Cosmetic Dentistry Blog

The goal of cosmetic dentistry is to turn a dull smile into a bright one. Dream Smile Dental in Canton has several options to restore teeth that are crooked, chipped, stained, have gaps or uneven gums and we have several ways to replace missing teeth.
 
Before we begin we will talk with you about what you want from your smile, and perform an exam to check your oral health. The goal of cosmetic dentistry is functionality along with enhancing beauty.
 
In planning your treatment there are specific measurements we take to achieve the best facial harmony. At Dream Smile Dental our dentists take into consideration the shape of your face, your individual teeth, and the width of your smile. Improving your smile may be as easy as a whitening process, or it could entail something more involved like placing crowns, implants, or orthodontics. We’ll make the best decisions with you about what is best for your case and answer all questions.
 
Cosmetic dentistry can enhance your confidence, increase the health of your teeth, and give you a more youthful smile. Contact us, so together we can begin to help you design a plan that gets you the smile you have always wanted.

Last week we talked about the pure power mouth guards for college, pro, or high level high school athletes. This week we are going to talk about PlaySafe mouth guards for high school athletes, younger children, or college club sports.

5 million teeth will be knocked out of mouths this year! But, ADA thinks that 200,000 teeth will be saved by PlaySafe mouth guards which are custom made to your mouth by your dentist. 

Keep in mind that 34% of all sports related injuries involve the face. However, the risk of injury to your teeth and mouth is reduced by 99% with a mouth guard. In addition, PlaySafe mouth guards are far more effective than store bought, plastic mouth guards.

Over-the-counter mouth guards are not as effective as PlaySafe mouth guards because they are not made for your specific teeth and face. Also, they cannot be altered for braces or missing teeth. Most mouth guards sold over the counter require your teeth to be clenched for maximum protection.  PlaySafe will stay in place with no effort because they are made to the exact duplication of your teeth. Even better, your kids will love them, and wear them because they can be custom made with their favorite colors.

PlaySafe Sport Mouth guards offer 9 times more protection, they fit better and athletes can breathe easier using them. Simply put, the level of protection is far superior.

Play safe cost more than over the counter because they are custom made and the material used is made only for sports guards. But, replacing a single tooth can cost $3,000 or more, not to mention the lifetime maintenance costs. Isn’t it worth the extra expense? Call Dream Smile Dental to make your appointment for a PlaySafe Mouth Guard.

High school and college sports are about to start and on the list of supplies your child needs is a sports mouth guard. This may seem like a simple purchase which you can make at any sporting goods store for a few dollars. But you may not know that this simple piece of equipment can have a dramatic effect on your son or daughters sports performance.

If your child is a college athlete, or competing at a high level in high school, you should consider the Pure Power Mouth Guard, a custom fitted mouth guard that properly aligns the jaw, putting the entire body in equilibrium. This means, the muscles are completely relaxed and no longer compensating to hold the body's posture together.

Now the muscles can release more energy, power, strength, flexibility and increased range of motion to the body. Even professional athletes, such as Terrell Owens and Olympic champion Michael Redd found a 30%-80% increase in their athletic ability when using the PPM.

It sounds crazy that a mouth guard can make you stronger, improve your flexibility and increase your balance. But this mouth guard, derived from neuromuscular dentistry, shows how connected your bite is to the rest of your body. The idea is to find the ideal bite position (where the muscles and joints are most relaxed) and build that position into the appliance.

If you are interested in better sports performance, playing to the best of your ability, request a consultation with Dream Smile Dental.

Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. You may have sleep apnea if you snore loudly and you feel tired even after a full night's sleep.
Snoring is the most common sign of sleep apnea.  Your spouse or roommate can tell you if you snore or you may wake up gasping for air.  

There are other signs of sleep apnea that occur when you’re awake.  Daytime symptoms include mouth breathing, poor concentration, decreased performance at school or work, and daytime drowsiness.

If left untreated, sleep apnea can result in a growing number of health problems including high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and other heart related health problems.

