Lasers in Dentistry

Laser dentistry is a precise and effective way to perform many dental procedures in the dentist’s office today. Gone are the days of traditional dentistry that require complicated and sometimes painful procedures with a lengthy recovery.

The potential for laser dentistry to improve dental procedures rests in the dentist's ability to control power output and the duration of exposure on the tissue, whether on the gum or tooth structure. This allows for treatment of a highly specific area of focus without damaging surrounding tissues.

Improved smile

Who doesn’t want a great smile? Sometimes, however, our smiles that display our pearly whites are hidden behind excess gums. Laser dentistry helps people improve smiles by reshaping the contours of the gums and shows more of the teeth to create a more attractive smile.

Traditional Dental Procedures Redefined

Who says ordinary dental procedures need to be uncomfortable and time consuming? By using a dental laser procedure, treatments like crowns and bridges can be done quicker and easier. In addition, they become much simpler than ever before when using the laser. Even minor dental measures are simplified. Whether you need a cold sore or mouth ulcers removed, the dental laser makes it as easy and painless as possible.

Improved Dental Experience

Lasers in the dentist’s office make sense for a number of reasons. One of the main ones is that it improves your overall dental experience. Why does going to the dentist need to involve pain and discomfort with several days of recovery? Instead, lasers allow for a much quicker healing time. They also provide a more pain free experience, or significantly less pain, than ever before.

If anxiety is usually part of your dental experience, lasers can greatly reduce this, as well. Find a dentist that incorporates laser procedures into their practice and ask them more about it so you can reduce any further dental anxiety.

Other Benefits with Laser Dentistry

There are a number of additional benefits associated with laser dentistry. Here are a few that you can expect:

Procedures performed using soft tissue dental lasers may not need stitches.

Some dental laser treatments do not need anesthesia.

Laser dentistry minimizes bleeding because the high energy light beam helps in the clotting of the exposed blood vessels. This prevents blood loss.

Bacterial infections are reduced because the laser sterilizes the area being worked on.

Problems with surrounding tissue is minimized.

Wounds heal quicker and tissues can be regenerated.

Lasers in the dentist’s office has revolutionized dentistry in the last several years. It provides many benefits, such as a reduction in pain, recovery, and anxiety over other methods. They can also offer some wonderful cosmetic benefits, as well. Lasers in the dentist’s chair are certainly something worth considering on your next dental procedure.

What Causes Bad Breath?

Few things are as embarrassing as bad breath. What makes an embarrassing situation even worse is when you don’t now you have it. If someone hints that you might be a victim of this awkward problem, take their word for it and don’t ignore it.

The key to treating your bad breath is to determine exactly what is causing it. This allows you to do something about it as rapidly and discreetly as possible.

What Causes Bad Breath?

Bad breath, or “halitosis” as it known in the medical community, can have a multitude of causes. Determining exactly what is causing your bad breath will help restore it to normal quickly.

Foods. What you eat can be a common culprit in your bad breath woes. If you eat a lot of garlic or onions, chances are pretty good that you have at least a few issues with fresh breath…even if no has ever told you. Simply limiting these foods will either reduce or completely eliminate your undesirable breath.

Gum disease, tooth decay and bacteria. Many people have some form of gum disease and tooth decay. And everyone has bacteria in their mouths at any given time. So it only makes sense that the three culprits can do a number on anyone’s breath at any given time.

Bad Breath Treatments

There are a number of remedies for these issues that can easily be used to treat bad breath quickly and as a part of your regular oral hygiene routine. The mouthwash Breath Rx® is a great defense against bad breath. It can be purchased at many discount stores, as well as at our office. This unique mouthwash works by neutralizing any sulfur compounds in the mouth that usually causes most cases of bad breath.

In addition to the mouthwash, good oral hygiene habits should be practiced. This includes brushing two or more times a day, flossing, and using a tongue scraper.

See Your Dentist

In most cases, bad breath does not require a trip to the dentist. However, if you have persistent bad breath that normal remedies don’t fix, speak with your dentist to see if an underlying medical cause can be determined.

Seeing a dentist is the only sure way to know for certain if your of bad breath needs medical intervention or not.

Bad breath is a common problem. There are a number of causes but most of them are easily treatable with good oral hygiene habits. In the case where bad breath does not clear up with relatively simple methods, a visit to your dentist will help you uncover the best way to treat your bad breath.

