Dentures and Dental Implants Seattle

For many patients, the dental cleaning appointment may seem little more than a more complicated version of brushing your teeth. However, this appoinment plays a crucial role in patient education and prevention of dental disease. The appointment is called a “dental prophylaxis,” or “prophy” and it’s one of the most important steps in your dental care program. Here are some of the elements that it may include, depending on your needs: – Oral hygiene evaluation – Tooth brushing and flossing instructions – Scaling above the gum to remove plaque and tartar – Debridement of tartar beneath the gum – Polishing the teeth – Periodontal charting It’s important to remove plaque from the teeth as it ultimately forms a hard, rough sediment known as tartar or calculus, which must be removed by a dental professional to help prevent periodontal disease. Polishing the teeth removes stains and creates a feeling of fresh breath and a clean mouth. The hygienist or dentist may recom

Orthodontic treatment is the process of straightening out crooked and crowded teeth, often using appliances such as braces. Most dentists are trained to treat some minor orthodontic problems but, if they feel a patient needs specialist treatment, they will provide a referral to an orthodontist. An orthodontist is a dentist who specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of dental and facial irregularities. One of the main aims of orthodontics is to straighten teeth and correct jaw alignment through braces, corrective procedures and other “appliances”. Braces are the most common appliance and there are two types: – Fixed, which are worn all the time and can only be removed by the dentist – Removable, which the patient can take out of the mouth Most patients wear braces for between one and three years, depending on what conditions need correcting. This is followed by a period of wearing a “retainer” that holds teeth in their new positions. There may be a little

People who are new to wearing dentures naturally have many questions about how their life will change. New dentures may feel awkward for a few weeks until you become accustomed to them. The dentures may feel loose while the muscles of your cheek and tongue learn to keep them in place. During this time, it’s not unusual to experience minor irritation or soreness. You may find that saliva flow temporarily increases. As your mouth becomes accustomed to the dentures, these problems should diminish. Dentures can be made to closely resemble your natural teeth so that little change in appearance will be noticeable. Dentures may even improve the look of your smile and help fill out the appearance of your face and profile. Eating will take a little practice. Start with soft foods cut into small pieces. Chew slowly using both sides of your mouth at the same time to prevent the dentures from tipping. As you become accustomed to chewing, add other foods until you return to your normal d

When you put food in your mouth, it immediately meets the bacteria that live there. Plaque, for example, is a sticky film of bacteria. These bacteria love the sugars found in many foods. So, when you don’t clean your teeth after eating, the bacteria and the sugar can combine to produce acids which can destroy the enamel – the hard surface of the tooth. In time, this can lead to tooth decay. The more often you eat and the longer foods are in your mouth, the more damage occurs. Many foods that are nutritious and important in our diet contain sugars – such as fruits, milk, bread, cereals and even vegetables. So the key is not to try and avoid sugar but to think before you eat. When you eat is also important because each time you eat food that contains sugars, the teeth are attacked by acids for 20 minutes or more. This means that foods that are eaten as part of a meal cause less harm. More saliva is released during a meal, helping to wash foods from the mouth and reduce the