Our gums play an important role in preserving the health of our teeth. More than just serving as a source of nourishment, they also protect our teeth against damage. A healthy set of gums also contributes to the aesthetic appeal of our smiles. When our gums are less than healthy or receding, dark triangles are not uncommon to form. These triangles are located where our teeth join closest to the gum. When the gums recede, a gap may form near the base of the tooth, detracting from the beauty of your smile. We’re going to talk about what causes these gaps and what options are available for addressing them.
Black triangles are one of those oral health concerns that don’t get talked about a lot. Some individuals are under the impression that these are natural parts of some individual smiles. Others are simply unaware that they can do something to treat them. Contributing to these misperceptions is the fact that 60% of Americans over the age of 20 have them to some degree. They’re often indicating some underlying oral health concerns, such as poor oral hygiene. However, they can also be the result of something as innocuous as genetic heritage. The most common reasons an individual will develop black dental triangles include:
The vast majority of all cases of dental triangles are the result of poor oral hygiene. When they are brought to a dentist, it’s often due to complaints of cosmetic concerns. The appropriate treatment involves addressing oral hygiene practices and overall oral health. This is why you should consult a dentist if you start seeing the appearance of dental triangles.
The most common approach for treating black triangles starts with a thorough dental cleaning. However, additional steps are often required. The most common approaches include tooth reshaping through bonding and contouring or gingival veneers. Orthodontic care can also effectively reduce the appearance of these black dental triangles. Your dentist can use surgical treatments in serious cases where gum grafts or other approaches are required. If you see dental triangles when you smile in the mirror, reach out to your dentist. They can provide treatment plan options to get your smile looking fantastic again.
Many dentists have begun seeking out specialties in other fields in recent years, with some of the most popular varieties including restorations, cosmetics, and orthodontics. These specializations allow for a greater range of services and allow patients to receive treatments at a more cost-effective rate. Many general dentists have even begun additional training programs to provide these services, and for those interested in orthodontics, it means all-around better care for everyone. We’re here to explore what that means for your care and how you can find the right dentist for your needs.
Most general dentists offer the basic format for dental treatments; dental cleaning, oral examinations, and restorations such as fillings and tooth extractions. In this line of work, general dentists tend to focus on providing basic care prerequisites that most dental insurance companies can cover and offer these treatments as part of preventative initiatives. However, with the onset of cavities and poor dental health rising, many dentists have had to step up to the plate to treat more complex problems such as misalignments, periodontal disease, and necrotic tooth decay.
To counter these issues, many general dentists have begun exploring orthodontics as a potential solution and preventative for these issues. Orthodontics is a field of dentistry that typically deals with misalignments, tooth malformations, poor jaw alignment, and problems that are more intrinsic to people’s oral health. These complex issues often mean that they have to provide long-term solutions such as braces and oral surgeries to correct these problems. But orthodontics provides many benefits for patients due to their preventative measures, hence why many general dentists are beginning to offer orthodontic treatments to patients more effectively.
Because of the introduction of specialties in practices, many practices have begun to offer a greater range of services. Because of this influx in specialization, many patients have begun experiencing more benefits from their visits, including:
Because dentists are becoming more up-to-date with the latest practices and techniques through specialization, patients can also afford to be more selective about their practitioners and expect higher quality experiences. In these cases, patients can search through their insurance providers for dentists within their area that specialize in the treatments they need, all thanks to this budding interest in fields like orthodontics.
You may be surprised to learn that there are times when restoration is necessary for the primary teeth. These teeth, also known as baby teeth, are the first to come in and set the stage for the adult teeth that will arrive later. When these teeth are in danger of falling out or extraction, your dentist may suggest the placement of a crown to save the tooth. Without the primary teeth staying until they naturally are pushed out, the appearance and alignment of adult teeth may be affected.
If you’ve just learned that your child will need a dental crown, it’s time to learn about your options. As with adult crowns, your dentist can use a variety of materials to restore a primary tooth. Which type of material to use is going to depend on a number of factors, including the location of the affected tooth. Once you’ve made your decision, it’s time to start the restoration procedure.
The steps involved with restoring a tooth:
Your dentist will provide local anesthesia to ease any discomfort during the procedure. In certain instances, your dentist may offer sedation dentistry options. This is generally done when the child is suffering from dental anxiety or is otherwise unable to cooperate with the procedure.
