Am I a Candidate for Dental Implants?

Am I a Candidate for Dental Implants?

Dental implants are an innovative, permanent solution to missing teeth or ill-fitting dentures. These titanium posts are implemented into the jaw, becoming a stable support for restorations that replace the visible parts of the tooth. At Grandon Village Dental, we place and restore dental implants in-office. However, patients must meet certain requirements to be eligible for implant placements.

Oral Health and Gum Disease

Dental implant treatment requires a patient to be at optimal oral health prior to placement. It is essential for the implant to integrate with the jawbone, and if there is an infection from previous decay or gum disease, it can impact the success of placement. Many patients may have lost teeth due to gum disease and are looking towards dental implants to replace those teeth. Periodontal disease treatment may push back implant placement but will ensure your smile is protected and healthy.

Jawbone Density

When you lose teeth, your jaw bone loses the support it needs to stay in place. As a result, your jawbone density slowly recedes which can cause teeth to shift, creating a misaligned bite. With this loss of jawbone density, which upholds the shape of your jaw, your chin may come close to your nose. Your upper lip will become puckered and deep wrinkles will develop around your cheeks and mouth.

Dental implants rely on a sufficient amount of jawbone for effective placement. If you have been missing teeth for some time, your density may need to undergo bone grafting procedures. These procedures must take place and properly heal before placement surgery.

Healthy Habits

Patients who smoke or chew tobacco should pause these habits when going through dental implant treatment. Those who practice these habits have a harder time healing. When implants are placed, they require three to six months to fully integrate with the jawbone. This process can be delayed or impact the success of placement.

Becoming a Candidate for Dental Implants

An ideal patient for implant treatment is one who may have missing teeth, need teeth removed, or have ill-fitting dentures. They should be of optimal oral health and have the adequate bone density to ensure proper integration. At Grandon Village Dental, we conduct an in-depth consultation to determine your eligibility and recommend treatments to help you become the ideal candidate.

For more information about dental implant services, contact our San Marcos practice today.

Invisalign® vs Traditional Braces

Invisalign® vs Traditional Braces

Do you feel self-conscious about smiling due to misalignment or gaps? If your smile has turned into a close-mouthed grin, you may wish for an effective option to straighten your teeth. With many treatments at your disposal, picking the right method to align your smile can be a difficult decision.

At Grandon Village Dental we provide traditional metal braces and Invisalign® clear aligners. Consider the following advantages and disadvantages of each treatment:

Advantages of Each Treatment

Invisalign®

Invisalign clear braces allow freedom due to their removable design, allowing a normal diet. It is a teeth straightening method that subtly improves your smile, and can be an alternative to traditional braces. This treatment is ideal for those whose jaws have finished developing and are seeking a cosmetically-appealing way to treat minor or moderate alignment problems. Invisalign clear aligners are removable but must be kept in for a minimum of 22 hours a day. It is required that they are taken out when eating food and drinking liquids to prevent the chance that they will be stained or tarnished by food debris.

Braces

Made of metal brackets and wires, braces can be customized with colored rubber bands, making treatment fun and personalized. To increase aesthetics without forgoing the strong treatment power of braces, there are clear braces options with brackets and wires that are unnoticeable in the smile. Since brackets are bonded to the surface of your teeth, patients do not need to remember to put them in or take them out after eating or drinking.

Metal braces are essential for both preventive and proactive measures. Used for extensive phasal orthodontics, metal braces allow for reliable results due to tried-and-true treatment plans. If a patient has severe malocclusion, crowded teeth, or teeth that are rotated, this is a method that specializes in improving those conditions.

Disadvantages of Each Treatment

Invisalign®

While these clear aligners are a quality treatment due to their clear plastic, they are not effective when treating complex or severe cases of alignment issues. Patients must remember to wear clear aligners since they are removable. If they are not worn consistently, the treatment may be extended or will not result in the projected outcome. It also demands the wearer add oral cleaning steps to their daily routine because you must remove the clear braces and individually clean each tray under lukewarm water or with the Invisalign cleaning system.

Braces

Traditional braces do not have the same aesthetic appeal as Invisalign clear aligners do, and are not as comfortable either. Metal brackets and wires can cut the insides of the mouth and cheeks, especially if broken. Braces are not removable and have dietary restrictions such as avoiding foods that are sticky or hard as they can cause the brackets and wires to break. While you do not have to add steps to your daily oral care routine, you need to use special instruments to effectively and comfortably floss.

Contact Us!

Call our San Marcos practice to schedule a consultation to match the best orthodontic care to your needs. We provide both orthodontic treatments and will we make sure to reach your dental goals.

Benefits of Orthodontic Treatment

Benefits of Orthodontic Treatment

If you have teeth that don’t agree with your sense of uniformity, there are corrective treatments that can improve the structure and aesthetics of your smile. While traditional braces and clear aligners such as Invisalign® can straighten your teeth, they also provide other benefits that aren’t as obvious. Orthodontic treatment can also improve the health and function of your smile, which will help preserve your overall health.

