How Long Can Dental Implants Last?

Patients with clean health records can expect their implants to last 20 years or longer. This expectation is included in the 98 percent success range most dentists quote their patients. While early rejection of the implant can happen due to a rare allergy, implants are made with biocompatible titanium. Most implants that fail do so later in their lifespan, due to human error.

Dentists who do implant therapy always stress to their patients the need for strong oral care going forward. Implants function at the same level as natural teeth, and must be taken care of as such. This means brushing twice daily, flossing once daily, and making sure your diet is teeth-friendly. In addition, using an implant as a tool to open packaging or break a hard food can break an implant, just like it can break a tooth.

For brushing, make sure you use low-abrasive toothpaste. Anything high-grade can erode the implant.

The back of the mouth exerts more bite force, so implants in the molar spaces tend to take more punishment.

Finally, our dental implant dentist in Los Angeles stipulates that patients with a history of diabetes or cancer have a higher risk of implant failure.

For more about how long dental implants last, contact our dentists.

Full and Partial Dentures

Dentists today offer several ways to replace extracted or knocked-out teeth. Implants are typically the first choice, as they offer stability and comfort. Dental bridges are easier to place, be do require the support of the stable adjacent teeth. If a patient does not have the bone density or suitable adjacent teeth, our Orange County cosmetic dentist will likely recommend full or partial dentures.

Both full and partial dentures are removable appliances that substitute for both teeth and gums. Full dentures are designed to replace all of the teeth in an arch. In these cases, a patient may already be missing all of their teeth on either the top or bottom of their mouth, or need a few extracted for the full denture to be placed. Partial dentures are meant to replace a few teeth in a row, and are used in conjunction with the other teeth in the arch. This is the perfect option when a patient has multiple perfectly healthy teeth remaining. You may have the option between a removable denture, and one that stays in place by attaching to adjacent healthy teeth.

Our dentist will work with you to determine the shade, shape, and fit of your new dentures, so you can enjoy your new smile. For a consultation appointment and a recommendation of what will work best for you, give us a call today.

How to Know You Suffer from Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea, a disorder that causes breathing interruptions during sleep, raises serious health risks, and can have severe effects on quality of life. The right treatments from our San Francisco dentist can dramatically reduce or even stop symptoms, making sleep apnea recognition important. Here is how you may be able to tell if you have sleep apnea.

Extreme Fatigue

You may wake up dozens or even hundreds of times per night if you have sleep apnea. As a result, you may feel drowsy all day and have difficulty staying awake without large amounts of caffeine or other stimulants.

Breathlessness

Interruptions in breathing add up to low blood oxygen levels and feelings of breathlessness. This may be most severe immediately after rising, but it can reduce physical and mental endurance all day as the body continues to lack oxygen.

Snoring and Inconsistent Breathing During Sleep

You may not notice these problems, but a bed partner might. Many, but not all, sleep apnea patients snore. Gasps and pauses between breaths may mark apnea episodes and can be very noticeable to a bed partner.

Sleep apnea may be treated with oral appliances or soft tissue surgery. By scheduling a consultation with our sleep apnea dentist in San Francisco, you can learn more about signs of this condition.

What Problems Can be Fixed with Porcelain Veneers?

Porcelain veneers can fix many problems. They offer long-term results while correcting virtually all of your aesthetic concerns. Some of the issues that veneers can fix include:

1. Stains and discolorations
Tooth bleaching is often used for stains but is ineffective for the discolorations located deep inside the tooth’s structure. Additionally, teeth can develop new stains over time. Porcelain veneers cover stains and give your teeth a lighter, brighter look, and they resist staining for a Hollywood smile that lasts.

2. Chips, cracks and worn enamel
Veneers cover these common flaws easily and effectively. Each veneer is customized to fit over the front of the tooth, which ensures maximum aesthetics.

3. Gapped and misaligned teeth
Veneers have been called instant orthodontics because they can instantly create the look of a straight, perfectly aligned smile with no unwanted gaps, spaces or crooked teeth.

Virtually all aesthetic problems can be fixed in just a few dental appointments with porcelain veneers, and they can last at least 15 years. Good dental hygiene and healthy habits can ensure the most lasting results. Call our Los Angeles porcelain veneers expert today to learn more or to schedule your appointment with our team.

