Patients have various dentists to choose from for their oral health – endodontists, prosthodontists, orthodontists, and even oral surgeons. However, most specialties work to treat more complex conditions. Oral surgeons are considered a valuable asset in dentistry due to the specifics of their field. Choosing between a general dentist or oral surgeon for your concern can be challenging when it comes to your treatment. That’s why we’re here to help you decide if seeing an oral surgeon is best for you!

General Dentists vs. Oral Surgeons: What’s The Difference? 

Oral surgeons and general dentists are both irreplaceable in dentistry – just like many other specialties, these two groups of dentists focus on different aspects of your care to improve your oral health. However, they both makeup parts of what’s considered complete dental care, as each person’s oral health is unique. When it comes to these two dentists, they’re vastly different in many ways, including:

Oral surgeons provide valuable experience and treatment for patients everywhere, like endodontists, periodontists, and pediatric dentists. All of these specialties make up the whole that is dentistry, and by learning about them, you can find what you need and care for your teeth easily. 

Find The Best Dental Professional For You

Always talk with a dentist first, especially if you are experiencing issues that are impacting your oral health. If you want to learn more about what treatments will work best for you, speak with an oral surgeon or contact your primary dentist for more information. 

Malocclusion, also known as misaligned teeth, is a vast oral health problem that affects between 39% and 93% of children and adolescents yearly. One of the best methods orthodontists have for treating this problem is with braces. However, these devices can be uncomfortable and painful, especially for those getting used to their first braces. For those new to wearing braces, we have some tips to help ease the transition and ensure that your teeth are healthy and aligned. 

How Do We Treat Orthodontic Pain From Braces?

Symptoms such as mild tenderness, puffiness, and sensitivity are expected during the first few weeks of adjustment. For children and adolescents, it takes work to get comfortable wearing their braces. This occurs because the archwires and brackets used to straighten the teeth can irritate the gums and mouth, causing discomfort and swelling. But there are options for treating these symptoms, and we recommend the following: 

These approaches are common ways to treat pain experienced from braces, but in more severe cases where the braces cause bleeding, chipped enamel, and excruciating pain, seeking immediate attention from your orthodontist or dentist is the best course of action. Always check your symptoms because it could indicate that the braces are not placed on correctly or some other problem with treatment that needs to be addressed. It is also important to know that certain foods, poor hydration, and poor brushing habits can lead to mouth irritation, so always brush your teeth, floss regularly, and have a healthy diet to keep your teeth healthy. 

Ask Your Dentist For More Tips For Braces Pain

By contacting your dentist, they will be able to identify the causes of your discomfort and suggest methods and treatment options for reducing your pain and helping you gain the most out of your orthodontic treatment. In the meantime, schedule an appointment with your primary dentist to learn more about braces, how to take care of your teeth, and other factors that go into your dental care.

Many dentistry devices are considered essential, and for cosmetic dentists, their tools of the trade are their lifeline. Cosmetic and restorative dentists need the right tools to create a seamless, enjoyable visit for their patients. Through the list of tools below, cosmetic dentists can provide their patients with excellent care.

The Tools Cosmetic Dentists Use For Perfect Smiles

While most dental products you may be familiar with are toothbrushes and toothpaste, dentists work with loads of tools and equipment manufactured by famous brands to give patients the treatments they need for healthy teeth. Treatments such as implants, crowns, veneers, and even dentures rely on the aesthetic skill of the dentist, but the other half of the equation works with the technology they use in today’s offices to give you a smile you want most. Some of the tools your dentists will rely on to help create your smile include:

These pieces of equipment are just a few that your dentist relies on to deliver excellent oral health care. Each of these machines serves a different purpose but is known and respected by the dental community.

Consult Your Dentist About Their Technology and Cosmetic Care

Creating a beautiful dental restoration requires that your dentist has the right tools on hand for the job. Using state-of-the-art equipment is one of the most important aspects of your dentist’s ability to create beautiful restorations. Dentists are experts in the forms of oral health care equipment and products available today. They research and deeply understand the value of these products and how effective they truly are for your smile. If you want to experience quality restorative dental care, consult with your provider during your next visit, and they’ll be able to refer you to a cosmetic or restorative dentist that you and your family can rely on. 

During the pandemic, access to care has been challenging across the board. No more so than dentistry, with the requirements for masks and the risk of becoming afflicted, access to dentistry became uncommon. While this has been less true in recent months, access to dentistry is still sparse in many places due to their rural location. Due to the debt that dentists have compiled over the years, rural areas are less cost-effective at aiding an orthodontist’s income due to the small populace.

