How Cosmetic Dentistry Can Improve Your Life
This infographic below gives you an idea as to how revolutionary cosmetic dentistry can be for your life!
Surprising Foods That Cause Teeth Damage
Bad oral hygiene and a lack of fluoride can lead to tooth damage. But do you know that late-night snacking and eating junk food can also cause you to get emergency dental care?
Here are some foods that cause teeth damage.
1- Dried Fruit
Dried fruits like raisins, dates, apricots, and figs are full of minerals and vitamins and are a healthy substitute for fresh fruit. However, dried fruit causes more damage to your teeth than you might realize. Dried fruit has a lot of natural sugar, which is as bad for your teeth as processed sugar.
Most dried fruits stick in the gums and teeth, making the fruit particles hard to remove. With the fruit particles stuck in your teeth, the bacteria will further erode your teeth.
2- Diet Soda
Drinking soda can lead to many tooth problems like tooth decay and sensitivity. Therefore, many people switch to diet soda to avoid oral issues. But even diet soda can lead to tooth damage!
Diet soda is highly acidic, containing phosphoric and citric acids. Although these acids are also present in regular soda, diet soda has more of thee acids to make up for the absence of sugar. Both phosphoric and citric acids attack the tooth enamel and erode it.
3- Cough Drops
Cough drops are an effective way to get rid of that scratch in your throat. But cough drops aren’t beneficial to your teeth. Cough drops contain as much sugar as hard candy. Since they dissolve slowly, they cover the whole mouth with sugar, which combines with mouth bacteria to cause enamel erosion and tooth decay.
4- White Wine
Everyone knows that red wine can stain and etch teeth. Over time, regular red wine drinkers can end up with brown, blue, or even purple teeth. But do you know that switching to other wines like white wine isn’t an effective solution?
White wine also contains acids that attack the protective layer around the teeth and dissolve it. It can lead to tooth decay and teeth that are easily stained from tea, coffee, or other acidic beverages.
However, you don’t have to completely cut off these things from your diet for healthy teeth. You can still consume them in small amounts if you take care of your oral hygiene and get regular checkups from a dentist. At Dr. Below, our team offers all kinds of emergency dental services in Westlake, Ohio.
Book an appointment for our dental care services, and keep your teeth healthy!
Signs that you need a Dentist – Dr Below
Have a look at the Infographic below for the signs that indicate you need to go see a dentist immediately!
6 Common Cosmetic Dental Procedures and Their Benefits
Cosmetic dental procedures are becoming increasingly popular due to their quick, painless, and increasingly affordable nature. With advances in technology and dentistry, there are now many options to choose from. Here’s a list of some of the most common cosmetic dental procedures that can be used for both better looks and healthier teeth. Find out what might work best for you.
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Teeth Whitening
The simplest and most popular cosmetic dental procedure, teeth whitening, is a very straightforward process. At your initial appointment, your dentist will use a laser to clean the outer layer of your teeth.
The laser causes the stains to break away from your teeth and eventually be washed away by saliva. Teeth whitening can last up to nine months and is an easy way to enhance the appearance of one’s smile.
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Dental Implants
Dental implants are an option for those who have missing teeth and are permanently anchored into the jawbone, and feel just like normal teeth when in place. Dental implants can be used to provide a new smile for those with missing teeth, rebuild a damaged set of teeth, or even replace a complete set of teeth. The procedure takes about two to three visits and then six months for the body to adjust before the replacement tooth is placed.
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Smile Makeover
A smile makeover is an ideal solution for those who desire a more aesthetically pleasing smile. A variety of cosmetic dental procedures can be performed at once to produce the desired results. Dental veneers, dental bonding, and crowns are all effective methods of achieving this goal.
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Veneers
Veneers are custom-made tooth shells that are bonded to the front teeth. They provide the appearance of shiny, healthy, white teeth. If you have discolored or chipped teeth that need to be corrected, veneers can restore the appearance to what they once were.
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Dentures
Dentures look and feel just like natural teeth, but they are crafted from artificial material for added durability and comfort. Because dentures are rigid compared to natural teeth, they do not result in chewing problems or sensitivity. Because dentures do not move around when you eat or talk, there is no risk of chipping or breaking while speaking with someone on the phone or having a meal with friends.
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Enamel Bonding
Enamel bonding is also known as dental bonding. Enamel is the hardest part of the tooth. With this procedure, teeth are filled with water-based material, which hardens to create a bond between natural and artificial teeth. This bond will strengthen the existing tooth, creating a healthy appearance for your smile.
To get dental care services in Westlake, reach out to Dr. Below. He is a qualified dental practitioner who deals with emergency dental care, cosmetic dental procedures, like dental implants, teeth whitening, and pediatric dentistry. Get in touch for affordable dental care today.
