Torrance Dental Arts

Single Dental Implants

2015-06-01T15:49:45Z

When it comes to losing a single tooth, it can be pretty easy to shrug it off or delay addressing it. But things might change when you put it in perspective. Take an 18-wheeler driver, for example. Would the driver simply “shrug it off” if one of the tires on the truck fell off? No, because losing just one tire can affect the performance of the entire vehicle and potentially cause further damage. Your teeth are no different, as losing just one tooth can affect surrounding teeth and the health of your entire mouth.

Benefits of Single Tooth Implants

Losing a single tooth obviously creates a gap in your mouth, but it also leads to adjacent teeth shifting and affects the structural integrity of your jaw and bones. That can lead to wrinkles, aging and further problems down the road. So what are your options when you lose a single tooth? A conventional bridge is a popular and affordable solution, but the process involves reforming adjacent teeth to hold the bridge. Single tooth implants, however, are the ultimate single-tooth replacement option. Here are some of their benefits:

They look and feel like your natural tooth.
They replace your tooth’s root, preserving the bone in your jaw.
They’re easier to clean than a bridge.
They look and perform better in the long run.

Single tooth implants have even more benefits, one of which is the fairly easy procedure.

How Single Tooth Implants Work

The single tooth implant process can be broken down to four basics steps. Here is a breakdown of how single tooth implants work, from the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID):

“Consultation and planning, including initial exam, imaging of your teeth, questions about your dental and medical history, and discussion of your treatment options.
Placement of the dental implant, a substitute for the missing natural tooth root, either with or without a built-in abutment (a connector placed on, or built into, the top of the implant) that will attach to the replacement tooth. A temporary tooth can be placed while the dental implant integrates with your natural bone to form a strong foundation for your replacement tooth. Most people return to work the next day.
Placement of the abutment, if one wasn’t placed during the prior visit.
Placement of a custom-made crown, or replacement tooth.”

If you’d like to know more about single tooth implants, schedule a consultation with your dentist today!

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Halloween Candy Buy Back

2014-10-29T00:04:32Z

Save your teeth from decay and bring your Halloween candy to us! It will go to a good cause!

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Advantages of Same-Day Crowns

2014-09-24T04:32:19Z

Getting a crown was always such a time-consuming process. First, you have to go to the dentist for an exam and/or X-rays. If it’s established that you need a crown, you’ll go in for another visit so the dentist can prepare your tooth and create a temporary crown. After your permanent crown is created in an off-site lab, it can be weeks or even months before your permanent crown is ready.

Isn’t there a way you get can get crowns in a day? There is, and it’s called CEREC crowns.

Comfort and Convenience

The biggest advantage of CEREC crowns is that they can be created and placed in a single visit in our office. How is this possible? Well instead of the dentist sending out a request for the permanent crown from the lab, they can actually use a state-of-the-art machine to create a beautiful crown in the comfort of their own office. That means you only have to go in for one visit.

The second biggest advantage of CEREC crowns is that they are usually more comfortable than traditional crowns. Again, this goes back to the dentist having complete control, as your dentist can personalize your crown to ensure it’s a perfect fit. Crowns created in a lab, on the other hand, usually can’t offer this level of precision and accuracy.

Other Advantages of Same-Day Crowns

In addition to comfort and convenience, CEREC crowns have a variety of other advantages over traditional crowns. Here are some of them:

Your dentist has complete control of the shape, fit and color of the crown.
They’re made from materials that are just as strong and durable as regular crowns.
Since there isn’t any metal, risks for compatibility problems are lower.
The look and function of the crown is astonishingly similar to your natural teeth.
They use the latest, most innovative technology available today.

Same-day crowns aren’t just comfort and convenient… they’re simply better. If you’d like to know more about them, schedule a consultation with Torrance Dental Arts today.

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Our Periodontitis-Busting Laser

2014-07-18T17:59:34Z

Our Periodontitis-Busting Laser

Gum disease is the most common dental concern for American adults. Four out of every five people will be diagnosed with gum disease at some point. This vast majority of people often don’t even know that they have gum disease until they go in for a dental check up. As long as the gum disease hasn’t progressed, we can usually take care of it with a good dental cleaning. This form of gum disease is called gingivitis. However, if you didn’t go in for a dental check up, and we weren’t able to find the gingivitis in time, it could progress into periodontitis. This form of gum disease is much more serious and poses a much greater risk to your oral health.

