Cosmetic Dentistry Services

Over the past 10 or 15 years, there has been a significant increase in demand for cosmetic dentistry. A bright, healthy smile not only promotes confidence, but allows that confidence to be perceived by others as well. Fortunately, in the last decade, there have been considerable advances in cosmetic dentistry techniques making it possible for each of us to achieve our ideal teeth and smile. Some of the services generally provided by cosmetic dentists include tooth whitening, porcelain veneers, porcelain crowns, dental implants, and porcelain inlays and onlays.

Tooth whitening is one of the most basic services provided by cosmetic dentists. It's a very simple, non-invasive treatment that serves to remove stains and discolouration from your teeth. The colour of teeth is one of the first things we notice about a smile, and while there are many different home whitening products, nothing is quite as effective as the procedures provided by cosmetic dentists. Moreover, your cosmetic dentist will be able to ensure your whiter teeth also match the colour of any dental fixtures you may have including fillings and crowns.

Porcelain veneers are very thin, custom coverings made in a professional dental laboratory that are bonded to the front of your teeth. Ultimately, veneers are utilized to improve imperfections in your smile, and they are often an alternative to crowns. In fact, as a dental restoration, porcelain veneers are useful to solve a wide variety of dental problems including correcting crooked or misshapen teeth, severely discoloured teeth, uneven spaces between teeth, and worn and chipped teeth.

Porcelain crowns are a cosmetic dental procedure meant to correct broken or fractured teeth, decayed teeth, fractured fillings, or as a cosmetic enhancement. There are actually many types of crowns, but porcelain crowns are among the most popular because they closely resemble natural teeth.

Dental implants represent the most permanent solution to missing or severely damaged teeth. Unlike dentures, dental implants are a fixed solution that provides more natural support and stability. Implants include an artificial root that is placed into the jaw bone, and artificial teeth that look and feel like natural teeth.

Porcelain inlays and onlays are a restoration for broken or fractured teeth, cosmetic enhancement, decayed teeth, and fractured or large fillings. Made by professionals in a dental laboratory, inlays and onlays serve similar purposes but they are slightly different. Inlays are permanently cemented to your teeth, and they are a more natural alternative to conventional fillings. On the other hand, onlays are sometimes known as partial crowns and are an alternative to crowns because they affect less of the tooth structure.

These are just a few of the services provided by a cosmetic dentist, and as you can see there are many restorations your cosmetic dentist can provide. Ultimately, the goal of cosmetic dentistry is to help you restore your smile and your confidence.

For an experienced cosmetic dentist in Calgary, please visit Signal Hill Dental Centre at 5743 Signal Hill Center SW, Calgary, AB T3H 3P8

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Healthy Eating Prevents Tooth Decay

Did you know that a healthy diet can help prevent tooth decay and gum disease? According to the American Dental Association (ADA), what you eat and drink can determine how often cavities occur and how they progress.

It is generally believed that a balanced, healthy diet consists of:

Fruits and vegetables

Grains

Dairy

Protein

The United States Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) recommends eating lean proteins and low-fat or fat-free dairy products. The CNPP further suggests that half the grains you eat should be whole grains, and that fruits and vegetables should cover half your plate at meal time. CNPP dietary advices are based on scientific research with the goal of improving the health and well-being of Americans.

Fruits and vegetables have a high concentration of water and fiber. They help stimulate the production of saliva, which washes away harmful acids and food particles in the mouth. Firm and crunchy fruits and vegetables are especially beneficial due to their high water content. Fruits and vegetables also contain vitamin C and vitamin A. Vitamin C helps with wound healing and maintaining healthy gums. Vitamin A is an important nutrient in building tooth enamel.

Foods rich in calcium, phosphorous and other nutrients are good for tooth and gum health as well. Calcium and phosphorus in particular help protect and rebuild tooth enamel. It is believed that both nutrients replace the minerals on tooth enamel that are naturally removed by acids.

Calcium is found in cheese, milk, yogurt, leafy greens, seaweeds like kelp, beans, figs and nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, sesame and pistachios. In addition to supporting good oral health, calcium also builds strong bones, regulates muscle contraction, plays a role in blood coagulation, and helps with communication between the brain and other parts of the body.

Phosphorus comes from protein-rich foods such as meat, poultry, fish and eggs, along with bran, pumpkin, squash, watermelon seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, toasted wheat germ, Brazil and pine nuts. It works in conjunction with calcium to build and maintain healthy bones as well as teeth, and helps the body absorb vitamin B.

Other food related-factors that can influence oral health include:

Whether the food is a liquid, solid, sticky or slow to dissolve

How often sugary and acidic foods and beverages are consumed

The combination of foods eaten

The order in which foods are eaten

Limiting the sugar in your diet plays a key role in preventing tooth decay and maintaining good oral health. Bacteria in the mouth feed off of the sugars contained in food, and release acids that are harmful to your teeth. Sweets and snack foods not only contain large amounts of sugar, they have virtually no nutritional value. This includes sugar-laden drinks like soda, lemonade, and sweetened coffee or tea. Sipping heavily sugared products results in a sugar bath over the teeth that can result in tooth decay.

