Why Your Front Teeth Don’t Touch (And What To Do)

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If you have gone through life with back teeth that touch but front teeth that cannot come in contact with one another, you may be dealing with a malocclusion known as an open bite. The severity of the opening between your top and bottom anterior teeth can vary. As a result, you may find that when you inquire about what to do, your general dentist recommends you seek out an oral surgeon who performs orthognathic surgery. To find out more regarding what’s going on with your smile and how to approach making improvements, we strongly encourage you to come to our practice, so we can meet you, examine your smile, and help you achieve a balanced bite.

About Your Open Bite

The term open bite refers to a bite in which back teeth touch but front teeth on top and bottom are positioned outward in such a way that they do not touch one another. This can result in a variety of side effects, such as damaging the esthetic quality of your smile, affecting your daily quality of life, and placing excess stress on back teeth and jaw joints. In some instances, open bite is treatable with orthodontic care. If you are dealing with skeletal open bite, however, you may require orthognathic surgery.

We Offer Surgery

Our team of oral surgeons perform orthognathic surgery (or jaw surgery) to correct the alignment of your teeth and jaws, which will result in a balanced bite, improved quality of life, and an improved profile and cosmetic balance to your smile. Call us to schedule a consultation, so we can provide you with a more thorough outlook on how surgery can help.

ABOUT YOUR SANTA ROSA, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Keep Your Smile Healthy After Implants

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You have received dental implants and your smile is gorgeous and complete! What an accomplishment! Now, the only trick is to make sure you avoid future tooth loss, protect your implants, and that you do so by … well, how exactly are you supposed to do that, you wonder? The truth is, it’s as simple as caring for your oral health through proper dental hygiene and maintaining professional dental services. If you think to yourself, “easier said than done,” then you are in for a treat! The steps are actually extremely simple and effective.

Keep Things Healthy At Home

When you think about caring for your smile and your dental implants, you may feel a quick rush of anxiety. You can go ahead and let this go because there’s not much to think about. Your dental care that you practiced at home before your implants is going to look nearly identical after you have received those implants. Brushing (2x daily) and flossing (1x daily) is still the norm. You just might need to add a threader or superfloss in there for easier flossing around your implants (don’t worry, we can help you with that).

Schedule Those Appointments!

Guess what? Your visits for preventive dental care aren’t really going to change after you receive dental implants either. You’re still going to be expected to see your general dentist for cleanings and exams once every six months (that’s only twice a year) to ensure all remains healthy. Essentially, what we’re saying is that your daily hygiene and long-term care is just as easy as it ever was!

ABOUT YOUR ROHNERT PARK, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Start The Year Off Right: Schedule A Visit!

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Have you been working with your general dentist who has suggested you visit an oral surgeon? Has it been awhile since you’ve discovered you need a particular treatment but you just haven’t found the motivation to make any forward movement on the matter? Whatever the case, we find that the best first step toward caring for your oral health is often to simply schedule a visit with us. Let us offer up the helpful nudge you need to hit the ground running in the New Year!

Call Our Practice

Before you talk yourself out of scheduling a visit with us, convince yourself that you’ll just wait another month, wonder if you really need an oral surgeon, or anything else that might cross your mind, go ahead and clear your head. Then, call our practice. Let us know that you may require our care for your oral health and that you would like to get started (even if you’re not sure exactly how your journey toward a healthier smile will unfold). We are happy to see you and offer our opinion.

Check Out Our Website

Whether you have been told you need your wisdom teeth removed, you think you might want dental implants, you want to come in (but you’re unsure about payment options), you’re curious about other patients’ experiences, or otherwise, our website offers a wealth of information! Once you’ve got your consultation with us on the books, you may wish to spend a little time making your way through our services, patient information and testimonials. You can get to know a bit more about each oral surgeon at our practice, what we offer, and more!

ABOUT YOUR SANTA ROSA, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

When to be Concerned About Wisdom Teeth

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When you get right down to it, worrying often isn’t very helpful. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a time for concern. Wisdom teeth are a good example. For a toddler at an initial checkup, there is no need to worry about wisdom teeth. These third molars (the dental designation of wisdom teeth) emerge in young adults usually between the ages of about 17 and 25. Regular checkups and dental x-rays help keep an eye on developing wisdom teeth. Your dentist can discuss with you when wisdom teeth might need attention. (more…)

Implants: What Are You Looking To Achieve?

