Posts Tagged ‘ft lauderdale dentists’

Avoiding Embarrassing Moments Of Bad Breath

Saturday, March 6th, 2010

Almost everyone has experienced a situation wherein you find yourself on the verge of fainting upon catching someone’s flower-wilting breath during a conversation. Halitosis, or better known as bad breath is indeed a common dental problem to all but can be given remedy.

Unfortunately, statistics revealed that more than 90 million people are suffering from chronic bad breath. Just imagine how many flowers will die with those numbers. Seriously, we all know that bad breath is embarrassing and unpleasant to the nose. But sad to say, this is one dental problem that is common to everyone and just keeps on coming back.

The following are two useful tips everyone can follow to avoid the embarrassing moments:

 

• Avoid your tongue to turn into a dirty carpet.

 People who do not know how to properly take care of their oral health are always prone to bad breath. The odor is oftentimes caused by decaying food particles and bacteria in your mouth. Brushing and flossing your teeth is indeed very important. When brushing your teeth, do not forget to brush your tongue as well to eliminate more bacteria. Tiny food particles and bacteria are trapped by the millions of filaments on your tongue. Using a toothbrush, edge of a spoon, or a tongue cleaner to clean the tongue regularly. Also, make sure to thoroughly clean whatever dental appliance you have before putting them in your mouth.

Although mouthwash is a good idea but it only masks the odor instead of dealing with the root cause of your problem.

 

• Try using the gum-chewing style.

Actually, saliva is the best weapon against bad breath, which is why dry mouth caused some medications lead to malodor problems. Saliva helps in getting rid of odor by washing away food particles and bacteria too.

 

Ever wonder why our breath has a stinky odor in the morning? It is because saliva production slows down when you sleep, letting particles and odor stay behind longer. Now, that is where sugarless gum comes in the picture. Gum chewing can stimulate saliva production. Mints don’t usually stimulate saliva production, instead temporarily masks the bad odor.

You salivate when you chew a gum and that would mean fewer bacteria for you. Aside from releasing the antiseptic and enzymes in your saliva that kill bacteria, it automatically washes out the bacteria too.

Better try a gum that is sweetened with xylitol as your best option anything that makes you salivate improve your breath. It is a sugar substitute that does not only increase salivation but as well as prevent bacteria from multiplying in the mouth.

Aside from these tips, you can also check out more useful tips provided by the team of Fort Lauderdale dentists. You can either personally visit them or access their website at www.sleepdentists.com.

What Are Periodontal Procedures?

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

The goal of the procedures of a periodontist aims for the treatment of gum diseases. With this said, there are now several procedures that a periodontist uses in diagnosing a periodontal disease. Periodontists are also dentists who specialize in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of periodontal diseases.

 

The following are some of the procedures being performed by periodontists:

 

Non-surgical treatments

These are often done through non-surgical periodontal treatments, which include scaling and planing, followed by adjunctive therapy such as local delivery antimicrobials and host modulation, needed in a case-to-case basis. However, non-surgical therapy has its limitations, where if it does not achieve periodontal health, surgery may be suggested to remedy the dental problem caused by periodontal diseases and likewise, to facilitate oral hygiene practices.

 

Periodontal Surgery

This procedure is recommended if your periodontist diagnosed you with  periodontal disease. This is necessary when your periodontist determines that the tissue around your teeth is unhealthy and cannot be repaired by non-surgical treatment. The common surgical treatments most periodontists use are: Pocket Reduction Procedures, Regenerative Procedures, Crown Lengthening, and Soft Tissue Grafts.

 

Dental Implants

Periodontists use a dental implant, which is an artificial tooth root to be placed into your jaw to hold a replacement tooth or bridge. These implants can replace one or more teeth without affecting the bordering teeth, support a bridge, and eliminate the need for removable partial denture, and provide support for a denture, making it more secure and comfortable.

 

Cosmetic Procedures

Periodontal plastic surgery provides cosmetic-related surgery to help making smiles last a lifetime, which is similar to cosmetic surgery. Uneven gum line, long/exposed roots, missing teeth, and indentions in the gums and jawbone are common scenarios that call for periodontal cosmetic surgery.

