Grinding Your Teeth: How Bad Can It Get? Many patients grind their teeth and stress is a frequent contributor to the condition. Early signs can include wear on the teeth, gum recession and abfractions (tooth loss at the gum line due to the force of grinding). Early treatment saves tooth structure and preserves…
DetailsA new toothbrush: Quip Dentists love gadgets. True to form, I responded to a Facebook ad for a new toothbrush called Quip. It arrived this week. I’ve only started using it and I like it a lot. The bristles are gentle and really hug the teeth. The palate tissue gets tender from the vibrations, but that is normal…
DetailsPartial Dentures I have been a dentist for more than 30 years and have been fortunate enough to have several long- term patients throughout my tenure. As these patients have continued to see me throughout the years, their dental conditions have changed, as well as dental technology available to help in treatment. But through all…
DetailsDental Implant Difficulties In 2006, a male patient age 47 presented with a fractured tooth on his upper left first molar. I sent him to my surgeon who extracted the tooth, did some bone grafting to help with any bone defects, and later had a large size implant placed in the site. A few…
DetailsTooth Loss: Alternative Medicine Considerations I recently had a new patient, a female in her mid-50’s, who presented with deep decay on her first molar. After removing the decay the pulp area was exposed, and the space showed a pulp exposure that did not bleed. This usually indicates that the pulp is at least…
DetailsTooth Assessment: Extract or Try to Save Patients come in with dental emergencies rather frequently. Sometimes the fix can be as easy as recementing a crown. Many cases are clear cut. For instance, when there is not enough tooth structure to build a filling or crown that will last at all, it must be extracted. Another case is when…
DetailsTreatment Planning Dental Patients with Compromised Health A 70 year old female came in a week ago. She has had good dental care for many years up until only the last couple of years. When she came to see me, her crown had fallen off her first premolar (the tooth just behind the canine). After inspecting the crown, I…
DetailsInteresting Dental Case with Mild Trauma A patient of long standing came in last week with some concerns. The work delivered to this patient over the years includes a 6-unit dental bridge in the upper anterior, a dental implant with crown on the upper left, and several fillings throughout the mouth. When he appeared…
DetailsA VERY INTERESTING FRACTURED TOOTH CASE WITH A GREAT OUTCOME I received a text from a patient yesterday alerting me that he has a dental emergency – he fractured his front tooth off. I had him take a picture of the broken tooth and his smile to get an idea of what needed to be done.…
DetailsMatching a Shade to Bleached Teeth I new patient came to my office last week to get a dental implant restored. This male patient has very large esthetic teeth but is missing his upper first premolar. Over the past several years he has been bleaching his teeth with white strips, and they look very nice.…
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