What Causing Snoring and Ways to Prevent It

Snoring can be an embarrassing problem. It can have an impact on your life and even on your spouse or partner. It can also be a symptom of a serious health problem that makes ignoring it dangerous. Recent developments with products focused on helping you stop snoring have been incredibly successful to bring tranquility back your nights.

The Causes of Snoring

The cause of snoring is sound production in the back of the throat due to increased airflow, which occurs at night when muscles relax during sleep. Your breathing passages become narrow. This causes the body to breathe harder to get the required oxygen that it needs. It creates a vicious cycle that often leads to long bouts of intense snoring which can disturb an entire household.

Snoring can also be a sign of a serious condition called obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) or, as it commonly referred to as, “sleep apnea.” This occurs when the obstruction is so complete that the snorer quits breathing completely for seconds at a time. Left untreated, sleep apnea can be a dangerous, even life-threatening, condition.

Males are often more impacted by sleep apnea than woman. In fact, older males are the most likely to suffer from this condition. Males are believed to be more prone to snoring and sleep apnea because they have narrower air passages than women.

Hope for Snorers

Snoring was once a condition that many people had to simply learn to “endure.” In recent years, however, there have been a number of advancements that make snoring no longer something that anyone must suffer through.

There are a few simple treatments for snoring to try initially to see if the snorer experiences significant relief. These include weight loss, avoidance of a supine sleeping position, sleeping with the head elevated, avoidance of alcohol or sedatives at night, and treatment of nasal symptoms (such as allergies).

If these simple fixes don’t help, there are more sophisticated techniques that can be very helpful. One successful method is by using a jaw supporter. These devices are worn while sleeping at night and work by keeping the lower jaw in an upward position. This creates more passage in the airway tube which eliminates vibration during breathing.

Jaw reconstruction surgery is another anti-snoring option that involves adding bone to the jaws that has melted away over time or has been lost to cancer or accident. In addition, bones of the face may be enhanced through the use of implants to the chin, cheek, nose and jaw.

The TAP System

At Evergreen Dental , we recommend a powerful system that is offered by The Thornton Adjustable Positioner® (TAP®). This anti-snoring device is an oral appliance that is both custom fit and adjustable.
The TAP®s simple design, coupled with its high use rate, makes it the most effective anti-snoring and sleep apnea device available. The TAP® is also the primary oral appliance replacement for the Continuous Positive Airway (CPAP) machine and surgery.

The TAP appliance is only available by prescription by a dentist. We will happily evaluate your needs in our office and see if you are a candidate for this device.

This product is a custom adjustable oral appliance that is worn while sleeping. The appliance holds the lower jaw forward, preventing the tongue and the soft tissue of the throat from collapsing into the airway.
The single most distinguishing feature of the TAP® is that it can be adjusted by the patient while in the mouth by the use of a small detachable key. This can be done until the lower jaw is brought forward enough to ensure the airway remains open during sleep. Once the patient’s perfect fit is achieved, the key is removed and the patient can completely close their mouth with the appliance inside. As a result of the comfort, the TAP® has a compliance rate of 95%.

Patients are able to manage the degree of lower jaw protrusion over as many nights as it takes to achieve the optimal effect comfortably. The fact that TAP® has a single point of adjustment prevents uneven bilateral adjustment which can create bite dysfunction.

Life After Snoring

Most people who have previously been frequent snorers often report an incredible increase in the quality of their sleep. This improved sleep quality has far reaching, and possibility unexpected benefits. There may be a remarkable increase in one’s performance at work, less fatigue-triggered injuries, and even an improvement in personal relationships as a direct result of simply stopping snoring.

Snoring does not have to dominate your life. There are several methods you can choose from that can easily stop your snoring for better sleep for both you and those around you.

The Importance of Having Great Dental Health

It’s hard to imagine that an act as simple as brushing and flossing your teeth can have such a large impact on your overall health. Yet, research shows that your health is mirrored by your dental health. This is a big reason to maintain overall good dental health, including thoroughly brushing your teeth twice daily.

So what exactly will you be preventing by simply spending two minutes brushing your teeth twice a day with a soft bristle brush? More than you might expect.

Gum Disease Leads to Health Complications

According to the Academy of General Dentistry, how healthy your gums are directly impacts major health complications, such as strokes and heart disease. In addition, women who suffer from gum disease have a higher incidence or pre-term and low birth weight babies.

An astounding 90% of systemic diseases have oral symptoms. These include swollen gums, mouth ulcers, dry mouth, and excessive problems.

