Comfort Dental Blog Page 3

Perio Protect

The Perio-Protect System

Many people avoid or fear going to the dentist for a variety of popular reasons such as:

• Bleeding gums
• Unusually foul breath
• Painful cleanings
• Sensitive/sore teeth
• Long appointments
• Expensive treatments
• Embarrassment because you hate to floss

Dr. Halmaghi, a top Michigan dentist at Comfort Dental in Southfield, Michigan now provides a newly FDA Approved treatment system Perio Protect ® that enables his patients to administer a home-based treatment program that allows him to treat gum problems with:

• No Shots
• No Pain
• No Lengthy Appointments
• No Painful Scraping
• No Expensive Surgery

It is well known that gum disease is the main reason that people lose their teeth and yet remains, for many, an undiagnosed problem. The Perio Protect ® system, which is very easy to use, has been proven (over 16 years of research and clinical trials) to kill harmful bacteria within 72 hours.

Inflammation and swelling become more controlled which eventually leads to the elimination of bleeding gums. Foul breath, for many patients, is eliminated.

How it Works

You will be fitted with custom made mouth-pieces (trays), similar to athletic mouthguards, which are soft, thin and comfortable. A special gel is placed inside of your custom-made trays. This gel seeps above and below the gumline eliminating all calculus (tartar) and bacteria.

You will be instructed on the frequency of wear, based on your diagnosis. The entire treatment is done in the comfort of your own home. Furthermore, we have noticed that the treatment also whitens your teeth and freshens your breath, while reducing cavities and curing gum disease.

At each subsequent dental visit, our hygienist will gently remove any remaining softened deposits and evaluate the progress of your healing. Your dental visits will be quick, easy, and painless.

The Comfort Dental Soda Pop Challenge

Limit your soda pop or sports drinks to 1 can per day! (Or less!)

Why? Here are the facts: People who drink 3 or more sugary sodas daily have 62% more dental decay, fillings and tooth loss!

Drinking Soda Pop & Your Dental Health

The Average American drinks more than 53 gallons of carbonated soft drinks each year. That is more than any other beverage, including milk, beer, coffee or water.

Facts According to Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey:

Soda Pop is sweetened normally with 10-12 tsp. of high fructose corn syrup, a highly processed sugar. “Diet” pop is sweetened with artificial sweeteners. Phosphoric or citric acid (and caffeine) are added to the mix. The fructose syrup has zero nutritional value. Caffeine, a mildly addictive stimulant, causes calcium excretion which can lead to increased risk of osteoporosis and kidney stones.

Most people believe that diet sodas are a healthier alternative. This is far from the truth! The pH of regular and diet pops ranges from 2.47-3.35. The PH in our mouth is normally about 6.2 to 7.0, slightly more acidic than water. At a PH of 5.2 to 5.5, or below, the acid begins to dissolve the hard enamel of our teeth, causing cavities and destruction of the teeth.

Phosphoric and citric acids contribute to the acidity of pop. It takes approximately 32-8oz. cans of water to neutralize one 8oz. can of soda. A can of soda is 10,000 times more acidic than your normal body ph. Below is a look at how some soda pops compare to water as well as to battery acid.

Consumption on the Rise!

Soda consumption has increased over 500% over the past 40 years. Studies have shown, for both regular and diet soft drinks, the sugar and artificial sweeteners both create a yearning for that sweet taste of sugar. Sugar can become an addiction that our bodies crave on a daily basis.

Health risks from over consumption include diabetes, kidney stones, obesity, osteoporosis, and tooth destruction. Other effects can be chronic fatigue, connective tissue breakdown, increased risk of esophageal cancer, and stress. Sugar creates serious detrimental effects to the teeth and the periodontium (the bone and gums that surround and support the teeth). Tooth decay, recurrent decay, gingival inflammation, and periodontal infections are all common side effects of the sugar loading.

Today, kids consume far more sugar (29 to 40tsp/day) thank they did 40 years ago. Teenagers are getting approximately 40% of their sugar/energy calories from soft drinks, while they are drinking less milk and getting less calcium.

Sports Drinks

While sports and energy drinks may help athletes re-hydrate after a long workout, they can cause harmful damage to the teeth when consumed in excess. These drinks also contain phosphoric and citric acids. This group of drinks include lemonade, energy drinks, sports drinks, fitness water, and ice tea. So, what can you do to limit the bad effects?

1. Decrease the number of cans per day to 1.
2. Consume that 1 can with a meal to help neutralize some of the acid.
3. Drink through a straw to decrease the direct contact with the teeth.
4. Rinse your mouth with water after drinking.
5. Use a high strength fluoride mouth rinse such as ACT or Oral-B Fluorinse at least once a day for 4 minutes.
6. Drink city water more often; be careful with excess bottled water consumption as you will not receive enough fluoride.
7. Never drink pop when you are thirsty; this is not a way to rehydrate, it actually causes you to become more thirsty.
8. Drink milk and eat cheese to help mineralize your tooth structure.