In addition, untreated sleep apnea can be responsible for poor performance in everyday activities, as well as academic underachievement in children and adolescents.

Severe sleep apnea is treated by a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP).  An air compressor and mask delivers pressurized air through the nose when a person is sleeping.  With this method, the biggest obstacle is compliance.  People feel claustrophobic and others find wearing the mask to be offensive.  The strap of the mask worn around the head may even cause headaches.  

Moderate sleep apnea can be treated using a much more comfortable alternative.  A customized night guard called the SomnoDent is created for your specific bite and actually positions your jaw in such a way that it opens up your airway.  This allows more oxygen to enter your body and prevents or minimizes symptoms of sleep apnea.

With the SomnoDent you’re not restricted to sleeping in only one position and you’re much more likely to use it, which is the main aspect of successful treatment. 

At Dream Smile Dental, we are sleep apnea dentists. Contact us for a consultation.

Many adults suffer from chronic jaw pain. Some common symptoms include pain in or around the ear, tenderness of the jaw, clicking or popping noises when opening the mouth, or headaches and neck pain.

Two joints, the temporomandibular joints or TMJ, and several jaw muscles make it possible to open and close the mouth. They work together when you chew, speak or swallow. These various muscles located in the face and neck hold your jaw, control the movement of your jaw, as well as allow you to chew and swallow. This muscle movement is done subconsciously, and if your bite is off, your body automatically strains your muscles to allow for your jaw to work; this is called accommodating.

The TM joints are among the most complex joints in the body. Located on each side of the head, they work together to make many different movements, including a combination of rotating and gliding actions used when chewing and speaking. Any problem that prevents this complex system of muscles, ligaments, discs and bones from working properly may result in a painful TMJ disorder. If your bite is off balance, your muscles will work extra hard to hold, control and allow for the chewing and swallowing. Overtime, the temporomandibular joints become over stressed and TMJ dysfunction occurs.

Diagnosis is an important step before treatment. Neuromuscular dentistry uses modern technology to assess the function or dysfunction of the jaw and creates the optimum bite for your specific case while creating your new beautiful smile. The goal of the neuromuscular dentist is to find the natural position of your jaw and restore it to its optimal position of balance, thus eliminating TMJ disorders. This takes the pressure off of your joints and overstrained muscles, eliminates jaw or teeth clenching, and allows for your muscles to act naturally.

This treatment can also pinpoint the source of your headaches, ear congestion, dizziness, difficulty swallowing, neck pain, jaw clenching or teeth grinding, jaw joint pain, and even nervousness or insomnia. If you are interested in a TMJ consultation, please contact us. Enjoy a more well rested smile and appearance.

Did you ever see someone with perfectly straight teeth? You certainly don’t see people like that every day, and you meet even fewer whose teeth are naturally straight. Cosmetically improving your smile can boost your confidence causing you to smile more often and generally improving your self esteem.

Often a smile is the most eye-catching feature of a face. With cosmetic dentistry you no longer have to worry about your teeth or your smile. You now have choices that can help you smile with confidence.

Even the smallest change can make a dramatic difference in your smile and in the way you look and feel about yourself. Talk to Dream Smile Dental about the options that are best for you:

•  Teeth whitening brightens teeth that are discolored or stained..
• Veneers are thin custom-made porcelain shells to cover the front side of your teeth. They are used to treat spaces between teeth, teeth that are chipped or worn, permanently stained, poorly shaped or slightly crooked.
• Braces are not just for kids. Orthodontics may be needed if teeth are crooked, crowded or do not meet properly. Invisalign is the new revolutionary straightening method that people can't even see in your mouth! Dream Smile Dental is the only office in new England to achieve the Super Elite Preferred Provider status.

More and more people will choose cosmetic dentistry to improve their smile to boost their confidence. Call the Dream Smile Dental Team to schedule a consultation with a Cosmetic Dentist and get started on your life-changing experience.