The following systemic diseases that have oral manifestations include:

• Diabetes
• Leukemia
• Cancer
• Heart disease
• Kidney disease

Poor Care of Gums Equals Health Problems

Not only do healthy gums play an important role in preventing systemic disease, they also prevent other types of health problems. If left untreated, improperly cared for gums can directly lead to other health problems such as:

• Oral and facial pain: This pain comes directly from the gums due to infections and can lead to tooth loss.

• Gum disease: An estimated 75% of the US population suffers from some level of gingivitis, an early level of gum disease, or some other more severe form of gum disease.

• Problems with the heart and major organs: Infections in the mouth have a direct impact on your major organs.

• Oral cancer: This form of cancer takes more lives each year than cervical or skin cancer.

• Digestion problems: Since digestion begins in the mouth, it should not be surprising that digestion problems can start in the mouth, as well. These can lead to other issues like irritable bowel syndrome and other digestion related disorders.

Preventing Dental Problems to Promote Good Health

Few health problems have an easy fix. Dental health, for most patients, however does have a relatively easy solution when you invest a little time and effort in your teeth and gums.

There are three main factors that can mean the difference between poor dental and overall health and great dental and overall health.

• Regular teeth brushing. Do this twice a day with a soft bristle toothbrush and the results will be dramatic. By brushing in a circular motion on your teeth each time you brush, you will remove much of the bacteria that create health problems.

• Floss daily. The activity of flossing seems to intimidate or overwhelm some. There is no reason to avoid this important part of your dental health. By simply running the dental floss back and forth between each tooth, you will remove a great deal of debris and bacterial from the sides of each tooth. This one act goes a long way to prevent serious gum disease later.

• Visit the dentist regularly. It’s important to visit the dentist approximately every six months. Even if you are practicing excellent oral hygiene habits, a dentist will recognize problems long before they reach any sort of devastating potential. The dentist can also offer regular tips on the various methods you can use to keep your mouth in the best possible health.

With a few simple steps by investing some time to care for your teeth and gums through healthy dental practices, you can potentially prevent major health problems down the road. Don’t underestimate the impact that great oral care will have on your overall health and well-being.

Welcome to My New HD Video Dental Care Blog - "What is Single Tooth Anesthesia?"

No one likes the pain and discomfort associated with dental work. When you throw in the anxiety that most people feel just at the thought of going to the dentist, making an appointment with your dentist might be the last thing you want to do.

For the past century, Novacain has been the standard treatment for dental procedures. In the last few years, however, a new style of pain prevention has changed the face of dental pain treatment forever. In fact, the new system of pain relief, single tooth anesthesia (STA) , makes going to the dentist as simple and pain free as possible.

What is the STA?

The single tooth anesthesia (STA) is a computer controlled injection that allows the dentist to give localized numbing only to the tooth that actually needs it. The amount of medicine is controlled by a computer and provides a slow, steady stream of anesthesia for optimal pain control.

Since the dentist controls the flow of the anesthesia and needles actually goes between the gum tissue and not into it, pain is virtually eliminated.

Reduces Anxiety

Researchers found that the STA wand actually creates less anxiety than other forms of injections. In fact, it is smaller than some needles and allows the dentist complete control over the area being worked on. One study found this form of dental anesthesia produced the least amount of anxiety in patients.

You can relax, knowing that the STA provides just the right amount of pain relief in the exact spot that it is needed. The guess work is virtually eliminated for the dentist, giving you the confidence and security you need to relax in the dentist’s chair.

Reduces Pain and Numbness

If you have ever had work dental work done using Novacain, you are probably all too familiar with the all around numbness that happens in your entire mouth during a dental procedure. The numbness extends all over your mouth and makes it nearly impossible to talk and eat for several hours.

The STA method localizes the numbness to just one tooth: the one that is actually being worked on. This reduces the overall numbness that can have a direct impact on your speedy recovery.

The Future of Dental Technology

There is little doubt that technology is changing in every facet of society at a breakneck speed. The same is true in dental technology. Researchers continue to work to make your time spent in the dentist’s chair as quick and painless as possible.

The new STA technology is a reminder that things are changing and we are continually seeking to enhance your dental experience. While there will probably never be a day that you actually look forward to sitting in your dentist’s chair, we are confident it will be as minimally invasive and painless as possible.

So, just how great is this new STA technology? It won the 2008 Canon Communications' Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA).

The STA is one more way to keep your teeth as healthy as possible. When treatment is required, however, you are able to get in and out of the office quickly and with the least amount of discomfort and anxiety.