The potential for cavities, gum disease and tooth loss can also be increased due to medical conditions such as acid reflux and eating disorders.

Maintaining a balanced diet is not only necessary for your overall health, it's one of the easiest ways to prevent cavities, gum disease and avoid the cost of cosmetic dentistry and dental oral surgery.

Dr. Michael Vold, DDS, JD, (Northbrook Court Dental, Northbrook, IL http://www.northbrookcourtdental.com) has been practicing dentistry over 30 years & is a national lecturer. See more at http://www.northbrookcourtdental.com/aboutdentist.html.

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Tips to Rid Your Mouth of Bad Breath

We all get bad breath from time to time, but if loved ones are complaining about the way your mouth smells, chances are good that your co-workers are also getting an unpleasant whiff when you're nearby. Not only is bad breath (or halitosis, as the condition is known medically) embarrassing, it can be hurtful, especially if your significant others are recoiling from you each time you try to get intimate.

Fortunately, there are some simple fixes and behavior adjustments that can help you control the odors from your mouth. Here are a few tips:

Stay hydrated

The dreaded morning breath stink that we're all accustomed to is often a result of sleeping with your mouth gaping open. A dry mouth (xerostomia) or problems with salivary glands means there's less saliva around to naturally cleanse our teeth, gums, tongues and cheeks of dead cells, acid and plaques that have accumulated.

Decomposition of these cells can lead to foul odors when we exhale. Drinking more water and chewing sugarless gum throughout the day can stimulate saliva production and wash away those particles.

Target your tongue

A twice-daily oral hygiene might include brushing and flossing, but are you ignoring your tongue? There are billions of bacteria on its surface and although bad breath isn't exactly visible, the forming of a yellow or brown film on the tongue can be a solid indicator of nasty odors. A good way to eliminate bad breath is to add tongue scraping to your regular oral hygiene routine or to brush your tongue.

Watch your diet

Obviously, the common culprits contributing to nasty breath are foods such as onions, garlic and coffee. To combat bad breath with food, choose fresh and fibrous and abrasive foods like celery, apples and carrots, which will also help to dislodge food particles from your teeth. Vitamin C-rich foods such berries, melons and citrus foods like oranges also help to sterilize our mouths and prevent bacteria production.

Stop smoking

Quitting tobacco products is a good start if you want to ward off objectionable breath. Smoking cigarettes can cause plaque buildup. Repetitive inhalation of hot gases can also dry out your tongue and pungent chemicals from the cigarette may also linger inside your mouth. Smokers are also more susceptible to periodontal disease and gingivitis.

Swing by the dentist's office

Mouthwashes and mints may only go so far to mask offensive smells. If you followed the above steps and you still suffer from bad breath, a professional cleaning at the dentist may be in order. Regular dental checkups may also lead to the diagnosis of a medical disorder that may be linked with bad breath such as acid reflux.

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Nu Calm - Regency Dental

Dr. Burton demonstrates NuCalm. It is a revolutionary relaxation treatment to make your dental experience stress free and calm. See more at http://www.regencydental.net

Write Off the Rot in Root Canal Before It's Too Late

You can never tell what is going on inside your mouth unless you go through regular dental checkups. Timely detection of dental ailments is the best way of preventing major dental trouble and tooth loss. Deal with germs before they can reach to the interiors of teeth and cause greater damage.

Its surprising how something built to make things easier, can start doing just the opposite. Machines are meant to make life easier for humans, like a car. It does an incredible job of taking us to our desired destination, while we sit comfortably in a place. It saves enormous amount of time and effort everyday. But when your car breaks down or shows performance issues, would it still be doing its job of saving time and effort? You will have to put in extra effort to get the problem fixed, spend time and money.

Similarly, our teeth are like machines too. You have to keep them in good shape, polish everyday to keep them healthy. Teeth are responsible for one of the most important activities in our lives, chewing food. Healthy teeth can easily break down your food into tiny pieces so that your body doesn't have to work extra hard to digest it.

But when teeth encounter a problem, they not only stop doing their job properly but also hurt you while doing it. Root canal is one such treatment which is used to fix this incredible white machinery in your mouth, from the roots.

The need for this therapy may arise when you have incurred an injury to teeth or your teeth have been affected by a gum disease. Due to a hit on a tooth, it can get damaged internally. Any damage done on the outer surface of the tooth, whether because of injury or infection, allows germs to enter the root canal of the tooth and cause disturbance in the pulp chamber. Pulp along with nerve tissue, which is essential for the nourishment of a tooth, can get infected and permanently damaged, starting a rapid downfall in tooth's health. If treatment is delayed, it can even lead to tooth loss. This is where root canal therapy steps in as a life saver for the affected tooth.

