Willow Dental Toronto Cosmetic Dentistry Blog

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Monday, March 19, 2012

Preventive Dentistry

Preventive dentistry is the branch of general dentistry designed to preserve your natural teeth and gums. It includes oral hygiene and the detection and treatment of minor oral health problems before they become major problems.

Preventive dentistry is the best kind of dentistry. Why? Preventive dentistry is:

• Less expensive
• Associated with less discomfort
• More effective
• More attractive

Effective preventive dentistry enables you to keep your own teeth for a lifetime of healthy, attractive smiles. Your regular dental visits are an important part of preventive dentistry. At your visits we will clean your teeth thoroughly, removing any plaque or tartar buildup. We may recommend additional treatments if necessary, such as the filling of small cavities to prevent them from developing into larger ones.

An equally important part of preventive dentistry is your at-home care routine. During your visits, we can notice if buildup or decay patterns might suggest a change in your routine.

To learn more about protecting your teeth and gums from decay, please contact Willow Dental in Toronto Mississauga for a consultation.

posted by Megan P at 10:42 AM

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

What Your Teeth and Gums Say about Your Health

Your mouth is part of your body, and general health problems are often reflected there. Take a look at your teeth and gums to see signs that you may be at risk for common health problems.

• Worn, chipped, or cracked teeth may be a sign of stress. Stress can also impact your cortisol levels--a stress hormone that can adversely affect your overall health.
• Smoking stains on your teeth are a visible reminder of the damage being done to your heart, blood vessels, and lungs.
• Gum disease, characterized by red, swollen, bleeding gums and loose teeth, is a visible sign that you may be at increased risk for a number of serious health conditions, including:

o Diabetes
o Heart disease
o Secondary infections
o Alzheimer's
o Pregnancy complications like premature birth and low birth weight

Although we are not certain of the full extent of the tie between oral health and general health, we do know there is a connection, and it may be very serious. Oral hygiene is an important part of overall health maintenance.

To improve your oral health and general health, please contact Willow Dental in Mississauga today for an appointment.

posted by Megan P at 11:00 AM

Monday, January 30, 2012

How Do I Take Care of My Dental Implant?

The best way to take care of your dental implant is to take care of your mouth. Unlike other tooth replacement options, such as denture or a dental bridge, your dental implant will require no additional special care whatsoever. As a reminder, here's what you need to do:

• Brush your teeth twice a day
• Floss your teeth once a day
• Have your regularly scheduled check-ups

That's all. No muss. No fuss. Just basic oral hygiene. That's the beauty of dental implants. (Well, that and the highly aesthetic porcelain crown.)

If you live in the Toronto area and are interested in learning more about what makes dental implants so special, please contact Willow Dental in Mississauga to schedule a consultation with our implant dentist today.

posted by Megan P at 11:12 AM

Monday, December 5, 2011

Are Dental Implants Right for Me?

Dental implants are the best replacement option for a missing tooth, but that doesn't mean that they're right for everyone. Here are some reasons why you may not be able to have dental implants:

• Too little bone density
• Advanced gum disease
• Certain chronic diseases
• Poor general health
• Heavy smoking
• Alcohol abuse

In most of these cases, you can overcome these obstacles to become a dental implant candidate. If you have too little bone, then a bone graft can be used to allow you to get a dental implant. If you have gum disease, it can be treated first in order to allow you to become a candidate. You can hopefully quit smoking or give up alcohol to improve your candidacy. In other words, many people can be candidates for dental implants.

In order to get good results from dental implants, you have to be dedicated to the procedure. You have to have the dedication to take care of other issues first. You have to be committed to following care instructions after your procedure. Finally, you have to have the patience to last out the dental implant process, which may take over a year if you need additional treatment (such as a bone graft) to become a candidate.

If you live in the Toronto area and are committed to getting your dental implants, please contact Willow Dental in Mississauga, Ontario for a free consultation.

posted by Megan P at 11:32 AM

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

What Is the Recovery Time for Dental Implants?

If you are considering dental implants, one of the essential factors you have to take into account is how long your recovery will be. It is impossible to tell you what the recovery time will be for your dental implant until you come in for a consultation. In some cases, you may be able to come in, have a tooth removed, and have an implant base placed immediately. In other cases, you may have to wait up to six months before you can have a permanent crown placed.

