by Scott Chanin | Jun 27, 2018 | Uncategorized
How Can Dental Fluoride Help Protect Teeth From Decay?
Dental fluoride combines with the minerals in your teeth to form a stronger, more acid resistant enamel. When the acids produced by plaque on your teeth start to break down the minerals in your tooth enamel, a process called demineralization begins. Demineralization starts by weakening the enamel and leads to small cavities at first but can progress into large areas of decay and eventual tooth loss. The very early stage of demineralization can be reversed by re-mineralizing the enamel. This can occur by introducing dental fluoride into the enamel.
There are two ways that fluoride works to protect tooth enamel – systemically and topically.
Systemically, fluoride works when teeth are developing in babies and children – replacing some of the crystals in developing enamel with more decay resistant crystals containing fluoride. Systemic fluoride is ingested in fluoridated water, foods or supplements prescribed by a dentist or pediatrician. These systemic sources of fluoride help to assure that a child’s teeth come in strong and decay resistant.
Topical fluoride is contained in fluoride toothpaste and fluoride mouthwash and work from the outside of the tooth when you brush and rinse. Topical fluoride treatments can also be administered at your dental office, less frequently and in higher concentrations. When you use topical fluoride daily at home, in low concentrations, you can re-mineralize weakened enamel and strengthen the structure of your enamel. It’s important to brush thoroughly twice a day and rinse daily with fluoride containing products that have been clinically proven to prevent tooth decay. Fluoride toothpastes and mouthwashes should be used throughout your life. Talk to your child’s dentist about how to help them brush with very small amounts of fluoride toothpaste until they are old enough to spit rather than ingest the toothpaste.
Other Ways That Dental Fluoride Can Help Prevent Cavities
Saliva contains a very low level of fluoride as a result of drinking fluoridated water and using products with fluoride and can therefore help with remineralization as it bathes the teeth – in addition to acting as a natural method for cleansing the teeth.
Besides re-mineralizing teeth systemically and topically, fluoride also helps prevent cavities by affecting the bacteria in plaque, making it less able to produce the acids that cause decay.
We now know that fluoride is effective for adults also. Fluoride varnish helps re-mineralize the enamel and especially when you have enamel erosion from acid relux, recession, decalcification and defective enamel. Fluoride varnish applied at your examination and cleaning appointment is greatly effective in preventing decay.
If you have any questions please contact Dr Scott Chanin at Diamond Dental Associates. 908-838-0004. We will help your beautiful smile stay beautiful.
by Scott Chanin | Jun 27, 2018 | Uncategorized
Creating a New Smile with a Smile Makeover or Smile Upgrade
Transforming less-than-perfect teeth into a stunning, superstar smile is a source of immense gratification for the cosmetic dentist and the patient. Cosmetic and restorative dentistry restores and improves the health and integrity of the patient’s teeth and, just as importantly, can improve the patient’s self-image. Today, to be truly cosmetic, dentists must be clinicians, artists, and communicators. To achieve success in all of these areas, the dentist must pay close attention to every detail, from initial patient consultation through treatment planning, treatment, and follow-up care. Consider a smile makeover to change the entire appearance of your smile. A smile upgrade is a way to change some aspects of the smile to improve the appearance.
In the past, failures of cosmetic cases were frequently due to inadequately meeting the patient’s expectations. By utilizing new technology such as smile selection guides, cosmetic imaging, and temporization techniques — thus creating a “trial smile” or prototype smile, can reduce this problem and greatly increase patient satisfaction.
In both the esthetic and restorative aspects of dentistry. The dentist is responsible for the patient’s functional and appearance-related needs. However, successful treatment planning first involves listening to the patient’s desires and concerns as you evaluate his or her needs, be it color, shape, or tooth position. To move toward building a successful case, you must identify the patient’s expectations during your diagnosis and treatment planning.
A pleasing, attractive smile can be attributed to the harmony of color, contour, size, bite, incisal edges, and teeth midline with the patient’s facial features. Often, this harmony can be achieved by treating just the four incisors, the key players in the smile zone. By enhancing their length, width, shape, and alignment, many times you can create a dazzling smile from imperfect teeth. The key to treatment success is creating the smile that the patient wants. I have found that showing patients photographs of other patients smiles and the before and after result, tremendously helps patients understand and visualize what can be accomplished with cosmetic dentistry. This generates enthusiasm and excitement in obtaining a new smile, which increases case acceptance, and facilitates the communication necessary to build a successful case right from the start.
We would love to talk to you about a smile makeover or smile upgrade. Call Dr. Chanin at 908-838-0004 to discuss you concerns and hear how he can give you the superstar smile that you have always wanted.
by Scott Chanin | Jun 27, 2018 | Uncategorized
Don’t Let Dry Mouth Ruin Your Beautiful Smile
We Can Help You Keep Your Mouth Healthy
People are living longer and healthier lives. We see this in their dental health. Long gone are the assumptions that people will lose teeth as they age. That simply doesn’t have to be true. What is true is that your overall health, including your teeth, need to be a focus. Eating healthy, exercising, and taking care of your body is important to help ward off the illnesses and conditions that are associated with (but not limited to) aging. Poor dental health may also be associated with serious medical conditions such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, pneumonia and other health problems common in older adults. While certain medications and health problems may affect your dental health by causing dry mouth, which may result in extensive decay.
Dry mouth is more common than you think. 3 out of 5 adult patients that we see in our office, suffer from dry mouth. Common causes of dry mouth are alcohol consumption, amphetamine use, chemotherapy, radiation to head and neck, HIV/AIDS, prescription medications, Mouth breathing, Pain medications, tobacco use and many more.