Are Clear Braces and Invisalign the Same Thing?

Many dentists and patients refer to Invisalign as “clear braces”. That being said, Invisalign cannot rightly be described as a type of braces. This is because they both look and work much differently than the traditional orthodontic appliance.

The Invisalign appliance is called an aligner. These look and fit much like a mouth guard, by encompassing the teeth and staying comfortably in place. Compare this to how braces are placed, with brackets bonded to the teeth and a wire running through them. Furthermore, while braces are semi-permanent, and can only be removed by our dentist at the end of your treatment, Invisalign aligners can be removed easily by the patient. Invisalign also moves the teeth into place differently, pushing rather than pulling by tightening wires.

There are some modern braces options that are more aesthetically pleasing than the traditional option. For example, ceramic braces are more of a while color than a metallic grey. They are not, however, clear, like Invisalign aligners are. Neither are self-ligating braces, which feature smaller brackets, making them less noticeable, but not invisible.

Our San Francisco dentist offers all of these orthodontic options and more. Schedule a consultation appointment to find out which is best for you and your smile.

What You Should Discuss with Your TMJ Doctor

Treatment of any nervous condition involves careful consideration of patient triggers, and relies on a clear communication path between patient and doctor. While not exactly a nervous condition, TMJ disorder can affect some patients in the same way, especially since the temporomandibular joint works so closely with the nerves in the back of the jaw. In any case, any patient with TMJ-like symptoms should be absolutely clear about the sensations and severity, as TMJ is notoriously hard to diagnose. Lyme disease, tetanus, vascular neuralgia, and sinusitis are a few conditions TMJ can resemble.

After isolating the pain area, the first order of business becomes determining the source. Is it inflammation? Malformation? Is it an indicator of a past condition like diabetes or arthritis? TMJ disorder often traces to a birth defect, and may require orthodontic or occlusal intervention.

Next, discuss care. Is there anything you should be doing differently, such as observing better posture at your desk? Are there home remedies you can try? Massages, stretching, and even changes in diet have proven to be useful recommendations by our Los Angeles TMJ doctor.

Ninety percent of TMJ cases can be treated non-surgically. But you should be open to MRI treatments, jaw tracking, and other imagery to get the best result.

Why Get a Smile Makeover

The way your teeth look can dramatically impact your daily life, from social engagements to the way you take care of your health. When you are not happy with your teeth, you are less likely to smile or even go out into situations where your teeth may be exposed. A smile makeover in Beverly Hills, CA, can have a profound improvement on your self-esteem. Increased confidence can let you get back out and take control of your life.

It can be really embarrassing if you have problems with your teeth. Discoloration, damage, decay, and missing teeth can make you want to hide your smile from everyone. When you hide away, this can make you feel depressed. You may begin to lose interest in activities that you once enjoyed, and you may not take care of your health as much.

A smile makeover can help you to get the smile you want. Gaps can be filled, teeth can be straightened and made to look more even. Stains can be removed and your teeth can be whitened through a combination of cosmetic dental procedures that will be selected based on your individual needs. A smile makeover is an investment that can give you a reason to smile.

Why Get Full Mouth Dental Implants?

There are a few options for tooth replacement in modern dentistry. Dental bridges use crowns on stable teeth to support pontics, and dentures use suction to attach to the gums. Patients and our cosmetic dentist alike prefer dental implants for several reasons. They support the jaw bone tissue and prevent orthodontic issues. Fortunately, implants are available when all of the teeth in the mouth are missing, as well.

Full mouth dental implants consist of at least four implants evenly placed along the arch. These titanium implants support replacement teeth, also known as pontics. Full mouth implants replace all of the teeth in an arch, as well as the gum line. This is all accomplished in a relatively short, minimally invasive procedure. If any teeth need to be extracted, which is necessary for this option, patients will have to wait a few weeks before the implants can be placed.

Patients prefer full mouth implants when they are an option because they offer stability and a level of consistency that other options do not. They are also easier to maintain than bridges and dentures, which can be difficult to clean and often uncomfortable. Talk to our cosmetic expert to discover if this is an option for you.

