March, 2020 - 818.Dentist

March 31, 2020March 10, 2020

Teeth Whitening: Coconut Oil Pulling Vs. the Dentist’s Office

For those looking to improve their oral health and achieve a brighter smile, coconut oil pulling is increasing touted as an all-in-one solution. It’s said to have the ability to protect against cavities, clean the mouth of bacteria and even whiten the teeth. However, there’s not much evidence for these claims and there’s zero scientific evidence to support the belief that coconut oil pulling does anything to whiten teeth. Take a look at how coconut oil pulling compares to teeth whitening and other common dental procedures.

Teeth Whitening

Even with professional teeth whitening, it may take several weeks and several applications before you finally start to get the results you want. However, there is only anecdotal evidence to go on in assess the efficacy of coconut oil pulling in whitening teeth.

Going the route of coconut oil pulling, you’ll need to swish a tablespoon of coconut oil around in your mouth for 20 to 30 minutes daily. It may be weeks before you get any results, months maybe, or even never. Going the professional routes, you may see results as soon as your first appointment ends – depending on the condition of your teeth.

If you want to ensure your teeth are whitened, go see a dentist. Otherwise, you could burn months or weeks with oil pulling before finally realizing you should have just gone to the dentist’s office.

Preventive Dental Care

For preventive care, coconut oil pulling has much more evidence to support it than it does when compared to teeth whitening treatment. Coconut oil has been proven effective in absorbing bacteria and helping clean a person’s mouth. While effective, coconut oil pulling shouldn’t be see as a complement to brushing and flossing rather than a replacement for them. And while coconut oil pulling can help fight plaque, there’s not beating a standard dental cleaning when it comes to removing hardened plaque, tartar, from the surfaces of teeth.

More on Teeth Whitening in Van Nuys, CA

Take a minute to schedule a consultation with a local dentist to learn more about your options for teeth whitening in Van Nuys, CA as well as many other common dental procedures.

March 27, 2020March 10, 2020

Teeth Whitening: Why You’ll Get the Best Results at the Dentist’s Office

Convenience just might be the primary selling point for take-home teeth whitening kits. That’s because is almost every other way, professional teeth whitening done in a dentist’s office is superior in almost every other way. Find out why you’ll get much better results from teeth whitening in the dentist’s chair instead of in front of your bathroom mirror.

Why Choose Professional Teeth Whitening?

If you’ve already been researching your options for teeth whitening, you’ve probably already found out that professional cleaning is less affordable than take-home whitening kits or homeopathic solutions such as coconut oil pulling. But you get what you pay for. And if you pay for whitening at your dentist’s office, you’ll likely see significant results long before you would with other solutions.

Here are some of the top reasons its best to have your teeth whitened in a dentist’s office:

· Access to stronger whitening solutions

· Your dentist can spot and treat problems that would be worsened if you skipped treatment and jumps straight to whitening.

· Crowns and other replacement teeth won’t change color. By whitening at the dentist’s office, you can coordinate whitening with any restoration work you may need.

Are there Perks to Teeth Whitening Kits?

Marketing may account for a large part of the popularity of take-home whitening kits, but there are still some true advantages to whitening at home:

You can whiten your teeth on your schedule. No need to get an appointment with a dentist.

Whitening with a kit is more affordable. You can give whitening a try. And if you aren’t satisfied with the results, you can get your teeth professionally whitened.

Considerations

Whether you whiten your teeth at home or in a dentist’s chair, there are few things you’ll want to consider before. Teeth whitening can make sensitive teeth even more sensitive. Also, treatment isn’t permanent – even at a dentist’s office. You’ll need to whiten your teeth periodically to maintain your results, or look at alternative solutions for permanently enhancing your smile.

More on Teeth Whitening in Van Nuys, CA

Reserve an appointment with a cosmetic dentist to learn more about teeth whitening in Van Nuys, CA and other cosmetic dental procedures.

March 25, 2020March 10, 2020

Preventive Dentistry: A Look at Procedures That Could Help You Keep Your Teeth Much Longer

An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of restorative procedures. The old adage may not go exactly like that, but there’s truth behind the intent. It’s not hard to find reasons to keep dental appointments off your calendar. But minor to moderate preventive care early on in the calendar year can help you avoid needed more expensive restorative care later on in the year. Take a look at common preventive are procedures to learn how they can help you steer clear of serious, irreversible damage down the line.

Teeth Cleanings

It starts with food particles and bacteria that turn into plaque, which sticks onto teeth and then hardens into tartar. It continues with the accumulation of tartar on the teeth, down to the roots of teeth, the creation of bacterial pockets between the gums and the teeth. Left unchecked, this spiral of gum disease will continue to devolve until the gums recede and the teeth begin to fall out.

