Dental Bridges Treatment at Your Tanglewood Dentist

One of the best treatments for a lost tooth is a dental bridge.

Dental bridges restore the look and feel of a natural tooth that has been lost due to decay or because of an accident.

In addition to restoring the appearance of natural teeth, a dental bridge can also restore the function of natural teeth.

Dental bridges are made to be a durable, effective replacement for a lost tooth that allows the patient to regain their ability to eat, drink, and speak naturally, while simultaneously giving them the confidence to smile again.

Tanglewood Dentist Dental Bridges Treatment

In order to get a dental bridge, your teeth need to be prepared and an accurate map of them needs to be taken.

Your Tanglewood dentist maps your teeth by creating a cast of them. The cast covers all the surfaces of your teeth and creates a mold from which perfect replicas of your teeth can be made.

These replicas help the dental laboratory to create a dental bridge that matches the shape, alignment, and size of your original teeth so it will fit comfortably and snugly.

A comfortable fit is important for longevity and to prevent bacterial infections from occurring.

To prepare your teeth, the dentist files down the teeth adjacent to the gap, which gives space for a crown to be placed over them.

The cast is used to create a dental bridge consisting of a false tooth with crowns on either side that will perfectly fit with your teeth.

Once the dental bridge is complete, which can take a few days to over a week; you will return to the dentist and have it installed.

Your Tanglewood dentist will ensure the fit is comfortable before securing the crowns to the anchor teeth. If it’s not quite right, they’ll make minor adjustments or, if necessary, order a new dental bridge be constructed.

Once secured, your dental bridge is complete! You’ll be able to eat and drink as normal, and taking care of your dental bridge is as simple as brushing and rinsing your teeth.

With constant care and regular checkups, your dental bridge can last five to ten years, and sometimes even longer.

Dental Bonding, Veneers, and Fillings

Dental bonding is a restorative measure that fixes a tooth which has been fractured or chipped as a result of decay or an accident.

There are a couple types of bonding that can be used, composite resin and veneer bonding.

Composite Resin or Veneer?

Which method is the best for you? That depends on a few factors. Cost, strength, and maintenance all affect how well your dental bonding will perform and how long it will last.

Composite resins are a low cost method for bonding teeth, and the ability to color match them to teeth make them a favorable option for patients wanting some minor restoration at an affordable price.

These resins are best for teeth that have little damage or are discolored, and preferably on teeth that are not subjected to high bite pressures.

Veneers take longer to produce because a cast of the patient’s mouth is required to create a veneer that fits comfortably and securely. Veneers can be made from composite resin or porcelain, with porcelain being more durable.

Of course, this means that porcelain veneers are more costly, but with proper care, they can certainly outlast a composite resin bond or veneer.

Prolonging Your Dental Bond or Veneer

Veneers will certainly last longer than dental bonding, but a dental bond that is well taken care of can last up to 10 years.

The care involved includes maintaining a healthy oral hygiene routine and clearing out plaque regularly. A bi-yearly visit to the dentist is also a top notch idea.

Additionally, for people who use their teeth to open packages, chew ice or popcorn seeds, eat hard candies, or bite their nails can cause damage to dental bonding and veneers.

Dental Bonding or Fillings?

If a tooth has been badly damaged by decay or an accident, especially with a particularly deep fissure, a filling in more likely necessary.

Fillings function as a dental bond by keeping the tooth together, but they are much stronger than a dental bond and can be used as easily as regular teeth would.

This comes from the filling strengthening the tooth from the inside. This results in a much stronger bond that can possibly last a lifetime.

Why Replace a Lost Tooth with a Dental Bridge in Houston

Dental bridges are one of the best options for replacing a lost tooth. Teeth may be removed from the mouth for a number of reasons, including decay, accident, or on the recommendation of a dentist. When the tooth comes out, it leaves a gap that some people may find unappealing.

This gap may be unappealing to the patient as it makes them feel self conscious, but that gap can actually pose a different, more serious problem.

What Happens When a Tooth is Lost?

Everyone knows what it’s like to lose a tooth. When they are growing up, children seem to lose teeth all the time. So why is it such a big deal if an adult tooth comes out?

Granted, there’s no extra tooth to replace an adult tooth, which means the gap stays. When a child loses a tooth naturally, it will be replaced by an adult tooth.

