Winter Break: Tips For Teens

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Do you have teenagers rummaging through your refrigerator on a regular basis? If so, you are likely already prepared to deal with big appetites and wandering forks headed toward the desserts and goodies in your kitchen this holiday season. What you may not feel so certain about is keeping your teens’ oral health in its best condition over winter break. Fortunately, we have some helpful suggestions for you this winter, including everything from daily care to scheduling wisdom teeth removal.

Enact A Brush-Then-Rinse Routine

Are your teens still most excited about the sweeter side of the holidays? If so, there’s an easy routine change that you can enforce with teens (though it can be more difficult with younger children). This is a good tip for you, as well: After indulging in staining food, sugary food, or anything that does not resemble good-for-your-smile dairy or veggies, you should immediately rinse your mouth with water. Then, you should brush after approximately 30 minutes to keep your smile safe.

Speak With Your Teens

Ask your kids about how their smiles are feeling. If you receive complaints about toothaches when they bite down, particularly into hot or cold foods or something sugary, it might be time for a visit to your general dentist for restorative care. If you have not yet seen us to discuss wisdom teeth removal and your children are in their late teens, there’s no time like the present.

Schedule Wisdom Teeth Removal

Have we recently spoken with you about your child’s need for wisdom teeth extractions? Have your teen’s wisdom teeth grown in but they are proving difficult to care for? Contact us immediately, so we can do our best to schedule your child’s wisdom teeth removal over the winter break, while school is out.

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).

Quiz: Why Remove Your Wisdom Teeth?

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Do you assume you will need wisdom tooth removal because just about everyone you know has had these third molars removed? Even if this is the case, it can be a bit hard to muster up the motivation to schedule visits with us (unless you are experiencing discomfort). However, if you are familiar with wisdom teeth and associated potential problems, becoming proactive in protecting your oral health becomes much easier. By taking a helpful quiz, you can more quickly identify the reasons to have this final set of molars removed and how the procedure may offer significant protection to your health.

Wisdom Teeth Quiz: True or False?

  1. True or False: If your wisdom teeth have developed successfully but you find them too difficult to care for, serious consequences may arise.
  2. True or False: Ignoring an impacted wisdom tooth is fine as long as the tooth does not erupt.
  3. True or False: We only suggest wisdom tooth removal for individuals whose wisdom teeth have had time to fully develop or become impacted.

Quiz Answers

  1. True. If you cannot reach your teeth to thoroughly clean them, you may suffer from problems like tooth decay or infection, which will then require treatments like fillings, or root canal treatment. If your third molars are difficult to maintain, we suggest removing them.
  2. False. Your impacted tooth will require wisdom tooth removal for a reason: Impacted teeth may lead to significant damage, significant discomfort, and can even result in issues like gum disease that may have a widespread effect on your oral health and overall wellbeing.
  3. False. We suggest scheduling visits with us as early as possible, so we may monitor progress and growth and perform wisdom tooth removal before the teeth have time to result in damage.

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 It’s Too Late For Root Canal Treatment

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Are you extremely concerned about your smile because you recently suffered a tooth infection, which resulted in a dental extraction? The bad news is that sometimes root canal therapy simply cannot save an infected tooth. The good news is that the problematic tooth is now out of your smile, so it can no longer cause any discomfort or complications for your oral health. If you have been considering dental implants to fill the open space, we encourage you to schedule a visit to see us. The sooner we take a look at your smile, the sooner we can guide you toward the answers you seek for achieving a full, beautiful grin.

Losing Your Tooth To Infection

When the dental pulp – or soft tissue that houses nerves and blood vessels – in your tooth becomes infected, it must be removed. Otherwise, this infection will worsen and may eventually abscess and spread. While root canal treatment is the restorative dentistry treatment of choice to address this problem, sometimes it will not help. You may either experience failure due to complications or you may visit your general dentist only to discover your problem has become too severe. In either case, the end result typically includes the removal of your tooth and the need for a tooth replacement option, such as dental implants.

Dental Implants After Infection

Are you looking to replace your missing tooth with a dental implant? If so, it is essential that you schedule a consultation with us, so we may examine your oral cavity. We may also need time to monitor the progress of your tissues if you are still healing (or if you are still under treatment for the infection). We can then discuss your options and create a tooth replacement care plan according to your particular oral health needs, so you can look forward to a complete smile.

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).

Important Tips For Protecting Implants

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While patients can become extremely excited about dental implants, they can also become just as hesitant. We understand that the idea of protecting these exceptional tooth replacement solutions may feel like a tall order. The good news is that your daily care will primarily remain the same. Brush and floss like you would for a fully natural smile and you will maintain good oral health. Regarding the additional details of keeping your implants safe and in one piece, we would like to share some simple yet effective tips. They will help you feel optimistic about your ability to enjoy successful implants for many years to come.