Whether you’re worried about aligning your teeth or just getting some crowns in place, needing a dental professional who knows what they’re doing is vital. However, due to the location of some areas, they don’t have access to the same amount of resources that a large city might.

Ways That Teledentistry Aids Dental Patients 

Whether dealing with a pandemic or living in a low-income area, access to orthodontic care is vital for everyone. With the introduction of telecommunication into the orthodontic field, those in low-income areas or those too ill to make a trip to the office can easily access their orthodontist through the internet.

With many notable benefits to the community, teledentistry creates avenues of access to those who desperately need it but have little to no access to an orthodontist. It provides flexibility in communications, scheduling, and pricing, enabling low-income families to afford the care they once had limited access to. Here are some of the ways that teledentistry can aid dental patients!

Consulting Your Dentist About Teledentistry

With each year, more clinics across the board are adopting teledental treatments for patients. Reaching out to your orthodontist to gain information about their services is an excellent way to ensure you have all available options in times of need. With teledentistry, you no longer have to worry about inconvenient appointments or costly trips that would have otherwise needed to be canceled or rescheduled to a more convenient date and time that works for you.

Having a family means having the best dental care possible. When having children, it can be challenging to discern whether to choose a general dentist, family dentist, or pediatric dentist for your family’s dental care. As your family grows, we’re here to explain the differences between these specialties, how they impact your dental care, and which type would work best for you. 

What’s The Difference Between General, Family, and Pediatric? 

Every dentist can provide good quality dental care, but each dentist will have their focus or specialty to help treat all sorts of ailments and conditions. Specialists like cosmetic dentists will focus on a general desire or concept around their dental care. In contrast, others, such as endodontists, will focus on treatments tailored to specific areas of the tooth. 

Understanding which type of dentists will suit your family’s needs is the key to choosing the right pediatric, family, or general dentist for life. Each type presented here will have its core principles on preventative care, treatment models, and diagnostic testing, and finding which one will work best for you will help you determine what care you need the most. 

Find the Right Dentist For You Today

Your specialist should be chosen based on your needs as a person, as a parent, and as a family. All choices presented here can be attractive solutions, but it all depends on the factors in your life for choosing your form of care. If you’d like to learn more about what forms of care will suit your family best, make sure to schedule an appointment with a general, family, or pediatric dentist today to learn more about your options. 

All-natural products in dental care can provide many benefits for your teeth. Knowing what ingredients are in your tooth care products can help keep your teeth clean and protected from unwanted side effects. But what all-natural ingredients work, and are they all considered safe? Any products officially supported by the ADA will be able to tell you whether or not a product is safe, but learning about what’s in your products can help you significantly in caring for your teeth. Let’s look at some of the most common all-natural ingredients found in today’s products. 

Common Ingredients Found In All-Natural Tooth Products

One of the biggest benefits of using all-natural tooth products is how easy it can be to read the ingredient list. Most of these products work to avoid using chemicals and obscure ingredients in their listings, often focusing on plant extracts as their main ingredients. In some oral hygiene products, some of the most commonly found ingredients include: 

Contact Your Dentist Today to Learn More!

By learning more about the all-natural ingredients in your oral care products, you can make healthy smart decisions about your oral health. To learn more about how all-natural ingredients work, what products are best used for your oral care, and other relevant information about oral care, contacting your dentist is the best way to gain more information about your oral health. So, why not wait and call them to schedule an appointment today?

Children’s dental health matters in many ways, and from the time our first teeth come into old age, it represents a lifetime of care that dentists help patients achieve. Establishing good oral hygiene habits is important for children during their developmental years, as these habits represent their way of preventing the onset of diseases such as cavities, tooth decay, and gum disease. For dentists that treat families and children, teaching good hygiene means that they can become part of their child’s life in meaningful ways. 

How To Best Inspire Good Oral Habits In Children 

Good oral hygiene habits aren’t just about establishing brushing and flossing each day, but it’s about making sure your child is an active participant in their dental care from early on. This means that the teaching process is just as important as the lesson itself, and by teaching them good hygiene habits, they learn more than just how to brush their teeth. Even children who show resentment toward the idea can pick up on brushing and flossing over time, and it all starts by making them active in the learning process. 

But how does one best do that? Many pediatric and family dentists have their tips to help patients with their children’s oral health, but below, you’ll find some of our tips to help children gain the most out of their oral care: 

Ask Your Dentist For Guidance On Teach Oral Hygiene

All of these tips are just a starting point for giving children the opportunity to be more invested in their dental care. Good oral hygiene is only the start of making sure their teeth and gums are healthy, as all good dental care should be a positive experience. If you wish to learn more about your options for dental care and how to best care for your child’s dental health, then make sure to schedule an appointment with your dentist today. Your dentist is considered a great resource for the latest tips and tricks and for teaching children to develop good oral hygiene habits.

