Cosmetic Dentistry Blog

Your child’s teeth and smile are important for more reasons than just aesthetics. Your child needs to develop good dental habits, and proper care of their teeth and gums begins with you. Caring for your child’s mouth includes brushing and rinsing, routine dental exams, and any necessary dental treatments. This can include fluoride, extractions, fillings, or braces and more.

Your child’s overall good health is affected by healthy teeth and gums. Poorly developed and teeth can result in poor nutrition, painful and dangerous infections, and problems with speech development, not to mention self-image.

Proper care of a Child’s Teeth

• The child's teeth and gums should be brushed at least twice daily and especially before bed.
• Your child should see a dentist every 6 months.
• When your child gets permanent teeth, they should begin flossing every night before bed.
• When your child reaches the age of 6, braces and other orthodontic appliances may be needed to prevent long-term problems.

For a pediatric dental visit, contact Dream Smile Dental or call (781) 330-0900.

Dental hygiene is directly related to your overall physical health. But how can you be sure you are taking proper care of your teeth, mouth and gums? Generally, your teeth and gums should not hurt or bleed, after brushing; your breath should be fresh for a few hours after brushing and eating breakfast. The easiest way to prevent gum disease is to clean your teeth properly, here are some tips:

1. Use the right mouthwash.

If you use alcohol free mouthwash twice a day, you'll slash your risk of gum disease by 60%. Ideally you should aim to rinse for about 30 seconds with a mouthwash that has microbial protection to fight plaque and gingivitis.

2. Floss before you brush.

You should floss before you brush your teeth, rather than after. That way you'll be able to brush away any food that was stuck between your teeth to prevent bacteria from growing.

3. Use the right toothbrush.

Soft or extra soft bristles are best. Using a medium or hard-bristled toothbrush scratches the tissue of your gums away over time, exposes the root surface underneath and leads to possible bone loss.

4. Brush smart.

To really clean your teeth, aim to brush them for a full two minutes. Also brush your tongue and cheeks as well as your teeth to improve the removal of harmful bacteria. Be sure to replace your toothbrush about every three months.

For more oral health tips, or for routine visits, contact Dream Smile Dental.

There are many dental procedures, but it may be the root canal that has the worst reputation of them all. And because of its reputation, at Dream Smile Dental we get lots of questions about them.

It is important to know that very few root canals are painful, very few deserve their reputation. We often get asked, “Will I be in pain during or after the root canal?”

During the root canal treatment your mouth and gums will be entirely numb; you will feel nothing. After the root canal, patients are rarely in pain. There are a few extreme cases, and in those cases, the dentists at Dream Smile will prescribe you something for the pain.

Because of the reputation of the root canal procedure, many patients will say, “well, I don’t feel any pain; can’t I wait on receiving a root canal?”

Unfortunately, the answer is no. It is never a good idea to wait on any needed dental treatment, especially a root canal. If you require a root canal, it needs to be done as soon as possible in order to prevent further infection. The infection can spread too, and really complicate your health, sometimes seriously.

Lastly, we often have people wondering if their insurance company will cover a root canal procedure. But we can’t answer that question. Every insurance plan is set up differently. Therefore various procedures are covered differently according to their fee schedule. Dream Smile Dental works with most insurance plans. To find out what your plan will specifically cover, contact us.

Gum health is the foundation of good oral health. For healthy teeth and gums it is important to brush regularly every day.
 
But believe it or not, some toothbrushes do a better job of cleaning and taking care of teeth and gums better than others.

Most dentists recommend Sonicare electric toothbrushes for kids and adults. Try the Sonicare FlexCare toothbrush to experience healthier gums.

Take care of your gums for life

Gum health means good oral health, yet most adults suffer from gum disease at some point in their lives. When left unattended, it can even lead to tooth loss in adults!

Sonicare FlexCare can improve your gum health in just two weeks.
FlexCare cleans along the gum line, removing plaque while stimulating gums. And less gum pain and bleeding will allow you to enjoy the brushing experience more while developing better brushing habits.

Gentle cleaning to reduce inflammation

FlexCare+ Gum Care mode provides two minutes of complete whole mouth cleaning, with one additional minute of gentle cleaning for problem areas and along the gum line. Brushing in this mode, along with proper dental professional care, improves gum health by reducing gum inflammation, recession and bleeding, in just two weeks. And Massage mode uses patented technology to drive fluids to stimulate gums, resulting in healthier gums.

For missing teeth there is a way now to have a permanent and natural looking replacement. Missing teeth are detrimental to your overall health and your own self confidence. Replace one or many missing teeth with dental implants for a healthy and confident new smile.

Crowns and conventional bridges or dentures are not your only options when replacing missing teeth. Dental Implants vary from other solutions because with the proper dental hygiene and care, they function as a normal, natural tooth. Proper oral hygiene will help keep your implants and your mouth healthy.

Dental implants, an effective method to replace one tooth or several teeth, consist of a metal anchor that is inserted into the jawbone, and a protruding post is outfitted with an artificial tooth which replaces the missing tooth both cosmetically and structurally.