However, a standard dental cleaning, which entails scaling tartar from teeth, can prevent tartar from threatening the health and stability of your teeth and gums.

Fillings and Sealants

Left uncheck, crack and chips and cavities and soft spots can serve as an opening for gum disease and tooth decay. Dental fillings can protect compromised teeth against infection and stop the steady march of tooth decay, while sealants can be used similarly to fortified areas of teeth that have been weakened with cracks in them.

Bruxism (Grinding and Clenching of the Teeth)

Your daytime efforts to maintain your oral health could be undermined by your unconscious actions at night. Clenching and grinding while asleep, known as bruxism, wear down your teeth and shorten their life span. Something as simple as wearing a mouthguard every night could add years to the life of your teeth.

Talk with a dentist in Van Nuys, CA

Reserve an appointment with a local dentist in Van Nuys, CA to learn more about your options for preventive dental care.

March 24, 2020March 10, 2020

What Dental Technologies Could Improve My Experience at the Dentist’s Office

As dentistry continues to evolve, many of the tools and techniques we grew up with have either been improved or replaced by more efficient, less-invasive treatment option. Unless you run into a dental office that’s living in the past, you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised at the new technologies available to make your dental experience comfortable and efficient. Check out some of the dental technologies that might make your next dental appointment much more pleasant than you may have initially anticipated.

Dental Lasers

They have various use cases in a dental setting, but one of the more popular applications of dental lasers is as an alternative to scalpels. To treat receding gums, for example, a scalpel would be used to carefully trim away decaying gum tissue while leaving healthy tissue behind. To treat this same case, a dental laser can do so more efficiently – with much less bleeding and much less discomfort. Dental laser can also be used to cauterize, essentially sealing incisions to stop or minimize bleeding.

Intraoral Camera

It’s important to trust your dental staff. A great tool for building that trust is an intraoral camera. This tiny camera can be inserted into a patient’s mouth to give the dentist a closer look at your situation. But more than that, these cameras allow dental staff to share what they’re seeing with you.

Plasma Rich Growth Factors

Healing after oral surgery can take weeks, months even. However, there’s a way to minimize the healing period: plasma rich growth factors. The idea behind plasma rich growth factors is to leverage more of healing proteins in a patient’s own blood to accelerate the healing process naturally. After the proteins are extracted from the plasma, the plasma rich growth factors are placed in the area that needs expedited healing.

Dental Implants

They function like natural teeth, by design. Dental implants are tiny screw-like components that are embedded in the jawbones, where they’ll serve as anchors for replacement teeth once the implants have healed. During the healing process, the implants fuse with the jawbone to provide a reliable foundation for restorations for everything from single crowns for single-tooth replacement to specialized dentures to replace a full set of teeth.

Talk with a Dentist in Van Nuys, CAReserve an appointment with a local dentist in Van Nuys, CA to find out more about how new technologies can enhance your dental experience and improve your oral health.

March 18, 2020March 9, 2020

Dental Implant Failure: Tips for Keeping Your Dental Restorations in Good Shape

From smoking and grinding teeth to gum disease and chronic health issues, your dental implants are replacement teeth face many of the same threats as your natural teeth. And just as there are plenty of things that can be done to maximize the life of natural teeth, there are plenty of things you can do to maximize the life span of your dental implants and replacement teeth to avoid dental implant failure. Take a look at these tips for keeping your dental implants and replacement teeth in good shape long-term.

Why Do Implants Fail?

It’s rare, but it does happen. Dental implants can fail, even in cases in which the patient does everything right – though this type of case is even rarer.

So, why do they fail? Here’s a look at some of the more common reasons dental implants fail:

Bruxism – this is clenching or grinding the teeth at night. It can put added pressure on your implants, but a mouthguard could help diminish its impact

Peri-implantitis – like gum disease, peri-implantitis can eat away at the gums and other structures supporting the implants

Bone disease – a disease that attacks the bone could undermine the support of your implants

Certain prescription medicines – some medications may weaken the jawbone supporting them implants or make it harder to control gum disease

What Can You Do at Home?

If your implants wobble or the area around them hurts, and your implants have long healed, you need to check with your dentist ASAP.

In the meantime, the following can help rein in gum disease and protect your implants from further damage:

Floss, brush and rinse your mouth more regularly

Avoid smoking

Consider getting a mouth guard is you have bruxism

Consume more calcium

Checking in what your dentist ASAP is the best thing you can do to save your implants. You dentist can deep cleaning procedures to remove the decay, along with bone grafting, if necessary, to fortify the area of your jawbones weakened by peri-implantitis, bone disease or other conditions threatening the foundation of your implants.

