One of the most critical parts of placing fillings or doing a root canal correctly is keeping the tooth entirely isolated from any saliva or blood in the mouth. How does your dentist do this effectively? What can you do to help? Rubber Dam The rubber dam was invented in the 1800’s and is still […]
Ever wondered what is in the anesthetics that your dentist gives you? I’ve got all the information you need here. Topical Anesthetic (Pre-numbing gel) Most dentists will place a topical anesthetic on the tissue where the needle will be inserted. This helps reduce and in some cases remove entirely the initial “prick” you get […]
The First 24 Hours After Your Tooth Extraction Be careful while you’re numb as a lot of people have a tendency to bite their lips, cheek, or tongue without knowing it. This is especially common when you’ve had a bottom tooth pulled as your entire bottom lip and side of your tongue are usually numb. […]
Black lines around the edge of older crowns are a common problem that I see. They are almost never a problem initially with a crown but can show up after several years. Black lines are almost always preceded by some slight amount of gum recession. Your gums usually recede slightly over the course of your […]
There is a pretty common misconception out there that when your wisdom teeth start to come in they push your other teeth forward leading to crowding of your front teeth. Many dentists and oral surgeons believed this for years and recommended removing your wisdom teeth to protect against this. Quite a few long term studies […]
Many dentists now advertise that they can do your crown in a single visit. They’ve probably got a poster or banner that looks like this one. CEREC is the brand name of the first system that allowed dentists to do this. CEREC is still the leader in the industry but there are a lot more […]
So you had a bunch of dental work done 15 years ago and everything has been going great. Then one day you’re eating a nice soft slice of bread and “pop”, you feel something loose in your mouth and when you take a closer look it is your dental crown that has come off. First […]
Nitrous oxide (N2O), more commonly known as laughing gas, is the most common sedative used in dental offices to help patients deal with anxiety and make treatment more comfortable. It was first discovered by a dentist named Horace Wells in 1844 and slowly came into more common usage over the years. What Effect Does Laughing […]
Dentists joke that if you were to show ten dentists the same tooth, you’d get ten different answers on the best way to treat it. When most people hear that they have a cavity, they think it is one of these black and white things, where you either have a cavity or you don’t. The […]
Veneers are a type of dental restoration in which porcelain is bonded to the front surface of teeth in order to change their color or shape. When most people think of veneers, they think of celebrities who have changed relatively good looking teeth into bright white perfect teeth. While some cases of veneers do absolutely that, […]