Sheridan Dentists Explain the Science Behind Invisalign Clear Braces

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young woman with straight smileThe obvious effects of crooked teeth can significantly diminish your confidence, but if your goal is to improve your smile, then metal braces may not seem very appealing. Nevertheless, straightening your teeth is important for more reasons than just your cosmetic sensibilities; crooked teeth can also inhibit your mouth’s proper function and facilitate poor dental health. Luckily, you don’t have to temporarily sacrifice your confidence even further just to have a straighter smile. With Invisalign clear braces from your Sheridan dentists, you can enjoy the benefits of straightening your teeth without the conspicuousness of traditional metal braces.

A New Approach to Adult Orthodontics

Your teeth can grow crooked for a number of reasons, and straightening them means forcibly moving crooked teeth into their desired, more effective positions. Traditionally, metal braces can accomplish this movement by applying tension through wires that connect to brackets on your teeth. While highly effective, the apparatus may leave much to be desired for image-conscious older teens and adults. With impressive innovation, Invisalign clear braces redesign the approach to straightening teeth by eschewing brackets and wires, instead using a series of aligners that gently force your teeth into position following a doctor-prescribed schedule of movements. (more…)

filed under: Invisalign, Patient Education

Sheridan Dentists—The Dangerous Gum Disease Molecule

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bad bacteriaThe beginnings of most dental diseases, including destructive gum disease, can often be traced to the excessive buildup of dental plaque, which contains myriad kinds of oral bacteria that can prove harmful to your teeth and oral tissues. By understanding these microorganisms and the processes that make them dangerous, you can better prepare yourself to protect your smile from most dental issues. By examining these mechanisms, however, experts have also learned that the progression of dental diseases can also prove dangerous to your systemic wellbeing. Today, your Sheridan dentists explore one notorious oral bacterium—Porphyromonas gingivalis—and how it can contribute to gum disease and an increased risk to your cardiovascular health.

Introducing Porphyromonas gingivalis

Porphyromonas gingivalis is a significant contributor to dental plaque, along with over 600 other different kinds of oral bacteria. To survive, P. gingivalis manipulates your immune system’s defenses, specifically inflammation, and causes excessive swelling of your gum tissues. Bacterial irritation can cause your gums to recede from your teeth, creating pockets for more germs to accumulate, and inflammation can exacerbate the damage, leading to the onset of gum disease and the destruction of the gums and jawbone that support your teeth. (more…)

filed under: Gum Disease, Oral-Systemic Health

Sheridan Dentists’ Guide to Cavity Prevention & Treatment

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pretty woman with thumbs up smileDo you know the best way to treat a cavity? Technically, there are a few choices that can effectively treat tooth decay and repair your tooth from the damage of cavities, depending on the severity your condition. However, preventing tooth decay in the first place, or treating it early enough to prevent cavities, is the best way to protect your smile. Your Sheridan dentists explain the tenets of effective cavity prevention, as well as how to successfully treat cavities should your preventive measures fail.

Preventing Cavities

Tooth decay is a progressive disease, and though you may not notice it yourself until cavities form and toothaches occur, the process begins long before then. The protective layer around your teeth, called enamel, is your body’s strongest and most mineralized substance. Some oral bacteria, which form dental plaque and adhere to your tooth enamel, consume sugars and carbs from your meals and convert them into acid, which the bacteria excrete onto your tooth enamel. (more…)

filed under: Patient Education, Tooth Decay

Besides Brushing & Flossing, What Else Constitutes Good Oral Hygiene?

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oral health eating habitsHopefully, you already carefully brush and floss your teeth at least twice a day (once before bedtime, preferably). If so, then you’re well on your way to achieving an excellent oral hygiene routine. However, there’s more to a clean and healthy smile than just a toothbrush and floss. Your Sheridan dentists explain why taking care of your eating habits is equally important to your continued good oral hygiene.

Watch your eating habits

“Sugar causes cavities” has been repeated so often that it can almost be considered clichéd. Nevertheless, it’s true, and there’s more to the story. Other fermentable carbohydrates, as well as sugar, feed certain oral bacteria, which convert them into acid. Though bacteria-produced acid dissipates after a few minutes, it weakens your enamel while it remains in your mouth, depleting your teeth of essential minerals. The more often you eat or snack throughout the day, the more often your teeth are exposed to enamel-destroying acid and the more likely you are to develop tooth decay. Limit your snacking habits, and if you can’t brush your teeth after eating, try rinsing your mouth with water to neutralize acid and rinse out oral bacteria and food debris. (more…)

filed under: Oral Health, Patient Education

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How Would You Like to Whiten Your Teeth in Just One Visit?

