Cosmetic Dentistry Directory Blog

If you start any online or print research about diet, health, and looking good, you will have a lifetime's project just reading the multitudinous websites and books. There is a lot of conflicting information and you might start despairing of finding much consensus. But as far as diet is concerned, there are some basic ideas that most people agree about and one is that eating fresh food is always better than eating processed food.

A person with recurrent bad breath may be able to solve the problem through a fresh breath treatment or dental work - neglect of dental hygiene is the most common cause of bad breath. There could be a digestive problem and a physician's help might be necessary for that. Of course, smoking gives the breath a bad odor, but that is a different odor than the one from gum disease or digestive problems.

Gillian McKeith is a Scottish nutritionist who has been much in the public eye for years. She has written books, hosted TV shows, written columns for magazines, and despite her popularity, has drawn a lot of criticism from health professionals about the validity of her advice.

The Fox News website recently had a little slide show, using information from one of her books, that listed nine ways to banish bad breath. Since people are so different from each other, these suggestions might help or they might not, but they seem worth trying.

1. Drink juice homemade from fresh fruit
   
   • Would anyone disagree with this?
2. Include millet in your diet, as it is an excellent whole grain and can reduce bacteria in the mouth
   
   • Millet grows in drought-prone areas worldwide and is traditional in both Russian and Chinese cooking. It is made into flat bread in India. It contains no gluten.
3. Eat watercress, which contains a lot of chlorophyll
   
   • It is peppery so you may or may not like it. Actually, all green plants contain chlorophyll and that is what makes them green.
4. Alfalfa sprouts are a good salad ingredient that freshen the breath
   
   • Probably due to the chlorophyll.
5. Avoid sugary food
   
   • There is great consensus on this idea. Any dentist will tell you that sugar left on the teeth will cause decay and this is because sugar is acidic. Starchy foods like pasta and potatoes break down into sugars, which makes them just as potentially harmful to the teeth.
6. Use herbs and supplements such as digestive enzymes that help the stomach's natural enzymes to break down food thoroughly (odor can arise from insufficiently digested foods); acidophilus, and the ever-helpful chlorophyll
   
   • If you suffer from indigestion, enzymes would be worth trying; acidophilus is one of the probiotics that contain microorganisms thought to help with digestion and health in general;
7. Chew parsley to freshen the breath
   
   • Many agree that parsley is beneficial. It is said to support the liver and help keep the kidneys cleared of obstruction. You would not have to just chew it - put it in salads and chop it up finely if you don't much like its taste.
8. Eat fruit alone rather than as a dessert
   
   • There are others who opine that fruits and vegetables should not be eaten in the same meal, but few people follow that idea. Fresh fruit is probably excellent any time, but be careful to avoid bruised or rotted parts as you may be ingesting bacteria or mold spores.
9. Brush your teeth, says McKeith
   
   • On this there is universal agreement.

If you are looking for a well-qualified dentist near you, please contact us today.

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Most of us have tooth fillings done at some point in our lives. In past years, the next step for repairing a decayed tooth when a filling was not enough, was a dental crown. Since the rise of cosmetic dentistry, we have an intermediate step between fillings and crowns - dental onlays.

Inlays are smaller than onlays and are a type of white filling. But onlays are larger, restoring the tooth within its cusps and also on one or more of its outside surfaces. They are made of porcelain and can hold a damaged tooth together strongly, preserving the remaining tooth tissue and supplementing it with matching pearly porcelain.

However, there may come a time when even an onlay cannot restore a tooth and then it is time to consider a dental crown. A crown will provide new surfaces for the entire tooth, enclosing it protectively and extending its life.

Traditionally, crowns were made of a gold alloy and you can still have that done, but now that we have become more familiar with cosmetic dentistry, most of us prefer a white crown to match the rest of our teeth. That is done using dental porcelain.

By itself, porcelain is brittle. For greater strength and durability, a porcelain crown is given a lining. Crown linings can be made of metal and that has been done for many years now. The disadvantage of that shows up after your porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) crown has been in place for ten years or longer. As we age, our gums slowly recede a little, exposing some of the tooth root. When the tooth has a PFM crown, that gum recession exposes the metal lining and it looks like a black line along the crown's edge.

A cosmetically more attractive solution is to line the crown with zirconia. That is a white, ceramic type of substance that gives added strength and durability without appearing like a black line later on. It may become visible through gum recession, but will be white, and therefore not visible apart from the tooth itself.