More than 500 medications cause dry mouth, from antibiotics, antidepressants, decongestants, diuretics, muscle relaxants, antipsychotic drugs, and blood pressure drugs.
We can help you treat dry mouth. There is a new treatment for dry mouth that is called SalivaMAX. It is a supersaturated calcium phosphate powder that when dissoved in water, creates a solution with a high concentration of electrolytes (ions) similar to that of natural saliva. SalivaMAX is an artificial saliva that is used to relieve acute and chronic forms of Dry mouth. It is clinically proven to reduce dry mouth due to medications, salivary disfunction, Sjogrens syndrome. SalivaMAX is intended to moisten, lubricate and clean the oral cavity including the tongue, mouth and throat.
If you have dry mouth, this is a great solution for you. Call our office and we can evaluate if SalivaMAX is indicated for your condition. SalivaMAX is a prescription medication that can help restore your oral health and prevent decay and further destruction of your beautiful smile. It is easy to use and is the first of a new generation of dry mouth solution. Call Dr. Chanin today to determine if SalivaMAX is right for you.
by Scott Chanin | Jun 27, 2018 | Uncategorized
Benefits of an Electric Toothbrush
Brushing in the right way, with the right tools is essential. While it is important to visit the dentist regularly, you also want to make sure that you’re choosing the right tools for the home, as well. An electric toothbrush actually comes with many benefits that you may not have realized before. With their help, many people are seeing healthier, cleaner teeth overall. Find out all of the benefits you can get with an electric toothbrush.
Electric Toothbrush Benefits
Keep these benefits in mind when it comes to choosing the right toothbrush for the job. You want to feel more confident being able to brush with ease, while also removing the plaque and other build up you might have missed with a regular manual toothbrush.
- Keep your teeth, tongue and gums healthier
- It circulates the blood flow with ease
- Clean in those hard to reach places you would normally miss
- Get longer, more thorough teeth brushing with the use of an electric brush
- The toothbrush does all of the work for you
- It makes brushing easier for kids
- It helps to fight gum disease, gingivitis and a wide assortment of other oral problems
- It helps to get rid of bad breath
Purchase an electric toothbrush in almost any store and find one that works well for you. Both adult and children electric toothbrushes can be purchased to ensure that everyone has cleaner, healthier teeth and gums, while also making brushing more fun.
Contact Us Today. Call our office here at Diamond Dental Associates to obtain the best solution for the dental issues you’re having, or just to schedule your next cleaning with one of our awesome dentists!. We can recommend the best electric toothbrush for your dental needs.
by Scott Chanin | Jun 27, 2018 | Uncategorized
The Aging Mouth….
And How to Keep it Younger
Teeth, gums, and the rest of the oral cavity need extra care and attention if you want them to stay healthy in your later years.
Aging isn’t always pretty, and your mouth is no exception. A century ago the need for dentures in later life was almost a foregone conclusion. Today, three-quarters of people over 65 retain at least some of their natural teeth, but older people still suffer higher rates of gum disease, dental decay, oral cancer, mouth infections, and tooth loss. While these problems are nothing to smile about, you can still do a lot to keep your mouth looking and feeling younger than its years.
Teeth are amazingly strong. Your molars can bear down with over 200 pounds of pressure. But they’re not indestructible. A lifetime of crunching, gnawing, and grinding wears away the outer layer of enamel and flattens the biting edges. Tooth surfaces are also affected by exposure to acidic foods such as citrus fruits and carbonated beverages, which dissolve the protective enamel. Weakened enamel can set the stage for more serious dental problems. A crack or break in the tooth’s outer surface leaves the delicate pulp tissue vulnerable to irritation and inflammation. And, since the nerves at the tooth’s core lose sensitivity with age, the problem may be well advanced before you notice any pain. If an infection develops, you could need a root canal procedure or even lose the tooth entirely. The chance of having tooth damage severe enough to require a root canal or similarly invasive procedure triples once you’re over age 65. The consolation prize: reduced nerve sensitivity means that procedures that may have been uncomfortable for younger people could hurt less if you are older.
Just because you’ve got a few gray hairs doesn’t mean you’re out of the woods when it comes to cavities, either. The rate of tooth decay in people over 65 now outpaces that of schoolchildren. A prime target of dental caries in older adults is around the neck of the tooth, adjacent to the gum line. Gum tissue naturally recedes with age, so the soft root tissue becomes exposed. In addition, adults who grew up before the advent of fluoride products and dental sealants often have fillings from childhood and adolescence that eventually break down. Decay around the edges of those fillings is also a problem.
While there’s not much you can do to stem the natural attrition of the tooth surface, the pillars of cavity prevention — brushing, flossing, and regular cleanings at the dentist’s office — remain the same at any age. People who have trouble brushing and flossing by hand because of arthritis or other disabilities should probably switch to an electric toothbrush. Fluoride, found in toothpaste, mouth rinses, and tap water in some communities, helps the body rebuild the mineral crystals that make up the tooth enamel and may also inhibit bacteria-laden plaque from adhering to the teeth. Fluoride rinses and gels, and varnishes applied by a dentist, may be able to halt the progression of root decay and in some cases reverse the damage.
Tips for Maintaining and Improving Your Oral Health
- Brush twice a day with a toothbrush with soft bristles. …
- Clean between your teeth once a day with floss or another flossing tool.
- If you wear full or partial dentures, remember to clean them on a daily basis. …
- Drink tap water. …
- Quit smoking. …
- Visit your dentist at Diamond Dental Associates, LLC to help you maintain your beautiful smile.
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