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Sensitive, achey teeth are usually caused by two things. The first is damage to the hard surface layer of one or many teeth, e.g. from tooth decay. This is fairly common – and easily diagnosed.
The other reason, and the one most people don’t know about, is receding gums. When your gums are irritated or hurt, they recede, revealing the sensitive part of your tooth that isn’t covered by hard enamel. This makes your teeth prone to causing discomfort and pain – as well as suffering from tooth decay.
Receded gums are a lot harder to diagnose and correct – so if you’re not sure whether you have this condition or not, speak to us and we’ll be glad to help you find out.
Brushing, flossing and scrubbing your tongue are the 3 cornerstones of great dental home care. Do these 3 things on a daily basis and you’ll be well on your way to avoiding tooth decay and gum disease – just remember to get dental check-ups from a doctor once in a while, no matter how great your dental hygiene is.
Gingivitis is one of the less serious gum diseases. It happens when bacteria that lives in your mouth and around your teeth gets into the gums, making them irritated; inflamed; hurt (to the point of bleeding).
Gingivitis isn’t a particularly dangerous disease – but it can be risky if you fail to get regular hygiene visits, or have poor brushing/flossing technique that irritates the gums.
If you leave gingivitis untreated, you risk seeing it turn into periodontal disease, in which gums go beyond being irritated, inflamed and bleeding. Symptoms of periodontal disease include:
Needless to say, you don’t want any of these things to happen to you – so it’s important you have a dentist show you proper dental hygiene technique, and get regular hygiene check-ups.
Periodontal disease is chronic, meaning it can’t necessarily be “cured” – but it can certainly be managed and kept at bay with timely treatments. These are: periodontal cleanings, root planning and scaling, local antibiotics, laser therapy and then surgery, in that order.
So long as you don’t tarry in seeing a dentist, a periodontal cleaning and local antibiotics should be enough to clean up most periodontal disease cases.
Amalgam silver fillings, despite their name, aren’t made from silver – at least not exclusively. The silver-looking fillings are made from a blend of different materials, including mercury (in non-toxic amounts) – and the resulting material is bacteria-resistant, long-lasting and perfect at filling up dental cavities.
The problem with silver fillings is that most people prefer not to have a metallic gleam when they smile. That’s why we have white fillings, which are usually called “porcelain”, but really made from a glass or high-tech plastic polymer. These fillings match your tooth color, but are usually inferior to silver when it comes to durability.
You can get a smile makeover in as little as 6-12 months, completely transforming…
The exact steps you take to get the smile of your dreams vary – and we’d be happy to give you a free consultation and quote, so call us today if you’re considering a smile makeover!
Tooth whitening works by shaving away a microscopic amount of enamel: the white, hard, topmost layer of your tooth. Most modern tooth whitening solutions contain fluoride, which reinforces the enamel and improves gun sensitivity. As a result, you can get your teeth whitened safely, knowing you’ll lose no more than the minimal amount of enamel necessary to get a healthy-looking color back.
Once the process is over, your new tooth color will sustain itself for an average of several years!
Bonding is an inexpensive procedure in which tooth gaps are filled, and tooth color is changed. Results are immediate – and bonded teeth can last for years until you need to restore your results with another procedure.
Porcelain veneers are microlayers of porcelain, or another material, that go directly on your organic teeth – usually after a microlayer of enamel has been removed to allow for the veneers.
Veneers can change the size, shape and color of your teeth – as well as repair and protect damaged teeth, or fix a crooked smile. Veneers also protect your teeth, minimizing the risks of getting tooth decay and/or gum disease.
A crown is a prosthetic that covers an entire organic tooth; usually, a chipped or partially missing one. Sometimes, you’ll need to get the tooth nerve removed before getting a crown – and a great-quality crown can last for as long as 20 years before you need to get a replacement.
A dental implant is an artificial replacement for a tooth root and a missing tooth. Usually, what happens is that metal is grafted directly onto your jawbone; a metal screw is inserted into that metal and under your gum; a crown is attached to the metal screw, creating a lifelike tooth that’s attached to your implanted metal jawbone section.
If multiple teeth are missing, an entire mouthful of teeth can be replaced using bridges and as few as four dental implants.
Anyone who’s lost all or some teeth is a candidate for dental implants. In some cases, heart disease and chronic illness can prevent a person from getting implants – but in the vast majority of cases, this isn’t a risk.
The first step is to X-Ray your jaw and take mold impressions. After this is done, a procedure is scheduled for the actual attachment of your implant; a procedure that requires minimal incisions, is covered with sutures, and results in no pain during or after surgery.
Once the implant is firmly in place, the missing tooth is covered with a temporary crown – and work starts on a permanent, ceramic crown to be firmly attached to the implant.
The price of an implant depends on the amount of work necessary. The implant itself is usually quite inexpensive, ranging from $300-$600 in price if you have no insurance. The expensive part is the crown, which can cost as much as $5000 at a high-end clinic in a state with expensive healthcare.
A dental implant can be expected to last for life – or a minimum of 25 years before it needs maintenance work. So long as you follow your doctor’s instruction, count on a lifetime of 25-30 years.
We certainly do. Simply contact us, and we’ll be happy to give you a quote – and show you all your possible financing options for getting the smile of your dreams today.
