Considering Dental Implants?

Important Facts to Help Make Your Decision

Many people are unaware of the consequences of losing their teeth or the effects of wearing partial or full dentures upon their jaws and bones. When teeth are lost, the surrounding bone immediately begins to shrink [atrophy]. Implant treatment, for tooth replacement therapy, can be the optimal treatment plan. Here are some important facts to take into consideration.

• Wearing dentures [plates] accelerates bone loss, and old dentures become loose because of this bone loss. It is possible to watch and wait for bone to disappear to the point where treatment success of any kind is in doubt.

• At the end of a five-year period, only 40% are still wearing the original partial denture made for them. This is not a great testimonial for value and utility. Those lucky enough to have a functioning partial denture after 5 years are still losing valuable supporting bone.

• Of those patients who wear a partial denture, 50% chew better without it.

• One study showed that after 8 years, 40% of the supporting teeth [abutments] that the partial hooks onto were lost through tooth decay or fracture.

• Patients with natural teeth can bite with about 200 pounds of force. Denture wearers can bite with approxiametly 50 pounds of force. Those wearing dentures for 15 years or more can bite with only about 6 pounds of force, and their diet and eating habits have had to been modified accordingly.

• The average lower full denture shifts from side to side approximately ? inch during chewing and is a significant problem that new denture wearers must get use to and accept.

• Denture wearers have decreased nutritional intake, a ten year shorter life span, and 30% of denture wearers can only eat soft foods.

• The single tooth implant success rate is above 98%, and unlike a bridge, the teeth adjacent to the implant are no more at risk than if no teeth were missing.

• Implant-supported bridges or dentures have 95% success rates over 10 years without the severe loss of supporting bone.

For bone maintenance, the health of adjacent teeth, the longevity of the restoration and patient comfort, implant therapy is the treatment of choice. Implants can restore chewing function to the equivalent of someone with natural teeth. If you have questions or want to know if you are a good candidate for implant tooth replacement therapy, please call our office.

It's Not What it's Cracked Up To Be

While the enamel [outside covering of the crown of a tooth] is the hardest substance in the human body, undue stress on your teeth may cause them to crack. Causes include chewing hard foods [such as a popcorn kernel], biting on ice cubes, biting on a hard object such as a pen or pipe and/or clenching or grinding your teeth [bruxism].

Cracked Tooth Syndrome is very common in teeth with large fillings in them and most often is seen in your back teeth. If the crack goes untreated, it may deepen or expand like a crack in a glass window, causing part of the tooth to break off. If this occurs, the tooth may have to be extracted or might need root canal treatment in an attempt to save the tooth.

Some of the symptoms of this occurrence are: pain on chewing, unsolicited pain, pain from cold air, no x-ray evidence of the problem and no dental decay present. Often it is difficult for the patient to determine which tooth is causing the pain. However, the absence of pain does not rule out the presence of a crack.

To determine if a tooth has developed a crack that is not visible to the naked eye, the dentist will take a through dental history including history of trauma to your teeth and history of any bite adjustments that were performed. The teeth in the problem area will be examined with a dental explorer. Hot and cold sensitivity of the teeth will be tested. If a severe pain is elicited with temperature, and the pain rapidly subsides with removal of the stimulus, it is usually indicative of a fracture. Sometimes, transillumination [light source] with magnification is used to help visualize the suspected crack. The diagnosis can be further confirmed when the dentist uses a plastic or wooden instrument or cotton roll that rests on one part of a tooth while you are asked to bite down. Pain in a specific areas helps isolate the position of the crack. In certain instances, removal of a restoration [filling] may be necessary to visualize the crack and assess its potential to harm the pulp [nerve].

Can cracks be treated so that the tooth can be saved? Yes. Unfortunately, cracked teeth don't heal themselves like your bones. Early diagnosis leads to a better chance of success. The best solution is to have a full crown [cap] placed over the tooth to strengthen and hold the tooth together. In about 10% of cracked teeth, the nerve dies and root canal [endodontic treatment] will be required, along with the cementation of a post into the nerve canal before the crown and be completed and the tooth restored.

Call our office for questions or to set up an appointment if you are experiencing any of the cracked tooth symptoms.

Strober Dental
3330 Third Ave. Ste 302
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 299-5925
Theteam@stroberdental.com
http://www.stroberdental.com

Invisalign

Invisalign - Invisible Braces To Straighten Your Teeth

The Invisalign system is comprised of a series of clear, thin, customized aligners that fit over your teeth, progressively straightening them. This system is an effective alternative to metal braces when used in appropriate cases. The main benefits of the Invisalign system are greatly improved appearance and comfort. The Invisalign aligners are removed during eating, and when brushing and flossing. This may reduce the risk of both cavities and gum disease when compared to traditional braces.

The first step in the process is scheduling an appointment with us. The proper candidate for this system would be an adult who has slight to moderate spacing or crowding of his or her teeth or a teenager who has all their permanent teeth except for the third molars. After an initial evaluation, we will inform the patient whether he or she will benefit from the Invisalign system. Impressions (molds) of the teeth are taken and then we write up a detailed set of instructions that are sent to Invisalign.

In the process of planning, the lab will send us a preview or prototype via the Internet of how the appliances will straighten your teeth. This information is used to design a series of clear aligners. Depending on each individual, 12 to 48 aligners may be needed to achieve the required result. As part of treatment, we may need to reshape certain teeth and only one visit every six weeks is required.

In some cases some individuals are not initially good candidates for the Invisalign System. In this situation the patient may benefit from wearing metal or ceramic braces for several months, then switching over to the more comfortable and appealing Invisalign System.