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So, another question I get is: how are we going to get you numbed up for the procedure?
For anxious patients, we have different ways of helping you feel comfortable. If you're really anxious, we offer IV sedation. With IV sedation, we'll start an IV and give you medication so that you're relaxed and comfortable during the procedure and won’t remember what was done.
While you're under IV sedation, you will still be responsive—you’ll be able to follow basic commands like opening and closing your mouth. However, even with IV sedation, we still administer local anesthetic, just like you would receive for a filling. We make sure to give you enough local anesthetic in all areas of your mouth to ensure you're comfortable.
If at any point you feel discomfort and let us know, we’ll administer a little more anesthetic to keep you comfortable throughout the procedure. With IV sedation, though, you likely won’t even remember what we did.
A good question I get is: what will my dentures look and feel like?
Our goal, and what we strive to do, is to make your dentures look natural. Some people may want that big Hollywood smile, and if that’s what you’re looking for, we will make that happen. But, we also want your dentures to feel natural. Our aim is for them to become a part of your mouth.
It is important to note that dentures are a foreign object in your mouth, and it will take some time to get used to them. With the implant solution, however, you’ll have a bit more confidence knowing that your denture will stay in place, allowing you to smile and feel like your natural self.
Another question I often get is: how do I care for my dentures?
Specifically, with a removable full denture, you’re going to want to clean it every night, and sometimes after meals, because food can get stuck underneath it.
When cleaning your dentures, I recommend using a soft denture toothbrush. If you use a regular toothbrush with hard bristles, you can wear away the acrylic on the denture pretty quickly.
Another important thing is the type of toothpaste you use. You should avoid regular toothpaste because it contains abrasives, which can wear down your denture very fast. Instead, use a denture paste that is non-abrasive.
There are also tablets you can dissolve in water to clean your dentures. I recommend using these at least once a week. You don’t need to use them every night, but they help restore the denture’s luster and give it a fresher taste.
Another great question I get is: how long will my dentures last?
It’s variable, just like anything else. Generally, the average lifespan of a denture is about five years. The teeth on the denture will wear out, just like parts of a car wear out over time. If you’re hard on your denture, it will wear out quicker. However, if you take good care of it, you might be able to get six or seven years out of it.
The longevity of your denture will also depend on the style and quality of the materials used. High-end dentures, which use stronger teeth, tend to last longer than economy dentures, where the teeth are made with slightly lower-quality materials. With an economy denture, you may only get three to four years of use.
So, another question I get is: what kind of dentures are there?
There are two main categories: partial dentures and complete dentures.
If you only have a few teeth missing, you can get what’s called a removable partial denture. This type of denture usually has some metal and plastic. The metal sits on your teeth and has little hooks or clasps that help keep it in place. When you insert it, it helps stabilize your teeth. Generally, there’s a piece of metal that goes across the top of your mouth, which is usually not very comfortable.
A complete denture, on the other hand, is for when there are no teeth left to support your denture. In this case, all teeth are removed, and the denture sits solely on your soft tissue. This can be a little uncomfortable because soft tissue is flexible and moves—it’s not fixed like your teeth. When you chew, all the pressure is directed into your gums.
With a partial denture, when you chew, your remaining teeth help absorb some of the forces, which can make it a bit more comfortable compared to a complete denture.
Another question I get is: how are dentures made?
Generally, we start by taking an impression of your mouth. Then, we use those records to construct what we call a wax try-in. These are teeth set in wax that are designed to fit your mouth in terms of size, color, and function.
Next, we schedule an appointment where we try these teeth in to ensure they match your mouth and that you feel comfortable with them. This includes smiling and speaking, which is probably one of the most important things we sometimes forget about when making a denture.
Once we're happy with the process and you approve how the teeth look and feel in your mouth, we move on to the next step. This involves converting the wax into acrylic. If you've ever seen how gold rings are made, there's a similar process: a mold is created, the wax is melted out, and it's replaced with gold. With dentures, we follow the same concept, except the wax is replaced with acrylic instead of gold.
Hi, guys. This is Dr. Delgado. One of the questions I get frequently is: what are Invisalign or clear aligners?
Basically, clear aligners are a series of trays that you wear in your mouth for 22 out of 24 hours, and they can straighten mildly crooked or crowded teeth. The advantages of having clear aligners are that you can't tell you have braces, there's no metal in your mouth, they're a lot more comfortable, and the process usually takes about six months. They do need to be removed for eating and cleaning.
The biggest factor is patient compliance, which means you have to wear them. If you don't wear them, your teeth will not get straight.