Early detection and treatment of this condition can save the damaged tooth from possible death. The most prominent sign of infected dental pulp is increased sensitivity to cold or hot consumables. Pain while chewing, discolouration of the tooth, swelling around gums are some of the most common symptoms of decay in dental pulp. As soon as you notice any one of these signs, visit a dentist immediately and have your teeth diagnosed for an infection in the roots.

This procedure requires removal of decayed dental pulp and the dead nerve from the chamber. For that, dentist would penetrate through the surface of the tooth and extract the pulp. During the procedure, the biting surface of the affected tooth is damaged, which later has to be replaced by a crown in most cases. The therapy not only protects the tooth from permanent damage but grants it new strength.

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The Benefits of Dentures

There are some people who have a negative perception of dentures. This is mainly due to the negative stigma that some people attach to them. Contrary to what they might believe, these devices actually provide several different benefits.

For instance, dentures give people the opportunity to avoid the everyday embarrassment of having missing teeth. It may not be right, but there are actually some people who make jokes about those who are missing one or more of their teeth. They may not mean any harm by it, but their comments definitely hurt some of those it's aimed at. There are even some comedians and sitcoms that incorporate these types of jokes into their comedy skits. Imagine watching one of these shows, knowing that the joke is being aimed right at you. Of course, there are some people who wouldn't take it too hard, but there are others whose feelings would definitely be hurt. If they were with other people when the joke was being made things would be even worse. That's where some of those feelings of embarrassment would come in.

Not only can dentures help to prevent certain embarrassing situations, but they can also help people when it comes to eating. Trying to eat with missing teeth can be quite difficult, especially depending on exactly which teeth are gone. For instance, people missing some of their front teeth would have a difficult time biting their food. On the other hand, people missing some of their back teeth would have a hard time chewing their food. The good news is that people don't have to just live with these issues. There are replacements available that work just as well or even better than real teeth.

Lastly, dentures help to improve people's overall aesthetic appeal. This isn't to say that just because some people are missing some of their teeth that they can't look attractive or appealing, especially if the missing teeth are in the back where people can't really see them. However, let's face it. Most people would probably agree that having all of their teeth, especially in the front, is much better than missing a few. Because this improves people's appearance, it also raises their self-confidence levels, which is also very important.

So, dentures are way more beneficial than some people might think. Of course, they help to improve people's appeal and self-esteem. However, they can do more than that. They can help to prevent embarrassing situations as well as make mundane tasks such as eating much easier to handle.

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How Cosmetic Dentistry Can Change Your Life

You might find it odd that improving a smile can cause instantaneous improvements in the overall quality of life, but I know it to be true because I've seen it over and over.

Self esteem is perhaps the one trait that determines more than anything else the success one enjoys in life, and an attractive smile is one of the key components in self esteem and self confidence.

But there are many people who don't like to smile, not because they aren't happy, but because they don't like the way their smile looks. Perhaps they have dark teeth, crooked teeth, missing teeth, or even decayed teeth.

Whatever the reason, people with a poor smile are always self-conscious about it. They try not to smile or laugh, or to hide it when they do smile. People of all cultures genuinely love to smile and laugh. It's one of our favorite things. That is why feeling bad about smiling goes against our very nature and is a heavy burden to carry for a lifetime.

When you don't smile due to embarrassment about your smile, people perceive you as being glum or negative. Or they wonder if they have offended you, or if you don't like them. It is not the impression you want to give to those around you.

On the other hand, when you give another person a warm, genuine smile, you tell that other person that he or she is attractive, pleasant, and likable in your estimation. The physical action of smiling releases brain chemicals called endorphins that make you feel happy and raise your self-esteem. When you smile, you feel and act in a more personable way to everyone around you and exude a feeling of positive attitude.

Smiling more at people literally changes how they feel about you. They perceive you as being happier, more friendly, and more successful. In short, they like you better as a person.

Every time you smile, you not only make other people feel better about themselves, but you raise your self-esteem, increase your level of positive attitude and feel better about yourself as well. You will start to build healthy relationships all around you.

That is why a happy smile is so powerful. The way you feel about your smile affects you and everyone around you... all the time.

I can tell you exactly what happens when cosmetic dentistry allows someone to go from having a smile they hate to a smile they love. First of all, every time they see themselves in the mirror, it gives their self esteem a boost rather than detracting from it. The terrible burden of being afraid to smile in every social, and work situation is gone. And what happens? They smile more. They smile all the time.

And smiling all the time changes everything. People like you more, because they feel like you like them more. People are happier to see you, because they feel like you are happy to see them. People will literally think some great thing has happened in your life.

The good news is that you don't have to live with a smile you don't want. Modern cosmetic dentistry offers many ways to make a dramatic, immediate improvement in your smile. If you are embarrassed or self-conscious about your smile, do yourself a favor and find out what can be done to improve your smile and your life.

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