At Comfort Dental we do not believe it is wrong to enjoy a can of pop or lemonade every now and then. The key, as in so many things, is moderation! Don't overdo it! Try to limit yourself to one can of sweet beverage per day and drink plenty of tap water before and after. To learn more about it, call Comfort Dental at 248-646-2273!

Does this look familiar?

Comfort Dental now uses the Itero Scanner. This makes the use of impression material almost obsolete. This process is less time consuming and more accurate than traditional impressions. Can be used for crowns, bridges, inlays, onlays, veneers, biteguards and even Invisalign cases.

• No more mess and gagging associated with traditional impressions
• Shorter appointments
• Fewer appointments

Maxilla Rehabilitation — Upper Dentures

Affordable Dental Rehabilitation Choices – Cosmetic Case

Tooth Replacement Alternatives

Before

After

Tooth Replacement Alternatives with Intracoronal Partials

One of the most common factors for many patients acquiring the toothless look is due to failure to treat and replace tooth structures in a timely fashion. Due to finances or time constraint, these problems can become quite severe…as seen in the above photos.

Many times we can conclude that it is much more efficient (in terms of time and money) to just extract a tooth instead of treating it. Often, leaving it alone for a long time can lead to extraction as the only treatment option left. Exercising this option too frequently will normally end up in acquiring a cosmetic appearance that doesn't feel comfortable.

oral disease, eating preferences, oral protecting habits and how we remain personally watchful of them determines how our dentition will be represented as we all grow older.

As can be seen in our first two pre-treatment photos, our patient had several missing teeth. Fortunately the remaining tooth structures were quite healthy and had sound root structures. The patient was interested in replacing the missing teeth and did not want to resort to dentures.

Intracoronal Attachments: The Cosmetic No-Clasp Partial

Denture partials made by many dentists incorporate the use of a very unattractive metal clasp device that attaches to the exterior of adjacent teeth. The patient was aware of this and was seeking a better solution.

Comfort Smiles determined that special intracoronal attachments could be used on his strongest root structures of the remaining teeth.

Looking closely at the patient's upper arch in the photo, it can be seen (or rather NOT seen) that a partial is in place. The intracoronal attachment devices create this quite dramatic treatment outcome. The replacement of the metal clasps on the lower partial are planned for a future date.

The final post treatment photo shows the overall impact of treatment. The patient has a great looking smile…and even looks younger. The beginning stages of a collapsed bite have been reversed!

The new partials opened his bite and now provide the underlying structure needed for normal upper and lower lip movements… critical for producing a tooth filled smile.

Immediate Partial Denture Reconstruction

When things become hopeless, the solution may often provide an easier and better solution. This 60 year old patient came to our office with complaints of loose teeth. She also desired to close the gap in her front teeth.

Our complete dental examination revealed that she suffered with advanced periodontal disease. We advised her that we could save several of her back teeth with proper gum therapy. However, the condition of the front teeth was hopeless.

The patient did not want to walk around without teeth. Our lab helped us fabricate an immediate denture which allowed us to deliver this partial at the same time that we removed her teeth. The patient was very excited with her new smile and stated: “I may have lost my natural teeth because of my own neglect, but this partial feels so comfortable and I have the smile I always wanted. I can't thank you enough.”

Denture Cosmetic Makeover

Extreme Denture Makeover – Cosmetic Case

New Smile Confidence!

Before

After

Natural Looking Denture Makeover

Our patient came to our office after many years of neglect. She was terrified to make an appointment. Extreme fear of the dentist resulted in the Before effect.

Sedation Dentistry quickly helped her to overcome her fear. She did not want to walk around without any teeth. Multiple teeth were extracted and immediate dentures were inserted…in other words, her dentures were fabricated before the teeth were extracted.

You can imagine how quickly her personal life changed. Her co-workers did not recognize her! Needless to say, her self-confidence level went up a few notches.

Cosmetic Reconstructive Prosthodontics

Prosthodontic Dental Art – Cosmetic Case

Denture Replacement Makeover

Before

After

The Art of Cosmetic Dentistry

This “young lady” came to our office with expectations of improving her smile. A new IPN designed denture was fabricated. The photos speak for the case!

Makeover Alternatives

Certain maxillary (upper jaw) characteristics and other issues prevented our patient's access to a number of traditional dental makeover procedures.

Nonetheless… she wanted Comfort Smiles's help in recreating a smile she could be happy with. Something that was within her budget, felt natural and could restore the broad smile she once had. In other words… she was seeking a makeover experience.

Prosthodontic Dental Art

After consulting with Comfort Smiles and the in-house dental lab technician, our patient elected to have custom dentures (prosthodontics) that would give her some great looking teeth, restore her bite and occlusion and restore the height of her smile.

The years of normal wear and tear on her natural teeth had caused her smile to collapse somewhat (severe collapse of vertical dimension causes popular granny-mouth that we are all familiar with).

The adjacent after photo reflects an attractive smile and set of teeth that are shaded appropriately for her age. Our patient didn't want super white dentures since it wouldn't feel or look natural for her age.