A question I often get asked is: who's a good candidate for clear aligners? Probably about 70% of people are good candidates. It's usually ideal for mild crowding or slightly misaligned teeth—if you just want to get that perfect smile. However, if you're trying to change the way your teeth bite together in the back, that's not what clear aligners are meant for. They are definitely designed for brightening up your front teeth and giving you the smile you’ve always wanted.
If you're interested in getting your teeth straightened with clear aligners, just give us a call at Delgado Dental Group, and we'll be happy to schedule a consultation with you.
Hi, my name is Roxanne. I'm an RDA EF2, and I'm also an orthodontic assistant here at Delgado Dental. I work with Dr. Natalie on the Six Month Smiles bracket system.
Six Month Smiles is a fast, guided bracket system that allows us to move patients' teeth in an average of about six months. It's ideal for adult patients because it uses white brackets, and most adults don't want to walk around with metal brackets. I would say about 95% of our patients are adults.
A good candidate for Six Month Smiles is someone who has a little bit of crowding or spacing—nothing too dramatic. If someone is interested in Six Month Smiles, I would advise them to give us a call. We can provide a free consultation, take some photos and a scan, and have Dr. Natalie look at your teeth to see if you'd be a good candidate.
My favorite part about working on Six Month Smiles cases is seeing the patients' reactions when we take the brackets off. Usually, they're very excited and happy with the results—some even cry, which is really nice because you just changed their lives.
I often get a question: do I have any alternative to dentures? In today's day and age, now we do, which is really a great new procedure. You might have heard of it: All-on-X or All-on-4.
After you remove all your teeth, we're replacing your teeth with four to six implants and making a denture that is fixed permanently to those implants. Now, it's not a true full denture in the sense that it's not removable by you. It still resembles a denture in that it replaces your teeth and, oftentimes, your gums.
But the beauty of it is that it pretty much restores your chewing and speaking ability to almost 100%. It's the closest thing you'll ever get to having your teeth back. It's a little bit more costly, but I don't think you can put a price on comfort and the ability to chew and eat again like you used to.
A frequent question I get is what is periodontal disease periodontal disease is often known as like gingivitis or gum disease. And basically it's when your gums are bleeding. So it's inflammation of the gums gets severe.
You get what's called pocketing, which means you're actually starting to lose the underlying bone that supports your teeth. That gets, you know, worse. Your teeth will actually get to the point where they start to get loose.
The gums will bleed, you know, by themselves almost just barely touching them. How do I prevent gum disease? So really the best way to prevent gum disease is to brush and floss regularly. I say that I mean minimum two times a day.
If you could do that after every meal, that would be ideal. One word of wisdom is preventative is always smarter and easier than dealing with the problem. So I would say come see us. Come see our hygienists.
Keep your teeth looking clean. Also keep your breath smelling good and your smile as white as possible.
Dr. Alfonso: So here's a really good question, is when should I get dentures? Some people make the mistake of waiting until they lose all their teeth before they get their dentures. And by that time, it makes it a lot more difficult. When you lose your teeth, you kind of lose the reference of the shape and size of your mouth. You you ever seen someone without teeth and it looks like their chin is almost touching their nose? We don't want, we want to avoid that. So we want to get into the denture process sooner than that.
Dr. Alfonso: Usually you start to lose teeth. Most of your teeth are getting loose. You're having pain. You're having trouble chewing. Probably at that point is the time to start thinking about going into a denture.
Fixed dental bridges involve the preparation and crowning of teeth on either side of an area missing teeth to support artificial teeth to span the edentulous area.
A fixed bridge is a non-removable appliance fabricated to replace missing teeth, which closely resembles a patient’s natural dentition. Besides serving to restore the appearance and performance of a complete smile, a fixed bridge also prevents teeth that are adjacent to or opposite the edentulous area from shifting to protect the integrity of the occlusion. Fixed bridges are strong, durable and natural looking restorations, which once they are permanently cemented into place allow all manner of normal oral function.
Maintaining a healthy smile depends upon keeping your teeth and gums clean with a daily routine of brushing and flossing. According to the recommendations of the American Dental Association, it is important to brush your teeth at least twice a day for two minutes each time with a soft bristled toothbrush. Remember to use a soft bristled toothbrush and apply gentle pressure so as not to cause damage to your teeth or gums. Brushing your teeth with a fluoride containing toothpaste that has been awarded American Dental Association seal of acceptance helps to keep your smile healthy and vibrant. Remember to change your toothbrush every three months or when the bristles are frayed.
Once commonly referred to as, "porcelain jackets," today's all-ceramic crowns are fabricated from advanced generations of aesthetically appealing, lifelike materials affording strength and durability approaching that of tradition metal and porcelain fused to metal crowns (PFM).