Your child will need to refrain from eating once the permanent crown has been placed. The period they need to wait isn’t long, no more than it takes for the anesthesia to wear off. They may experience some degree of discomfort once the local sedation wears off. This discomfort may persist for up to 24 hours and is treatable with over-the-counter medication.
Restorations, such as dental crowns, are excellent for preserving important primary teeth. Once the crown is in place, you should ensure that your child continues performing the necessary hygiene practices at home. They should brush twice a day, use mouthwash, and floss at least once a day. You can also ensure that they have healthier snack options available to protect their teeth in the future.
Within the last few years, mail-in braces and aligner kits have become the biggest trend to hit dentistry, or rather, patients wanting orthodontic treatment without the associated costs. In particular, social media has helped expand this type of braces as a viable alternative, where influencers and other social media users often rave about the results they’ve seen from this form of treatment. However, these products can actually produce more harm than good. If you’ve been thinking about purchasing a braces kit, then we’re here to warn you about why you shouldn’t.
Shifting your teeth is a delicate process that takes a lot of time to perform – for many orthodontists, it takes years of training and education even to begin working with patients with signs of crooked teeth. Not only that, orthodontics have to be trained in the products they’re using to prevent the possibility of damage and injury from the devices they use. For patients that are considering mail-in orthodontics, these kits present huge risks to your oral health, presenting gigantic problems such as:
Another hidden problem with these types of treatments is the dishonest reviews, where many of the positive reviews for these kits are often favored and pushed to the forefront of the website. Any negative reviews and risks with these products often get buried and harm people overall.
Your orthodontist can provide you with the security and protection needed to keep your mouth healthy and provide ADA-standardized treatments that have been tested and clinically shown to improve your health. When it comes to your options, choosing your orthodontist is the safest and most cost-effective option you can give to yourself. For more information about your financing options, the best resource to learn more is through your orthodontist or general dentist so you can take better care of your oral health.
As we age, we face a growing number of health issues, oral health among them. While it’s commonly thought that losing our teeth is normal as we age, this doesn’t have to be the case. With persistent oral hygiene and regular visits to the dentist, it’s possible to keep our teeth into our golden years. No matter your place in life, maintaining a healthy smile is important. Neglecting the health of your gums and teeth can cause serious consequences down the road. One of the biggest risks seniors face regarding their oral health is the onset of infections, dental pain, and tooth loss.
Studies done on the oral health of seniors show that maintaining their oral health can be a significant struggle. This is due both to the wear and tear of time, declining physical abilities, and reduced economic affluence after retirement. It’s common for those who lack proper insurance to have failing health, and this can contribute to oral health issues as well. Those who are over 65 demonstrate an increased risk of dental health problems. Common factors involved in declining health in the elderly include:
An inability to receive sufficient oral health care is a major contributor to dental problems in seniors. This, when combined with difficulty performing proper oral hygiene, creates numerous problems. These factors, along with those mentioned above, are involved in the prevalence of the following conditions in seniors:
Avoiding these problems as we get older can be difficult. After ensuring that you maintain a proper oral hygiene routine, the best preventative is bi-annual visits to your dentist. They’ll provide guidance on how to protect your teeth as you age. They can also provide preventative care options, such as dental sealants, that can help prevent decay.
Getting your braces off to see the final results of your orthodontic treatment can be an exciting time, but for some people, white spots can develop along the front of your teeth. These white spots, known medically as white spot lesions, are demineralized spots of enamel that don’t come off no matter how much you brush. For some, it can be disheartening to find that after their treatment that these lesions occur, but don’t worry – there are many ways that white spot lesions can be treated and why it’s important to treat them.
White spot lesions are demineralized spots of enamel that can occur on anyone’s teeth but are especially more prominent for those who have had braces or other forms of orthodontic treatment. Those who have had orthodontic treatment have an increased risk of developing white spot lesions, and this is due to the amount of plaque development that can easily occur along with the brackets of orthodontic appliances. Oral bacteria have the ability to deteriorate the enamel layer of the teeth, and orthodontic appliances can cause higher concentrations of acid along with the teeth, making it easy for white spot lesions to form. Over time, white spot lesions can also develop into cavities, and it’s important to get white spot lesions treated to help prevent ongoing enamel loss and cavity growth.
