Things to Consider Before Visiting Our Cosmetic Dentistry Office

When visiting our cosmetic dentistry office, it is a good idea first to think about what you like and don’t like about your smile along with considering what goals you have for transforming it.  The better you can communicate, the more likely you will be to get the results that you are looking for.  It is important to have set ideas so that the recommendations you receive can be customized to your specific tastes and objectives.

You can always book your appointment in combination with a cleaning and dental examination.  That way your teeth can stay clean and healthy while you are simultaneously looking to improve them. Before speaking with the dentist, ask yourself these questions:

What is your availability?  It is important to understand how much time you have available to commit to dental work. This includes both in-office treatment time and recovery time.  For example, if you plan on getting married in three months you will want to have all of your dental work completed well in advance.  On the other hand if you recently retired you may have more time available to work on your dream smile.  In our cosmetic dentistry office, we want to know what your availability is so that those facts can be incorporated into your treatment plan.

How white do you want to go?  Decide ahead of time how white and bright you want your smile to be.  If you are having a teeth whitening procedure or getting dental veneers, the technician will need to know this so that your teeth don’t end up too white for comfort.

What are your major concerns?  Make a list of your major concerns or the things that absolutely must be corrected as part of the process.  Next, categorize the things you would like to have done but are not “must haves”.

How straight do you want your teeth?  Consider whether or not you are alright with a few teeth out of place or if you want them to be perfectly straight. While straight teeth are stunning, some people don’t mind slight imperfections, and this will influence your treatment options.

Do you like your gums?  When you smile, do your gums show enough or do they show too much?  If they are too large, some of the tissue may need to be removed through surgery, where if they have receded due to gum disease, they can be grafted so that the tissue can grow back.

Do you like the size and shape of your teeth?  If your teeth are too small or too large, this can be corrected using cosmetic dentistry procedures.

As a cosmetic dentist, we have many options for improving the appearance of your smile.  We can craft a stunning Hollywood-style smile or make minor adjustments so that you can still look and feel like your natural self.

Regardless of how much or how little work you want to be done, we can make your smile truly beautiful.  Come into our office with an idea of what you want so that we can make it into a reality. 

Our Pediatric Dentistry Office Talks About a Common Cause For Braces

In our pediatric dentistry office, parents frequently ask us about braces and whether or not their child will need them. While it is impossible to say for certain, start by looking in the mirror.  If you or your spouse have crooked teeth or ever needed braces in order to straighten them, there is a higher likelihood that your child will as well.  We understand that it is normal to want to know so that you can start saving up for braces early on.  Still, it is impossible to know 100 percent if it will be necessary. With that in mind we suggest that you take the time to understand why kids need them in the first place. 

Overcrowding is a major concern and one reason that patients end up needing braces.  Teeth can become overcrowded when baby teeth fall out too soon. Take a look at a young child.  It is very rare that you will ever see one with a crooked smile.  Baby teeth are generally straight with the occasional gap here and there. Otherwise, they look good.  The problem is that if your child gets into an accident, knocks out a tooth on the playground or gets a major infection; their baby teeth may fall out suddenly and before their time.  With this happens, the surrounding teeth start to move out of their position, crowding out the space that was left for the new adult tooth to come in.  As a result, the adult tooth can come in behind or in front of another tooth or sideways.  

In our pediatric dentistry office, we can help to prevent overcrowding by decreasing the chance of a baby tooth falling out too soon.  For this reason, we recommend visiting our office twice a year for a thorough teeth cleaning. We can remove harmful plaque and treat cavities and infections before they can spread.  By doing so, we keep teeth both healthy and strong.  Teeth that are free from infections are less likely to crack or chip upon impact.  Infected teeth, however, are likely to sustain damage during a simple accident.  This makes preventative care extremely important. We can also help by creating a mouth guard that your child can wear while practicing or playing sports. Doing so prevents hundreds of thousands of tooth injuries every year and can prevent your child’s tooth from being knocked out before it is supposed to fall out naturally.  

By keeping teeth clean, healthy and away from accidents, we can decrease the likelihood that they will ever need braces to majorly straighten their teeth.  In some cases, this requires simple preventative care while other times the intervention needs to be more active. If, for some reason, your child does end up needing braces, there are several options to straighten their teeth.  For example, some children start with an expander that widens the pallet in order to make room for their adult teeth while others use a spacer to accomplish a similar goal.  If braces, are necessary we can make recommendations and supervise the care of your child to ensure that their teeth remain in excellent health. To learn more, call our pediatric dentistry office.