But the presence of the gap is a problem for a different reason. When there is a missing tooth, the other teeth will begin shifting position to close that gap. And it’s not just the teeth on either side; a tooth directly above a gap may start to lower its position.

The major problem with this, aside from being self conscious about the appearance of the shifted teeth, is that this can lead to an uneven bite and gum disease.

How Can This Problem Be Corrected?

There are a few ways to address a gap in the teeth. The first way is to use a spacer. Second, dentures can be used to replace several lost teeth. Lastly, dental bridges can replace a tooth with a more permanent fixture.

●     Spacer
A spacer is a very low cost way to address a tooth gap. Like the name implies, it leaves the space of the gap between the adjacent teeth.

The spacer is typically made from a metal frame and it prevents the other teeth from shifting around it.

●     Dentures
Dentures are great for replacing several teeth for a relatively low cost. However, there is a lot of extra maintenance that comes with them.

Dentures are a temporary fixture in the sense that they can’t stay in your mouth all the time. They must be removed to be properly cleaned, or they may breed bacteria and cause an infection.

●     Dental Bridges
Dental bridges are the best tooth replacement because they not only look and feel like your original teeth, they are also a more permanent fixture than dentures.

Once a dental bridge is installed, it stays there. It may need a replacement 15 or 20 years later, but it doesn’t need to be removed to be cleaned. It can be taken care of simply by brushing your teeth as normal.

Dental Bridges in Houston

When you are looking to get dental bridges in Houston, your Houston dentist will need to prepare your teeth for one.

This involves filing down the teeth adjacent to a gap that will serve as anchor points for the bridge.

Next, a cast is created so the dental lab can make a false tooth and crowns that will perfectly fit your mouth. You will receive a temporary bridge in the meantime while the permanent bridge is created.

On your return visit, your Houston dentist will install the bridge and make sure it fits securely and comfortably. If so, it will be cemented into place, and you’re new dental bridge will be done!

Galleria Area Dental Sealants and Fillings

Dental sealants are a preventative measure that can protect teeth from cavities by making the surface of teeth easier to clean with a toothbrush.

Our molars are typically very rough on top, which aids in grinding down food to a more manageable size. This roughness is caused by grooves in the teeth.

Bacteria is able to take shelter in these grooves as they can be difficult to clear out using a regular toothbrush.

But dental sealants applied by a Houston dentist give the bacteria no place to hide.

Dental Sealant Process

Dental sealants are completely pain free in their application, making them especially great for children. Pediatric dentists in Houston often apply a dental sealant to a child’s molars soon after they come in to help prevent cavities.

To apply a sealant, the mouth is kept open and saliva is suctioned out to keep the working area dry.

Using a small applicator, your Houston dentist applies a resin like material to the grooves of the molars. The dentist then moves the resin around to fill in all the grooves with an even coating.

Once the resin hardens, it will make a much smoother surface for the top of the molars. This smooth surface is much easier to clean, helping remove cavity causing bacteria.

Sealing Other Teeth

Dental sealants are not solely relegated to the molars; rather they can be applied to any tooth that has developed grooves.

The molars are sealed most often because they naturally have grooves on them. Other teeth may develop them due to grinding, eating hard foods, or from an accident.

The dental sealant is applied to other teeth just like it would be for molars. The resin is used to fill the grooves and make them flush with the rest of the tooth.

By eliminating these grooves, which could appear on top or on the sides of teeth, bacteria has a harder time collecting and causing damage.

When Dental Sealants are Not Enough

Sometimes, even with dental sealants, cavities will develop. A sealant only helps prevent cavities, but cannot guarantee they won’t form.

The only way to prevent cavities entirely is to keep up with regular oral hygiene at home and seeing a Houston dentist at least twice per year.

If a cavity develops, your Houston dentist will need to determine how bad the decay is in order to provide the best treatment.

An x-ray imaging of your teeth will provide detailed visualizations of how deep the decay goes and how much needs to be cleared out.

Using the x-rays as a guide, your Houston dentist will drill into the tooth at the cavity site to remove all the decayed portions of tooth.

After removing all this material, they will fill the tooth to strengthen it from the inside.

Fillings may be made from silver, gold amalgam, composite resin, porcelain, or glass monomer.

Some materials are cheaper than others, but they may not be as durable or look as good.

For example, resin fillings are the cheapest and cause the least amount of wear on nearby teeth, but they have a very low durability.