 

These periodontal procedures were created or generated with the goal of maintaining excellent dental and oral health. It addresses dental issues that would need treatment for gum conditions and even the prevention of gum diseases. Ft. Lauderdale dentists also have a team of fully equipped periodontists that can provide relevant information you may need in regards to periodontal procedures. You may also visit www.sleepdentists.com for your inquiries.

 

Parental Advisory: Dental Awareness About Children’s Teeth

Saturday, January 16th, 2010

Parents are always mindful when it comes to their children’s health. From simple colds, fever, wound infections, and a lot more. They even monitor how many teeth are already coming out. As the child reaches toddler stage, parents set dental care awareness because children are likely prone to tooth decay if  they do not practice proper oral hygiene.

We are all familiar with how temporary teeth start in children. Actually, we all do.  However, it does not mean it is less important just because it’s temporary. Other than helping them chew their food easily, temporary teeth hold a valid reason on why they stay where they are.  They save the space or area for the permanent teeth.

Once the baby tooth is lost at an earlier stage – either to decay or accident – there is a tendency for the teeth beside it to drift to one side and create an empty space. When this occurs, there might not be enough space for the permanent teeth to occupy. This will result to crooked or crowded teeth which needs to be re-aligned in the future using braces. However, braces do not appeal to everyone because of the discomfort of wearing them.

With children’s tooth decay, sometimes infection occurs from decayed baby teeth that may harm the permanent teeth developing underneath. Cavities may not result to immediate pain but sometimes your kids might be hurting at some point without you knowing it. You need to pay attention on how your kids are feeling whenever they say something related to their teeth.Remember that untreated dental cavity tends to get worse and may reach a level of severity where root canal or tooth extraction will be the solution to the dental problem.

The above dental scenarios are quite common to parents, which is why there are preventive measures designed by dental specialists to address these issues.To avoid unwanted dental pain in the future, parents just need to implement these measures properly or monitor the children’s dental habits and hygiene.

For more information about dental care and general dentistry, contact our Ft Lauderdale dentists at sleepdentists.com.

Stunning Hollywood Smile by Cosmetic Dentistry

Friday, December 25th, 2009

Ever wonder how the celebrities project that beautiful Hollywood smile effortlessly? Their flawless teeth is the main source of their confidence. Cosmetic dentistry has been responsible for most of Hollywood’s good-looking teeth, which plays a very significant value for them in the entertainment world. A candid smile in front of the camera initiates a valued impact to their public images.

So, would you like to have the same confidence these stars have? Since cosmetic dentistry makes feasible ways for you, you now carry it on. A dental field of combined art and science aiming for proper dental health as well as improving and optimizing aesthetics and function.

A fine selection of methods are available for you to choose from. Below is a fine selection of some procedures and how they are being performed.

 

• Teeth Whitening

Also known as “dental bleaching” is the most commonly performed dental procedure. This is best for discolored teeth due to too much tea or coffee drinking or smoking. There are different methods of performing this dental procedure and some can actually be done at home. The At-home whitening procedure is done by applying bleaching gel using thin guard trays or using small strips that go over the front teeth. Another bleaching method is the laser bleaching that uses light energy to accelerate the process of bleaching in a dental office.

 

• Contouring

Also known as tooth reshaping. This method is for proper aligning of those crooked, chipped, cracked or even overlapping teeth in just a single session by altering the length, shape or position of the teeth. This involves a few millimeters of reduction and a few millimeters of tooth-colored laminate. For certain circumstances, braces can substitute this procedure.

 

• Bonding

This procedure utilizes an enamel-like composite material applied to the tooth’s surface, sculpted into shape, then polished.

 

Lucky for everyone now that cosmetic dentistry has been introduced to address such imperfections not only to satisfy one’s vanity but as well as boost someone’s esteem and confidence. You are actually doing yourself a huge favor by reconstructing your smile and improving yourself healthwise. Aside from what was mentioned earlier, our team of Ft. Lauderdale dentists offer other cosmetic dental procedures appropriate for your condition, aiming to address aesthetic dental concerns.  For further scope of information, you can visit www.sleepdentists.com.