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When you’re looking for a way to replace your missing teeth and you feel that dental implants are the answer to your tooth loss concerns, you may be surprised by your options. Choosing implants isn’t a one-option choice. Instead, you have multiple pathways down which to travel as you replace your teeth and complete your smile. To find out more regarding your tooth loss pattern and your options, we encourage you to take a quick glance at the particulars.

Just One Missing Tooth

If you are just missing one tooth, you have one option if you wish to receive dental implants: You may choose a single crown implant. This means we will place one implant post within the open socket. Then, we will restore that post with a dental crown.

Multiple Teeth Side-by-Side

Perhaps you are missing several teeth all in a row. If so, you have two options.

  • First: You may choose single implants as already explained, replacing one tooth at a time.
  • Second: You may choose an implant-retained dental bridge to restore your missing teeth. We will generally place two implants, which will offer solid support to a modified dental bridge.

Scattered Teeth

Do you have teeth that are missing throughout your arch, though they are not all next to each other? This may be something we can most easily address with the use of dental implants and the placement of a partial denture. You may, of course, also choose to replace these teeth with single implants.

A Complete Arch

You can restore a full arch of teeth with single crown dental implants. Then again, you may wish to receive a full denture that has been modified to fit securely over carefully placed implants for amazing stability.

ABOUT YOUR SANTA ROSA, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Happy Holidays (And Don’t Forget About Your Smile)!

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We wouldn’t be an oral surgery practice, of course, if we could make it through a single sentence without reminding you about your smile. While the upcoming holiday weekend is going to be chock full of surprises and fun, we would like to help offer the slightest morsel of a recommendation: Take a little bit of our advice to heart, so you wake up on Monday morning with a smile that’s still healthy, comfortable, and in wonderful shape. Now that we’ve made our suggestion for responsible merriment, we send out our warmest wishes for a lovely celebration!

Skip Foods On The Dangerous List

When you look at a food that you know could potentially (and quickly) damage your smile, whether you have dental implants in place, a natural smile, you have oral surgery scheduled for the future, or otherwise: Skip it. You will always be much happier with intact teeth than without!

Say Yes To Indulging If You Wish

Want to indulge in that apple pie, hot cocoa, sugar cookie, and the list goes on and on? Go ahead! Just remember that it’s all about keeping your smile clean as often as you can. When you coat it in sugar, be sure to rinse it with water. When possible, go ahead and brush after snacks and desserts, too.

Remember To Brush And Floss

Remember that during your holiday celebration, plaque isn’t going to be off on a vacation. As always, it will coat your teeth. Avoid encouraging future problems by brushing and flossing as you usually do.

Don’t Let The Merriment Sweep You Up

Planning on contacting us to discuss your upcoming oral surgery? Need a consultation? While it’s important you don’t forget to relax this weekend, it’s equally important you remember to pick up where you left off afterwards. Need a visit? Pick up the phone and call our team, we would love to hear from you.

ABOUT YOUR ROHNERT PARK, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Q&A: Impacted Wisdom Teeth

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Are you less curious about whether or not you will require wisdom teeth removal and a lot more interested in understanding why impacted wisdom teeth occur? Since this extremely common concern is something you might not know much about (but that may also be the potential cause of future oral surgery for you), we are always happy to provide our patients with the essential knowledge that makes third molars less of a mystery. Enjoy an introduction to the details with a Q&A session!

Questions and Answers: Impacted Third Molars

Question: What are impacted wisdom teeth? I know that it’s a dangerous problem that results in the need for wisdom teeth removal but I’m not really sure what it means.

Answer: These are your third molars (the final set of molars to develop after your two previous sets). If they are impacted, they will not be able to come in (erupt) fully or correctly.

Question: Do all people end up with impacted wisdom teeth? Should I just assume this has already happened to me or that it will affect my children?

Answer: This does not affect everyone, though it is quite common. Some individuals experience full, healthy eruption of wisdom teeth. Others do not develop third molars at all.

Question: Why do wisdom teeth become impacted? Is there something I could have done to prevent this?

Answer: In most instances, no, there’s nothing you can do preventively to stop your wisdom teeth from becoming impacted. You may (and should), however, agree to wisdom teeth removal if your teeth are impacted. Impaction is generally the result of insufficient room for teeth to grow in and erupt.

