Making the decision to seek out a smile makeover is important and requires careful consideration and discussion with your dentist. Smile makeovers should help to preserve any natural teeth, allow you to enjoy better health, and promote increased confidence with renewed aesthetics. With this in mind, ask yourself the following questions when doing cosmetic dental makeover research or bring them in to your dental consultation. Knowing the basics about common aesthetic and reconstructive services can help you make the best choices for your needs.
Crowns or Veneers?
Dental crowns work best on teeth that have been severely damaged or are decayed and therefore require more reinforcement and restoration. As placing a crown involves shaving down a fair amount of tooth enamel above the gum line, it’s best to make sure that enamel is damaged beyond repair and should be removed in the first place.
In cases where less tooth structure is damaged, and concerns are mostly cosmetic, veneers can be applied. Adding a veneer to a tooth helps to preserve more of your natural tooth enamel and re-shapes teeth so they appear more complimentary to the rest of your smile.
Treat Infected Teeth? Or Extract Them?
In a conservative dental philosophy, it’s the best course of action to keep your own teeth in place for as long as possible. Replacing extracted teeth is more feasible with modern dental solutions, but requires additional care and treatment over the course of your lifetime. If an infected tooth can be successfully treated with a root canal and preserved with a crown, this is typically the best course of action. Only teeth that are beyond repair should be removed entirely.
Analyzing Cost for your Smile Makeover
Smile makeovers are investments in your health and wellness over the course of your lifetime. Your teeth will and should be with you for as long as you live, which is why taking care to find the appropriate dental professional and most efficient procedures for your needs is important. The training and experience of your dentist factor into final cost for your smile makeover. Our dentist, Dr. Julie Thomas, is well-versed in cosmetic procedures and is prepared to help patients find best solutions for their smile makeover needs. When restoring your entire smile, you wouldn’t go to a dentist fresh out of school – you are paying for the wisdom and expertise of a dentist with years of training and continuing education to their credit.
Additional factors to consider for the cost of your treatment plan are materials and the experience level of prosthetics and lab technicians, respectively. Prosthetics that are made to closely match real teeth and stand the test of time will be most expensive, but are far more beneficial in the long run. The ceramist creating your restorations should also be well educated in their field to provide lasting results.
Ask our Cosmetic Dentist about Smile Makeovers
If you have questions about what you can expect for you smile makeover, contact our North Canton cosmetic dentist, Dr. Julie Thomas, for your consultation and to go over your options.
Friday, March 25, 2016
Friday, March 11, 2016
What you Should Know about Your Root Canal
Having a root canal as part of your recommended treatment plan can be intimidating, or leave you with more questions than answers about treatment. It is our goal to keep our patients informed so that they feel comfortable about the care we recommend to keep their smiles healthy. If you are in need of a root canal, we help you better understand your procedure answering some common patient questions:
Do Root Canals Hurt? Root canals have something of an unfair reputation in patient experience. With proper anesthetic and gentle care, a root canal doesn’t feel much different than getting a standard filling. What many patients fail to recognize is that, at the point when a root canal is needed, the nerves inside the affected tooth are dead, so treating inner root systems of teeth does not irritate live nerves. Tooth infections can also be painful, but root canals help relieve that discomfort. In effect, a root canal actually helps to relieve pain and is not as uncomfortable as many patients imagine.
Why Do I Need a Root Canal? Generally speaking, a root canal is needed if bacteria have been allowed to affect tooth pulp by entering the root systems of teeth. This can happen when a tooth is severely decayed or when a deep crack has exposed the pulp. By utilizing root canal therapy, patients get to keep their own teeth.
If I Get a Dental Crown, Am I More Likely to Need a Root Canal? When applied correctly, with margins around the treated tooth being properly sealed, crowned teeth should not require a root canal. However, if the crown has not been sealed correctly, there is a chance for bacteria to access the prepared tooth under the crown, and for a root canal to later be necessary.
If I get a Root Canal with an Old Crown, Do I have to Replace the Crown? If the crown isn’t properly sealing out bacteria, then a new crown will need to be created and applied to better protect your tooth. If the issue is bacteria in inner tooth systems, as opposed to margin problems, the inner systems of teeth can be accessed through your existing crown, to preserve your crown and treat your tooth. The access point through your existing crown is then sealed with composite resin. Diagnostics help in determining which approach is best. Our office first assess existing tooth structure under the old crown to determine if there is enough left to cap again and what’s causing the need for a root canal before deciding to provide an whole new crown.
Why Get a Root Canal if I can Have the Tooth Replaced? Keeping your natural teeth is always important, whenever possible. If the root systems of teeth can be cleaned and the top portion of your tooth can be protected with a dental crown, this is the best choice for a conservative treatment plan. Extracting teeth can lead to bone resorption, shifting of existing teeth, and create the need for more costly restorations.
Talk to our Office about your Root Canal
If you have more questions about your upcoming root canal appointment or if you believe you may have an infected tooth that requires a root canal, contact our North Canton dental office to speak to a member of our team.
Do Root Canals Hurt? Root canals have something of an unfair reputation in patient experience. With proper anesthetic and gentle care, a root canal doesn’t feel much different than getting a standard filling. What many patients fail to recognize is that, at the point when a root canal is needed, the nerves inside the affected tooth are dead, so treating inner root systems of teeth does not irritate live nerves. Tooth infections can also be painful, but root canals help relieve that discomfort. In effect, a root canal actually helps to relieve pain and is not as uncomfortable as many patients imagine.
Why Do I Need a Root Canal? Generally speaking, a root canal is needed if bacteria have been allowed to affect tooth pulp by entering the root systems of teeth. This can happen when a tooth is severely decayed or when a deep crack has exposed the pulp. By utilizing root canal therapy, patients get to keep their own teeth.
If I Get a Dental Crown, Am I More Likely to Need a Root Canal? When applied correctly, with margins around the treated tooth being properly sealed, crowned teeth should not require a root canal. However, if the crown has not been sealed correctly, there is a chance for bacteria to access the prepared tooth under the crown, and for a root canal to later be necessary.
If I get a Root Canal with an Old Crown, Do I have to Replace the Crown? If the crown isn’t properly sealing out bacteria, then a new crown will need to be created and applied to better protect your tooth. If the issue is bacteria in inner tooth systems, as opposed to margin problems, the inner systems of teeth can be accessed through your existing crown, to preserve your crown and treat your tooth. The access point through your existing crown is then sealed with composite resin. Diagnostics help in determining which approach is best. Our office first assess existing tooth structure under the old crown to determine if there is enough left to cap again and what’s causing the need for a root canal before deciding to provide an whole new crown.
Why Get a Root Canal if I can Have the Tooth Replaced? Keeping your natural teeth is always important, whenever possible. If the root systems of teeth can be cleaned and the top portion of your tooth can be protected with a dental crown, this is the best choice for a conservative treatment plan. Extracting teeth can lead to bone resorption, shifting of existing teeth, and create the need for more costly restorations.
Talk to our Office about your Root Canal
If you have more questions about your upcoming root canal appointment or if you believe you may have an infected tooth that requires a root canal, contact our North Canton dental office to speak to a member of our team.
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