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Ask the Dental ExpertsOur philosophy is to help our patients achieve and maintain exceptional dental health. We work hard to make sure that our level of care is deserving of our patients’ respect and confidence. Our tradition of preventive dentistry is the basis for all service and care in our practice. We welcome all questions and comments regarding dentistry in the hope that we increase your dental "IQ" and help you make better dental health decisions. What is the number scale that hygienists use to measure the amount of recession going on? Does it have a name and is it universally used in the USA?
Dentistry uses the metric system for measurement. In assessing periodontal bone and/or soft tissue loss, the measurements would be in millimeters. The most common measurement is the depth of the periodontal pocket, in which we use a periodontal probe to measure the distance from the base of the gingival pocket to the gingival crest. The norm is approximately 2-3 mm, and deeper than this basically reflects periodontal bone loss.
When there is also recession of tissue, the facial root surface is exposed. Measurement of tissue loss and recession would be from the cervical line (where the enamel ends) to the height of the exposed root.
Adding these 2 numbers together would show total loss – bone lost in pocket + facial soft tissue lost.
There are a variety of ways to gather records, but these are the parameters that we are trying to assess. Individual clinicians would have different techniques and methods.Labels: gum recession, periodontal treatment, soft tissue grafts
 Crown lengthening is used to correct a condition called a gummy smile which occurs when teeth appear to be too small or too short. This condition can be the result of several things. Periodontal disease can cause excess gum tissue to overlap teeth and make them look much smaller than they are. If a tooth was previously filled with primitive amalgam fillings or capped with a gold crown, it can decay and lose significant surface area without the person even knowing this. When the cap or filling falls out, what remains of the tooth appears to retreat into the gum line. Also, teeth can break off right at the gums and appear to be completely missing.
Most dentists in past decades would have pulled these teeth. This is not so today. Crown lengthening enables dentists today to save and completely restore these teeth with a simple surgical procedure.  The surgery can be performed with traditional instruments, or with the PerioLase® MVP-7 laser used in LANAP. The choice of surgical tools depends on factors that from the patient’s medical history, the presence of gum disease, and whether or not the tooth itself has been subject to decay or severe impact. The dentist will make this decision, take x-rays of the mouth, and then commence with the surgery.The surgery itself is a simple procedure performed under local anesthetic to kill the pain. The dentist makes small incisions in the gums and pulls them back. Excess gum and bone tissue is then reshaped until the desired amount of tooth surface is exposed. The dentist then replaces and stitches the gums with tiny sutures.  After a prescribed healing time, the stitches are removed and the tooth is covered with a porcelain crown. This cosmetic dental crown will provide a hard chewing surface that will allow the person to eat a normal diet, and it will prevent further tooth decay from occurring underneath its surface.  Crown lengthening offers a good many benefits that make it a very popular treatment here at the Medical Center Dental Group. It can improve periodontal health by being one of several steps taken in the treatment of gum disease. Porcelain dental crowns serve as a buffer against excessive and unhealthy gum growth by providing a solid, uniform surface gums can attach themselves too. This procedure has proven highly effective in saving teeth that would have otherwise had to have been pulled. On a purely subjective level, crown lengthening also lays the foundation for advanced cosmetic dental work that allows the patient to also eat a normal diet without fear of damaging their teeth. For more information on related topics, visit the following links on our main website: Labels: cosmetic dental crowns, crown lengthening, gummy smile, periodontal surgery, periodontal treatment, porcelain crowns
 PerioLase® MVP-7 is a very popular ND: YAG laser used in periodontal surgery. It allows for precision removal of diseased tissue in a manner that is far less invasive than traditional methods of cutting tissue away with metal tools. Because of this, it keeps pain and the risk of infection to a very low minimum, and has become equally popular with dentists and with patients throughout the United States and Canada.
There are many benefits that the PerioLase® MVP-7 offers to patients besides minimized discomfort:
-Laser heat acts to cauterize gum tissue and thus minimize bleeding. It also helps prevent damage to surrounding healthy mouth tissues.
-Healing time is much shorter as a result.
-Gums tend to be less sensitive when treated with the PerioLase® MVP-7 as opposed to being cut with surgical tools.
-LANAP takes less time and thus is better for busy professionals who need to minimize time spent in the dental chair. Less, if any, post-procedural medication is ever required after treatment with a PerioLase® MVP-7.
Although it only weighs 43 pounds, the PerioLase® is one of the most sophisticated and precision instruments used at the Houston Medical Center Dental Group. Its range of settings allows it to be used for any number of soft tissue dental procedures in addition to its regular use in LANAP.
A tilting, touch-screen monitor allows the dentist to monitor the accuracy of the device. The dentist can select any setting for the treatment he or she is performing through a procedure-driven menu displayed on the touch screen. For LANAP, a special mode has already been hard-wired into the PerioLase® MVP-7 and can be further adjusted through a joule counter that allows the dentist to fine tune the heat output of the laser.
The PerioLase® can be used while mounted on its mobile cart during LANAP, or it used while stationed on a tabletop. The infrared pulses of the laser periodontal probe causes the tip to glow a very warm read color, which provides the dentist with a guide light for precisely cutting tissue and cleaning off root surface tartar. When the laser is emitting infrared pulses, its tip glows a warm red color, giving the dentist both a light and a guide for the precision cutting of diseased pockets and the cleaning of root surface tarter. Learn more about LPT here:LANAPLaser Periodontal TherapyGum DiseaseLANAP Post Operative Instructions
LANAP is the preferred method of treating periodontal disease at the Cosmetic Dentistry Center. Call today to see if this new technology can help restore the health and beauty of your smile. Labels: LANAP, ND: YAG laser, periodontal treatment, The PerioLase® MVP-7 Dental Laser
Dentists estimate that more that 80 percent of the American population has a form of gum disease. However, it is also estimated that only 3% of these people ever seek professional help. Many people assume that gum disease is really not big deal. In reality, there are a number of complications it can lead to that are very severe, or even possibly life threatening.