Effectiveness of Scaling and Root Planing

Scaling and root planing is a delicate and essential art that many patients do not reap the benefit of simply because they wait too long. This is not always the patient’s fault, either. Recent reliance on ultrasonics has unfortunately led many dentists to authorize their dental hygienists to do scaling and root planing, and ultrasonic therapy cuts corners. You may be left with residual calculus that could cause a dental flare-up months or years later.

Patients who receive scaling and root planing have already been diagnosed with periodontal disease. One of the contributing factors is what’s called subgingival calculus—plaque below the gum line. To remove it requires a careful sweep of all affected root surfaces, in order to minimize the development of periodontal pockets. (You may already have pockets, but their depth can be reduced).

Our expert in scaling and root planing in Van Nuys applies fastidious attention to detail in making sure your teeth are properly scaled. The process includes perioscopic imagery, which magnifies the subgingival area up to 50 times. This enables the specialist to better visualize the calculus, and use a hand instrument to scrape away any calculus that might have been missed by ultrasonic therapy.

For more about the effectiveness of scaling and root planing, contact our dentists in Van Nuys.

Process of Dental Extraction

While we all have the best intentions for our teeth, things can take a sour turn, requiring the utilization of last resort methods. For example, if a tooth has suffered deep decay that has affected the pulp and other surrounding areas, it may need to be extracted. Our dentist in West Hollywood also usually recommends that wisdom teeth are removed, as they can cause serious problems in the future, if not already. The following is information regarding the process of a dental extraction.

The appointment will begin with the patient given a local anesthetic, as well as sedation if necessary. These will eliminate pain and allow them to relax. If the tooth in question is above the gum line, the extraction should be quite simple. Our dentist will use certain tools to rock it from side to side, loosening it from the ligaments and bone keeping it in place. Once it is loose enough, they will use forceps to remove it entirely. If the tooth is troublesome and not moving enough to create space and extract it, our dentist may decide to break it into large pieces. This way each piece can be removed easily. Surgical measures must be used if the tooth has not yet erupted.

After the tooth has been pulled, a piece of gauze will be placed in the area to minimize bleeding. The patient will be prescribed pain medication, and possibly antibiotics to help prevent infection.

How is Gum Disease Treated?

Don’t be alarmed by a diagnosis of gum disease. Nearly half of American adults have it, and most gum disease is reversible. But early detection is important, so the first line of defense is regular checkups with your Beverly Hills dentists.

Early gum disease is just gingivitis, which you may have noticed if your gums bleed slightly after brushing or flossing. Adding a few home remedies to your oral hygiene can help minimize gingivitis. Make a paste out of garlic and turmeric, and apply it to your teeth, like toothpaste, for several minutes before rinsing. Or gargle with organic olive or mustard oil, which is a good way to remove oral toxins.

Your dentist may schedule you for scaling and root planing, which is an artful form of deep cleaning. Using either ultrasonics or hand instruments, the dentist removes the plaque from below the gum line and painstakingly smooths all your root surfaces to make them less susceptible to bacteria.

If you’ve developed periodontal pockets—caused by the inflamed gums pulling away from the teeth—you may need pocket reduction surgery. This is an extreme version of scaling and root planing, in which our expert in periodontal treatments in Beverly Hills lifts the gums and fits them more securely over the teeth.

Types of Dental Problems Fixed by Veneers

While cosmetic dental problems might not affect your dental health, they can affect how you feel about your smile and your self-confidence. Our veneer dentist in Beverly Hills offers cosmetic treatments that can fix those problems and give you the smile of your dreams.

Some of the problems veneers can fix include:

•    Discolored or stained teeth
•    Chipped or broken teeth
•    Misaligned teeth
•    Gapped teeth
•    Irregularly shaped teeth
•    Cracked teeth
•    Worn teeth

The thin porcelain of the veneer covers the front of the tooth and is customized to address your specific concerns. You can choose lighter porcelain to create a whiter smile, and you can adjust the shape or size of the tooth-shaped shells to achieve the look you want. Each aspect of your smile can be completely transformed for a more flattering appearance.

Virtually any cosmetic issue can be fixed using dental veneers, which can be applied in just two to three dental visits. Once your teeth have been prepared, dental impressions are sent to the dental lab so that your veneers can be made. Call our dental office today to learn more about your options or to schedule your appointment with our team.