Franny- Indiana

Franny,

Invisalign is very low maintenance. You’ll need to switch out your aligners every two weeks, but you wouldn’t necessarily need to see your dentist that often. To clean them, you would just rinse them out. They pop in and out quite easily. You would just take them out to eat, so there are no dietary restrictions, nor do you have to worry about any food getting caught like in traditional braces. Then, just brush your teeth after eating and pop the aligners back in. It is remarkably simple and pain free. I feel they are a great advancement in orthodontics.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Robert N.- Benton, AR

Robert,

You can be assured that Invisalign is quite legitimate. In fact, they are more effective than traditional braces and can straighten your teeth in half the time. No one will be able to tell you are wearing them at a conversational distance. We’ve even had patients tell us that their family never even knew they were wearing them.

You may also be interested in Teeth Whitening, and have a kind of smile makeover. This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Patty L.- Benton, AR

Patty,

Pain in the side of the face is quite common with a tooth infection, so I wouldn’t panic yet. However, a severe tooth infection left untreated can lead to sepsis, though it is not very common. This is sometimes called blood poisoning.

Some early signs of sepsis are flu like symptoms, dehydration, a racing heart rate, and shallow breathing. If it becomes severe you can also experience difficulty swallowing, infrequent urination, and mood swings.

Due to the fact that this tooth has been left untreated along with the symptoms you’re experiencing we highly recommend you see a dentist as soon as possible.  Ask the dental office about financial options they may offer and see if they are willing to work with you on making payments.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert emergency dentist Dr. Roper.

Jerry R.- Utah

Jerry,

You didn’t say why you were not a candidate for Snap-on Smile, so I don’t know how to comment on whether you’d have the same problem with the Lumineers. However, I do want to recommend you NOT get Lumineers to solve this problem. 10 mm is a huge gap. That is big enough to put another tooth in. I think you’d be unhappy with the results of the Lumineers.

I know you said you didn’t want to wear braces, but have you considered Invisalign? They truly are invisible so none of your friends would know you were wearing them. As an added bonus they straighten your teeth a lot faster than traditional braces do. This could close your gap, without you having to try to manipulate covering the space of an extra tooth.

Hope I’ve helped.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Susan- Lehi, Utah

Susan,

No, it is not normal for CEREC crowns to fall out. In fact, if they’re done correctly, they will never fall out. You said your dentist keeps cementing the crown. If he did an all porcelain CEREC crown, then he should have bonded the crown instead of cemented it. Maybe that is what you meant and you didn’t know there was a difference.

One of the things that holds crowns is the parallelism of the way the tooth is prepared. The more parallel the tooth is prepared, the stronger the retention. However, it doesn’t take much retention in their design if they are bonded in properly.

My suspicion is your dentist doesn’t have sufficient training in the bonding procedure and that is why your crown keeps falling out.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

- Dana in Texas

Dana,

There are several different factors involved that will vary from person to person for a Snap-on Smile.

It is difficult to estimate an exact number of teeth required, but theoretically you may be able to support the appliance with as little as two teeth per arch. If those two teeth were angled in just a way that the Snap-on Smile was able to snap over them. The issue here is that the appliance may end up placing additional stress on these two teeth. So another factor to consider is what two teeth they are. It is difficult to provide a specific answer without having actually seen your case and knowing how many teeth you are missing.

The Snap-on Smile is a temporary solution for a straight, white smile. Depending on how many teeth you are missing, you may have other issues to deal with. When you are missing teeth your body resorbs the bone and minerals to be used elsewhere in the body. So you may have some additional shifting or even jawbone loss if you are missing a lot of teeth. Dental implants are a permanent solution to missing teeth. Or a dental bridge or partial denture may be options, again depending on what teeth you are missing.

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Related links: Affordable dental implants, affordable dentist

My teeth are very yellow even though I brush my teeth after every meal. It seems that you can see through the ends of my two front teeth. I’m unhappy with my smile but I don’t want it to look fake.

After the research I’ve done, I don’t think I want to have porcelain veneers done. They seem like they may not look natural and they are extremely expensive. I guess I’m wondering if simply whitening my teeth will work or if tooth bonding is a better choice for me. Or maybe I should get the bleaching done first and then the bonding? I don’t want to spend a lot of money and then have my teeth turn yellow again either. Can you explain how bonding works and let me know your thoughts.

Thanks,

- Tanya from Florida

Tanya,

After hearing your case, I don’t think dental bonding is the alternative that is right for you just because you are looking to save money on porcelain veneers. Teeth whitening sounds like the best solution from what you have described. This is because good dental bonding will end up costing almost as much as veneers and it won’t last as long. In fact it would probably only last about one-tenth as long as veneers.

Teeth bleaching will take care of the yellow color of your teeth and they will not return to their original color. Your teeth will pick up stains as time passes, but you can always do some touch up bleaching to keep your white new smile.

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Related link: affordable dentistry

- Catherine in Wyoming

Catherine,

It is quite typical that a dentist would need to check your progress every four weeks with Invisalign. The patient receives two sets of clear Invisalign aligners to be worn, one on top and the other on the bottom. The first set is to be worn for two weeks and then the next set is to be worn for another two weeks. Then at four weeks, the dentist will likely want to check on you to monitor your progress. That said, if you live in a rural area, your dentist may be willing to work with you on the number of visits. It really all depends on the complexity of your case.

Technically speaking, all of the aligners are created when you begin treatment. So it is possible to take all of the sets home with you and come back in for an evaluation when you have been through all the steps. Although, monitoring is ideal because sometimes adjustments need to be made during treatment. Some patients actually require some shaving between the teeth at different intervals of treatment.

Hopefully that answers your question.

This post is sponsored by Gilbert dentist Vista Dorada Dental.

Other links: affordable dentistry, gentle dentist

Thanks,

- Gina from Ohio

Gina,

Ten years old is a tricky age because your daughter likely has a mix of permanent teeth and she probably still has some baby teeth. The baby teeth she still has may be a little loose too and her permanent teeth are in the process of erupting. The main issue with choosing the Snap-On Smile for your daughter is the fact that the appliance needs to snap onto her existing teeth. And since her teeth are in such a transitional stage, it isn’t going to work very well.

Dental bonding is safe for children and would be a solution to take care of the chipped teeth. You just need to make sure that she is old enough and willing to sit in a dental chair during the procedure.

This post is sponsored by Gilbert dentist Vista Dorada Dental.

Related posts: pediatric dentist

- Sal from Texas

Sal,

Invisalign is a safe and effective way to straighten your teeth in about half the time as traditional braces. Typically if you are an adult and your teeth are crooked, then you are a candidate. Porcelain veneers are another option that can be used to give the appearance of straight white teeth too.

Pulling your tooth would be an absolute last resort. This is because your teeth would always look different because you would have an uneven number of teeth in front. There are many things that can be done today to make your teeth appear straight but it is important that the symmetry isn’t thrown off because you are missing a tooth. Your smile just wouldn’t look right with five teeth instead of six showing. So even if a dentist is recommending this tooth be removed, you may want to seek another opinion.

It is difficult to make specific recommendations without having seen your case. If you find a cosmetic dentist that does Invisalign, that that would be a good dentist to consult with about what is the best treatment for you.

Best of luck to you.

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