- The bacteria that cause gum disease can get into the blood and infect internal organs. This can increase the risk of coronary disease, stroke, and infective endocartitis.
- Breathing these bacteria can affect the lungs and cause diseases like obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema.
- These bacteria can also affect increase production of prostaglandins (hormones that trigger labor) in pregnant women, leading to premature birth.
There are several stages of gum disease, each being more severe than the other. The sooner you get help, the easier Periodontitis is to treat.
Gingivitis
This first stage of gum disease, characterized by gums that are inflamed, red in color, and that frequently bleed. This stage is completely reversible, and presents no risk of bone loss, if it is caught in time.
Mild Periodontitis
At this stage of gum disease, tissues begin to separate from teeth, resulting in gum recession and deep pockets characterized by probing depths of 3-4 mm.
Moderate Periodontitis
This next phase of gum disease is more severe, and can result in bone loss between 4-6mm. Bad breath, loose teeth, and sore gums also appear at this point. Moderate Periodontitis is irreversible with hygiene alone, but it can still be managed.
Advanced Periodontitis
Deep pockets at this stage of gum disease can be 6mm or more in depth and can only be treated by surgery or LANAP.
Refractory Periodontitis
Bone loss and impending tooth loss are inevitable at this point. However, even this stage of Periodontitis can be reversed with cosmetic dentistry. Tooth splints can be used, and some teeth can be extracted and replaced with bridges. Selective teeth can be extracted if need be and replaced with bridges. The best option, however, is a combination of LANAP (also known as Laser Periodontal Therapy) and cosmetic dental implants. LANAP is less invasive than previously preferred forms of surgery, and offers the benefits of speedier recovery time and less damage to healthy tissues.
LANAP
Laser Periodontal Therapy
PerioLase Laser Treatment
LANAP Post Operative Instructions
Gum disease is nothing to take lightly. If you have any of the symptoms described above, you should call our office and schedule an appointment as soon as possible. If we can catch Periodontitis soon enough, only minimal treatment will be needed to restore a bright and healthy smile to you. Labels: Gum Disease, LANAP, laser assisted new attachment procedure, laser periodontal therapy, periodontal surgery, periodontal treatment
Dental fillings are some of the most common treatments used in general dentistry.
If left to itself, tooth decay can destroy a whole tooth. Generally, a dentist will fill the tooth when 50 percent of it has been destroyed. Traditionally, silver-mercury amalgam fillings were used for this purpose, but this practice is rapidly declining. This is because silver-mercury amalgams are made from metal, and any kind of metal will expand and contract when exposed to extremes of heat or cold. This in turn puts a strain on the tooth that carries the filling, and the tooth can either crack from this strain, or become infected by bacteria that enter under the filling.
It is becoming more and more of a general consensus throughout all dental specialties that there are much better materials for filling teeth. Composite materials made from certain types of resin, for example, can now be custom-made to mimic the teeth, or they can be made to whiten the teeth.ort and strength. Whereas a filling will weaken a tooth over a period of time by as much as 50 percent, a composite filling made from resin or porcelain can actually strengthen a tooth up to 75 percent.
There are also a number of treatments that can now replace the old silver-mercury amalgams previously used in general dentistry.
Dental Crowns
Dental crowns act like caps over teeth. This is why they are sometimes called caps. Crowning a cracked tooth keeps it from fracturing completely, because it actually creates an entirely new surface area for an entirely new surface area for the tooth. Crowns in the past were sometimes made of gold. Gold is soft and clashes with the color of natural teeth. Cosmetic Dentists these days use exclusively porcelain dental crowns. This is because porcelain is very hard and nonporous, and also because porcelain mimics the translucence of natural tooth enamel.
Porcelain crowns are formed in a mold of the individual teeth of the patient, and frequently look better than the original teeth when they are installed.
Cosmetic Dental Inlays and Onlays
Like dental crowns, inlays are made from porcelain. However, they do not cover the entire tooth surface, but instead fit over the cusp (tip) of the tooth. Dentists use porcelain that is colored to mimic the existing color of teeth so the inlays will go unnoticed. To give the best possible fit, the dentist creates a temporary inlay, and then takes an impression which is used to cast the permanent, porcelain inlay. The dentist bonds it to the tooth and polishes it to create a cosmetic, natural, and healthy-looking appearance.
Onlays resemble inlays, but they are used for more substantial reconstructions. Often onlays are used to repair the damaged portion of a tooth in lieu of capping the tooth with a crown.
Root canals
General dentistry practices have long relied upon the root canal as the best strategy for saving a tooth that is badly infected and whose root is dying. In the inner pulp of a tooth, all the blood vessel canals and nerves connect to the root. If this area becomes infected, the root and surrounding tissue begins to die, General dentists long ago realized that removing diseased pulp and thorough disinfection of the pulp chamber and the canals that connect it to the bloodstream and nervous system.
Even the tooth is technically dead, its normal chewing function and cosmetic appearance can be saved through this procedure. This practice is used in both cosmetic and general dentistry in order to avoid tooth extraction.
Although general dentistry abound throughout Houston and all of Texas, why not get these procedures done here at the Cosmetic Dentistry Center in the Medical Center? Not only will you get fantastic medical care, but a more attractive smile at the end of the day.
Even better, the sophisticated technology we use for many otherwise very painful general dentistry procedures (such as periodontal treatments) makes treatment here much more relaxed and painless.Labels: cosmetic dentistry, dental crowns, dental inlays, dental onlays, general dentistry, periodontal surgery, periodontal treatment, root canals
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