Will My Whitened Teeth Retain Their New Color?

You’ve just spent a couple of hours at the dentist undergoing a tooth whitening process that has you smiling brightly. There are a couple of things you can do that will protect your investment and keep your teeth dazzling for a long time. 

• Be aware of the foods and beverages that stain teeth. Coffee, tea, red wine, berries, sugary beverages … all of these can dull that sparkle. If you are going to consume these products, try to limit the amount; drink with a straw so the beverage bypasses the teeth and do not swish liquids – swallow right away. Try to brush your teeth soon after, but if you can’t brush, rinse with water or chew sugar free gum to help stimulate saliva (nature’s mouth wash).
• Do not use tobacco in any form – smoking or chewing will stain and yellow teeth quickly.
• Floss daily.
• Brush at least twice

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Will Invisalign Help With My Overbite?

An overbite can occur for several reasons. Lack of jaw space to accommodate large teeth can contribute to an overbite. The consistent use of a pacifier or habitual thumb sucking places pressure on the roof of the mouth and the upper front teeth, and as a child grows this action forces those teeth out creating an overbite. Once this tooth formation occurs, the likely solution will be dental braces.

Any habit that puts pressure on the front teeth consistently can result in protruding teeth, so awareness and an effort to break the habit are critical to the success of any treatment. Your dentist can provide the optimum advice and treatment solutions.

Adolescents and adults alike are very fortunate to be able to straighten out an overbite with Invisalign clear soft plastic aligners. There are many advantages to straightening teeth with Invisalign including:

• Aligners are transparent making the process virtually undetectable.

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Healthy Dental Habits to Follow

We are constantly bombarded through television, Internet, social media, friends, and family about new products that will improve our quality of life. A lot of what we hear, read about and see is propaganda designed to appeal to the human sensibilities that impact our appearance, whether it’s hair, clothes, accessories, even the cars we drive. Dental health is seldom considered a hot topic, but if the general public was aware of the many aspects of dentistry that could save time and money while enhancing overall good health, there might be more conversation.

Dental health is not just about the toothpaste that will whiten the best or the mouthwash that provides a “minty fresh breath.”

From the time those first baby teeth come in, formulating good oral hygiene habits is a goal that will serve a child well into adulthood:

• Never put a baby to bed with a bottle containing milk

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Do Genetics Play a Role in the Overall Health of Teeth?

It is true that some dental traits may be inherited from our ancestors. And if there is a history of gum disease or dental decay in your family, the good news is the cycle can be broken. Vigilant hygiene care and consistent visits to the dentist are the means that offer the best path to healthy teeth and gums.

Genetic factors that are beyond our control include jaw space, teeth size, and dental malformations. From birth defects to oral issues that are not immediately evident, parents should monitor their child’s oral development and consult their dentist for any conditions that appear abnormal.

Quite often if one or both parents wore braces due to a malocclusion, their offspring is likely to face the same fate. A visit to consult with an orthodontist will help identify potential issues.

One of the more predominant genetic dental issues relates to gum disease. Being proactive …

Tooth Loss Can Have Far-Reaching Effects on Your Dental Health

The loss of one or more teeth due to an accident, tooth decay, or dental disease is never easy to accept. Your implant dentist can explain how this loss can be remedied, and allow you to return to eating the foods you love, speak with confidence, and smile without hesitation.

With tooth loss, the patient is faced with multiple concerns:

1. Appearance – If the tooth is located in the “smile line”, every time you open your mouth to eat, speak or smile, you think about how you must look to others.
2. Bone loss – The bone in gum tissue where tooth loss has occurred will start to deteriorate allowing the gum tissue to shrink providing a shriveled appearance.
3. Remaining teeth will eventually start to shift toward the open space creating the potential for a malocclusion. This is where the upper teeth no longer align with the bottom teeth, which can

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Steps to Keep Your Child’s Mouth Healthy

When infants are born, although they can’t yet be seen, their teeth have already been forming in the womb. At around six months of age, the first of an anticipated total of twenty “baby” teeth will start to emerge through gum tissue. As teeth come in, it is important to observe some basic rules to keep teeth and gum tissue healthy including the first visit to see the family dentist around the child’s first birthday.