 

Bringing Out The Best Celebrity Smile In You

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Having a hard time putting up that huge grin? If your smiles are held back by those chipped teeth, yellow discoloration, and spaces in between, cosmetic dentistry can fulfill your wish towards that confident smile. Cosmetic dentistry is not just dental vanity and all, although most Hollywood stars take advantage of the unending benefit of this dental practice for many different reasons not only to straighten a crooked smile or replace some old metal fillings with some white tooth-colored restoration. A simple smile can actually uplift a person’s self-esteem. That is the power of the smile. Thus, it is entirely understandable when someone wishes to have a smile makeover.

So what  is cosmetic dentistry and how is it being performed? Although cosmetic dentistry is based on desires rather than need, it aims to optimize the aesthetic component of your smile, making it more stunning and pleasing to look at. The smile makeover is a cosmetic dentistry procedure that can help you out in achieving that winning smile.

If you have been drinking large amounts of tea and coffee and had led to teeth discoloration or have been a smoker for years, this type of cosmetic dentistry procedure can bring back that lost confidence whenever you put up a smile in front of the camera.  This is also best for misaligned, chipped or missing teeth due to an accident or injury and unsightly gaps.

Another smile makeover procedure is the Invisalign system, which consists of a series of custom designed removable, clear plastic aligners. Each set of aligners is worn for a two-week period to allow your teeth to gradually transform into your dream smile.  An average full treatment program takes less than a year but varies depending on the dental condition. This procedure takes care of crowded teeth, widely spaced teeth, a crossbite, an overbite, and an underbite.

If smile makeover or Invisalign are the solutions you are considering, you can contact Ft. Lauderdale dentists for any related information or you can visit sleepdentists.com.

 

 

 

Aiding Your Kids on How to Sweep Over Their Dental Anxiety

Sunday, December 20th, 2009

One of the most common human anxieties of all times is dental anxiety. I can say that this is just a common childhood stage everone undergoes. Pain is actually always the first thing that comes to our mind whenever we hear the terms dentists or dental. It’s always the experienced memorable pain that leaves a mark.  We even tell our painful stories to our children or to any kids younger than us.  I myself do this but without highlighting the real pain in the experience. I shared my experiences to my kids as to how each tooth was extracted by different dentists and how I have undergone every dental session I have encountered.

So being a parent who wants to help his or her kids overcome this dental anxiety during their dental visits, you can start with moral support, where you accompany them in their dental visits, just making them feel secure by being visible inside the clinic until the session is over.  You can also make motivating gestures for them to feel comfortable. Having your own family dentist really helps a lot. With an existing family relationship, dental anxiety actually reduces once the kids know that the dentist is a family friend.  The relationship helps a lot in minimizing dental anxiety.  Relationship alone entices kids to open up regarding their fears.  This way, the dentist is alerted and provided hints on how to handle the kid during the session with the specific fear disclosed.  If there is no family dentist available, you can get recommendations from your friends or relatives who can refer a supportive dentist for your kids that will help you overcome the dental anxiety problem.  It is better to have a shortlist of dentists that will serve as a stand by until your kids feel at ease in their dental sessions.  Good relationship also leads to good communication and at the same time, reduces the apprehension to the extent of eliminating dental anxiety of kids.

In terms of alleviating pain in every session, take note that dentistry alone has innovated so much.  Their sedation techniques now are provided by bundles of choices where the patients are now free to choose what sedation technique they would like to be conducted in their session.   The techniques’ advancement exceed up to fitting the appropriate ages, where existing sedation techniques are now available that are more appropriate and less afflictive fitting the children’s ages.

On top of the scientific advancement of dentistry, psychotherapeutic techniques were also added to further reduce dental anxiety. In order to distract children’s focus on the pain-inflicting instruments dentists use, music audio is now made available at dental clinics. moreover, scheduling regular meetings with their family dentists is a behavioral psychotherapy that parents are now using in helping their children lessen their dental anxiety. Frequency and familiarity are the basic variables used in this psychological intervention.