A well-done dental crown can last a lifetime. You would need to give it good daily care to prevent bacteria from spreading underneath it. Porcelain does not lose its pleasing white color and it gives excellent chewing surfaces.

To find a qualified cosmetic dentist in your area, please use the map below or just send us an email.

Sleep apnea is a condition where your airway becomes entirely blocked as you sleep. You stop breathing for a while until you suddenly wake to gasp for air. Then you fall asleep again, and repeat this pattern through each night. You might stop breathing and wake hundreds of times each night without knowing it.

Nightly snoring is a symptom of sleep apnea. Please see our page on snoring for more details. You and your sleeping partner probably know if you have a snoring habit, but probably do not know if you suffer from sleep apnea. Most people have never heard of sleep apnea.

The word "apnea" means "without breath" and that sums up the dangers of sleep apnea. When you stop breathing hundreds of times every night, your sleep is being routinely interfered with. You probably feel tired every day, or slow-witted, or even a bit depressed. You may find your work performance slipping and you may be getting into car accidents. This all stems from the fact that you are not getting enough sleep. The body cannot properly restore itself.

There is a graver danger, however. Your blood is not getting enough oxygen. The lungs become depleted of fresh air hundreds of times each night, which means the waste products in your venous blood are not being fully taken away when you breathe out and oxygen is not properly filling your arterial blood.

Inadequate oxygen to the brain is a serious condition, regardless of whether it occurs from near-drowning, suffocation, or sleep apnea. Over time, your sleep apnea can cause a heart attack or stroke. Studies have made these connections repeatedly.

For more information, please see our page on Sleep Apnea.

Sleep apnea can be treated successfully by a customized dental appliance worn at night. Not all dentists treat sleep apnea. You can contact us to find one near you who does treat it; or you can use the map below.

Snoring is a common sleep habit and many people snore just occasionally, perhaps when they are sleeping particularly deeply and do not move around in their sleep.

The sound of snoring is caused by throat and/or nasal tissue vibrating. The airway (trachea) has several structures close to it such as the uvula and tonsils that can vibrate when air passes by them. The uvula is suspended behind the soft palate and extends downwards centrally in front of the airway. It is used by some languages but not English. The tonsils are at each side of the back of the throat and are part of the immune system, designed to detect and fight infection. They can become enlarged and affect breathing.

In addition, the tongue can fall back against the airway while you sleep, making it more narrow by resting against it. These soft tissues vibrate, creating the snoring sound by creating sound waves in the air. The snoring sound becomes louder if the airway is partially blocked by the tongue because the narrowed airway causes you to breathe harder to get enough air into the lungs. That causes more tissue vibration and therefore larger or faster sound waves.

When a person is overweight, there is extra fatty tissue around the throat area and this can also add to the snoring sound. It can also further compress the airway and obese people are indeed more likely to suffer from sleep apnea.

Studies have suggested that more men snore than women - about 45 percent as opposed to about 30 percent. Snoring can happen at any stage of your nightly sleep. Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep is deeper than non-REM sleep because the brain signals all the body's muscles to relax except breathing muscles and the heart. That can narrow the airway and cause or worsen snoring; but you can snore during non-REM sleep too.

If you are a habitual snorer and would like to have a snoring treatment, your dentist can have a customized appliance made for you to wear while asleep. To learn more, please contact a qualified dentist near you - you can contact us to find one or use the map below.

Want to make sure that your “new” teeth match your “old” ones? With porcelain veneers, it’s possible.

The function of a porcelain veneer is largely cosmetic; your chipped, stained, or uneven teeth can be made more attractive. While other materials can be used, porcelain provides a superior, more natural result. It also tends to be longer-lasting than rival materials, such as resins.

What steps are involved in the porcelain veneers process? Initially, the cosmetic dentist draws on his/her experience to prepare a design for the porcelain veneer that is appropriate for your facial shape and smile. Some enamel is then removed from the tooth to prepare it for the veneer. When the dental laboratory has prepared the porcelain veneer to order, you and your cosmetic dentist make certain that it fits correctly and is right in every way. It is then bonded to the tooth.

Be sure to consult with your dentist on whether porcelain veneers are the right choice for you. But if the decision is to go ahead, be prepared to dazzle your friends with your new, stain-resistant smile!

If you would like to find a porcelain veneer dentist in your area, please use the “Find a Dentist” navigation above or click on your home state in the map at the bottom of this page.