X-Rays: Answering Your Questions

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Do you feel that you have pretty good sense of what we offer at our practice as far as services go, such as dental implants and other oral surgery options? However, when it comes to the advanced imaging we gather to diagnose you and create care plans for your smile, do you find yourself lacking some much-needed information? No problem – we will be glad to talk to you about imaging during your next visit. In the meantime, become a bit more educated on the topic with a brief Q&A session.

Questions and Answers: X-Rays

Question: Do you offer the digital type of X-rays or conventional X-rays at your practice?

Answer: The advanced imaging we offer at our practice comes in the form of digital imaging. This means we rely on computer-based technology and an electrical sensor rather than film and chemicals to create images of your oral structures.

Question: Will I be able to receive all of my X-rays at your practice? Or, will I need to go to another location for specific types of advanced imaging?

Answer: We offer a comprehensive selection of imaging options at our office, so you can receive the X-rays you need under one roof. The types of X-rays we offer include the following:

  • Periapical X-rays
  • Panoramic X-rays
  • CT Scans (Cone-beam computed tomography)

Question: Are the X-rays you provide me with going to be safe and comfortable?

Answer: Yes. The advanced imaging we offer is completely comfortable. In addition, because the imaging is digital, it produces a dramatically reduced amount of radiation in comparison with conventional imaging.

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).

3 Changes When You Switch To Implants

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When you switch to dental implants from another type of prosthetic, such as a dental bridge or a denture, you will find that you experience a few very obvious changes. Learning about what to expect can help you make a final decision if you are still thinking about moving away from your current prosthetic and going forward with implants. The good news is that your choice will only prove beneficial for your smile, your life, and your oral health – let’s learn more!

Change #1: Easier Dental Hygiene

While brushing and flossing with a dental bridge or denture is not too complicated, switching to dental implants will still prove at least slightly easier. Why? Well, because replacing missing teeth with implants is like restoring your original smile. You will need to brush and floss and see us for visits. You won’t need to make special accommodations to clean hard-to-reach areas or take anything out of your mouth throughout the day.

Change #2: No Worries About Repairs

For the most part, once you invest in your dental implants, you can stop thinking about the tooth loss you have addressed. Did you know that implants have the potential to last for the rest of your life? It’s true. While a bridge or denture will require repairs or replacements every so often, your implants may last and last.

Change #3: Enjoy Optimal Stability

Your dental implants aren’t going anywhere. They aren’t slipping or moving or flying out of your mouth – they are staying right where they are, just like your natural teeth. As a result, you can enjoy your daily life without concern (which means eating and speaking become effortless again).

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).

Improving Traditional Dentures with Dental Implants

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Replacing lost teeth is more than simply vanity; it is an active step in restoring your mouth’s proper function. Your ability to bite, chew, and speak clearly diminish with every tooth lost, and replacing them can help improve your overall quality of life after suffering tooth loss. With today’s advanced dental materials and techniques, tooth loss can be addressed efficiently, even if you’ve lost most or all of your teeth on one or both of your dental ridges.

As a concept that has survived perhaps thousands of years, dentures are well-known for their ability to restore the loss of dentition. Yet, like most things, there is still room to improve on the traditional design. As an alternative to dentures, your dentist may recommend dental implants—a more complete restoration than your traditional variety.

What Dental Implants Do

Typically, restorations such as partial/full dentures and dental bridges focus on replacing the functional part of your tooth above the gum line, called the crown. Until dental implants, no replacement option could restore your tooth’s foundation—the roots. Shaped like a natural tooth root, a dental implant is surgically inserted into your jawbone, with a small abutment that protrudes above the gum line to attach your dental prosthetic.

Better Partial and Full Dentures

Traditional dentures consist of a row of life-like replacement teeth situated on a gum-colored base. Though today’s dental adhesives are highly-effective, these dentures usually begin to slip and lose their grip over time. This is in large part due to jawbone deterioration, which occurs after your teeth are uprooted; healthy roots are embedded in your jawbone, and when you bite and chew, the stimulation signals your body to send enough nutrients to support them.

When the roots are loss, the nutrition supply diminishes. Securing your dentures to a series of dental implants can restore this stimulation and help preserve your jaw’s strength, as well as provide a more secure foundation to anchor your dentures in place.

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).

3 Reasons To Address Serious Oral Problems

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When you have a general dental health problem like a cavity, it’s important to address it. If not – the problem can quickly turn more serious into something that threatens surrounding tissue. Now, let’s say you are dealing with something much more complex that is making it hard for you to eat, speak, or get through your days comfortably. You may think that receiving oral surgery is a luxury – but it can actually affect your daily quality of life. Let’s consider a few reasons to address serious oral health problems, so you feel confident about seeking the care you need.