Sealing Your Smile

Teeth that are crowded in the smile tend to harbor harmful bacteria, small bits of food, and the buildup of plaque. All of these can lead to gum disease and other complications, and that harmful bacteria doesn’t stay it in your mouth; it actually travels through your blood stream, which can compromise the health and function of essential organs. There is a strong association between gum disease and conditions such as heart disease, but with less space for bacteria to hide in your mouth these complications can be avoided. Orthodontic treatments help restore the proper alignment of your smile and improve oral health.

Improving the Structure

Orthodontic treatments can also improve the alignment of your jaw. It’s not enough to improve your smile; if you’re having issues with a misaligned bite, it’s best to address all issues at once to prevent further discomfort. TMD (or temporomandibular joint dysfunction) can arise from misaligned teeth, which can also lead to chipped or broken off teeth.

Healthy Smile, Healthy Body

An improper bite alignment can also lead to poor digestion and difficulty chewing. Improperly chewed food can negatively impact a patients’ ability to receive essential nutrients and may result in a higher risk of reflux. Protruding teeth, if left untreated, are also more likely to be affected during outdoor physical activity, such as touch football and other sports.

Your Options

Traditional braces have long been a reliable method for straightening crooked, twisted, or unevenly spaced teeth. But if you’re looking for a more discreet option, Invisalign is potentially more aesthetically pleasing solution. Invisalign clear braces are removable, allowing you to brush your teeth and eat freely.

Call Today!

If you are in need of orthodontic treatments in San Marcos that can help restore the beauty, health, and function of your smile, call our office today to set an appointment. Grandon Village Dental Office offers traditional braces and Invisalign for patients of all ages in need of a straighter, healthier smile.

Tips for Cavity Prevention

It's well-known that sugar contributes to the development of tooth decay—and that avoiding sugar helps prevent it—but many people are surprised to learn that there are many other foods and beverages that can boost oral health. While avoiding sugar, and brushing and flossing regularly are still your best bet for preventing cavities, there are other nutrition tips that may help too.

Sugar-Free Gum

Many dentists recommend sugar-free gum for cavity prevention. Chewing sugar-free gum promotes saliva secretion which helps stabilize the pH in the mouth and makes it a less hospitable environment for bacteria. Sugar-free gum with xylitol may be even more beneficial, because xylitol has its own cavity-fighting effects.

Cheese

Cheese contains a protein called casein, which researchers believe may have a protective effect on teeth. Cheese is a great source of calcium and the calcium in saliva helps to prevent cavities by re-mineralizing the enamel of teeth.

Raisins

Although raisins are high in sugar, they're also high in compounds called polyphenols and flavonoids—plant compounds that have all kinds of beneficial health effects. Some of these compounds may actually be able to the kill oral bacteria that cause cavities. When eating dried fruits such as raisins, it is best avoided in large amounts. Because of their high sugar content, it's important to brush thoroughly after eating them.

Sugar-Free Candy

Sugary sweets are definitely on the list of foods to avoid when it comes to oral health, but sugar-free candy is a different story. Like sugar-free gum, the candy can promote saliva production, and if the candy contains xylitol, it has additional cavity-fighting properties.

Sip through a Straw

Drinking beverages through a straw may help protect your teeth, not because the straws contains any bacteria-fighting substances, but because sipping through a straw prevents the beverage from coming into contact with the teeth. This is especially helpful for stain causing beverages like tea and coffee.

Dental Sealants

Less about nutrition and more about lifestyle, dental sealants are applied to the crowns of your back molars, and form a protective coating that helps prevent decay. The biting surface of these teeth is particularly vulnerable to decay because it's the roughest part of the tooth, providing grooves and pits where bacteria can easily grow.

Your dentist can apply sealants to your teeth to provide this all-important protection, helping to reduce your risk of cavities and promote oral health.

Contact Grandon Village Dental Office for more information about prevention and to schedule your next appointment.

What are my Tooth Replacement Options?

Damaged or missing teeth can affect your life in a number of ways including your diet, appearance, and speech, but you don't have to live with these problems. If you have one or more severely damaged or missing teeth, you may benefit from dentures, a bridge, or dental implants.

Fixed Bridge

A fixed bridge is a restoration that fills a gap where a tooth is missing, and is attached to the teeth on each side of the gap. Restorations can be made from ceramic, metal, or a combination of the two. They look, feel, and function very similar to natural teeth, and they're permanently fixed in place, and therefore don't need separate care.

Removable Dentures

Dentures are dental appliances that restore several teeth—part of an arch, or a full arch. Removable dentures are those that can be removed from the mouth for cleaning. Typically made from a combination of ceramic and plastic, they're usually the least expensive option for restoration to offer an affordable way to care for your dentition. Since they're not permanently attached they require the use of grip adhesive to stay in place that may restriction some foods that are difficult to eat.