More on Dental Implants in Van Nuys, CA
Take a minute to schedule a consultation with a local dentist to learn more about what you and your dentist can do to maintain your dental implants in Van Nuys, CA.

March 17, 2020March 9, 2020

Are My Dental Implants Failing?

The dream of a restored smile, built on a foundation of dental implants, can turn into a nightmare if the viability of your implants is threatened by failure. So what causes dental implants to fail and what can be done to treat them? Find out what peri-implantitis is, find out about other potential threats to your dental implants and learn what an experienced dentist can do to save your implants from failure.

Signs of Peri-Implantitis

It normal to have discomfort in your gums and around your dental implants during the healing stage. But if the discomfort never quite goes away and even worsens, in the near term of just a year or two after placement, it’s a clear sign you need intervention by a dental implant specialist. The specialist can determine if you have peri-implantitis, essentially gum disease for dental implants.

Here are some of the telltale signs of that dental implants are under threat:

· Your gums are agitated or inflamed

· An implant is loosening

· The area around your implants hurt

· It’s hard to chew due to discomfort

The sooner you reach out to a good dentist for help with your concerns about your dental implants, the more treatment options you’ll have available, and the more likely it is your condition will be treatable.

Treatment of Peri-Implantitis

It’ll take a two-front effort, at home and in the dentist’s chair, to stop the spread of peri-implantitis. At home, you’ll need to make sure you thoroughly care for your implants, gum, tongue and replacement teeth.

This is what your dentist can do for you in-office:

Deep cleaning – a deep cleaning procedure can stop the spread of the infection that is eating away at your implants and supporting structure. The procedure would entail clearing away decaying material and recontouring the gum

Bone grafting – bone material can be grafted into the area of the jawbone bone that has suffered severe decay as a result of the infection

Periodontal maintenance – this is a series of deep cleanings, meant to get the most severe cases back on course with cleaning and exams every quarter year.

More on Dental Implants in Van Nuys, CA

Reserve an appointment with a local dentist to learn more about what a local dentist can do to care for your dental implants in Van Nuys, CA and help you avoid catastrophe.

March 14, 2020March 9, 2020

Ways a Cosmetic Dentist Can Elevate Your Smile

If you want to perfect your smile, regular brushing and flossing are absolutely necessary. While brushing and flossing can go a long way in maintaining or improving your oral health, you’ll likely need some professional assistance if you want more than teeth that are only healthy. If you want teeth that are healthy and aesthetically pleasing as well, you’ll need the assistance of a cosmetic dentist. Take a look at some of the many ways a cosmetic dentist can enhance the appearance of your smile.

Straighten Your Smile

Whether you want to actually straighten your teeth, and do so discretely, or you just want to make them look straighter, you’ll have the below options and more:

Invisalign® – these clear, plastic trays are nearly invisible when worn on the teeth. Over the course of months, the aligner trays move teeth into their optimal position.

Veneers – these thin bits of porcelain can be bonded to the visible surfaces of teeth to make slightly crooked teeth look straight.

Brighten Your Smile

Brushing can only get you so far in whitening your teeth, but these options can get you much closer to perfection:

Veneers – made of tooth-colored porcelain, veneers can be bonded to the front side of teeth to make them appear white or to make a discolored tooth blend with the rest.

Teeth whitening – with access to more powerful whitening solutions than found in take-home kits, teeth whitening brighten your smile much faster.

Snap-on smile – wear these prosthetic teeth on top of your natural teeth and your smile will look perfect, yet natural.

Fill Your Smile

The following procedures can fill in voids in your smile left by chips, gaps, and broken teeth:

Veneers – they can be used to hide chips and disguise gaps between teeth, making them appear closer together.

Crowns – tooth-colored crowns, or “caps,” are bonded atop broken teeth for a natural-looking solution.

Bridges – dental bridges can fill large gaps with natural-looking, prosthetic teeth.

Talk with a Cosmetic Dentist in Van Nuys, CA

Take time to schedule an appointment with a local cosmetic dentist in Van Nuys, CA to learn much more about your options for improving the aesthetics of your smile.

March 10, 2020March 9, 2020

Periodontal Maintenance: A Path Back from Severe Gum Disease

Shame over the state of a person’s oral health can make it much harder for that person to get the dental care that they need. And when that shame devolves into a loss of hope, dental care may not even feel like a viable solution. However, with procedures such as periodontal maintenance, can help even seemingly hopeless bring cases of tooth decay and gum disease back under control and bring stability to your oral health. Find out what periodontal maintenance is and learn how this gum disease treatment plan offers a path back from severe gum disease and tooth decay.

What Does Periodontal Maintenance Entail?