Tip #1: Prevent Peri-Implantitis

When bacteria have the chance to accumulate and irritate gum tissue surrounding a dental implant, it leads to a problem called peri-implantitis. This, of course, may lead to the failure of your implant. To avoid it, simply brush twice a day, floss at least once a day, and visit your dentist for twice annual preventive cleanings to ensure your tissues remain as free of plaque as possible.

Tip #2: Avoid The Too-Hard, Too-Crunchy Foods

Do you love nuts, hard pretzels, and anything super crunchy or difficult to crack? While these foods offer benefits like plaque removal, they can also lead to the demise of both natural teeth and prosthetic work. Avoiding these potentially damaging snacks is one option. Or, if you must indulge, break the foods down a bit first by cutting them into smaller, bite-size pieces, so you can avoid placing excess pressure on your crowns and implants.

Tip #3: Treat Your Bruxism

Do you suffer from bruxism, the habitual grinding or clenching of your teeth? If so, it is essential that you seek treatment to protect your dental implants and restorations. Consistent pressure can lead to damage both to natural and artificial structures.

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).

A Single Missing Tooth Can Cause Problems

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“But I’m just missing one tooth!” you may exclaim either to yourself or to our team in defense of avoiding tooth replacement. We understand that the process necessary for researching and replacing a tooth certainly requires some significant time and effort. However, it is very important to recognize that even a single missing tooth may result in serious complications that you would probably prefer to avoid. Allow us to explain why saying yes to tooth replacement solutions like dental implants – even to replace just one tooth – is extremely significant for your oral health.

One Tooth Lost May Cause Misalignment

Just missing a single tooth? Unfortunately, the open space offers more than enough room into which your remaining teeth may shift. As they migrate toward this area, they will no longer display the alignment they held when you still had your natural tooth. Fortunately, by replacing the tooth with a dental implant, you will ensure your teeth remain standing in their usual positions, so your alignment remains unchanged.

Your Bone Tissue Will Begin To Deteriorate

Your tooth is firmly anchored in your jawbone when it is in place. Once you lose your tooth, that area of your jawbone is no longer necessary (or so your body thinks). As a result, that portion of your bone will begin to deteriorate and become absorbed by your body. This can result in poor jaw health, will make it difficult to receive implants in the future, and may damage your appearance. Fortunately, an implant replaces your tooth’s roots (and supports a dental prosthetic above your gumline), preventing jawbone deterioration.

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).

Quiz: Dental Implant Advantages

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How much do you know about the advantages of dental implants? Have you become sidetracked as you learn all about candidacy, how much time the recovery process requires, and more? Perhaps the terminology has worked its way into the forefront of your research. Whatever the case, the benefits associated with this tooth replacement solution are what most patients rely on as they make their final decision to complete their smiles. Find out how much you have learned so far (or pick up a new detail or two) with a brief quiz.

Dental Implant Advantages: True-or-False Quiz

  1. True or False: Dental implants are known for their exceptional stability, which means you will not need to worry about comfortable eating or speaking.
  2. True or False: Dental implants require very little time when it comes to placement and recovery.
  3. True or False: Implants will preserve the alignment of your smile that you enjoyed before tooth loss.

Answer Key

  1. True. Because implants are anchored within your jaw tissue (with which they fuse), you will find that your replacement teeth run a close second to your natural teeth.
  2. False. While they require much more time than other prosthetics, such as bridges and dentures, they offer something no other solution does: They replace your tooth’s roots. Once healed, the implant supports a prosthetic to replace your visible tooth portion, as well.
  3. True. Dental implants will keep your remaining natural teeth from moving, which they often do after tooth loss – they tend to shift toward the open spot, which may lead to a misaligned smile. 

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).

Insurance Benefits: Don’t Lose Out!

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Here comes winter! And with the chillier temps comes the overwhelming excitement of the holiday season. It can quickly take your attention away from anything that isn’t adorned with snow, that has nothing to do with time spent with family, or that isn’t pumpkin-flavored. We understand – after all, this time of year is full of joy. However, as 2015 comes to an end, it’s important to remember that your insurance benefits do, too. So, if you were thinking about scheduling wisdom teeth removal for your son or daughter (or if you have been thinking about scheduling other treatments), we offer you this friendly reminder.