One person dies from oral cancer every hour of every day in the United States. However, it is now easier than ever to detect oral cancer early, when the chance for a cure is high. Only half of all patients diagnosed with oral cancer survive more than five years, but with early detection, the patient has an 80% to 90% survival rate.

• It can affect any area of the mouth including the lips, gum tissue, cheek lining, tongue and the hard or soft palate.
• Alcohol use combined with smoking greater increases risk.
• Oral cancers can occur in people who do not smoke and have no other known risk factors.
• The death rate associated with this cancer is particularly high not because it is hard to discover or diagnose, but due to the cancer being routinely discovered late in its development.
• Found early, while still Localized (confined to the primary site), oral cancer's five-year survival rate is good: about 83%. Only 33% of all oral cancer discoveries fall into this category.
• Found while Regional (progressed to regional lymph nodes) the five-year survival rate drops significantly, to about 55%. Approximately 46% of all oral cancer discoveries are Regional.
• Found late, oral cancer's five-year survival rate is poor: approximately 32%. This accounts for approximately 14% of all oral cancer findings.
• Close to 37,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer this year. It will cause over 8,000 deaths, killing roughly 1 person per hour, 24 hours per day. Of those 36,000 newly diagnosed individuals, only slightly more than half will be alive in 5 years.
• Very recent data (late 2007-2008) lead us to believe that the fastest growing segment of the oral cancer population are non smokers under the age of fifty.

If there is a concern with a particular area, a biopsy may be recommended as a preemptive measure. Most biopsies result in benign findings, but if further treatment is required, the dentist will provide you with your options. Diagnosing and eliminating cancer in it's earliest stages minimizes it's spread, and ultimately saves lives.

At Dream Smile Dental, with the addition of the VELScope, we can become aware of suspicious areas in the mouth, before they even grow into a lesion. Ask us for more information on the VELScope!

Several medications are available to help create more relaxed, comfortable dental visits. Some drugs control pain, some help you relax, and others put you into a deep sleep during dental treatment. You and your dentist can discuss many things when deciding which drugs to use for your treatment: the type of procedure, your overall health, history of allergies and your anxiety level. Working together you and the dentist can choose the most appropriate way to make your dental visit as comfortable as possible.

Providing you with high-quality, appropriate care and making your dental visit as comfortable as possible are top priorities for Dream Smile Dental. Advances in dental techniques and medications can reduce discomfort during dental visits. Sedatives can be administered before, during or after dental procedures.

Sedation dentistry is also called relaxation or sleep dentistry. Anti-anxiety medicines, such as nitrous oxide, or sedatives can help you relax during dental visits and often may be used along with local anesthetics. Dentists also can use these agents to induce "minimal or moderate sedation," so the patient achieves a relaxed state during treatment. At Dream Smile, the type of sedation we do is called oral conscious sedation.

Sedation Dentistry is effective and extremely safe. Our team and Sedation Dentists are specially trained to offer you sedation and closely monitor your progress during your dental treatment. Dream Smile Dental uses pain and anxiety control techniques to treat many patients safely every year. Understanding the range of choices that are available to relieve anxiety and discomfort makes you well-informed. If you have questions or concerns about your oral health care, don't hesitate to talk to us.

At Dream Smile Dental, we believe that visits to the dentist should be a positive experience for a child. We strive to provide a comfortable environment for children to gain confidence throughout their dental treatments. We like to get our pediatric dentistry patients involved and comfortable with their dental health.  Take a look at our latest contest for kids!

As you know, we have a dental activity book for kids. We would like your help in creating this book. Please submit dental activity pages to be used in the next Dream Smile Dental Children’s Activity Book.  All submissions must have a dental theme. Get us your submission through email, fax, mail or come on in and drop it off!

We will choose ten pages for the activity book and the ten winners will receive: recognition in the beginning of the book with a short bio and their photo. Also, your name will appear on your actual activity page in the book. The Contest ends August 1, 2011.