ABOUT YOUR SANTA ROSA, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Help! My Implant Feels Sensitive!

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Have you been wondering what’s going on with your oral health because you are experiencing dental implant sensitivity? Are you scratching your head regarding the sensations you’re feeling because you know that your implant and restoration have no nerves, which means something else must be going on? The good news is that letting us know the moment something doesn’t feel quite right is your best bet in resolving the problem and regaining your comfort. As for what might be happening and what to do, consider some helpful words of advice.

What Could It Be?

If you’re experiencing sensitivity that you attribute to a sensitive dental implant, multiple things might be going on. In many instances, you might be experiencing sensitivity of a nearby tooth that seems like it’s your implant. This could be caused by anything from irritation to decay or infection. Or, it could be related to the gum tissue surrounding your implant. Inflammation is entirely possible and can lead to problems (or failure). Then, or course, there are also other potential factors (and solutions!).

What You Should Do

When you have a dental implant in place and sensitivity occurs, you should schedule a visit with our team immediately. Give us a call, let us know what’s happening, and come in. This gives us the opportunity to examine your smile nice and early, so if a problem has begun to affect your oral health, we can treat the issue before serious complications arise. Remember to take a deep breath, relax, and take comfort in the fact that we have helped patient after patient with concerns just like yours.

ABOUT YOUR SANTA ROSA, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Bring Us Your Severe Smile Concerns

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We have heard far too many times from patients that want help for their smiles but feel too embarrassed (or assume their oral health is too bad for care). To these worries, we always respond in the same way. We explain that from our technical standpoint as oral surgeons, we see a project that requires the appropriate treatment, simple as that! Fortunately, our techniques and technology are comprehensive and capable of addressing your smile care needs when surgery is required. Do yourself a favor: Put your concerns to the side and contact us for a visit, so we can replace your anxieties with factual details about improving your smile.

Bring Us Your Damaged Jawbone

If you are like many of our patients, you might feel like you need to hide your jawbone damage because you are embarrassed about it or feel defeated regarding your oral health. What you need to know is that ignoring jaw deterioration will only allow the problem to worsen. Come see us, so we may discuss grafting, sinus lifts, and other modes of improving your smile.

Come To Us With Missing Teeth

Our team of oral surgeons loves seeing patients with missing teeth because we offer such an extraordinary way of completing smiles after tooth loss. Don’t feel shy about the open spaces in your smile. We can assist you with dental implants and any necessary pre-implant procedures, so you get your smile back.

Show Up With Your Jaw Development Problems

We offer jaw surgery, so you can enjoy a smile that looks esthetically pleasing and that allows you to make it through your day comfortably and with normal function. While you might think this sounds like an extreme issue, it’s not. It’s something we see all the time and that we are extremely experienced in addressing. You will quickly find that meeting with oral surgeons about your jaw will shed light on the fact that it’s entirely treatable.

ABOUT YOUR ROHNERT PARK, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

An End Of Year Refresher: Dental Implant Basics

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Perhaps you are new to the exciting world of dental implants and have some questions about how to get started, what to expect, and other essential information. We are always happy to meet with patients who are just beginning to learn about replacing their missing teeth. Keep in mind that we are here to help you and that there are many ways to rely on implants as you seek out a solution to address your tooth loss. For now, let’s begin at the beginning.

About Getting Started

To begin, you won’t need to do anything strenuous or complicated. We simply suggest you pick up the phone, call our practice, and let us know you would like to come in to see our friendly team for a dental implant consultation. Then, it’s just a matter of showing up, so we can talk with you about your options, while providing more information about implants.

What To Expect

If we determine that dental implants will make a good solution for your tooth loss replacement, you will find yourself embarking on a journey that will last several months to a year (it all depends on your unique care plan). We will begin with the surgical placement of implants, which will be followed by recovery. After the posts bond with your jawbone, you will visit us to complete your tooth replacement. Fortunately, you can expect amazing stability and a smile that can last for the rest of your life.

The General Details Of Implants

The essential parts and lingo will help you as you continue your introduction into this tooth replacement option. Consider the following:

  • Dental Implant Post: This is the part of the replacement that restores your missing roots.
  • Abutment: The abutment will connect your “roots” with the rest of your “tooth” or your restoration.
  • Restoration: This is the part of your replacement that restores your tooth above your gum tissue.

ABOUT YOUR SANTA ROSA, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).