Dental anxiety is just now of the most common anxieties we have our lives but you can actually witness how science moves in to help us out face these kinds of fears.  Our team of Ft. Lauderdale dentists provide a fine selection of information with regard to dental anxiety and how it is appropriately dealt with.  You can visit sleepdentists.com for details.

 

Dental Procedures Appropriate for Autistic Children

Friday, December 18th, 2009

As the prevalence of autism is obviously on the rise, the medical field, particularly psychiatry and pediatrics keep the movement on autism running with regard to any awareness, caregiving tips, nutrition, and cognitive skills to easily guide parents of autistic children in the parenthood line.  However, in line with the dental hygiene of these individuals could be considered another big challenge for the parents as well.  We are all aware that autistic children are marked by communication disorders, short attention span, and inability to treat others as people. Signs of comfort, refusals, and pain are needed to be determined in dental sessions through proper communication.

However, if a child has the dysfunctionalities of an autistic child, there are numerous risks that a parent would think. Knowing if the dentist has used adequate amount of anesthesia so the child will not feel pain anymore? Would there be any specific type of dentists specialized in conducting dental practices with mentally-challenged individuals such as autistic children? Parents usually dwell on worrying thoughts on how a dental activity will be conducted on their special child.

With the presence of sedation and sleep dentistry, which allow the patient to experience levels of reduced anxiety during a dental procedure, providing autistic children the appropriate dental hygiene and session is now a worry-free possibility.  As science is now aware of the difficulty and possible risks of treating physically and mentally-challenged patients, it has now produced several researches and resulted to innovative techniques practiced in sleep dentistry to better address these special dental concerns.

Sleep dentistry caters dental solutions to people having or marked with special needs and other medication conditions.  It is also a proven solution to those with communication disorders as well like autistic children. This practice is conducted where the patient is placed in complete slumber state without him having any awareness of what is happening in his surroundings.  Thus, the patient will feel no pain at all and will have no recall of the dental procedure.

In choosing the right sleep dentist for your autistic child, it is better to be guided with the significant details about the procedure as it will lead you to finding the equipped and experienced sleep dentist that you need. Always take note that the basic determinants of the treatment plan is the patient’s needs and goals.  As a parent or guardian of a special child that needs dental accommodation, it is important for you to gather reference and information about it.

Our team of Ft. Lauderdale dentists offer helpful details addressing special dental needs for special people at sleepdentists.com.

Sedation Dentistry: Providing Solutions For Anxious Patients

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Getting anxious during a dental visit may seem silly to some. But there are people whose anxiety levels increase tremendously at the thought of dental appointments, let alone an upcoming dental procedure. These patients may have gone through a traumatic experience in the past or they simply have a low tolerance for pain. In addition, children, especially those who are hard to restrain bring a great deal of anxiety to the clinic, both to themselves – as small children are not exactly fond of staying put for a long period – and to the treating dentist. There is a solution to reduce the anxiety and calm the patient during dental visits and treatments: sedation and sleep dentistry.

Administering these dental techniques depends on the patient’s needs and the type of procedure he’ll go through. Local anesthetics are typically used to numb the area so that you won’t feel any pain or discomfort during the treatment. There are two kinds of anesthetics utilized in dentistry today: topical and injectable. Topical anesthetics are applied on the gum using a swab or an adhesive patch. This reduces the stinging sensation the patients experience when an injectable anesthesia is used. Injectable anethesia is introduced to prevent pain and discomfort in the area where the treatment will take place. It blocks the nerve endings and temporarily numb the tissues around the mouth. Injectables are administered during root canals, tooth extraction and other tooth restoration procedures.

Some patients need to deal with anxiety because local and injectable anesthetics do not address their problems. In such cases, the dentist will use anti-anxiety medication or sedatives to provide relief for anxious patients. Conscious sedation can be administered through pills, gas or intravenous injection. The most commonly used sedative agents are nitrous oxide and intraveous sedation.