The process of integration of the implants into your jaw helps your replacement teeth feel more natural, restoring functionality and improving appearance. Patients find the secure fit of their new tooth very comfortable which gives them more confidence. A smile with confidence is a natural and healthy looking smile.

Contact Dream Smile Dental to see if you are a candidate for dental implants.

Whether it is a first date or a business meeting, you need all of your tools and assets at your disposal. A self-confident smile should be one of those tools. With technology come choices that can help you smile with confidence.

Even the smallest change to your smile can affect the way you look and feel about yourself. Consider teeth whitening. But consider it the right way.

Over-the-counter whiteners are a bit of a cumbersome process that generally only whitens the front 6 teeth. Whitening toothpastes and rinses have minimal effect on the stained or yellowed teeth.

Teeth Whitening done at the dentist’s office is much more controlled, is easier to use, and produces better results. All toothpastes help remove surface stains and some whitening toothpastes contain gentle polishing or chemical agents. These have more stain removal effectiveness.

But these whitening toothpastes help remove surface stains only, they can lighten your tooth's color by about one shade. In contrast, light-activated whitening conducted at Dream Smile Dental can make your teeth three to eight shades lighter. In-office dental bleaching provides the quickest way to whiten teeth.

Call Dream Smile Dental at 781-330-0900 to schedule your teeth whitening consultation.

Early Detection of Oral Cancer can Improve Treatment Success

You may be surprised to learn that one American dies every hour from oral cancer. This death rate has remained virtually unchanged for over 40 years. In fact, while the incidence and death rates for cancers in general have decreased, the incidence of oral cancer has increased by 5.5% and the death rate has increased by 1.5%

Often, oral cancer is discovered too late in stage development, which is the main reason for the consistently high death rate. Therefore, oral cancer treatment often results in the patients being disfigured which can seriously diminish their quality of life. Early detection and diagnosis is imperative in increasing life expectancy; it is 90% curable when found in the early stages. However, 70% of oral cancers are diagnosed in the late stages.

Did you know that the death rate in the United States for oral cancer is higher than that of cervical cancer, Hodgkin's disease, cancer of the brain, liver, testes, kidney, or ovary? More than 30,000 Americans will receive an oral cancer diagnosis this year. In five years, only 57% will still be alive. Also, 27% of oral cancer victims do not use tobacco or alcohol and have no other lifestyle risk factors.

Early detection is the key to successful treatment and increasing life expectancy. At Dream Smile Dental, our practice has incorporated VELscope, the most powerful tool available for assisting in the discovery of oral abnormalities.

The VELscope's blue-spectrum light causes the soft tissues of the mouth to naturally fluoresce. Healthy tissues fluoresce in distinctive patterns, and these patterns are visibly disrupted by trauma or disease. Using the VELscope, a wide variety of oral abnormalities can be discovered often before they're visible to the unassisted eye.

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!

Dental Implants are a great option to consider for replacing missing teeth. Rather than resting a false tooth on the gum line or using adjacent teeth as anchors, implants act as long-term replacements that your periodontist fixes into the jawbone before the cosmetic dentist can place a permanent crown on top of it.
 
Tooth loss can have a far-reaching effect on your dental health and personal appearance. Dental implants are artificial replacements designed to fully replace lost teeth both in functionality and in appearance. Dental implants are very durable and have a long-lasting life. Once installed, they can last for at least 10 to 15 years or even more depending on the aftercare that is taken.

Due to new technology, it is now possible to replace missing teeth and actually implant a working and natural looking tooth. The most popular dental implants are made from titanium. Titanium is used because it has a number of properties which make it very suitable; it is very durable and is very resistant to corrosion. It is biocompatible, which means that the human immune system should not reject implants made from titanium.  Osseointegration is the process where the titanium dental implants implanted into the bone and the cells of the bone fuse with the titanium. They grow together making the implant very stable; because of this, titanium is the material of choice.
 
The first step to dental implants is where the titanium screw is implanted into the jawbone. Once the gum line heals fully, the crown is built over the titanium implant. The crown is constructed from porcelain or composite materials and is built in such a way that it matches the surrounding teeth.

Those who are fond of reading magazines and watching television are often curious how those models have such shiny white teeth. Well, there are people who are really gifted when it comes to their teeth. All they need is a little maintenance and they can have that bright smile for a long time. There are also people who have teeth that are easily broken or damaged. Some dentists say it is because of the lack of calcium in their body. However, we can all have that bright white smile by undergoing some dental procedures.

The most sought after treatments center around cosmetic dentistry, which has great benefits for people who have oral problems. Cosmetic Dentstry is proven to be very effective in restoring your smile. There are procedures that can be accomplished in a day's work but there are some processes that will take more time to accomplish .. such as those procedures that require surgery. The majority of restoration procedures are affordable and well worth the investment. Cosmetic dentists specialize in teeth whitening that can take as little as one visit. There are other procedures that are involved like dental bridges, gum surgery, veneers and implants. The presence of black spots can be solved by filling up your tooth with tooth colored fillings. We can also fix dentures, lengthen your crown, and repair cracked teeth all with the help of cosmetic dentistry.

The demand for cosmetic dentistry has sky rocketed over the past few years. Increasing your confidence can be done through cosmetic dentistry, in great thanks to the advancement of technology and science.