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pretty woman with a bright smileYou probably wouldn’t want to leave your car at a shop for the day just to have it washed and waxed. Likewise, you might not want to undergo extensive dental treatment just to whiten common tooth stains, which are the most-often complained about tooth blemish. At your Sheridan cosmetic dentist’s office, you have a choice of professional teeth-whitening treatments that can have little to no impact on your hectic daily schedule, including one-visit teeth-whitening that can brighten your smile in as little as an hour.

A Brighter Smile in the Span of Your Lunch Break

Many patients seeking to whiten their teeth in a hurry can do so in just one visit with our one-visit teeth-whitening treatment. While protecting your lips and gums, Dr. Coon will apply a professional-strength bleaching agent that’s activated with a special curing light, brightening your smile up to 8-10 shades in about the same time as an average lunch break. (more…)

filed under: Cosmetic Dentistry, Teeth Whitening

Sheridan Dentists Explain Other Reasons for Tooth Loss

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pretty girl covering mouthRecently, we discussed why severe gum disease is the leading cause of adult tooth loss, as well as the destruction of your smile’s foundation. However, gum disease isn’t the only manner by which one or more of your teeth can leave the nest. To help you preserve a whole and healthy smile, your Sheridan dentist, Dr. Coon, explains a few other common reasons behind adult tooth loss.

Extreme Tooth Decay

While gum disease attacks your gums and jawbone, tooth decay directly attacks the structures of your teeth and leads to holes called cavities, which continue to grow until treated. Typically, tooth decay can be treated by removing the decayed structure to halt the spread of infection, then replacing the extracted tooth structure with a dental filling. In some cases, severe decay can render your tooth useless, and if left untreated, your tooth can fall out or require extraction. (more…)

filed under: Patient Education, Tooth Loss

82801 Dentist: Try This Homecare Quiz

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toothbrush and dental flossMaintaining thorough and consistent homecare can do wonders for your mouth. By brushing and flossing correctly, you can keep harmful bacteria from damaging your teeth and gums, keeping your smile healthy and functional. Therefore, to help you maintain your oral health, your 82801 dentist, Dr. Coon, has created this quiz to sharpen your homecare skills. (more…)

filed under: Healthy Living, Oral Health

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Sheridan Dentist Discusses Teeth Stains and Whitening

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smiling couple white teethA beautiful smile can light up a room because it is, well, bright. Thus, if you see yellow or dull teeth when you look in the mirror, chances are that you don’t feel your smile is capable of lighting up a room. Thankfully, cosmetic dentistry has developed teeth whitening treatment, which can remove stains and lighten teeth several shades. But did you know that teeth whitening is ineffective against a certain type of stain that discolors teeth? Read below as your Sheridan dentist, Dr. Coon, takes a closer look at teeth stains and shares the solution to stains that cannot be lifted with professional whitening treatment. (more…)

filed under: Cosmetic Dentistry, Teeth Whitening

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Sheridan Dentist: 38 Percent of Children Grind Their Teeth

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sleeping child with animalHave you ever heard the sound of teeth grinding against one another? It can be disturbing, especially if the teeth in question are part of a smile you adore. But did you know that children rarely receive treatment for bruxism (teeth grinding)? It’s not an oversight either. Below, your Sheridan dentist, Dr. Coon, explains why bruxism treatment is rarely necessary in young children. (more…)

filed under: Family Dentistry, Preventive Dentistry

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Dental Cleanings in Sheridan: More Important than You May Know

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checking teethWhile most people are aware that brushing and flossing your teeth twice a day is vital to keeping your smile clean, but how often do you visit your dentist for a regular dental checkup and cleaning? Your daily hygiene ritual is fairly simple and can be practiced in a matter of minutes every day, but visiting the dentist’s office every six months may seem like more of a chore. Your Sheridan dentist, Dr. Coon, explains why your dental cleaning is also vital to your smile’s health, and why you shouldn’t ignore professional maintenance when caring for your oral health.

What Your Toothbrush Can’t Do for You

The point of brushing and flossing your teeth is to control the buildup of dental plaque, which contains over 600 different kinds of oral bacteria. Some of these germs produce acid that erodes your tooth enamel (the strong protective layer around your teeth), and others can irritate and inflame your gum tissue, paving the way for gum disease. While brushing and flossing is essential, however, it is not full-proof, and missing a spot of plaque now and then is natural. After about 48 hours, dental plaque calcifies (hardens) into tartar, which is more stubborn than plaque and cannot be removed with your toothbrush and floss. (more…)

filed under: Oral Health, Preventive Dentistry