When a tooth requires a full coverage restoration to rebuild its structural integrity and appearance, how good the crown will look and how well it will withstand the forces of oral function are major considerations in choosing the type of crown. In the past, only metal crowns or ones fabricated out of porcelain fused to an underlying substructure of metal offered the strength required to bite and chew without breaking. While porcelain fused to metal crowns to this day remain a popular choice for strong, attractive and long-lasting restorations to rebuild teeth that are damaged, decayed, misshapen, worn down, undersized, or have had a root canal procedure, there are some drawbacks. For one thing, the thin metal margin at the collar of a PFM crown may be visible at the gumline (especially in the presence of receding gums). Also, due to the presence of an underlying metal shell, porcelain fused to metal crowns do not come close to handling light in the same way as natural tooth structure or dental ceramics.
Sometimes it is necessary to extract a tooth. This can happen for a variety of reasons. Extractions are commonly performed in cases where a deciduous "baby" tooth is reluctant to fall out, a severely broken down and non-restorable tooth is present, or "wisdom tooth" is poorly positioned and unable to fully erupt into place.
With advances in dental materials and science, restorative materials that are aesthetically pleasing as well as strong and durable are widely available for the filling and repair of teeth that have been affected by tooth decay or dental injuries.
Composite fillings, which are frequently referred to as either "tooth colored fillings" or "white fillings," are a combination of biocompatible resins and finely ground, glass-like filler materials. Composite fillings, which are manufactured in a complete range of natural looking shades, provide a more cosmetically pleasing alternative to traditional "silver" fillings. Often used to fill a tooth by replacing tooth structure that is missing due to injury or decay, dental composites can also be placed to modify a tooth’s color or shape to dramatically improve its appearance as well as repair dental defects and close gaps between the teeth.
A teeth whitening procedure or bleaching simply refers to any process that will make the teeth appear whiter. It is considered a non-invasive procedure that is designed to whiten and brighten teeth that are stained, discolored, darkened, or yellowed. First introduced to the public in the 1980’s, the popularity of teeth whitening products and procedures has soared. According to a survey conducted by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, when respondents were asked, "What would you like to improve most about your smile?" The most common response was: whiter and brighter teeth.
A home whitening system from the dentist along with custom trays that have been fitted to the teeth is also an excellent option. Custom trays keep the bleaching agent in maximum contact with the teeth and away from the other areas of the mouth. With a take-home teeth whitening system, maximum results are less rapid than an in office procedure and are typically achieved over a longer period of time. A home whitening system can be used by itself or as recommended by the dentist as a follow up to an in office procedure in order to perfect or maintain the results.
Dental implants represent the most recent and advanced method of replacing lost or missing teeth. Invented in 1952 by a Swedish surgeon named Per-Ingvar Brånemark, dental implants today offer a highly effective, long-term solution for replacing missing teeth to reestablish a fully functional and attractive smile. Dental implants can be used to replace a single tooth, multiple teeth or all of the upper and/or lower teeth.
A dental implant is a small, biocompatible post that is surgically positioned by means of a minimally invasive procedure into the jawbone beneath the gums. Once healing takes place and the implant integrates with the bone, it behaves in much the same way as the root of a natural tooth to provide support for an aesthetically appealing dental crown or bridge. A period ranging from 3 to 6 months is required for the jawbone to fuse with the implant via a process known as osseointegration.
Periodontal disease damages the surrounding soft tissues and bone that support the teeth. It is predominantly caused by the accumulation of bacteria, mucus and other particles in the form of plaque or tartar that sit between the teeth and the gums. Periodontal disease can range in severity from a simple gum inflammation, known as gingivitis, to a more serious inflammation of the periodontal tissues. Left untreated periodontal disease can result in significant tissue damage and eventual tooth loss.
For teeth with imperfections that cannot be addressed with teeth whitening procedures, but are not so flawed as to require full coverage crowns, dental veneers can provide the desired cosmetic improvements.
Dental veneers are custom-fabricated facings that offer a conservative and cosmetically pleasing way to improve the appearance of teeth that are chipped, gapped, worn, slightly crooked, misshapen or darkly stained. With dental veneers, the color, shape, size, and length of the teeth can be changed for the better. Bonded to the front surfaces of the teeth, veneers can be used to enhance the appearance of a single tooth or multiple anterior teeth.
Wisdom teeth, which are also known as the third molars, are the last permanent teeth to develop in the oral cavity as well as the final ones to come into place. However, as is often the case, many wisdom teeth do not have sufficient room to erupt, are not developing properly, or are causing issues for the adjacent teeth and the surrounding tissues. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons frequently see patients with impacted or problematic wisdom teeth for an evaluation or extractions as indicated.
At Delgado Dental Group, we provide skilled and compassionate care to help patients of all ages enjoy healthy, beautiful smiles.