It’d be ideal if every dental problem could be corrected in a single visit, but unfortunately, that just isn’t the case. So, for people with severe gum disease, “advanced periodontitis,” typically one appointment isn’t enough to restore their oral health. For patients using periodontal maintenance as a path back to manageable oral health, they’ll need to visit the dentist every three to four months for deep cleaning procedures and exams.

So What Does a Deep Cleaning Entail?

A deep cleaning is actually a pair of procedures: scaling and root planing. During the first stage of the deep cleaning, scaling, your dentist or hygienist will use a dental scaler to carefully and methodically remove dental tartar from the surfaces of teeth. For a deep cleaning, scaling also entails removing tartar from the roots of teeth below the gum line.

After the tartar has been removed, the clinician will smooth the roots of the teeth and recounter the gums so that the gums adhere uniformly to each tooth. This will help eliminate or reduce pockets of space between the tooth roots and gums. These pockets are ideal incubators for bacteria, so reducing these bacterial pockets will make it much easier to care for your mouth.

More on Periodontal Maintenance in Van Nuys, CA

Take a minute to reserve an appointment with a local dentist to learn more about what you can expect from periodontal maintenance in Van Nuys, CA.

March 9, 2020March 9, 2020

How a Cosmetic Dentist Can Treat Your ‘Gummy Smile’

When the balance of teeth in gum in a person’s smile tilts heavily towards the gummy side, it not uncommon for them to learn to smile without parting their lips. A gummy smile can be a constant source of insecurity. Instead of learning to live with it, a dentist can help you move on without it. Take a look at one of the ways a cosmetic dentist can treat your gummy smile so that your teeth don’t have to share the spotlight with your gums when you smile.

Aesthetic Crown Lengthening

The overgrowth of gum tissues can cause the gums to cover more of the teeth’s surface than normal. This overgrowth is often caused by gum disease, but a number of other conditions can be the cause of excess gum tissue – such as chronic health issues, systemic health issues, certain prescription medications and more.

However, not all gummy smiles are caused by gum overgrowth. In other cases, some or all of the teeth are abnormally short. In other cases, the lips are positioned higher or lower than normal.

An aesthetic crown lengthening procedure repositions and recontours gum tissues and even small amounts of bone to adjust the height of the gums.

Here’s an overview of how the aesthetic crown lengthening procedure:

You’ll be given a shot of a local anesthetic, which will numb the area of your mouth that will be treated.
Your dentist will access the bone supporting the teeth being treated, as well as the roots of the teeth.
The bone or the roots of the teeth may be recontoured, or some of the bone may be removed.
The gums will be recontoured and stitched back into place.
You take your first look into the mirror at your new, improved smile.

Talk with a Cosmetic Dentist in Van Nuys, CA Take a moment to schedule a consultation with a cosmetic dentist in Van Nuys, CA to learn more about your options for treating a gummy smile and well other cosmetic dental procedures that can elevate your smile.

March 3, 2020March 3, 2020

How to Get Straight Teeth Without Braces or Invisalign

For some people, it’s a fear of attracting attention with braces. Other people put up with crooked teeth because they don’t feel ready to commit to an orthodontic treatment plan that could span a year or two. For others, still, it’s a mix of both. For those who simply aren’t ready to straighten their teeth with braces, for one reason or another, there’s a cosmetic solution that serves as a powerful alternative: porcelain veneers. Take a look at how porcelain veneers can enhance your smile in just a visit or two to the dentist’s office.

How Veneers Correct Misaligned Teeth

For mild to moderate cases of tooth misalignment, veneers can be used to make crooked teeth look perfectly straight. More severe cases can be improved, but will likely still look misaligned to a degree.

Veneers make teeth appear straighter by adding surface area to the teeth. They’re made of thin sheets of tooth-colored material, typically porcelain, and are bonded to the visible surfaces of teeth. They’re customized to fit each tooth they’ll be applied to and are shaded to blend in with teeth that won’t be covered by veneers.

Other Uses for Veneers

Alignment issues aren’t the only problems veneers can hide. Here’s a look at some of the other issues veneers can cover:

Discoloration – stained teeth can be hidden by natural-looking veneers
Chips and cracks – minor to moderate chips and cracks can be hidden behind veneers. Moderate to severe chips and cracks are more likely to need restorative treatment in addition to cosmetic dentistry.
Gaps – veneers can help teeth appear closer than they actually are, helping hide gaps between teeth.

It’s important to keep in mind that veneers are only a cosmetic solution. Restorative care may be needed before you’re ready to move onto cosmetic care.

Cosmetic Dentist in Van Nuys, CA

Take a moment to reserve an appointment with a local cosmetic dentist in Phoenix, AZ to learn more about your options for getting porcelain veneers, braces, invisible aligners and more.

Month: March 2020