthy diet. With healthy teeth, or with high quality replacements, you will be able to eat all the foods your normally would, including high fiber fruits and vegetables that can be difficult to eat if your teeth are missing or suffering from decay. Regular visits to your dentist can help ensure that any problems are diagnosed and treated early.

Repair and Replacement

If you do have missing teeth, having them replaced will help you maintain your smile, the health of your jaw, and your regular diet. Damage to teeth should also be treated before your teeth are severely damaged or become uncomfortable and affect your ability to eat. Missing teeth can be replaced with implants, dentures, or bridges, depending upon the situation and the recommendation of your dentist. Damage to your teeth is addressed with restorations such as crowns or fillings. Internal damage, which can lead to severe discomfort due to nerve damage, is often repaired with a root canal.

If you have any questions about keeping your teeth healthy as you grow older, please contact our dental team at the doctor Family Dentistry to schedule an appointment or a consultation.

Implant dentistry is growing in popularity as more and more people turn to this method to replace missing teeth. Implants are permanent, stationary, and natural looking. They also help keep your jawbone healthy and help maintain the look of not just your smile but also your face over time. Barring damage, implants can last twenty years or more.

Dental Implants and Your Smile

If you are missing teeth—or even just one tooth—dental implants provide a long-lasting, natural looking replacement that will keep your teeth properly aligned and prevent the long term problems that can occur as a result of gaps in your smile.

Implants start with a titanium screw placed in your jawbone by your implant dentist. This anchors the visible portion of your new teeth and also functions much as a natural root would. Your natural tooth roots help stimulate growth of the jawbone whenever you chew. Because the implant roots bind to the bone, they also help keep the jawbone healthy and growing. The visible portion of the tooth is made of durable materials that match the color and look or your original teeth. Because of the permanent nature and durability of implants, you can expect to have a perfect smile for as long as twenty years or even longer as long as the implants are not damaged in some way.

Deciding on Dental Implants

Your implant dentist can help you decide if dental implants are a good choice for you. In most cases, if you have a missing tooth, you are a good candidate for an implant. However, some conditions can make it harder for you to heal after an implant procedure. If you have any of the following issues or conditions, you might not be a good candidate for implants:

• Diabetes
• Immune system disorder
• Osteoporosis
• Gum disease
• Insufficient bone mass in the jaw

If you are a smoker, your healing ability is also compromised, so this could also affect your ability to heal after an implant procedure. The healing process is very important to an implant because it is during this period that the implant bonds to the jawbone.

For more information on dental implant therapy, call our office at our office today.

Some people believe that, since baby teeth fall out anyway, it’s not overly important to prevent decay until your child’s permanent teeth come in. However, loss of baby teeth can result in problems when the permanent teeth arrive. For this reason, dentists recommend keeping your child’s gums and baby teeth clean and healthy in order to prevent decay.

Long-Term Effects of Early Childhood Cavities

Decay in your child’s baby teeth, also known as deciduous teeth, can create long-term problems, including problems with the permanent teeth that can require expensive orthodontic treatment. If baby teeth suffer from serious decay, they might eventually need to be removed. If the baby teeth are removed, this can lead to problems with the alignment of the permanent teeth when they come in. If your child’s baby teeth remain healthy and intact, the permanent teeth are less likely to come in crooked or misaligned. [pullquote]Loss of baby teeth can result in problems when the permanent teeth arrive.[/pullquote]

Numerous cavities during childhood can also lead to dental anxiety. If your child has to have cavities filled or teeth extracted, he might begin to associate the family dentist with discomfort and stress. However, if your child only goes to the dentist for regular cleanings, fluoride treatments, and other issues such as having sealants placed, he will be much more willing to go to the dentist because former trips have been a pleasant experience.

Establishing Good Dental Hygiene Habits

Keeping your child’s teeth clean and healthy will also help establish good dental hygiene habits for your child. These habits will serve your child well as he grows older. If you help keep your child’s teeth clean when he is very young, he will become used to the routine of brushing and flossing and it will be easier to get him accustomed to keeping his own teeth clean as he gets old enough to do so.

If you’re not sure how to teach your child to brush and floss or perform other oral hygiene routines, ask your family dentist at the doctor Family Dentistry to provide recommendations. Your dentist can also help demonstrate proper technique and supply child-friendly toothbrushes and floss holders well-suited to your child’s smaller hands.