Archives for June 2022

Can I Get a Third Root Canal Instead of an Extraction?

Posted on June 30, 2022 by AllSmiles.

My dentist did a root canal for the second time on one of my top left last March, but the tooth started to hurt in May. My dentist referred me to an endodontist that I saw this past Tuesday. The endodontist recommends pulling the tooth because it keeps getting infected. I don’t want to lose the tooth unnecessarily. What is your advice? – Thank you. Shelby from KS

Shelby,

Thank you for contacting Cornerstone Dentistry with your question.

Can You Get a Third Root Canal Tooth Instead of an Extraction?

Root canals can become re-infected if a dentist does not clean and seal them thoroughly. If the canals become infected twice and a third treatment is needed, a specialist may recommend removing the tooth. Endodontists are specialists in root canal therapy and can accurately evaluate whether a tooth is savable. Although you may request a third root canal treatment, you may still lose the tooth. A dental implant can replace it.

Should You Get a Dental Implant or a Bridge?

Standing, unassembled dental implant with crown, abutment, and screw

A dental implant can last decades

Although a dental bridge can replace a missing tooth, an implant is the most effective way to replace a missing tooth.

Consider these factors:

A dental bridge requires work on adjacent teeth—shaving them down for crown on either end of the bridge to fit over your teeth.
An implant feels and functions like a healthy natural tooth and does not require work on adjacent teeth.
Placing the implant requires surgery and three to four months of healing time. Afterward, you can receive a final dental crown. The process can take eight to twelve months.
A dental implant can last decades—even a lifetime. You will only need to replace the implant crown after years of wear.

Will Dental Insurance Cover an Implant?

An implant can cost several thousand dollars, and insurance may provide partial coverage if any. Ask your implant dentist for a pretreatment estimate to send to the insurance company. It will help you anticipate out-of-pocket costs for an implant.

Schedule a consultation with one or two advanced implant dentists to discuss your options.

Sugar Land, Texas, dentist Dr. Siny Thomas sponsors this post.

Are Porcelain Veneers the Only Option for My Short Teeth?

Posted on June 29, 2022 by AllSmiles.

My short teeth can make me self-conscious about smiling. Are porcelain veneers the only solution for lengthening my teeth? I’m 50 years old, but although it’s late in life, I want to do something about my short teeth. I prefer not to have my teeth shaved for veneers, and I am concerned the cost. I read that porcelain veneers cost more than $1,000 per tooth! I do not want to incur debt for veneers. Thank you. Paige from Naperville, IL

Paige,

Thank you for contacting Dr. Thomas’s office with your question.

Before suggesting any treatment, an artistic cosmetic dentist will examine your tooth structure and gums to determine the cause of your short teeth and the best options to improve their appearance. Still, porcelain veneers are not the only option for lengthening short teeth.

How Can You Lengthen Short Teeth?

Cosmetic dentistry options for lengthening short teeth include porcelain veneers and other options:

Cosmetic bonding – Dental composite can lengthen your teeth beautifully, costing less than porcelain veneers. A skilled cosmetic dentist has a variety of composites available and knows how to manipulate them to match the color, characteristics, and translucence of your natural teeth. You may choose to get your teeth whitened before lengthening them. Your cosmetic dentist will match the bonding to your brightened teeth. A cosmetic dentist takes these steps for bonding:
- Clean and etch your teeth
- Select shades of bonding that match your natural tooth color
- Apply, shape, harden, and polish the bonding
The bonding will look like your natural teeth. If you take diligent care of it, high-quality bonding can last five to ten years before a cosmetic dentist must replace it. Composite is not as durable as porcelain veneers, so a dentist must polish it periodically.

Gum contouring – If you have a gummy smile, a dentist may use a dental laser to reduce gum tissue and contour your gums around your teeth. Gum contouring is an option only if gum contouring will not expose tooth roots. Your teeth will look longer.
Porcelain veneers – The dentist will bond thin wafers of porcelain to the fronts of your teeth. Cosmetic dentists conservatively prepare teeth for the veneers—removing a fraction of a millimeter of tooth enamel to prevent the veneers from looking bulky. Porcelain is colorfast and stain resistant. Veneers can last 15 years or more and produce beautiful results. Only allow a trained dentist and hygienist to maintain them to prevent damaging the glaze on the surfaces.
Porcelain crowns – A dental crown covers the entire tooth. A dentist must shave down your natural teeth on all sides to ensure the crowns fits over them. A cosmetic dentist would not recommend this option unless your short teeth are so damaged or worn that veneers or other treatment would not work. Dentists bond custom crowns to your natural teeth. Crowns look natural and cost less than porcelain veneers, but a dentist must remove more structure from your teeth than with veneers. If you take diligent care of them, your crowns can last 15 years or longer.

