While dental implant surgery can be an easy procedure for most patients, there are still many best practices to follow after the surgery is over. It is important to follow your dentists directions because immediately after surgery, your implant and oral health is at its most vulnerable. Your body is still healing and will need several weeks to fully integrate with the new tooth. And while the instructions from your dentist won’t be complicated or difficult to follow, some patients feel they want to take chances, which runs the risk of compromising their new smile. If improperly cared for, your new dental implants may fail and require extraction and the surgical procedure to happen all over again.  Mistake 1: Going Back to Bad Dental Habits Are you known for grinding your teeth, chewing ice, or using your teeth to open bags or other items? These habits are likely a cause of your need for implants in the first place. When you go back to these bad habits immediately after implant sur ...

  When it comes to treating gum disease, the two most effective solutions are laser dentistry and osseous surgery. Both options are proven to eradicate disease and improve oral health, but many patients don’t understand the differences between the two. LANAP® is one of the leading laser dentistry options and it differs from osseous surgery because it utilizes gentle laser light to perform treatment. But does technology triumph over tried-and-true treatments? LANAP vs. Osseous Surgery Gentleness of Treatment When comparing the two treatments, many patients are curious on how painful the procedure is. When it comes to gentleness, LANAP is often considered to be the winner here. While most dentists will use sedation during osseous surgery to block discomfort, many patients do not even need that when choosing LANAP. The gentle laser light effectively eradicates infected tissue without the need for scalpels. In many cases, there is minimal bleeding with LANAP as well. Speed of Rem ...

  As an advanced surgical procedure, dental implants is a solution for tooth loss that you would not want to trust to just anyone. When implants are placed correctly, patients can get a lifetime of healthy, functional, and attractive smiles that look practically indistinguishable from natural teeth. However, when an unskilled doctor performs the treatment, there is a higher chance of implant failure, improper positioning, and even nerve damage. So when you are making the commitment to your oral and overall health with dental implants, choosing the right dentist will make a big difference!  Better Chance for Long Term Success When you have an experienced doctor place your dental implants, you are setting yourself up for long term success. Dental implants are so incredible because they can last a lifetime with proper placement, care, and routine dental appointments. But if an inexperienced doctor places the implants, there is a chance they are rejected by the body, are placed at an incorrect ...

  Most patients never realize that they can lose bone in their jaw. This area of the mouth is typically taken for granted, but jaw bone deterioration can occur if you suffer oral trauma, from gum disease, or even missing teeth that have not bee replaced. When we lose bone in our jaw, it actually hurts our appearance and oral functionality. However, bone loss is an easily preventable and treatable issue. With timely treatment from an experienced dentist, the causes of bone loss can be addressed beforehand, and if bone has already been deteriorated, there are solutions to help restore it.  The Purpose of Our Jaw Bone The jaw bone is used to hold our teeth in place and allow for proper chewing. When patients are missing teeth and have not replaced them with a dental implant, the jaw bone goes unused in these areas of gaps. Because there is no bone stimulation, the bone natural resorbs, which causes the face to get a sunken appearance and can lead to shifting of surrounding teeth. As the ja ...