When you’re told that you need tooth extraction, you might have mixed feelings about it. Removing the tooth might be preferable to extensive restorative treatment that isn’t likely to work, but your goals for your smile were supposed to include preserving your healthy, natural teeth for life. Unfortunately, if the need for tooth extraction has arisen, it means that preserving the tooth is no longer an option. Fortunately, there are several things you can look forward to after the tooth is removed, and the problems that it caused are no longer a constant presence. (more…)
What’s the Point of Root Canal Treatment?
The fact that you need root canal treatment is one thing, but understanding that need and the importance of the treatment is something else entirely. To many people, tooth decay is most widely recognized as the source of cavities. This connection can make them believe that their tooth decay can be treated with a filling, even if it is a little more severe. However, the point of root canal treatment is to restore a tooth that has become too infected for a more conservative tooth filling to treat. This means your tooth infection may be a lot more serious than you expect, and will only grow worse the longer you wait to treat it. (more…)
Why Do You Have Bruxism?
When many people are diagnosed with bruxism, they may be surprised to learn that the teeth-grinding habit they rarely think of is actually one of the greatest threats to their smiles. That underlies one of the most significant problems with treating bruxism; the fact that many people don’t realize they have a problem to worry about in the first place. Another significant issue is the fact that bruxism can occur for a wide variety of possible reasons. Therefore, designing treatment to help you stop grinding your teeth and preserve your healthy, natural smile is a highly personalized process. (more…)
When You Have Gingivitis and Need Deep Cleaning
When plaque and tartar gather on your teeth surfaces, you need professional cleaning to successfully remove it all. Tartar, which is a calcified form of plaque, can’t be cleaned off your teeth with toothpaste and water. It takes professional care and equipment. However, when plaque and tartar develop on the roots of your teeth, which rest underneath your gums, even professional teeth cleaning might not be enough to remove the threat they pose to your smile. Deep cleaning, or scaling and root planing, may be the only solution to preventing or stopping the gingivitis that follows this buildup. (more…)
What an Optimal Checkup and Cleaning Means
Keeping up with your checkup and cleaning appointments by attending them on schedule every time doesn’t seem like much of a challenge when every visit goes smoothly. For some people, even a simple checkup and cleaning can seem like a chore if they fear they have an issue and will likely need to schedule further treatment to address it. Fortunately, there are ways you can optimize your daily and routine oral health care to help make sure that your regular professional dental visits don’t get too complicated. (more…)
What You Need to Know in a Dental Emergency
When you have a dental emergency, a lot of things can run through your mind at once. Hopefully, the dominant thought is to schedule an emergency visit with your dentist as soon as possible. However, in addition to that, there are also a few other things you should try to keep in mind, such as determining if your condition really is an emergency, or if it’s something you can schedule a regular dental visit to address. Today, we take a look at what you should know in a dental emergency to help ensure you optimize your chances of preserving your smile. (more…)
The Ways Dental Implants Restore Smiles Better
The appearance of your smile is the first thing that people can notice about your tooth loss. However, there’s much more going on with your oral health that others won’t be able to notice, and even you may not realize until long after you’ve lost teeth. These effects, such as the way your jawbone reacts the loss of your teeth roots and how your other teeth respond to the empty space in their ranks, can lead to many more complications with your oral health. The best way to restore your smile is to replace as much of your lost tooth structure as possible. That includes the root that supported the visible crown of your tooth, and used to rest securely within your jawbone structure. (more…)
Not-So-Secret Tips to Prevent Tooth Loss
As common as tooth loss can seem, many people might believe there’s a secret to preventing it from ever occurring to them. However, the truth is that the tips for successfully preventing tooth loss aren’t really a secret. Many people just forget at times, leaving their smiles exposed to the common threats that grow more severe and threaten their teeth. Today, we help refresh your memory by revisiting a few not-so-secret tips for avoiding tooth loss, or preventing it from happening again if you’ve already experienced it. (more…)
What a Crown Can Do for Your Tooth, Specifically
Dental crowns have lasted for centuries as a preferable solution for many different tooth concerns. The restorations are designed to mimic the size, shape, and contour of your healthy, natural tooth, and by placing it over your compromised tooth structure, you can restore most of the tooth’s vital functions. As dental technologies and materials have advanced over the years, the specific ways in which modern dental crowns can restore teeth have also grown more varied, making them a preferable solution for even more dental health concerns. (more…)
What Is A “Bad Bite,” And Why Should It Be Treated?
There is a term for how the upper and lower jaw fits together. It is called occlusion, and it is a natural fit for most people. However, there are some individuals whose teeth are not properly aligned. When this happens, it is known as traumatic occlusion, or you could say that they have a “bad bite.” It is an issue where there is not enough space for all of their teeth to align. Having a bad bite affects how they smile and how their mouths function when chewing. It could also lead to other issues, like gum disease, when it is not treated. If this is something you are experiencing, your Leawood, KS, dentist can help you.