Reason #1: The Sooner You Act, The Better

Perhaps you have an impacted wisdom tooth that we have detected. Removing it with oral surgery as soon as possible means you won’t have to worry about future cyst formation, infection, discomfort, or the sudden need for immediate surgery (which may occur). Instead, you may simply choose an extraction as a preventive measure. Treating a potentially serious issue will save you a ton of heartache, frustration, and effort.

Reason #2: You’ve Got The Rest Of Your Life

For a day, a week, or even a month, you might be able to get by with an issue like multiple missing teeth. However, after a while, you will find that completely accommodating your life around your oral health problem becomes extremely limiting. From social embarrassment to a dramatically limited diet, you may notice the future starts to look very challenging. Choose oral surgery (replacing missing teeth with implants, for instance) to protect your future.

Reason #3: Diseases Are Often Progressive

Nobody wakes up in the morning hoping to need oral surgery, of course. However, it can offer you protection for your smile’s health and your life. Whether it’s oral cancer or a significantly diseased tooth, allowing us to perform surgery is a proactive means to an end. Safeguarding your health is not luxurious but essential.

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).

Protecting Implants: 3 Habits To End

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Whether you have just completed your journey with dental implants (or you’re still considering it), you likely have it in your mind that part of the process includes protecting your dental work. You are, of course, correct! After the investment, healing, and beautiful transformation, the last thing you want is to have a problem with the longevity of this treatment (which can last a lifetime). To get started, consider some helpful tips for habits you will want to kick.

Habit #1: Ice Chewing

For some, chewing on ice is an enjoyable, refreshing pastime. However, for all patients, this is a dangerous habit. It can cause your teeth to feel extra sensitive, lead to damaged dental work (dental implants, for instance), and cause chips or fractures in natural teeth. If you feel a frantic need for the ice, you may wish to consult your doctor, as this is sometimes a sign of low iron levels. Otherwise, drink water instead of choosing the frozen version.

Habit #2: Nail Biting

In addition to the fact that nail biting is not great for your oral health and dental implants because it can encourage problems like TMJ disorder and bruxism, it’s also bad for you in general. Ask any doctor and the answer will be the same: Biting your nails introduces tons of germs and bacteria into your mouth (and subsequently, your body) because they hide beneath your fingernails. All in all, it’s a good habit to skip.

Habit #3: Skip The Gum

Love chewing gum? We can certainly have a discussion about gums that are less sticky, the fact that sugarless gum is often beneficial for your oral health, and whether there are any options that are best suited to those with dental implants. However, because anything sticky can potentially become wrapped around your implant, we say: Steer clear.

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).

Dental Implants: 3 Reasons To Take Your Time

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Do you feel like you need some time to learn all that you can about dental implants, think about your options, and make up your mind? If you would like to think for a while and consider how you feel about making this choice to replace your teeth, we want you to know that we understand. Rather than rush into placing implants, creating your pros and cons list, talking to loved ones, or simply asking us your many questions can be beneficial. Allow us to offer up a few reasons why this is the case.

Reason #1: They Become Permanent

Dental implants will essentially become permanent – and not something we can simply go in and remove from your smile. Why? Well, the posts bond with your jawbone. This process, called osseointegration, results in your jaw tissue and the implant fusing into one entity. If you prefer a fixed replacement that can later be removed, you may need to reconsider your choices.

Reason #2: They Require An Investment

As you have likely heard, the investment for dental implants is a sound one. This tooth replacement solution offers you extraordinary benefits and the implants will likely last the rest of your life (which means investing in them will become quite cost-effective). However, a budget is a budget. While we will be glad to discuss payment options, making a decision you are comfortable with is the priority.

Reason #3: You Will Need A Proactive Attitude

Yes, it is very easy to feel motivated and proactive for a treatment that requires your energy for a single day. However, as you will learn about dental implants, they require your focus and dedication for as long as a year before you are fully recovered and the implants are restored. Ask yourself how you feel about the entire experience before getting on board.

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).

Looking To Improve Dental Hygiene?

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Have you been brushing your smile for most of your life with a manual toothbrush and you have continued to do so after the placement of your dental implants? Do you then floss and call it a day? What seems to be causing you to hope for improved dental hygiene? If you are experiencing plaque-related problems or simply feel like you aren’t getting your smile very clean, it may be time to make a change. Consider some helpful suggestions that may guide you toward the immaculate grin you’re hoping to achieve.