Porcelain fillings look like natural teeth but can be rather expensive. They also don’t have the highest durability, but they are significantly better than resin fillings.

Finally, a metal filling like silver or gold is very durable, but some patients don’t like how much they stand out. These are often the best fillings for molars since they are less noticeable.

Dental Dreams: Sedation Dentistry in Houston

Nervous about visiting the dentist? You’re not alone! Many people, especially children are fearful about visiting the dentist.

Most visits are hardly a nail biting experience as conservative dentistry seeks to prevent problems rather than solely treating them. Even still, there are some procedures that some patients will find unpleasant, and for those times, sedation dentistry is the best medicine.

What is Sedation Dentistry?

Sedation dentistry is a mean to calm and relax a patient, as well has help keep them still during a procedure. This increases the patient’s comfort level and decreases their anxiety while simultaneously allowing the dentist to perform a lot of work in a shorter amount of time.

There are varying levels of sedation, from mild to heavy.

Mild sedation usually involves an oral sedative. The patient will remain fully awake, but the oral sedative will put them at ease. This is the most common method used to simply calm a nervous patient down.

Moderate sedation involves using an inhaled gas (nitrous oxide) or an IV to administer the sedative. The patient is still conscious and aware of what’s happening, but for the most part they won’t recall much of what happens during the procedure. The sensation of pain and discomfort is also reduced, making it a preferable option for slightly uncomfortable procedures.

This sedation level and each successive level is continually monitored by your Houston dentist or a certified anesthesiologist.

Heavy sedation brings a patient right to the cusp of consciousness, balancing the thin line between awake and asleep.

At this level, the patient is largely unresponsive and very still, which helps the dentist do a lot of work. These higher levels of sedation also greatly reduce the sensation of pain, making more invasive procedures easier to handle.

Finally, with general anesthesia, the patient is fully unconscious. This level is reserved for the most aggressive treatments where the patient must be completely still for a long period of time.

Is Sedation Dentistry in Houston Safe?

Sedation dentistry is perfectly safe as the dosages of sedation are carefully monitored. Your Houston dentist only wants to provide the minimum level of sedation necessary to complete the procedure and keep the patient comfortable.

There are some side effects with sedation, primarily drowsiness. It is best to have someone drive you to and from your appointment if you are using sedation dentistry.

After a particularly invasive procedure, it’s best to go home and rest, letting the sedation wear off without putting yourself at risk by driving or operating any machinery.

Sedation dentistry for kids is also very safe and effective. The requirements for pediatric sedation dentistry are stricter than those for adult sedation, so kids have an extra watchful eye looking out for them.

Like with adults, the biggest side effect is drowsiness after a procedure.

When Is Sedation Used?

Sedation dentistry can be used for just about any procedure. The lighter forms of sedation like the oral sedative can be used to calm a patient down that is nervous while the heavier dose sedatives reduce pain and discomfort.

Many patients who use sedation dentistry say that the dental procedure feels like a dream and that it seems to go by much faster.

With mild and moderate forms of sedation, the dentist is able to give instructions to the patient such as needing them to turn or open their mouth more.

Heavier forms keep them either just barely conscious or just barely unconscious, but it rarely takes more than a gentle nudge to awaken the patient.

Dangers of Advanced Periodontal Disease in Houston

Periodontal disease can be a nasty thing to deal with, especially once it has reached the advanced stage. At this point, it can actually be of concern to your overall health, not just that of your mouth.

Periodontal disease is usually caused by lack or oral hygiene, but it can sometimes be attributed to certain medications, other diseases, and the result of an accident.

Nearly half of all Americans experience some form of gum disease, but many may not realize it if the symptoms are not very strong. Some Americans may not seek treatment until gum disease gets really bad, and that can be a mistake.

Why Is Gum Disease Such a Problem?

Since the symptoms of gum disease can be fairly mild early on, it’s easy to ignore them. If they’re stemming from poor oral hygiene, this means they will continue to advance unchallenged until they become a major issue.

Similarly, some patients who do regularly keep up with their oral hygiene may be experience gum disease as a result of some underlying disease like diabetes or heart disease. Some medications may also cause periodontitis.

Whether a result of poor hygiene and especially if the result of another issue, seeing a Houston periodontist as soon as possible is the best thing you can do.

In the early stages of periodontal disease, the periodontist doesn’t need to do quite as much to reverse the effects. In the case of gum disease as a result of another disease, they may refer you to see your primary care doctor so that proper treatment of the root cause can be administered.

