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455-3917
Monday: 8 am - 7 pm
Tuesday: 9 am - 7 pm
Wednesday: 8 am - 5 pm
Thursday: 8 am - 5 pm
Friday: 8 am - 5 pm
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SYMPTOMS OF GUM DISEASE One of the things we will look for in the search for gum disease is the shape of your gums. If your gums are healthy, the gum contour will rise up and down between the teeth, forming a “V” or cone shape. This pyramid of gum is called the papilla. If your gums have been damaged by disease they will be rounded or blunt where the top of the pyramid should be. This indicates a recession of the gum and possible loss of bone structure. There are other signs of gum disease. Diseased gums usually look as though somebody had removed some of the tissue between the teeth. Other signs are enlarged, swollen and reddish looking gums, rather than the normal pink color. Inflamed and reddened gums with occasional bleeding are early signs of gum disease that should be treated if you want to save your teeth. Don’t delay treatment, because this condition usually gets progressively worse, causing abscesses, loosening teeth and eventually tooth loss. DETECTION OF ORAL CANCER One of the hazards to be on the alert for is any sign of suspicious growths that could mean oral cancer. This is why your dentist takes such care in examining your mouth when you go for a checkup. Oral cancer in its early stages can usually be treated successfully. Among the early signs is a red sore on the lips, gums or inside the mouth that doesn’t heal in two or three weeks. Another is a profusion of white scaly patches inside the mouth or on the lips. Any swelling or lumps in the mouth or on the neck, lip or tongue should also be viewed suspiciously. Other symptoms are numbness or pain in the mouth, or bleeding without any apparent cause. Many of these conditions won’t cause any pain at first. We do visual exams as well as x-rays to aid in early detection. The earlier suspicious signs are noted, the better the chances for cure. That’s another reason why regular dental checkups are important. FIXED BRIDGE SUPERIORITY One of the very best ways to replace a missing tooth, or teeth, is through the use of a fixed bridge. This is attached to two or more adjacent teeth by use of abutment crowns. Porcelain fused to metal is normally the material used to construct the bridge. The fixed bridge has many advantages. Since it remains permanently in the mouth, it cannot be dropped or misplaced. It can be cleaned in the same way as natural teeth. It adds no extra bulk to the mouth and does not interfere with speech. It is very unlikely to cause irritation to the gum or jawbones. It is esthetically pleasing and can often last a lifetime. Unfortunately, a fixed bridge may not be for everyone in every situation. Your dentist can give advice on the feasibility and the desirability of a fixed bridge only after a careful examination. A fixed bridge is as close to natural teeth as you can get. CAN YOUR TEETH OUTLAST YOU Can your teeth last a lifetime? Yes! The deep-rooted belief that you must inevitably lose your teeth as you grows older ranks among the most serious of the old wives tales. There is no reason to resign yourself to replacing teeth with false ones. With good care, your teeth have an excellent chance of lasting a lifetime. The greatest single cause of tooth loss in adults is gum disease and not, as most people believe, cavities. Deposits that cause this gum disease can be regularly removed through good home hygiene and your dentist. It’s seldom too late to begin taking really good care of your teeth and it’s worth the effort! Dentures, efficient as they are, simply don’t function as well as your natural teeth. For convenience and performance there are no teeth like your own. Actually, teeth can last more than a lifetime. Full sets of teeth have been found in the skulls of skeletons over a thousand years old. If they can do it – you can do it! IMPLANTS FOR MISSING TEETH If you have missing teeth, you may want to consider a dental implant. It is most often used when you don’t have enough natural teeth to anchor down a fixed bridge. In the dental implant technique, a device is surgically imbedded into the jawbone and a false tooth attached over it. The lower section of a dental implant, imbedded into the jawbone and hidden under the gum, provides the anchor to secure the implant into place. The upper section consists of one or more posts that extend above the gum. A crown, fitted and molded to resemble a natural tooth, is then constructed onto the posts. WHAT TO DO WITH WISDOM TEETH If any of your wisdom teeth are beginning to erupt or have erupted, the question is “What to do with them?” We may not recommend that they be extracted unless they have become impacted or are crowding other teeth. If that’s the case, they should be removed as soon as possible. Wisdom teeth are a throwback to an age when our jaws were larger and could accommodate third molars without creating dental problems. Today, however, in many cases wisdom teeth do not break through the gum or are only partially visible. They become “impacted”, causing damage to second molars and the jawbone, especially when they begin crowding other teeth. If any of your wisdom teeth grow in straight and can be maintained in a healthy condition, there is no reason to remove them. Only a thorough examination will provide the best solution to how your wisdom teeth should be treated. AVOIDING TOOTH EXTRACTION If you have an infected or badly decayed or damaged tooth and conventional restorative treatment can not save it, the next step would likely be root canal therapy. This technique offers an important alternative for saving your teeth. By keeping your teeth in your mouth as long as possible, they can continue to function in maintaining the shape of your face as well as in chewing food. There is no equally strong substitute for your teeth. Root canal treatment involves the removal of diseased tissue from the root of a tooth and replacing it with sterile filler. This is a relatively comfortable procedure and is performed with the aid of local anesthesia when a tooth is severely infected. High-speed dental instruments and other techniques help make root canal therapy more comfortable for the patient as well as helping to reduce the time needed to complete the procedure. NATURAL LOOKING FILLINGS If you have decayed teeth that should be restored with fillings to protect your dental health, you should know about the latest techniques that have been developed to make fillings look natural. For example, there are new “micro-filled” materials that consist of very hard micro-sized crystals similar in texture to fine sand. We mix this filler with a resin and then apply it to the tooth surface, shaping it to recreate the tooth’s natural contours. As in the case of composite plastics, the tooth to be filled is first treated with a mild acid solution to improve adhesion. The micro-filled material is bonded directly to the tooth surface. A light with a blue beam then hardens the plastic. Micro-filled composites have proven to be a value particularly in restoring the smooth, non-chewing surfaces of teeth that are exposed when you talk or smile. The process is called bonding and it can produce spectacular results in creating that perfect smile. WHY X-RAYS During a dental examination, we may need to take x-rays in order to confirm the findings from the clinical examination. These x-rays should include films showing all the roots of the teeth, as well as clear views in between teeth where they contact each other. A full examination is recommended at your first visit and then approximately every 3 years (or more frequently if a problem is suspected). The reason for this many films is that the dentist needs to see clearly the following areas: root tips, the sinuses, the bone around the teeth and behind the last teeth, and the contacts between all the teeth. On the other hand, for a periodic checkup, bitewing x-rays should suffice. Though these will not show the root tips or bone very well, they will show any new cavities, which have formed which cannot be seen visually. |