What is a White Dental Filling?

When you smile or speak animatedly, you show more than just your teeth; you also show all of the dental work present in your mouth. For many people, this means the metal of one or more fillings flashing against the pearly white color of the teeth around them. For many others, however, their dental fillings aren’t noticeable, since they’re made from tooth-colored composite resin instead of conventional metal amalgam. Often referred to as white fillings, the resin restorations can offer a more discreet and secure solution to treating infectious tooth decay.

Spring Cleaning for Your Teeth

Even though you sweep, mop, and wipe down your house every day, it can still benefit from a more comprehensive cleaning (spring cleaning!) every once in a while. Likewise, brushing your teeth every day keeps them reasonably clean, but you can’t effectively prevent dental health issues without periodic professional care. As a vital part of a good dental hygiene routine, professional exams and teeth cleaning appointment are like hiring professionals to do your spring cleaning for you. 

Do You Really Need Mouthwash?

According to advertisements, mouthwash is an essential part of a good daily hygiene routine, and is necessary to prevent the buildup of plaque and tartar. What you might not find in an ad, probably due to time and space restrictions, is what plaque and tartar are made of, or how mouthwash alone can’t do much against their buildup. Still, your toothbrush and floss can only do so much, and the right mouthwash can prove invaluable to keeping your teeth and gums clean, when used properly. 

When is it Time for a Dental Crown?

Good dental health is an ongoing process, and timing is essential in nearly every aspect of it. Dental hygiene, i.e., brushing and flossing, is most effective when it deprives bacteria the time they need to infect your teeth and gums. Therefore, Dr. Smith (and the ADA) recommends brushing your teeth at least twice every day, and flossing at least once, preferably before bed time. Likewise, when your teeth need restorative treatment, like with a dental crown, the best time to receive it is before your tooth is too damaged or diseased to save.

Porcelain Veneers—Common Questions Answered

Do you want to improve your smile’s appearance, but have more than one cosmetic issue to deal with and aren’t sure where to start? Porcelain veneers can dramatically transform your smile without a dramatic or complex treatment plan. Best of all, veneers can address a wide variety of issues, from stubborn teeth stains to slightly crooked or misshapen teeth, with just a single procedure.  

What’s the Easiest Way to Whiten Teeth?

In most cases, teeth stains are the simplest cosmetic dental issues to address. They can occur simply from eating and drinking, and can usually be erased with a simple teeth whitening procedure. If stains don’t respond to your over-the-counter bleaching products, that doesn’t mean they’re indicative of a more serious issue. In fact, OTC bleaching agents contain only a fraction of the active ingredients found in professional whitening, and can do little more than lighten the slightest of teeth stains. The easiest way to brighten your smile, then, is to schedule a professional teeth whitening appointment at your Grand Prairie cosmetic dentist’s office.

A Bridge is Only as Strong as its Support System

A dental bridge is designed to span the gap left by one or a few missing teeth, and besides adding fullness to your smile, it also reestablishes your ability to bite and chew comfortably. Unlike smiling, though, biting and chewing produces different levels of pressure that your dental bridge should be able to withstand. With that said, a significant part of your natural teeth’s strength is their support system, which consists of roots embedded within your jawbone that a conventional dental bridge can’t replace.

Don’t Feed the Cavities

Nature’s scary. Watching the Discovery Channel for an hour or two can teach us that. The nature that’s closer to you, however, can be equally disturbing, if you look closely enough. Your mouth, for instance, is an ecological forest that hosts over 600 identifiable kinds of bacteria. Some are harmless, while others, like Streptococcus mutans, focus their energy on systematically destroying your teeth. The more you feed them, the more they metabolize, and the greater your risks become for developing infectious tooth decay or other dental issues.

The Eating Habits of Oral Bacteria

When S. mutans and other bacteria accumulate in your mouth, they form dental plaque to protect them from saliva as they proliferate. Like all living things, these microbes eat and process the nutrients from your food and beverages.

Have You Planned for a Dental Emergency?

Though prevention is a major tenet of good dental care, emergencies (by definition) aren’t always preventable. They also tend to involve damage to varying degrees to your teeth and their supportive structures, making dental emergencies a common cause of permanent tooth loss. Fortunately, you can prepare yourself accidental damage, even if you can’t prevent it, and maximize your chances of retaining your healthy tooth structure in the face of an emergency.