Many dental practices today are working hard to find their footing again after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. When the pandemic occurred, many dental practices globally had to shut down to prepare for the onset of sickness, economic stress, and other ailments, only allowing emergency care as their resource for treatment. As this challenging time has passed, newer challenges remain. As more dental practices are now working to regain appointments and make up for lost time, there have been some new advances in how practices work today that is starting to take hold.

What Has Changed in Dentistry Since The Pandemic?

The last few years have thrown a giant curve ball at the world, increasing overall costs and creating loads of pressure as the setting of a “new normal” took place. Many dental practices are attempting to recover and restore their practices, reviving themselves after the effects of the pandemic and its current aftershocks. However, this difficult time has made way for some new advancements in how practices operate today. These changes include:

What Will Recovery Look Like For the Future?

These major shifts in practices have made many dentists look at their practices in a new light and drastically changed how they interact with their patients. Over time, however, dental practices still need to adapt to the ever-changing atmosphere of our medical environment, as more and more patients will continue to require dental care that retains their sense of comfort, which can be best done through education, regular appointments, and proper dental care. 

Any traumatic injuries to your teeth are considered disastrous to your oral health, and getting emergency dental care in the meantime can help stabilize any broken teeth, injured gums, and other orofacial injuries present. But afterward, you may be left with an unhealthy smile that can leave long-lasting aesthetic damage to your smile. While many dentists out there can provide treatments you need to correct your teeth, dentists specializing in cosmetic dentistry can help address the physical damages and make your teeth look practically brand new in the process. Our smiles are important, so seeking out a cosmetic dentist can help improve not only your smile’s looks but also improve your speech, jaw function, and overall smile health.

How Cosmetic Treatments Can Help Heal Your Smile

Sometimes, getting corrective dental work done means that your smile will look healthy and be healthy. There are many health benefits to getting cosmetic dental treatment; not only will you have a dazzlingly beautiful smile, but other issues previously noted before, such as slightly crooked teeth, discoloration, and gummy smiles, can be improved upon. There are numerous options that your cosmetic dentist can provide to you, many of which can be used either non-invasively or minimally invasive to give you a smile you need.

During your session with your cosmetic dentist, your dentist will be able to detail any concerns that need to be addressed, have your teeth and gums examined, and provide an in-depth dental treatment guide that addresses all of your oral health concerns and aesthetic needs. During these initial appointments, your dentist may recommend a multitude of treatment options to better meet your needs, including:

Speak To Your Dentist About Restorative and Cosmetic Treatments

If you have any oral health concerns, especially if you’ve recently been in an accident, then speaking with your dentist about your options is one of the best ways to improve your teeth’ appearance and health. Through speaking with your dentist, they can recommend treatment options that will ensure that your teeth look and feel great. 

Many dentists often work within their specialty to provide patients with the treatments they need. For instance, Orthodontists in particular work with issues related to alignment, while cosmetic dentists work with aesthetic concerns. Both of these specialties focus on different areas of dental health, but sometimes these areas can intersect in interesting ways. One of those ways is the development of a new kind of orthodontics, called short-term orthodontics. Short-term orthodontics caters to a specific group of patients based on their dental health and works with minimally invasive methods to help align teeth while still providing a cosmetically pleasing appearance. 

What is Short-Term Orthodontics All About? 

Short-term orthodontics works to provide cosmetically-driven solutions for patients with alignment issues and, in turn, offer a more patient-friendly experience. It specifically refers to how patients wanting straighter teeth can potentially see results within six months rather than years of waiting. These treatments focus on eliminating financial costs typically associated with orthodontic practices and address cosmetic concerns for an overall pleasing appearance. 

To qualify for this type of treatment, patients need to have a relatively stable, healthy jaw and minimal signs of misalignment. Patients who qualify can be more cost-effective about their decisions for dental care and can move their teeth in the positions they need to maintain healthy tooth structure and facial symmetry. Short-term orthodontics appeals to alignment and aesthetics within the same treatment, offering a shorter time frame so patients can see results much quicker than originally expected. 

What Types of Treatments Are Used In Short-Term Orthodontics?

Short-term orthodontics works within a specific set of orthodontic appliances to help patients gain the most out of their dental health. These treatment options can include: 

Short-term orthodontics can be a great solution for those who do not wish to invest in traditional braces for treatment. For more information about these types of treatments and whether you qualify, speak with your orthodontist or cosmetic dentist to learn more. Always make sure to schedule an appointment ahead of time to keep up with your dental care!