Everything You Should Know About Dental Implants
Implants are great because they can replace one or more missing teeth. But depending on the severity of the damage, your dentist might recommend an extraction first. If that’s not what you want to do, read through this blog to learn everything about dental implants and how they work!
1.What are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are devices that can be used to replace one or more missing teeth. Implants are metal posts or screws made of titanium that act as artificial roots for your new false teeth. Restoring dentures with implant-supported crowns is also possible.
2.What Types of Implants Are There?
There are two types of dental implants.
Endosteal implants are placed entirely in the jawbone. They mostly replace teeth at the back of your mouth but can also be used for front teeth.
Subperiosteal implants rest partially under the gum line, with at least half of them placed under your skin. Because they are not entirely exposed to the bone, they won’t take as long to fuse with surrounding tissue and thus be placed in slightly decayed jaw areas.
3. How Do Dental Implants Work?
When placing an implant, your dental practitioner will make an incision in your gums to expose the roots of your teeth. Then they will use a special drill to create holes in the bone. Once that’s done, the artificial tooth is placed into the hole and fixed in place with a screw, which is then anchored into the jaw. The surrounding tissue grows around it with time.
4.How Do Dentists Place the Implants?
The process of placing implants will vary based on your specific case. Your dentist will first have to diagnose the condition of your teeth, jaw bone, and gums before deciding if implants are the proper way to restore your smile.
5.Does It Hurt to Replace Teeth with Implants?
It is possible that implants feel very little or not at all during placement. Some people may even feel no pain at all during implant placement. During the healing period, you may feel mild discomfort in the jawbone where the implant is being placed.
You may also experience sharp, intense pain in your gums for a short period after extraction. Some people also have swelling, numbness, and stiffness after extraction, but these issues can be treated with over-the-counter medication and good dental hygiene practices.
Getting an implant can be easier if you consult with the right dentist. To book a consultation for your dental issues, reach out to Dr. Walter Below. He is a dental care practitioner in Westlake who deals with emergency dental care, cosmetic dentistry, including teeth whitening and dental implants. He also deals with pediatric dentistry.
Silent Killer
A killer is on the loose!
You are in danger!
This killer is dangerous because it is silent. It can sneak up on you unawares. You will not know it is there because the human eye cannot see it until it has concluded its nefarious work. In most killings, blood is shed, and this murder is no exception. If you see red, you know you have been its victim. If not, you can still be its victim.
If you eat, drink, or breathe, you are at risk.
Who is this silent killer? Let’s investigate.
Crime Scene: Your Mouth
Modus Operandi: Like any criminal, the bad guys work undercover. They hide in order to rob and destroy their host. Their size makes the hiding quite easy. As in almost any theft, the victim will not know he has been robbed until he enters the house and finds destruction of property and valuables missing. And, in some instances, if the thief is still in the house, in other words, has not been caught and arrested, the host can lose his life.
Let’s identify the criminals, shall we? The killers are bacteria that stealthily hide, breed, and spread in the soft tissues of the mouth, creating destruction, in this case minute wounds in the gums that you cannot see. These bacteria, if not arrested, trigger a destructive response called inflammation. We might think of this response as the alarm that lets the homeowner know that the robber has broken in; however, the alarm does nothing to keep the killer from wreaking havoc while still in the house. In your mouth, inflammation may look like red gums, possibly ulcerated gums, and/or bleeding gums.
Danger! Call the police!
Once you see red or bleeding gums, these wily bacteria have already entered your bloodstream and can wreak havoc anywhere in your body, including in organs not in the vicinity of the oral cavity. They, and the inflammatory substances they partner with, can lead to
- Atherosclerosis, causing heart attack or stroke;
- Insulin resistance
- Type 2 diabetes, causing heart and kidney damage, neuropathy (numbness or tingling in the extremities, possibly leading to amputation); retinopathy, possibly leading to blindness; and cataracts.
- Cancer
- Alzheimer’s’ Disease
- Preterm birth
- Loss of bone, loss of teeth. If bone loss is severe, dentures or implants may not be possible interventions.
- And more …
Or, more alarmingly, you may not see pink, or red, or ulcerated gums. You may see nothing! … Which is why this killer can be so deadly.
How can you know and be able to institute preventative measures? Good oral care is a must but knowing the level of inflammation in your mouth can help you and your dentist determine treatment urgency. Inflammation in the body causes the liver to secrete a protein called C-Reactive Protein (Crp). Contact us for a Crp test. It is part of our free periodontal assessment.
If you do not heed the warning signals in your mouth, your house could be destroyed and you could lose your most valuable possession – your health.
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Call: 440.871.1155
