Once the shock of an injury has passed, it’s best to remember that not all dental emergencies are created equally. Some dental emergencies demand immediate (or as immediate as possible) treatment in order to save a tooth or prevent the spread of infection. Other dental emergencies, while potentially embarrassing or annoying, don’t necessarily warrant an unscheduled stop at the emergency dentist’s office. Today, we’re taking a closer look at each type of dental emergency and offering a few tips for basic dental first aid. (more…)
What to Expect Before, During, and After IV Sedation
Patients with moderate or severe dental fear or anxiety, patients with physical or neurological disabilities that make receiving dental care difficult, and those undergoing complex treatment plans make good candidates for intravenous (IV) sedation. This type of sedation dentistry delivers anti-anxiety medication directly to your bloodstream through a very small needle. Although IV sedation does not technically “put you to sleep,” it will leave you in a state of profound relaxation. To help patients feel more comfortable and well-informed on the subject, we’re taking a look at what to expect before, during and after IV sedation. (more…)
3 Techniques for Reducing Anxiety at the Dentist’s Office
It’s perfectly normal to feel nervous before a dental appointment. Maybe you feel a bit anxious because you don’t know what’s going to happen, because you’re afraid of what the dentist might discover, or because you find the sights and sounds of the dentist office unsettling. Rather than let your nerves get the best of you, give these relaxation techniques a try.
1. Meditation and Breathing Exercises
Meditation’s role in clinical dentistry was first recognized by the scientific community in the 1970s. Today, some dental schools even offer (more…)
Why are Some People Afraid of the Dentist?
If you’re like most people, you may not exactly look forward to visiting the dentist, but it also doesn’t cause you any overwhelming distress either. However, there is a smaller but significant portion of the U.S. population that has such negative emotions associated with the dentist that they avoid receiving dental care until a problem has reached an emergency stage. Today, we’re examining three commonly cited causes of dental fear and looking at how sedation dentistry can help alleviate those unpleasant emotions. (more…)
Porcelain Veneers: An In-Depth Look at a Cosmetic Superstar
The very meaning of the word “veneer” seems to suggest something superficial and lacking in substance. In practice, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Porcelain dental veneers look beautiful, can disguise a wide range of esthetic flaws, and have the strength and durability to withstand constant use. Today, we’re taking an in-depth tour of this handy little cosmetic restoration to help you decide whether veneers might be the right treatment option for you. (more…)
Gum Disease and Bone Loss: A Destructive Relationship
By the time gum inflammation progresses into full blown periodontitis (literally “an infection of the area around the tooth), a serious bacterial infection has established itself far below your gum line. Your body – specifically, your immune system – senses the presence of infection and responds as it’s supposed to. It attempts to protect the body at large by destroying the infected part of the body, in this case the gums, connective tissues, and alveolar bone (the pocket of bone that anchors the teeth roots). In pictures taken with advanced dental imaging, like digital x-rays and CT scans, the atrophied bone visibly draws away from the tooth, revealing the darker tooth roots. (more…)
The Sounds of Science: Noises You May Encounter at Your Dentist’s Office
The American Dental Association estimates that as many as 40 million Americans avoid receiving professional dental care because they find visiting the dentist extremely unpleasant. Dental fear and anxiety can be prompted by a number of factors, including unpleasant memories of the dentist, a fear of losing physical control, the influence of friends and family members who dislike dental care, and a general distaste for the sensations associated with dentistry. It may come as a surprise to people who don’t have a problem seeking out dental care, but even the sounds one encounters in a dental office can make some patients extremely uncomfortable. Today, we’re taking exploring a few potentially unsettling sounds you might hear at your next appointment, and what you can do to stay relaxed despite the noise. (more…)
3 Things You Didn’t Expect to Deal with After Dental Implant Surgery
No matter how much research you do on your own, no matter how detailed your initial consultation with your dentist, you still have quite a few surprises in store for you once the your new dental implants and the temporary crown, bridge, or denture are in place.
1. You’ll Have to Eat a Modified Diet for a While
The marketing doesn’t lie: dental implants do help restore nearly 100% of your normal chewing ability (depending on the number of missing teeth you had replaced). What the marketing doesn’t mention is (more…)
Are Dental Implants the Key to a Longer, Healthier Life?
Endless commercials advertise creams that promise to erase wrinkles. Magazine and web articles applaud celebrities who manage to look as fresh and young as they did a decade ago. Despite our cultural obsession with a youthfulness appearance, most regular people want to recapture the feeling of being young rather than the just the looks. As we enter our middle and later years, we tend to lose the spring in our step, our ability to enjoy the same foods as we did in our youth, and that confidence that comes with feeling healthy and vibrant. The loss of one or more of your permanent teeth accelerates the aging process, resulting in poorer diet and poorer overall health. Although dental implants won’t have you looking like you did during your college years, they can help you recapture a youthful sense of wellbeing. (more…)
How Much Does It Cost to Have Your Wisdom Teeth Extracted?
When facing the prospect of any dental procedure, from a simple cleaning to oral surgery, cost is always an important thing to consider. Knowing how much of an impact a procedure will make on your finances can relieve undue financial stress, but the exact out-of-pocket cost of your specific treatment plan can vary according to factors, including:
The Type of Extraction You Need
As the name suggests, simple extractions are relatively straightforward, can often be performed using only local anesthetic and nitrous oxide, and require little downtime. Surgical extractions, on the other hand, are usually performed under oral or IV sedation and require at least 1-3 days of recovery time afterward. As you can probably guess, a complex surgical extraction (which most wisdom teeth removals are) will involve a higher cost than a simple extraction. (more…)