If the early stages are unnoticed or ignored, they will reach the advanced stage, which brings with it far more challenges and difficulty in treatment.

Treating Advanced Periodontal Disease in Houston

The best way to treat periodontal disease is to get to the source: bacteria causing infections under the gum line.

This hidden bacteria is causing the gums to swell, change color, and become tender. And as the bacteria spreads further, it can reach deep into the gums to the jaw bone, which is a whole new mess to deal with if that happens.

The most common procedure for treating advanced periodontal disease in Houston is a flap surgery. For this procedure, the dentist makes several small incisions in the gums to peel them up like a flap.

This flap exposes the base of the roots of your teeth, making them easier to clean and scrape away the bacteria causing the problem.

In more extreme cases, it’s possible that a soft tissue graft may be necessary if the infection has caused significant damage to the gums.

Further still, bone grafts may be required if the damage extends to the jaw. Some tissue and bone regeneration is possible using synthetic grafts and other methods, but they are not always an option.

Ideally, it is best to treat periodontal disease as soon as it is detected. If you are experiencing the usual symptoms, such as swollen, discolored, and tender gums, a perpetual bad breath, or loosening teeth, see a Houston periodontist right away.

The sooner you begin treating periodontal disease, the more effective the treatment will be and the greater the chances are of reversing all the damage. Not to mention you will also save money and a lot of discomfort by seeing a periodontist early.

Gingivitis: Early Warning of Gum Disease

Gingivitis is the earliest form of gum disease and the most easily treated. Many times it can be treated at home by simply increasing the depth of your oral hygiene routine.

However, because gingivitis tends to have very mild symptoms, it’s also common for it to go unnoticed. Leaving gingivitis to fester can lead to full blow periodontitis, which can cause a lot more problems.

Identifying Gingivitis in Houston

The absolute best way to identify gingivitis is the visit your Houston dentist and describe any symptoms you are experiencing. Using a keenly trained eye, they will inspect your teeth and gums and based on the symptoms you’re experiencing, can determine if gingivitis is at fault.

The most common symptoms to keep watch for are swollen gums, tender to the touch gums, bleeding from the gums, and discoloration of the gums.

You may only have one symptom, all four, or none at all. Most people associate gingivitis with bleeding of the gums, which is usually noticed when brushing their teeth.

It’s not uncommon for gingivitis symptoms to be so mild that your don’t notice them. The swelling can be easy to miss, any discoloration will likely just be a brighter red or a milky white color, and they may not feel tender.

Since the symptoms are so easy to miss, it’s important to see your Houston dentist twice per year. They will ask you about your oral health between visits, and based on your responses can look into the causes of things like gingivitis.

Gingivitis Treatment in Houston

After a diagnosis of gingivitis is made, your Houston dentist will perform a deep cleaning of your teeth. Using specialized tools like a water jet and dental probe, they will forcibly remove bacteria and plaque that have collected around your gums.

Once this thorough professional cleaning is completed, the dentist may prescribe a medicated mouthwash to use at home. It will help with killing lingering bacteria in difficult to reach areas.

You will also need to up your game on the oral hygiene front to keep your teeth clean and prevent bacteria from collecting and growing.

Gingivitis is pretty easy to treat and reverse the damage of. It can usually be accomplished with home care and especially effective after getting a professional cleaning from your Houston dentist.

The real trick is treating it early.

What Happens if You Don’t Catch Gingivitis Early?

Gum disease is a steadily progressing disease. If you don’t take care of it as soon as you discover it, it will continue to worse.

Gingivitis is just the first of three stages of gum disease. With mild symptoms, it’s easy to ignore or miss, but as it progresses, the damage it can do increases and the measures needed to stop it become more aggressive.

At the middle stage, periodontitis, the gums have become infected and can be painful. They are often noticeably swollen and can also be discolored, either a bright red or a purple color.

As it progresses further, it will cause infections deep in the gums, creating abscesses that can cause teeth to loosen and fall out. The gum line recedes exposing the teeth to further bacterial infection.

At its worst, gum disease can infect the jaw, which can also lead to tooth loss as well as a host of other problems.

The later stages of this disease require treatments that are uncomfortable but necessary to preserve your health. By taking steps to stop gum disease as soon as you notice it, you’ll be saving yourself a lot of pain and money.