About Your Dental Insurance

How much do you know about your dental benefits? Do you know which treatments they cover? Did you recently plan your child’s wisdom teeth removal surgery for January 2016 without considering the fact that your benefits will start over once January 1 makes its appearance? Don’t worry – there’s still some time to sort out the details. As for the particulars of coverage, we suggest that you contact your insurance provider for answers.

About Scheduling End-Of-Year Care

We encourage you to contact us right away once you have received clarification regarding your insurance benefits. Whether you need to visit us for an extraction, you want to plan wisdom teeth removal before 2015 is over, or you simply need to schedule a visit to find out what’s happening with your oral health, the best time to do so is now. Give us a call, so we can work with you to make the final days of 2015 something to smile about (even when it comes to your dental care).

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).

Wisdom Teeth: Silent Problems

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Have you always told yourself that you won’t worry about wisdom teeth removal unless you start experiencing symptoms of a problem? On the other hand, perhaps you are worried that your child may already be dealing with third molar issues and you’re concerned about what we might find during a visit. As you may have noticed, this final set of molars presents a complicated situation. Keep one morsel of truth in mind and you will be just fine: The sooner you visit us, the easier it is to prevent problems or address existing issues. Allow us to elaborate, so you feel confident about scheduling a consultation.

Don’t Wait To Remove Wisdom Teeth

It’s always best to detect the development of wisdom teeth as growth begins, so we may provide wisdom teeth removal immediately if necessary. Unfortunately, the longer you wait, the more difficult it may be to remove the teeth. You see, the roots of these teeth continue to grow deeper and longer, as the denseness of the bone tissue increases. Removing them as early as possible is best.

Don’t Rely On Current Sensations

We often rely on “feeling okay” to tell us whether or not we need a particular treatment. This will backfire in the case of requiring wisdom teeth removal. By the time you feel discomfort or a problem like infection occurs, we will need to remove the teeth and address damage. Instead, it’s best to visit us for an exam and digital X-rays, so we may remove the teeth before problems occur. Even if you feel completely fine, we suggest patients in their late teens and older schedule a consultation, so we may determine the best course of action for third molars.

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: Periodontal Problems And Implants

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Are you currently struggling with periodontal disease? Have you lost a tooth (or multiple teeth) as a result of this oral illness? If so, you may find yourself with a long list of questions about repairing your mouth once your gum disease is under control. Fortunately, we are ready to address your many inquiries about replacing teeth with dental implants if your tooth loss is associated with periodontal damage. Consider some common questions and answers to get started – for detailed, personalized care, schedule a consultation today.

Questions and Answers: Periodontal Disease and Implants

Question: If I lose a tooth as the result of periodontal disease, is a dental implant a suitable tooth replacement option for me?

Answer: Yes, replacing your tooth with an implant will restore both your roots and the part of your tooth that is visible above your gumline (once the implant is restored).

Question: How will I know if I qualify for dental implants? I have heard that periodontal disease can destroy jawbone tissue, which could render me unable to receive this tooth replacement option.

Answer: Once your periodontal disease is under control, we will need to examine your smile to determine the extent of the damage. It is true that we can only place an implant if your jawbone is healthy enough and full enough – we can verify these facts with an exam that includes digital X-rays.

Question: So, what happens if my periodontal disease has significantly damaged my jawbone? Will I just have to choose a different prosthetic?

Answer: We may be able to rescue your jawbone by rebuilding it with bone grafting. If successful, grafting will restore your jaw tissue as well as your candidacy for dental implants. 

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).

Your Dental Implant Consultation

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Have you been spending a surprising amount of time thinking about addressing your tooth loss? Does this have something to do with the fact that you like the idea of dental implants to replace missing teeth – but you’re short on some very important information? For answers to everything from candidacy, what to expect from implants, whether they’re your best choice, and more, we suggest you schedule a dental implant consultation with us. Allow us to give you a brief rundown regarding what to expect, so you can feel excited about planning a visit.

Expect Time To Ask Questions

The last thing we want is for you to leave a dental implant consultation with the knowledge that you qualify for implants without feeling that you’ve had your questions answered. We understand that making the decision to choose implants feels like quite a big commitment. We are glad to provide you with all of the details you need, so please remember to ask your questions during your consultation.

Expect A Thorough Examination

We will need to verify a couple essential factors to determine whether you’re a good candidate for dental implants now, whether we can help you become a good candidate, or if you need an alternative prosthetic option. We will visually inspect your smile and take digital X-rays to check your oral health and jawbone health. Our team will also need to ensure you are healthy enough to undergo oral surgery.

Expect To Receive A Care Plan

If you qualify and would like to move forward for implants, we will begin to draw up a care plan tailored to your needs during your dental implant consultation.

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).