One porcelain veneer - available from Sugar Land cosmetic dentist Dr. Siny Thomas

Veneers are not the only option for lengthening short teeth

Regardless of which treatment you receive, the quality, beauty, and durability depend on the dentist’s skill. Only an artistic cosmetic dentist can produce the most natural-looking results while lengthening your teeth.

Schedule Consultations

We suggest finding two or three cosmetic dentists and scheduling consultations with them. Before you schedule appointments, look for the following:

Post-graduate training in cosmetic dentistry
Years of experience in cosmetic dentistry
Credentials
Before-and-after photos of the dentist’s actual patients with cases like yours

Each dentist should explain the options for lengthening your short teeth and the results you can expect from each option.

Sugar Land, Texas, cosmetic dentist Dr. Siny Thomas sponsors this post.

I Need Two Dental Implants. Will They Hurt?

Posted on June 27, 2022 by AllSmiles.

I was born with two missing teeth. I got braces late in life compared to a teenager. It was so hard for me to go to the orthodontist for checkups. The braces hurt, and when my orthodontist adjusted the wire, I was not happy for days. I do NOT like pain, any pain at all. Now that I am 37 years old and my teeth are straight from braces, I am getting dental implants. I don’t know how much pain to expect with the implants. Do dental implants hurt? Thank you for your candid answer. – Danita from Solon, Ohio

Danita – Thank you for your question. Your implant dentist will make surgery comfortable for you.

Do Dental Implants Hurt?

An implant dentist will use a local anesthetic and sedation for a comfortable experience

Dental implants do not hurt. In addition to numbing the surgical sites with a local anesthetic, your implant dentist can use sedation to help you relax during the surgery. Different levels of sedation are available depending on your anxiety and the complexity of the surgery.

After implant surgery

After surgery, when the anesthesia wears off, you will likely experience mild discomfort that you can minimize with over-the-counter pain relievers. If your implant dentist anticipates that your case will require a more potent pain reliever, they will prescribe it. Take pain reliever on time as your doctor prescribes or instructs, and you will remain as comfortable as possible.

Swelling and discomfort are your body’s reactions to surgery. They will peak within two to three days after surgery. The following week, your discomfort should improve. If it persists or worsens, call your dental implant surgeon.

Schedule a consultation with a skilled implant dentist to discuss your case and concerns. After an exam and 3-D CT scan, the dentist will explain your treatment plan. The complexity of the surgery and whether you need preparatory procedures can affect how much discomfort you experience. Your implant dentist will plan accordingly to keep you as comfortable as possible.

Sugar Land, Texas dentist Dr. Siny Thomas sponsors this post. Dr. Thomas received advanced implant training and is a Fellow of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists.

My Tooth-Colored Fillings Don’t Match My Teeth

Posted on June 9, 2022 by AllSmiles.

My dentist wants to replace my discolored fillings near the top of my six front teeth with Lumineers. I’ve had “white” fillings for three years, but they never matched my tooth color. The fillings look beige and are already darkening and seem to look worse after brushing my teeth. Teeth bleaching doesn’t help.

Lumineers seem aggressive to me, so I am looking online for options. I found some websites about holistic dentists who do conservative treatments and will try to keep my tooth structure. It is not clear to me what they use for fillings, though. Would another type of filling work for my teeth? What do holistic dentists use? – Many thanks. Viviana M. from GA

Viviana,

Your fillings do not match your tooth color because the dentist who placed them did not understand how to blend composite to match your teeth. If you carefully select an advanced cosmetic dentist who uses composite fillings, they can achieve a perfect match.

What Do Holistic Dentists Use for Fillings?

Holistic dentists use mercury-free composite fillings. Dental composite is a blend of plastic resin and silica (glass or quartz). Still, for dentists to replace your fillings and perfectly match your natural teeth, they need post-graduate cosmetic dentistry training.

Matching White Fillings with Your Teeth

Dental bonding materials are available for every tooth shade. A skilled dentist can blend bonding to give you tooth-colored fillings that match natural teeth in these aspects:

Translucence
Color
Gloss
Texture

Dental Bonding vs. Lumineers

You do not need Lumineers or another brand of veneers to replace tooth fillings. Unless your teeth have deteriorated and the decay covers more than one-third of each tooth, a dentist will not recommend porcelain veneers. Your description of your teeth is that the composite filling does not match them. Veneers are too invasive as an alternative for fillings that do not match.

We suggest looking for a cosmetic dentist who only uses composite fillings. Their training and experience will help them match your teeth with conservative treatment.

Sugar Land, Texas cosmetic dentist Dr. Siny Thomas sponsors this post.