1. Teach children how to brush their teeth at a very early age. A soft bristle brush with a small amount of tooth paste geared to the child’s age should be introduced initially by a caregiver. Only until the child is coordinated enough to brush on their own should you rely on the child’s ability to care for their own teeth. Even then, supervision is important to make sure daily brushing is performed correctly.
2. Flossing helps

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Signs and Symptoms of TMJ Disorder

There are a multitude of symptoms that might lead a person to believe they are suffering from TMJ Disorder (Temporamandibular Joint Disorder).

Discomfort in the neck, head, jaw or ear can result if you are clenching or grinding your teeth (usually subconsciously during sleep).  Additionally, dental decay, gum disease, ear infection, sinus infection, allergies or anything that impacts those muscles above the neck can result in multiple possibilities that could lead to TMJ Disorder.

An actual diagnosis of TMJ Disorder will follow testing to rule out other problems. Patients suffering from it are dealing with inflammation of the muscles and joints just in front of the ears. The TMJ is the joint that allows the jaw to move up and down as well as side to side. Eating, speaking, smiling, laughing, crying, yawning … each of these actions can put a lot of pressure on those joints.

With TMJ, patients …

What Causes Dulling and Discoloration of Teeth?

Not everyone is fortunate enough to enjoy bright, white teeth. Genetics, aging, medication, irregular or insufficient daily hygiene habits, smoking/tobacco use and diet can all contribute to dull or stained teeth. There are many ways to overcome a dull smile, and a consultation with your cosmetic dentist will outline your best options, from whitening procedures to a more permanent solution like dental veneers.

In-office teeth whitening can lighten teeth up to eight shades in one visit. With Zoom in-office teeth whitening, your dental provider has access to the most powerful whitening agents available; trained staff; and the equipment needed to ensure a great result in one appointment. Touch-up kits are available for subsequent at home treatment as needed.

Intrinsic stains due to fluorosis, medications or those too stubborn to be removed during a standard cleaning by the hygienist, may better be treated with veneers. Veneers are very thin shells that …

Increase Your Quality of Life with Dental Implants

Eating the foods you love, smiling with self-confidence, speaking without hesitation; these are things many do daily without thought. But if you have loose teeth, missing teeth, or your mouth hurts these are activities that you don’t take for granted. Thankfully, dental implants can take you from daily concerns with your mouth to the carefree lifestyle you wish you had.

Missing teeth don’t just create aesthetic issues as remaining teeth can shift toward an open space, and while this might not seem problematic, the resulting malocclusion can be. When the upper teeth do not align properly with the bottom teeth, numerous problems associated with an improper bite can occur.

That is why many patients seek a consultation with their implant dentist to discuss how they can improve their ability to eat, speak and smile with a permanent solution. A dental implant is placed surgically in the gum tissue where tooth …

How Long Before I Start to See Results with Invisalign?

Invisalign aligners have become an alternative to braces for those people looking to straighten their crooked smile. While traditional braces use unsightly metal supports and rails across a patient’s teeth, Invisalign offers a near-invisible solution.

For those self-conscious about showing off their smile, wearing braces might make those people feel even worse, so a dentist might recommend Invisalign treatment as an alternative.

Invisalign involves the use of a series of clear aligners that have been specifically mapped by the dentist to target the realignment of specific teeth at specific times to achieve the desired end result. Each aligner is worn by the patient for a period of approximately two weeks and each one slowly alters the position and alignment of teeth towards the end goal of a perfectly aligned smile.

One of the real advantages of Invisalign treatment is that the patient can see the end result of the treatment …