The bite and occlusion issues were successfully overcome. Notice how the patient's smile is much broader and shows more teeth. The function of the upper lip movement during smiling typically improves when vertical dimension is restored.

The overall impact of the final cosmetic result was quite significant. Not only did the patient feel and look many years younger… it was also evident in her renewed use of attractive makeup and a younger style of dress. In short… quite dramatic!

Comfort Smiles has the resources and his in-house dental lab that enables our office to develop makeover treatment plans for patients who believe a makeover experience is not possible because of:

• Poor conditions of the maxilla (upper jaw)
• Poor conditions of the mandible (lower jaw)
• Gingival/supportive tissue concerns
• Bite/occlusion problems
• Severe collapsed vertical dimension
• Periodontic issues
• Bone and/or tissue grafting problems

Multiple Crowns and Bridges

Dental Makeover – Cosmetic Case

Erase Years of Dental Wear and Neglect

Before

After

Unsurpassed Dental Cosmetics

This patient came to my office complaining of loose teeth, pain, headaches, and a smile that often had her covering her mouth at social events. This patient had multiple crowns placed on her front teeth about 10 years before coming to my office.

The metal underneath the porcelain was starting to show through the porcelain and the roots were becoming exposed. Patient had gum disease problems, missing teeth, and jaw joint dislocation (the main cause of headaches).

It is so important to pay attention to the protecting of the gums and jaw joint when performing cosmetic dentistry. Too many dentists are in a rush to place porcelain teeth in patient's mouths without paying any attention to underlying problems associated with gum disease and improper jaw function.

This patient demonstrates what happened ten years after her dentist rushed to place crowns on her teeth, without treating her gum problems and maintaining her mouth properly. After careful gum treatment we started restoring her mouth with two bridges on her lower jaw in order to stabilize her bite and produce proper jaw function.

These bridges included fabrication of 12 new teeth on her lower jaw. Without good function cosmetic dental work can fail after a few years, so it is critical to make sure that the jaws work effectively and the jaw joints conform to the function. If this is not taken into consideration, the patient can end up with headaches and jaw joint problems. We specialize in these forms of reconstruction, paying careful attention to muscle function, jaw to jaw relationship, and protecting of the jaw joint (dental occlusion).

Finally, we end our treatment with unsurpassed cosmetics! We ended her treatment by placing 14 porcelaincrowns on her upper teeth, including 2 bridges to replace her missing teeth. We used Jeneric Pentron porcelain fused to precious metal. Our own, on-site lab, produced these results. Due to her weakened teeth we decided to connect all of the teeth together. This is a very difficult procedure to accomplish because of the precision involved to “splint” all of the teeth in one unit for strength, stability, and long term protecting. The patient stated to us that she feels 20 years younger and has never been able to chew so well.

Occlusal Bite Rehabilitation and Gum Lift

Aesthetic Correction & Gummy Smile Treatment Planning – Cosmetic Case

Best Treatment Outline

Before

After

Total Mouth Reconstruction

As tooth structures wear down with age, the physical properties of our bite also change. Left untreated for an extended time, the bite collapses (a natural aging phenomenon.) As a result of this “aging process” patients can experience tmj pain, increased wear on front teeth, changes in facial features, difficulty smiling, and can even cause us to look older than our real age (granny mouth).

Our patient, an attractive 30 something year old male had the beginning stages of dental problems that typically don't occur, as a natural phenomenon, until a person is in their late forties or fifties.

As can be seen in the above photographs, our patient had an extremely gummy smile, small upper teeth, and severe wear to the biting surfaces.

Our patient had several goals that needed to be attained:

1. Fix the gummy smile
2. Halt and reverse the wear and tear

Many other dentists had given this young man their opinions, which included “all at once” bite adjustments and cosmetic reconstruction. We helped him understand that occlusion/bite modifications for his jaw structures needed to be changed incrementally, through a step by step process to assure natural repositioning of the upper and lower jaws. Corrections made too quickly usually result in worsening jaw relationships.

Best Treatment Outline

Selective gum shaping and re-contouring was used as needed to create harmony across the new gingival arches on the treated teeth.Davinci veneers were used selectively to resize the anterior teeth, to the cosmetic specifications made by the client. The anterior resizing required the need for onlays and inlays on the posterior teeth…the bite was going to be in the beginning stages of “re-opening.” Interestingly, our treatment cost was less than half of what other doctors recommended.

Extreme Cosmetic Dental Makeover

Our 50+ patient decided he could no longer hide his smile with a beard. Notice the “tired” and “gloomy” Before-Look. Notice the cheerful and bright After-Look! We think he even grew more hair in the process.

All this was accomplished through bridgework and implant reconstruction. It actually took only one implant to be able to provide this remarkable procedure for him.

Although he decided to maintain his trademark mustache, his life has drastically improved in many ways. He feels younger, has more confidence, and renewed enthusiasm. Not to mention being able to finally chew food.

Needless to say, constructive dental work can make some huge changes in anyone's life!