Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Learn More About the Process of Dental Veneers

Dental Veneers
Wafer thin, dental veneers gain most of their strength from the tooth that it is bonded to. These porcelain devices are attached to the tooth using dental cement, which ensures that they have the same level of support that normal enamel would have. It is an interesting fact that enamel is the body’s hardest substance and also its' most brittle. Similarly, dental veneers are brittle by themselves but strong when they are attached to the teeth. Once cemented into place your veneers will have most of the strength and durability of a naturally occurring tooth. This is important since dental veneers can be used to effectively fix such a wide variety of challenges. Everything from minor chips in the tooth to slightly misaligned teeth and even unsightly gaps can be repaired using dental veneers, so it is important that they are malleable and strong. 

While dental veneers do get their strength from the bonding, making it critical that the teeth are well prepared, the bonding itself is among the last steps that we will perform. Before you reach the bonding stage, there are several phases of preparation that go into making a dental veneer that fits perfectly in your mouth. This will involve a minimum of two visits to the clinic to prepare and ultimately to fit you with your new veneers. Since veneers are designed to give your teeth the best look possible we will be doing things like matching the shade of your teeth and ensuring that the shape of the new veneer is precisely right. 

Step one: Preparing for dental veneers. 
We will make a careful match of the shading and color of the surrounding teeth to ensure that the veneer is made to match the rest of your teeth. Next, we will take an impression, which is done using impression putty. The impression is used to manufacture a custom dental veneer to fit exactly on the tooth in question. In order to make room for the dental veneers, we will need to trim some of the enamel off of the tooth that will be holding the veneer. Typically this is between 0.5 millimeters and 0.7 millimeters and is exactly the same thickness as the veneer itself so that the tooth remains uniform. In some cases, the dentist may need to trim more, up to as much as 1.5 millimeters. During this trimming, any decay that may have occurred will also be removed from the tooth. 

Step two: Attaching the dental veneers.
Once the dental veneers return from the lab, they will need to be attached. This is an important visit, as we will need to make sure the dental veneers are an exact fit. To do this, the veneers will be placed, removed, trimmed and shaped, and then replaced until we are satisfied with the fit. The color and shading will be double checked, and once the shape and color are perfect, dental cement will be used to bond the dental veneers in place. 

Monday, January 5, 2015

Here is What to Expect Immediately Following Your Orthodontics Treatment

Orthodontics
Finally, your orthodontics procedure has started, and your braces are fitted. Now you are on the way to having the straightest, most beautiful smile you ever thought possible. As you start this journey, there will be many appointments and much discussion about your treatment, the duration it will take to get your teeth adjusted, instructions on caring for them, fittings, measurements, and a host of other activity. Over the course of the treatment, leading up to us fitting your braces, you will have gotten a lot of information, filled out a lot of forms, and learned a great deal about your teeth. Now that the final fitting appointment is done, you are going to leave the offices with a new orthodontic fitting, and potentially even more questions. 

We know that many people feel slightly intimidated by the orthodontist’s office and save their questions for a Google search or ask friends and family for advice.  While this can be helpful, we prefer that you ask us questions since each patients' treatment plan is slightly different.  Still, we will send you home with a packet of information that you can read to get basic information and care tips.   If you have any further questions, please call us or ask them during one of your follow-up visits. 

Questions aside, orthodontics treatments and braces do take a period of adjustment before you will start to feel normal with them in your mouth. The first few days are going to be spent getting used to them. As your mouth gets accustomed to idea of something taking up more space than just your teeth, and while your gums, teeth, and tongue become acclimatized to the braces you could experience some levels of pain and discomfort. The good news is that this pain is easily controlled with over the counter pain medication.  The discomfort at this stage is the most you will experience throughout the treatment, meaning once it passes you will not have to deal with this again. 

If you need medication to feel comfortable, we recommend that you stay away from Ibuprofen products since the medication can cause the movement of your teeth to slow down. Ibuprofen is the major ingredient in over the counter pain medications like Advil and Motrin. Instead, we recommend that you take Tylenol for your pain since it contains acetaminophen and has no effect on the teeth’s movement. 

Whenever you get an orthodontics treatment, especially braces, there are certain foods you are going to need to avoid. Initially, you should eat soft foods so that you can eat in comfort.  After a few days, you should continue to avoid super sticky foods, like candy and gum, extremely hard foods, like nuts or popcorn, and other foods that can damage the teeth. We will provide you with a complete list of foods to avoid at the end of your fitting appointment. Doing so will be important for ensuring that you don't accidentally pull a bracket out of place or cause a wire to break.  If you do, they can be corrected but it will slow down your treatment time.