Teeth-whitening has become one of the most frequently-requested cosmetic dental procedures today, which should be no surprise considering teeth stains are the most common cosmetic dental blemish. In fact, your teeth can stain simply from eating and drinking, and while there are measures you can take to help protect your smile’s pride, chances are your teeth will eventually show signs of your past meals. Luckily, you can brighten your smile with your choice of teeth-whitening treatments, which can be applied either in our office or from home. (more…)
A Few Differences Between Metal and Tooth-Colored Fillings
If you haven’t already had to treat a cavity, then there’s a good chance you might at some point in your life (cavities affect over 90% of adults at least once). The good news is that, these days, we can treat most cavities with tooth-colored fillings, made from natural-looking composite resin rather than metal, like many older fillings. The differences between metal and tooth-colored composite resin fillings may seem obvious, but they extend to more than just the filling’s appearance. In many ways, a tooth-colored filling can also out-perform metal amalgam to create a more effective, longer-lasting restoration.
The Point of a Dental Filling
To understand the important differences between metal and tooth-colored fillings, you first should understand the full purpose of a dental filling. When your tooth develops a cavity, the hole in its structure will continue to grow until you treat the infection that causes it (known as tooth decay). After your dentist cleans the cavity, he can place a filling inside of it to restore your tooth’s strength and prevent oral bacteria from re-infecting it.
Amalgam vs. Composite Resin
Performance
Metal amalgam has been used for so long because it can endure even the most intense of your bite’s pressure. Still, the metals in dental amalgam cannot bond to your tooth’s structure, and it can therefore fail to protect the tooth from oral bacteria.
Composite resin is made from a mixture of finely-ground acrylic particles, and unlike metal, it can be bonded to your tooth.
Appearance
Perhaps the most obvious difference between metal and resin is their appearance. Amalgam is made of a number of trace metals, like tin and mercury, and therefore maintains a silver metallic look, which clashes with your tooth’s soft white appearance. By contrast, composite resin can be specially tinted to match your tooth’s exact color and hue, so your filling remains unnoticeable when you speak and smile.
Tips to Stop Cavity Development
Sugar, starches, and other fermentable carbohydrates feed certain bacteria that dwell in your mouth; namely, Streptococcus mutans. As they feed, S. mutans convert sugar into acids that attack tooth enamel while depleting your teeth of enamel-building minerals. Weak enamel is easier for bacteria to bypass, and therefore increases your risks of cavity development. Cosmetic dentistry can improve your tooth enamel’s appearance if it stains, but if acid erosion outpaces your teeth’s ability to recover, then enamel will become irreversibly damaged and cavity-causing bacteria can slip right past it. (more…)
Options for Replacing Missing Teeth
For people who have lost some or all of their teeth to decay, gum disease, or injury, false teeth mean all the difference in the world. False teeth, or dental prosthetics as they’re known clinically, serve the same purpose as other types of prosthetics, like an artificial limb: they replace the function and appearance of a missing body part. Making the right decision for replacing your missing teeth depends on knowing more about your options, which include bridges, dentures, and dental implants. (more…)
How to Deal with a Chipped Tooth
So many people end up chipping one of their permanent teeth, that experts actually have difficulty estimating how many Americans chip a tooth annually. Most teeth end up chipping as the results of sudden trauma, i.e. something hard like a baseball, fork, or tongue piercing comes into sharp, sudden contact with a tooth. Whatever the cause of your chipped tooth, you should follow these basic guidelines to ensure that your smile returns to normal as soon as possible. (more…)
4 Tips to Care for Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain veneers are a handy little cosmetic restoration that can hide a wide range of cosmetic smile problems. Veneers are crafted from dental porcelain and, once bonded to your tooth, are extremely strong, resilient, and beautiful. However, veneers can still suffer from chips, breaks, and staining if you don’t take proper care of them. Use our helpful guide to help you ensure the long life of your porcelain veneers. (more…)
Teeth Whitening Solutions for Every Smile
For an industry that currently generates billions of dollars in annual revenue in the U.S. alone, teeth whitening has humble beginnings in ancient folk medicine. Documents survive from both ancient Rome and ancient Egypt describing powders and potions designed to remove dark tooth stains and restore a youthful whiteness. These day, teeth whitening has been refined to a science and is safer and more effective than in years past. However, your satisfaction with your results depends on finding the right teeth whitening system for your needs. (more…)
Gum Disease: Can It Be Prevented?
Getting older used to be synonymous with losing your teeth. Think about the ubiquitous stereotype of the elderly person with a toothless grin or a set of dentures soaking in a glass of water next to the bed. Thanks to a contemporary understanding of the causes and prevention of oral diseases, not only do we know that losing our teeth isn’t a necessary part of the aging process, we’ve even identified why people in their golden years used to lose their teeth so regularly. The answer is gum disease and it’s a serious but mostly preventable oral health problem. (more…)
3 Benefits of Dental Implants
Tooth loss isn’t pretty, for many reasons. Not only do missing teeth make your smile look incomplete, unattractive, and unhealthy, they can actually have a serious negative impact on your oral health and your general health. In fact, current research suggests a close link between missing teeth and a range of serious health problems like cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Luckily, if you have one or more missing teeth, you have the option of having it replaced with a dental implant, a type of dental prosthetic that closely resembles a natural tooth. You’ll definitely want to talk to your dentist about replacing that missing tooth after reading about these five benefits of dental implants. (more…)
Porcelain Veneers: Durable And Resilient?
Have you taken a look in the mirror lately and felt completely disheartened by the appearance of your smile? Not only do you feel unhappy with the color of your grin but also that there are what feel like a thousand other esthetic imperfections causing you concern. If you feel this way, it may be time to learn more about porcelain veneers. Already planning for this cosmetic treatment but you still have some serious questions that are keeping you from moving full steam ahead? Find out more about their exceptional resilience for a boost of confidence.