The best ways to treat white spot lesions are to prevent them from occurring altogether, but many orthodontists have other methods for treating enamel loss caused by white spot lesions. To help get rid of white spot lesions, here are some ways to treat and prevent them:
Your orthodontist may have more treatment options than listed to help remove white spot lesions and provide you with a healthier smile. While white spot lesions are a potential complication that can arise from braces, maintaining good hygiene and seeking treatment can be the best ways to prevent and remove these lesions for a healthier-looking smile. The best resource for learning more about your treatment options is to schedule an appointment with your orthodontist.
Many patients often experience feelings of nervousness and unease while visiting the dentist. This is a normal experience for many but can often be overcome during your appointment through consistent communication and quality care. However, consistent feelings of fear and worry at each visit can worsen over time and can cause delays in visits and potentially harmful diseases such as tooth decay and gum disease. When this occurs, it’s called dental anxiety. For people with this condition, it’s important to find ways to help manage feelings and fear and worry, and our job as dentists means that we need to provide alternative solutions to combat these fears. One way that dentists have been offering to patients with dental anxiety is laser treatments.
Laser dentistry incorporates the use of lasers in everyday procedures. These lasers are designed to deliver waves of energy in the form of light to help remove signs of bacteria. Laser dentistry has been an ever-growing niche over the last decade because it’s begun being used as a way to mitigate symptoms of fear and anxiety in patients, thus creating a more pain-free experience for them. By using these lasers, many dental procedures that are commonly performed can be done just as efficiently without impacting the patient and their emotional health, including:
Lasers can provide a gentler touch to normal, everyday dental procedures, but most of all can help people with dental anxiety get the treatments they need for healthy smiles. This painless, silent method can help remove any feelings of intensity and provide a reassuring experience that helps them build trust in their dentist. Researchers cite that lasers can provide a more accurate and effective method for cavity preparation than more traditional methods, especially for children and young teenagers with cavities.
Removing dental anxiety takes work and dedication, and for dentists, laser dentistry provides numerous growth opportunities. To learn more about laser dental treatments and how they can help you, finding a qualified laser dentist in your area is the best way to do so.
If you’ve recently visited an orthodontist and gotten braces, then you’re probably aware of how difficult it can be during the first few weeks of adjusting to your new treatment. Orthodontists can provide numerous methods for treating orthodontic pain, but what about your primary dentist? Your primary dentist can help relieve orthodontic pain through numerous strategies, and in this article, we’ll be sharing some of our secrets for helping patients adjust to their new orthodontic treatment and provide pain relief.
Primary Dentists and Orthodontic Pain Management
Pain is often a part of orthodontic treatment, especially when fixed appliances are used to correct the patient’s jawline and tooth formation. Orthodontic pain is often influenced by age, gender, pain tolerances, appliance type, and other factors, and it can vary from patient to patient. Orthodontists have a huge output of orthodontic pain management techniques under their belt, including both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical methods. In these cases, orthodontists need to judge their cases individually to select the appropriate treatment for them and understand their patient’s threshold.
For primary dentists, however, while it may appear that our resources for pain management are limited, we also have a selection of pain management techniques to help patients with their orthodontic treatment. For many dentists, researchers are able to provide the latest methods for treating orthodontic pain and give them better resources for individual cases. Some of these findings include:
It’s important that, as dentists, we are aware of every factor involved with our patient’s pain levels, oral history, and other factors that may influence their pain management. Your orthodontist will most likely be able to provide other forms of treatment, such as oral numbing gel and orthodontic waxes, but for orthodontic pain when adjusting to braces, in some cases, the best remedy for pain relief is giving your mouth time to adjust to the treatment.
Seeking Dental Treatment For Orthodontic Pain
If you’re experiencing any form of dental pain, it’s important to see your dentist help negate the risk of cavities, gum disease, and other oral problems that may affect your health. By contacting your dentist today, you’ll be protecting your teeth and gums for life!
