Cosmetic Dentistry Directory Blog

Porcelain veneers are designed to be a durable and long-lasting solution for chipped, cracked, or stained teeth. Most porcelain veneers last anywhere from 10 to 15 years before they need to be replaced, but patients can potentially stretch that longevity even further if they take steps to properly care for their veneers.

Good oral hygiene habits will go a long way to lengthening the lifespan of your porcelain veneers. Just like natural teeth, veneers need to be brushed and flossed every day in order to minimize the chances of tooth decay forming underneath the veneers’ surface.

Patients should also avoid applying excessive force to porcelain veneers. Chewing ice, biting your fingernails, and playing contact sports can all result in premature damage to your porcelain veneers. If you regularly engage in sports that put your mouth in danger of impact, consider wearing a mouthguard.

If you clench and grind your teeth at night, your cosmetic dentist can also fashion a custom nighttime mouthguard to protect both your natural teeth and your veneers from excessive wear.

If you have more questions about porcelain veneers, contact an experienced cosmetic dentist your area today using the Cosmetic Dentistry Directory.

For decades, dentures have been the most common way of addressing a mouth full of missing teeth. While many patients are able to wear dentures without too much discomfort, many others are made miserable by the struggle to eat, chew, and even talk without their dentures slipping or falling out. Despite their uses, dentures dramatically limit the lifestyles of patients with missing teeth.

Dental implants have long been considered the most effective and reliable way of replacing missing teeth, but they do pose a practical challenge: implants can only be placed if enough bone remains at the site of a patient’s missing teeth. Even then, it can be quite expensive to replace an entire row of missing teeth with dental implants. However, there are ways to meet these challenges:

• Implant-supported bridges – If you have large spaces of missing teeth, it is possible to place a smaller number of implants to be used as anchors for a dental bridge.
• Overdentures – Conventional dentures can be improved significantly by the placement of as little as two dental implants beneath the denture’s front section. With the support of implants, overdentures are stronger and much more stable.
• Financing – If you want all of your teeth replaced by dental implants, many cosmetic dentists offer financing plans to help you develop a budget-friendly way of improving your smile.

Patients who have made the leap from dentures to dental implants are overwhelmingly satisfied with the results. Implants look and function just like your natural teeth, allowing you to talk and eat with confidence again. Best of all, there are no messy glues and adhesives to contend with. Dental implants require the same type of care that your normal teeth do: regular brushing, flossing, and check-ups.

If you are tired of dentures, why not contact an experienced cosmetic dentist in your area today to see if you are a candidate for dental implants?

Nobody is born with perfect teeth. Even if you enjoyed a somewhat proportionate smile and bite in your younger years, your teeth can all too easily become crooked and misaligned as you age. Unfortunately, for many adults, wearing traditional braces to correct their teeth seems out of the question. Not only are bracket-and-wire braces an aesthetic hindrance in a person’s professional life, but they can be particularly inconvenient and impractical in the middle of an adult’s daily life.

Thankfully, modern dental materials and technology have provided alternative options for adults seeking orthodontic care. One of the most popular braces alternatives today is Invisalign® – a set of clear plastic aligners custom-molded to guide your teeth back into their ideal position. Because Invisalign® can be removed when you need to eat, brush, and floss, it neatly avoids the practical problems that metal braces pose for adults, and the clear aligners are virtually invisible while you are wearing them.

In general, if you qualify as a candidate for braces, you are most likely a good candidate for Invisalign®. Some of the problems Invisalign® can most effectively correct include:

• Crowding
• Gaps between teeth
• Mild to moderate underbite, overbite, or crossbite

Children whose mouths are still developing, and patients with severe bite abnormalities may not be good candidates for Invisalign®.

To find out if Invisalign® is right for you, please contact an experienced cosmetic dentist in your area today using the Cosmetic Dentistry Directory.

Every hour, oral cancer kills one American – and yet most people remain entirely unaware of the threat it poses. According to the National Cancer Institute, over 36,500 people were diagnosed with oral cancer in 2010. If diagnosed too late, the survival rate for oral cancer is around 20%. When detected early, however, oral cancer is one of the most treatable cancers of its kind. Patients who are successfully diagnosed with oral cancer in its early stages have an 80%–90% survival rate.

Because of this, it is important to make oral cancer screening a regular part of your dental appointments. A new dental technology called ViziLite® Plus has been developed to identify and carefully monitor any abnormalities that are present in your mouth. It is the most effective oral cancer screening method to date.

One of the reasons it is so important to be screen for oral cancer is because symptoms do not always show themselves until the cancer has already reached an advanced stage. Many times, cancerous sores or lumps in your mouth will start out painless. However, if you notice any of the following symptoms, you should be screened for oral cancer as soon as possible:

• Difficulty and pain when swallowing
• Problems with your tongue and speech
• An unusual taste in your mouth
• Sores, lumps, or ulcers in your mouth
• Problems chewing

This simple screening has saved thousands of lives. If you have more questions about oral cancer, or if you would like to schedule an oral cancer screening, contact an experienced dentist your area today using the Cosmetic Dentistry Directory.