Try An Electric Toothbrush

Do you find it difficult to thoroughly clean your entire smile, making sure to brush every surface of each tooth (including the restoration on top of your dental implant)? Perhaps you are struggling to hold and guide the toothbrush, while moving it back and forth, because of physical discomfort or limitations. Whatever the particular issue, an electric toothbrush may work wonders. Thanks to its vibrations, it replaces the need for you to create strokes. Just move it throughout your smile without straining and enjoy benefits like super clean teeth and protection against gum recession.

Add Some Mouthwash

Speak with us about adding mouthwash into your daily dental hygiene sessions. A variety of rinses are available that can help you with plaque removal. As you know, plaque can lead to cavities and may even threaten the success of your dental implant. When plaque sticks to your implant or restoration, it can irritate surrounding gum tissue and eventually lead to something called peri-implantitis. Keep your smile safe by opting for optimal plaque removal.

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).

Am I The Only One With Tooth Loss?

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If you have visited us because you are dealing with tooth loss, you may find yourself feeling a blend of emotions. Many of our patients feel most strongly that they are alone in their experience and that missing teeth is quite uncommon. Before you allow yourself to feel isolated, know something very important: An open space in one’s smile is extremely common and generally easy to address. Now, for some helpful insight that will assist you in feeling much better about the state (and future) of your smile.

Did We Mention It’s Common?

Tooth loss is not just a little bit common but something that the American Academy of Implant Dentistry reports affects over 30 million people in our country every year. Ready to be even more surprised? This figure includes individuals missing at least one full arch of teeth.

Receiving Implants Is Common, Too

You might ask around and find that most of your friends don’t have implants. However, if you’ve asked only a handful of people, those aren’t really reliable statistics to go by. In addition, if you ask someone who feels as unsure about tooth loss as you, he or she might simply deny it altogether! As for the details, did you know that the number of people who have received dental implants has reached 3 million and continues to grow?

We Help People (Just Like You) Daily

We are oral and maxillofacial surgeons, which means we are seeing patients on a daily basis for everything from tooth loss to jawbone damage and more. You are among a very long, long list of patients we have seen who needs help replacing teeth and we look forward to assisting you on your unique journey toward a complete smile.

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).

Bone Grafting: 3 Reasons To Feel Confident

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Are you interested in receiving bone grafting? Do you simply wish to rebuild damaged areas of your jaw? Perhaps you would like to replace missing teeth with dental implants but your jaw health is not yet satisfactory for placement. Whatever the case, it is important to recognize that this is a treatment you can feel confident in selecting. In addition to the fact that we will provide you with comfortable care, we invite you to consider a few additional reasons to consider grafting.

Reason #1: You May Reclaim Dental Implant Candidacy

Remember that dealing with jawbone loss can mean serious problems for your smile. Deteriorated tissue may continue to deteriorate, which may lead to further tooth loss, a loss of facial support, and diminishing options. By agreeing to bone grafting, you may be able to enjoy candidacy for dental implants, which will both replace missing teeth and protect your jaw from future damage.

Reason #2: You Have Options For Bone Material

Does the idea of having your natural bone removed for use in your smile make you uncomfortable? Regardless of the particular cause of your concern, it is important for you to remember that you have a variety of options. We will explain all about synthetic choices for bone tissue, so you may receive bone grafting that works for your preferences and needs.

Reason #3: The Treatment Has A High Success Rate

In most instances, bone grafting is successful and may include the regeneration of natural bone tissue. If you are interested in specific facts and figures, we invite you to learn more during a consultation with us. Keep in mind that avoiding tobacco products increases the success rate.

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).

Q&A: Implants And Water Flossers

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Has a friend recently mentioned that you might want to try a water flosser during dental hygiene sessions instead of relying on floss to clean between and around dental implants? If so, you may only have a vague idea of what this flosser is and even less of an instinct regarding whether you may use one. While we always encourage you to speak with us about options for best practices regarding your home care, we would like to introduce you to this topic. By answering questions, we can explain why this device is often a beneficial choice.

Questions and Answers: Water Flossers

Question: What is a water flosser? I have heard this term before but I don’t really understand. Is it like floss?

Answer: This device includes a water basin and a hand-held, small wand. The wand shoots a stream of powerful water from its tip – in some instances, the flosser may come with a variety of attachments. You may clean between and around teeth and implants with the water flosser to remove plaque and food particles, which is the same thing dental floss accomplishes.

Question: Is it okay to use a water flosser on my dental implants?

Answer: Yes, it can be extremely beneficial to use this alternative to dental floss around your implants. A special attachment for an implant may also make your experience that much more successful. However, remember to start off with gentle water pressure and never attempt to place the wand itself between or beneath teeth – just rely on the water.

Question: Is a water floss a better option?

Answer: Not necessarily. It is important that you discover the best, most comfortable flossing option for your dental implants. Whatever works for you to remove plaque and food is the right choice.

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).