Want to know what happens to your teeth as you get older? They wear down, like tread on tires. Ever so gradually, the distance between your chin and nose diminishes until one day you realize that you’ve got lines around your mouth and you just, well …look older, but don’t really know why. That’s one reason to consider crowns or overlays on your back teeth – this procedures restores the lost vertical distance created by wear. It’s almost like having a facelift!
Look Ma’ No Cavities!
August 25, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Look Ma! No Cavities!
For Boomers who grew up with this famous toothpaste advertisement, I have a news flash: At your age, it’s no longer just about cavities!
If you’ve passed the age of forty, you really should have a mid-life diagnosis to evaluate the overall state of your oral health AND to plan a proper course of treatment that will enable you to keep your teeth for the remainder of your lifetime.
Patients over forty have often shortchanged their dental health or just barely maintained their teeth and gums. With the expense of family taking precedence through the previous two decades, Boomer-aged patients coming to me for the first time are often prepared to play catch-up with their own dental health.
Today you can plan a course of treatment that will ensure you’ve got your own teeth to chew with well into your senior years. In addition, nothing is more youthful than a natural-looking white smile. Unlike your parents, if you take care now you can have both.
What Can You Think of That 98% of Folks Agree is a Great Thing?
August 20, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Not much. However, here are the results based on a study of 350 patients who had dental implants:
1. Knowing what you know now, would you have the treatment again? 98% said yes.
2. Was the treatment worth the investment? 98% said yes.
3. Was there a significant improvement in your ability to eat and chew? 97% said yes.
4. Was there a significant improvement in appearance? 98% said yes.
5. Was there a significant overall improvement? 96% said yes.
6. 98% said it was worth the investment.
7. 98% said they would choose treatment again knowing what they know now after treatment.
Want Whiter Teeth?
August 16, 2008 By Leave a Comment
An estimated ten million Americans will spend 1.7 billion dollars on tooth whitening products and services this year. Tooth whitening is the most common cosmetic service provided by dentists, and there are also a growing number of over-the-counter tooth whitening products to choose from.
Patients often ask my opinion about the various treatments available to whiten teeth. My recommendation is to use bleaching trays with a product provided by your dentist.
Why not the faster methods? Simple. No one knows the long term effect on the nerves of your teeth when exposed to higher heat methods. My philosophy is “why risk damage to the teeth when the alternative can get you the same result with just a bit more time without the heat?”
Kids Going Back To School?
August 14, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Pack a toothbrush with your kids and get them brushing after lunch each day. It will not only help reduce cavities, but it establishes a good dental care pattern for life that can save them from needing dental work up the road. Ideally, they would also floss every day at lunch. Big kids should heed this advice as well. You want to keep your gums healthy, and flossing as well as brushing every day after eating goes a long way to achieving this.
Got Bloody Gums?
July 25, 2008 By Leave a Comment
OK, this isn’t as fun and sexy to talk about as cosmetic dentistry but it’s time to sound the alarm on one of the most common diseases around. It’s GUM DISEASE folks and 75% of Americans have some stage of it.
Sadly, most people think that it’s normal when gums bleed. If you washed your hands and they started to bleed, wouldn’t you get a little worried? Of course you would, yet most people don’t get worried about bleeding gums because no one is telling them it is serious gum disease that could be deadly!
The news about gum disease and it’s connection to our overall health continues to come up again and again in research and medicine. It’s time to get deadly serious about the disease that most of the planet still does not take seriously.
Here’s the good news! In our office we have the systems and technology to get gum disease under control 98% of the time without specialist surgery.
To schedule a gum disease check, call our St Louis dentist office (314) 576-3000.
So, How Do I Choose a Toothbrush, Anyway?
July 22, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Contrary to toothbrush marketeers, a gentle brushing with a soft-bristle toothbrush is just as effective (and less damaging!) than a vigorous scrubbing with a stiff-bristle toothbrush.
Your tooth enamel is quite thin. Years of aggressive brushing can begin to wear away the enamel and make the teeth sensitive.
Brushing too hard can also damage your gums.
My St Louis dentist office all supplies toothbrushes that I personally trust. Ask the front desk for assistance at (314) 576-3000.
Bad Breath? Tender Gums?
July 6, 2008 By 1 Comment
I’m not a fan of spending money on drugstore mouthwash. At Artistic Dentistry we use Tooth and Gum Tonic™ during all patient visits. It costs more than drugstore mouthwash, but there’s no comparison between the two, in my opinion.
I’m Italian, so a good analogy would be to compare frozen pizza and pizza from Cicero’s in the Loop (for non St Louis readers, Cicero’s pizza is excellent!).
When it comes to my patient’s health, I get pretty picky about what I use in their mouths.
Tooth and Gum Tonic™ has all natural ingredients. This mouthwash is made of herbs and essential oils that are organically grown and contain exceptionally high quality extracts, which are alcohol-free. It is said that this product is an anti-microbial and rebuilds the infected tissues because the plant extracts have a known anti-inflammatory response to the tissues.
One study showed the Tonic to be the most effective mouthwash in controlling bad breath of all products tested. This product is definitely worth considering if you suffer from chronic halitosis, or have chronic bleeding gums due to gingivitis or after surgery or any dental work, for that matter. It’s only available in dental offices who use it. If you’re interested in taking some home, ask my staff about it. The cost is higher, but the results speak for themselves.