If you’ve recently visited an orthodontist and gotten braces, then you’re probably aware of how difficult it can be during the first few weeks of adjusting to your new treatment. Orthodontists can provide numerous methods for treating orthodontic pain, but what about your primary dentist? Your primary dentist can help relieve orthodontic pain through numerous strategies, and in this article, we’ll be sharing some of our secrets for helping patients adjust to their new orthodontic treatment and provide pain relief.
Pain is often a part of orthodontic treatment, especially when fixed appliances are used to correct the patient’s jawline and tooth formation. Orthodontic pain is often influenced by age, gender, pain tolerances, appliance type, and other factors, and it can vary from patient to patient. Orthodontists have a huge output of orthodontic pain management techniques under their belt, including both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical methods. In these cases, orthodontists need to judge their cases individually to select the appropriate treatment for them and understand their patient’s threshold.
For primary dentists, however, while it may appear that our resources for pain management are limited, we also have a selection of pain management techniques to help patients with their orthodontic treatment. For many dentists, researchers are able to provide the latest methods for treating orthodontic pain and give them better resources for individual cases. Some of these findings include:
It’s important that, as dentists, we are aware of every factor involved with our patient’s pain levels, oral history, and other factors that may influence their pain management. Your orthodontist will most likely be able to provide other forms of treatment, such as oral numbing gel and orthodontic waxes, but for orthodontic pain when adjusting to braces, in some cases, the best remedy for pain relief is giving your mouth time to adjust to the treatment.
If you’re experiencing any form of dental pain, it’s important to see your dentist help negate the risk of cavities, gum disease, and other oral problems that may affect your health. By contacting your dentist today, you’ll be protecting your teeth and gums for life!
Restorative and cosmetic dentistry highly values its products – many of the tools often used at the office represent a huge investment into the practice itself and overall success rates for treatments. Many of the products used to provide us with the positive outcomes we’re looking for when treating patients from whitening treatments to composite bonding procedures. As the new year reigns in, we’re here to look at some of the top recommended products, what they offer in terms of innovation, and how they can be best applied in any practice for your care.
When you visit a cosmetic dental office, many of the procedures used to help correct your smile often rely heavily on the applications used. While the other parts of any procedure consist of technique and educational skill, having the right composite resin or whitening kit makes all the difference when it comes to caring for your teeth. Ultimately, the best cosmetic and restorative dentists will always be on the lookout for products that have a high success rate, a unique formula/application, and have been clinically studied and approved of by organizations such as the ADA and FDA for use.
So, let’s get started! Here’s a breakdown of the latest cosmetic and restorative products that dentist use and should use in their practice:
Overall, the world of dentistry presents a fascinating venture into how teeth are cared for and treated, and for us, it’s quite exciting! If you would like to learn about how your cosmetic procedures are performed, visiting your local dentist can help you gain more information about their products and services.
When your tooth is exposed to bacteria for long periods of time, cavities often develop due to the breakdown of enamel and poor enamel strength. However, some people may experience dentin hypersensitivity, a condition that causes constant tingling, sharp pain sensations to the pulp inside the tooth. The dentin is the inner layer of the tooth that’s more porous and lies directly beneath the enamel, and when hypersensitivity occurs, it can have a serious impact on a person’s quality of life.
Dentin hypersensitivity is typically caused by dentin exposure. Dentin exposure is usually caused by other preceding dental conditions such as cavities and gum recession caused by periodontal diseases. When recession of the gum line or enamel occurs, the dentin layer becomes directly exposed to hot or cold temperatures. It also comes directly in contact with foods that are excessively sweet, and from these places of exposure, extreme amounts of discomfort occur and, in some cases, excruciating pain.
However, there can be plenty of other underlying causes that can cause dentin hypersensitivity, as this condition primarily revolves around the exposure of the dentin layer. These other cases can include:
Some treatments that can be used to treat dentin hypersensitivity include lifestyle changes, dental restorations, and changes in dental products. In the meantime, you can also reduce the amount of acidic or sweet food you eat, change the products you use, and other methods to have better pain management. Your dentist will be able to offer you more advanced treatments to help address this discomfort and help lower your tooth sensitivity overall.
When it comes to treating dentin hypersensitivity, your dentist will need to diagnose the condition based on its severity and other presiding factors, such as cavities, gum disease, and tooth clenching. Connecting with your dentist to learn more about your treatment options can be the best way to find relief from this condition.