Some of the factors that will govern how long your recovery time will be are:
  • Placement of the dental implant is one of the biggest factors. A molar generally experiences much more stress during chewing than any of your anterior teeth, so we will have to wait longer for integration of the dental implant. Also, the bone in your lower jaw is generally denser than in your upper jaw, so lower teeth do not require as long a recovery period.
  • Health of your mouth is another big factor. If your mouth is constantly battling at the edge of gum disease, your recovery will be longer than if you have a completely healthy mouth.
  • Health of your bite can impact your recovery time. If you have a healthy bite where all the forces are properly balanced, you will be able to have the final dental crown placed sooner than if your bite puts imbalanced force on the dental implant.
  • Your general health can also impact your recovery time. If you are in good general health with good circulation and proper nutrition, your recovery time will likely be less.
If you are considering dental implants in the Toronto area, our implant dentist can help you understand and plan for your personal recovery time.

To schedule a consultation, please contact Willow Dental in Mississauga today.

posted by Megan P at 12:51 PM

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Smoking and Dental Implants

If you are considering getting one or more dental implants to replace your missing teeth, now might be a great time to quit smoking. Smoking is not only bad for your mouth as a whole and may have contributed to your initial loss of teeth, it dramatically inhibits your body's ability to recover from the dental implant procedure, increasing your risk of dental implant failure.

Smoking is toxic to the mouth and in particular the support structures of your teeth, the very tissues that you depend on to incorporate and support your dental implants. Smoking also reduces the blood supply to your bone, making it harder for your bone to recover from the stress of dental implant placement.

And the hazardous effects of smoking don’t stop there. Once your dental implant is finished incorporating itself into your jawbone, it is still at risk from smoking. Smoking decreases your body's ability to respond to bacterial attack. Studies have shown that up to 90% of patients with refractory periodontitis, a progressive destructive form of gum disease, are smokers. If your mouth is made vulnerable to bacterial attack, it is more likely that your body will suffer an infection which will attack the bone around the dental implant, leading to failure of the implant.

How dramatic is the effect of smoking on dental implant failure? One of the largest studies on the problem shows that dental implants are twice as likely to failure in smokers as in non-smokers (4% vs. 2%). A smaller study paints an even more graphic picture. In this study, patients who smoked a pack a day had a dental implant failure rate of nearly 31%, as opposed to a 1.4% failure rate for non-smoking patients.

Heavy smoking could make you a poor candidate for dental implants, and at the very least you will be asked to stop smoking temporarily before and after the procedure.

To learn more about dental implants, please contact Willow Dental, helping patients in the Toronto area from our office in Mississauga, Ontario.

posted by Megan P at 12:48 PM

Monday, September 26, 2011

Why Do I Need Dental Implants?

When you lose a tooth, you may find it uncomfortable and a minor inconvenience when eating, but mistakenly assume that this is the extent of the damage. The truth is that even a single missing tooth can compromise the oral health of your entire mouth, putting your other teeth at risk of falling out and leaving you vulnerable to many other dental problems.

A missing tooth poses several dangers:

  • Shifting of your remaining teeth
  • Bone loss, eventually leading to future tooth loss
  • Increased risk of gum disease and infection
  • Food becoming impacted in the empty socket
  • Atrophied facial muscles

As time passes, these problems will become more pronounced. If you have lost a tooth, your best course of action is to have it replaced as soon as possible with a dental implant. If you wait too long, you will lose too much bone at the site where the tooth is missing, rendering an implant impossible to place. For those patients who do not have enough bone left to support an implant, dental crowns and bridges are available.

Dental implants are the most successful and durable method of replacing missing teeth. Once installed, implants look and function almost exactly like your natural teeth, and can last just as long through careful care and maintenance. Best of all, once an implant is placed, it will stop any bone loss and prevent future problems in that area.

If you have recently lost a tooth, please contact our experienced Toronto implant dentistry team at Willow Dental today to schedule a consultation. Let us help you restore your smile and protect your teeth for years to come.

posted by Megan P at 12:33 PM