Dental Implants

Implants—titanium screws placed in the jaw bone—can be used to provide permanent support for a single restoration, a bridge, or even a set of full or partial dentures. Dental implants are a superior choice for restoration in many respects, because they most closely mimic the structure and function of natural teeth, they last a long time, and they prevent long term problems such as tooth “drift”. However, getting implants requires a certain minimum level of jaw bone density, and some people therefore aren't good candidates for the procedure.

Why Get Restorations?

There's always the option to do nothing, of course—to simply not have broken or missing teeth restored. There are some problems with that option, however, and missing teeth can impact on daily life in many ways. Your diet can be affected as well as your long-term oral health because damaged teeth are more vulnerable to infection and decay. Depending on which teeth are damaged or missing, your speech may even be affected, and over time, tooth loss can make you appear older than you really are.

Then there's the big self-confidence boost you get from knowing that your teeth are healthy and look great. When your teeth look good you feel better about smiling, and you do it more often—so getting restorations definitely gives you something to smile about!

Contact Grandon Village Dental Office for more information on tooth restorations or to schedule an appointment.

Preventing Gum Disease: Why Deep Cleaning is Important

With only one set of natural teeth, it is important that you brush your teeth twice a day, use mouthwash, and floss after every meal, as instructed by your dentist. By practicing good dental hygiene habits, you can keep your smile healthy and strong. Depending on your food and drink choices, tobacco use or overall health, brushing and flossing may not be enough to keep your gums in perfect health.

While your at-home dental routine is very important, your toothbrush and floss can only do so much when it comes to cleaning below the gum line, particularly once plaque has hardened into tartar. In order to prevent gum disease and tooth loss, you need to have regular visits with your dentist to keep plaque and tartar. For some patients, a deeper, more involved cleaning will be necessary to encourage healthy smiles.

What is a Deep Cleaning? 

Also referred to as a scaling and root planning, deep cleanings are recommended for patients suffering from gingivitis or more advanced forms of gum disease. Scaling is a treatment method that removes plaque from the surface of your teeth and below the gum line where periodontal pockets have formed. This can be done manually, or with ultrasonic instruments. Root planning is when the dental hygienist goes in and removes plaque or tarter from the surface of your tooth roots.

Depending on how many quadrants, or sections, of your mouth need deep cleaning, your treatment may take place over a span of two visits.  The dentist may also prescribe an antibiotic to kill any lingering bacteria. When combined with a deep cleaning, antibiotics can speed up healing and decrease the risk of the continued progression of gum disease symptoms.

Don’t Fear the Dentist

Many people put off visiting the dentist for regular cleanings because they are afraid or embarrassed about the condition of their smile. However, failure to undergo regular cleanings can have negative impacts on your overall dental health. Gum disease is only reversible in its earliest stage and if you have been avoiding the dentist, you may end up needing more extensive care to treat your condition. Your hygienist is trained to provide gentle care and to maximize comfort during deep cleanings.

Make an Appointment Today

Routine dental cleanings promote oral health and wellness through preventative measures and early detection to limit additional dental work. Contact your San Marcos dentist at Grandon Village Dental Office to schedule an appointment that will improve your smile. 

Sedation Dentistry- What Method is Best for You?

Do you have trouble relaxing at the dentist? Does a fear of the dental chair keep you from making regular appointments? If any of these behaviors sound familiar, you may be one of the many Americans suffering from dental fear or anxiety. For these individuals, sedation dentistry offers an effective option for alleviating feeling of anxiety while in the dental chair.

Sedation dentistry uses medication to help nervous patients relax and to improve overall patient comfort during dental procedures. It can be used for virtually any dental procedure, from in-depth procedures to routine cleanings.

Nitrous Gas versus Oral Sedation

There are different levels of sedation used by medical professionals, each of which are recommended based on the patient’s need and the extent of their upcoming procedure. At Grandon Village Dental, your San Marcos dentist offers two types of sedation- nitrous gas and an oral sedative.

Nitrous Gas- More popularly known as “laughing gas,” this sedative option is breathed in through a mask.  Nitrous oxide is very relaxing, and your dentist can control the intensity of the sedation. As this option does wear off fairly quickly, it is the only form of sedation where most patients are able to drive themselves home after the procedure.

Oral Sedation- The strength of your oral sedative can range from minimal to moderate strength. Our San Marcos dental office offers Halcion administered in pill form. This medication is very similar to valium, and is taken an hour before the procedure takes place. Oral sedation does tend to make patients drowsy and relaxed, however patients stay awake for their entire procedure. As a result, we have patients enlist the help of a family member or friend to drive them to our practice before and after their procedure.

Sedation dentistry is perfect for patients who have a genuine fear of the dentist, have a low pain tolerance, have sensitive teeth, or have an overactive gag reflex.

Make an Appointment!

Don’t let your anxiety get the best of you! Regular dental appointments are very important, so don’t let a fear of dental procedures make you avoid them. Contact us today at Grandon Village Dental Office and we will talk over sedation options for your next visit!