Nitrous oxide or commonly known as laughing gas or happy gas is administered by mixing it with oxygen and inhaled through a breathing mask. The sedative properties wears off once the mask is taken off. Intravenous sedation is generally administered in the vein on the arm. After a few minutes, the patient will be put in a relaxed state; breathing on his own and is able to respond to verbal commands.

As a patient, you need to discuss with your dentist your apprehensions with dental treatments and dental visits. There are options available to you such as conscious sedation that can help alleviate the discomfort and anxiety levels during dental treatment and procedure.

Leff, Weiss and Walde DDS are a team of Ft Lauderdale dentists specializing in sedation dentistry. For more information about eliminating anxiety and discomfort during dental treatment, visit sleepdentists.com.

 

Sleep Dentistry: Dental Care Solution For Patients With Dental Phobia

Monday, August 10th, 2009

Dental phobia is not a myth. There are patients who are unable to undergo any dental procedure without the assistance of sedation medication. The degree of phobia varies in each patient. One may display mild symptoms of fear like sweating, butterflies and nausea; and another patient may experience high levels of anxiety which include increased heartbeat and uncontrollable panic attacks. When a dental phobic patient requires much needed dental work, sleep dentistry is the best possible solution.

With sleep dentistry procedure, the dentist utilizes anesthetic drugs to put the patient in a deep level of complete sleep. With this method, the patient does not feel any pain nor has any memory of the treatment.

Anesthesia is administered by using anesthetic drugs. In addition, inhalation agents such as nitrous oxide or happy gas may be administered to assist the patient in going through different levels of relaxation and until he reaches the state of complete sleep. With general anesthesia, the patient will not hear, smell or feel any pain during the procedure. The state of deep, complete sleep blocks all memories and inhibits normal body reflexes to pain making the procedure easy for the dentist to perform.  

In the past, sleep dentistry procedures are done in a hospital setting where it is more equipped to handle sleep dentistry procedures. Today, innovation in dental care technology allow the patient to have the dental work procedure at the dentist’s clinic. The effects of anesthesia can last for hours after the treatment. When the patient is fully awake, only then he will be permitted to leave the clinic.

If you want to learn more about sleep dentistry options, visit our Ft Lauderdale dentists at sleepdentists.com. Our team of dentists and oral surgeons has general anesthesia permits from the state of Florida and our office facilities meet the state requirements for the administration of general anesthesia.

An Overview of Dental Bridges

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

What is a dental bridge?

A dental bridge not only restores your smile, it also balances the normal bite, prevents the other teeth from moving/tilting, prevents the onset of decay and prevents undue stress to the dental ridge. Dental bridges literally mean bridging the gap between missing teeth. It’s made up of two crowns anchored on the teeth on either side or both sides of the gap. The false tooth called pontic is attached between the two crowns to fill the area of the missing tooth.

There are three kinds of dental bridges:

1. Traditional bridges
This type of bridge creates a crown on opposing sides of the missing tooth with the pontic in between. Traditional bridges are the most common bridges. They are usually made from porcelain attached to metal or ceramic.

2. Cantilever bridges
Cantilever bridges are used when the adjacent teeth is only one side of the missing tooth.

3. Maryland bonded bridges
This bridge is made of plastic teeth and gums supported by a metal framework. The metal wings on each side of the bridge are attached to the adjacent teeth.

Dental bridges usually require two visits to your dentist. The first visit involves the preparation of the abutment teeth, re-contouring of the teeth where the crown will be placed and making an impression of the teeth which will serve as the model for the pontic, crown and bridge. The dentist will prepare a temporary bridge for you to protect the exposed teeth and gums while the bridge is being made. On the next visit, the dentist will remove the temporary bridge and replace it with the permanent bridge.

Make it a habit to practice proper dental care and have regular dental check-ups so that your fixed bridge will last longer.Bridges needs additional dental care because the build up of bacteria may eventually cause gum infection such as gingivitis.

If you want to learn more about dental bridges, consult with our Ft Lauderdale dentists for treatment options.