Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

As your children's dentist, one of our primary goals is to partner with parents to help them understand how they can help their children with brushing, flossing, and protecting their oral health. Many of the choices you are making each day affect your son or daughter's oral health such as their nutrition and home care routine. Offering children healthy snacks, a balanced diet, and assistance in using proper techniques for brushing and flossing will help your child achieve and maintain a healthy and beautiful smile.

Good oral hygiene habits begin before your infant's teeth arrive. Use a warm washcloth to remove bacteria from their gums after feedings. When they get their first teeth, start brushing with a soft bristle brush designed for infants.

As they progress, you can begin to use a small smear of fluoride toothpaste to brush their teeth from ages one to three years, and a pea-sized amount when they reach are between the ages of three and six. If you have concerns about using fluoride toothpaste before your son or daughter can spit it out, you can look for xylitol toothpaste instead.

Consistent checkups with your pediatric dentist will also be essential for maintaining your child's oral health. They should visit the dentist every six months for a routine cleaning and checkup starting at age one. Contact our office for more information.

While metal braces have come a long way in comfort and appearance, adults and older teens have more aesthetic options that better suit their lifestyles. Clear aligners can fix many cosmetic dental problems and are virtually undetectable. Since the trays are removable, you can clean your teeth thoroughly and eat the foods you enjoy.

Your orthodontist specialist can tell you if you’d benefit from clear aligners. In general, you’re a good candidate for clear aligners if:

• Your oral issues are not severe. For example, an excessive open bite or underbite requires shifting the jaw using a more intensive treatment.
• Your jaw has stopped growing, and you have all your permanent teeth.
• You have the discipline to wear clear aligner trays for about 22 hours a day, removing them only to eat and clean teeth.

If you do have a severe misalignment issue, your dentist may be able to develop a treatment plan for you that includes both braces and clear aligners.

That doesn’t mean that less severe problems aren’t important enough to fix, however. Even slightly misaligned or overcrowded teeth can cause more serious problems if not treated. If you have any of these oral health issues, clear aligners might be perfect for you:

• Mildly misaligned teeth
• Minor bite problems 
• Protruding teeth
• Gaps in teeth
• Overcrowding
• Malocclusion
• Overbite

Absolutely not! You are never too old to have a beautiful smile. Call us today to find out what we can do to help you. We'd be happy to show you pictures of some of our other cosmetic transformations.

Dental crowns are designed to be very durable and to function much like your own teeth. You need to use common sense, however, and avoid biting down directly on foods like hard candy or nuts. A broken crown is not just costly to replace, but you may also damage underlying healthy tooth structure.

Dental implants are intended to blend in seamlessly with your natural teeth.

One of the advantages of this is that you can brush them and floss them the same as you would with your regular teeth. While implants never get cavities (and never need root canals!), you still want to continue brushing and flossing to keep your natural teeth and your gums healthy.

We will do our very best to get you in the same day for dental emergencies. If this is not possible, we will see you the next day at the latest.

Root canals are not surgical procedures, and the recovery time is about the same as a tooth filling. Most people even say the procedure affects them less than a tooth filling! When you have a root canal, your endodontist specialist will clean and seal the tooth to remove any infection.

Root canal treatment takes about 60 to 90 minutes, depending on the severity of your infection and the accessibility of your tooth’s canals. You should be able to drive or return to work right after your appointment.

Your endodontist will give you specific instructions for allowing your tooth to heal, but here are some general guidelines:

• Once the numbness wears off, you may feel some soreness or tenderness for a few days. Some people have a sore jaw after keeping it open for an extended period. Use over-the-counter pain reliever (like ibuprofen) to manage pain. If your endodontist prescribes a stronger medication, be sure to have someone drive you home or wait to take it until you’re home.
• You can eat after the numbness wears off, avoiding sticky or crunchy foods. If you have a temporary dental crown, it’s especially important to be careful about hard foods.
• Continue to brush and floss your teeth normally, though you may want to use care around the tender areas.
• Return to your dentist for your permanent restoration, if instructed to do so.

The cost of a smile makeover really depends on the type and extent of work you need. There is a wide variance in the cost of services, ranging from complex procedures like dental implants to basic treatments like dental bonding. Depending on your situation, any of these types of procedures can have a dramatic impact on the appearance and health of your smile. But the cost can only be determined after your dentist decides which is the most appropriate for your specific needs.

Wisdom teeth, those final molars that arrive in your late teens or early 20’s, can cause a variety of problems in your mouth. Even if you never noticed your wisdom teeth erupt, it’s a good idea to visit an oral surgery specialist for a wisdom teeth evaluation.

Wisdom teeth often come in crooked or sideways because there’s simply not enough room in our jaws for four more molars. When this happens, your other teeth may shift, causing you to need orthodontic treatment later on. Crooked wisdom teeth can also damage nearby teeth by causing excessive wear and trapping bacteria.

Even if they don’t erupt, wisdom teeth may cause problems. When there’s not enough room for the molars to come in, they may remain under the gums. These impacted wisdom teeth can cause pain, infection, or misalignment of other teeth. Partially erupted wisdom teeth can also cause an infection.

Signs that you may have problematic wisdom teeth include tooth pain, sensitive or bleeding gums, headache or jaw ache, redness, or infection.

Having your wisdom teeth extracted can help you avoid these complications entirely. Wisdom teeth extraction is a common procedure that oral surgery specialists perform routinely to protect your oral health for the long term.

Porcelain veneers have been known to last anywhere from several years to decades. Porcelain veneers are very strong and durable, but how long they last really depends on how well you take care of your teeth and your oral health in general.  Proper oral hygiene plays a very important role in the longevity of your dental veneers. In general, though, you will get the most out of your veneers if you treat them with the same care as your natural teeth.