When periodontitis strikes, it’s time to take a more progressive approach to getting rid of the disease. Periodontitis strikes well under the gum line where the bone structure is supporting the tooth. If left alone, the infection will weaken the bone, causing a loss of the tooth and allowing the infection to spread. In order to get rid of the infection, we have to go in and clean the bacteria out. Most dentists have to do this with metal instruments, but at TDA, we have lasers on our side.

Laser V. Periodontitis

Using laser periodontal therapy, we can clean out the debris and bacteria causing your problems without having to resort to metal instruments. Our precise laser will work with your body so that you have less trauma to your gums. You will experience less bleeding, discomfort, and swelling during and after the treatment. The best part is that the periodontitis should be completely removed during the process, which will protect you from needed oral surgery.

The number one way to avoid gum disease is to maintain your regularly scheduled dental appointments. Coming in to see us can protect you from a lot of harm down the road. Contact us today to set up an appointment, and make this a regular part of your overall health routine.

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Oral Care During Chemotherapy

2014-07-18T17:59:21Z

Oral Care During Chemotherapy

Last month, we discussed ways that we are working to fight cancer here at TDA. We are proud of our efforts, but we’d really like to encourage and help our patients know how to handle their oral health while taking cancer therapy, like radiation or chemotherapy. The therapy can seem to take over in all areas of your life, but we can help you make sure that your oral health stays positive. Below is a list of some things you can do to keep your mouth in tip top shape while your body goes through treatment.

1) See Your Dentist
Most doctors recommend that you see your dentist about a month before your chemo begins. This visit is really important because we need to make sure that you mouth is free of infection before your chemo begins. An oral infection can halt or slow your chemotherapy, so routine dental appointments are imperative while you undergo treatment.

2) Keep Your Mouth Hydrated
Chemotherapy makes your mouth feel very dry and sore. It takes a lot of proactive effort to maintain a healthy mouth under these circumstances. Keep water close to you for sips throughout the day, or suck on ice chips. You can also chew sugar-free gum or suck on sugar-free candy to help stimulate your saliva production.

3) Avoid Painful Foods
The sore mouth we mentioned above will also affect your eating habits. Try to slow down when you eat, and take smaller bites. You might want to keep soft foods on hand for particularly painful days. Avoid foods that hurt the inside of your mouth, like crunchy chips, rough candies, or anything overly sweet, sour, spicy, or acidic.

During chemotherapy, your oral health is probably not at the top of your priority list, but it needs to be. It’s very easy to get an infection during this time, especially in your mouth. Take care of your mouth with a few simple steps so that you can spend your time focused on getting better. Contact us for more tips about how to keep your mouth healthy during cancer treatments. We’d love to hear from you soon!

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First Class Treatment for Gum Recession

2014-07-16T23:20:10Z

First Class Treatment for Gum Recession

The tooth is made up of two main parts: the root and the crown. The crown is the part that you see and brush everyday. It is tough and covered in strong tooth enamel to protect it. The root, on the other hand, is not covered with a tough enamel. The root relies on the gums to protect it. The tooth root is very sensitive, which is why healthy gum protection is so incredibly important. Sometimes, due to various causes, the gum line will begin to recede, risking exposure of the tooth root. If that is the case, we need to treat the gums immediately.

Traditional treatment would be gum grafting surgery. We would take gum tissues from a donor, or from the palate, and place it over your receding gums to protect your roots from damage. The process is long and pretty painful for the patient. We would use surgical tools and leave behind sutures that the patient would have to deal with while they healed.

That’s No Longer the Case

We no longer repair receding gums that way. Thanks to Dr. Chao’s Pinhole Surgical Technique (PST), we are able to give you world class treatment right here in Torrance. The procedure is much simpler than the surgery. The patient experiences much less pain and discomfort, but the results are long-lasting! We simply use special instruments to work your existing gum tissue back down to its correct place. You won’t be able to argue with the results, because they are gaining international attention!

You can count on us to provide you with the latest dental advancements! Gum recession is something that must be taken care of quickly and efficiently, and you know that you can rely on TDA to get it done the right way! Contact us today to learn more about the PST procedure and to set up your routine appointment! We’d love to see you soon!

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An Empowered Dental Experience

2014-07-18T17:59:07Z

An Empowered Dental Experience

Any time you are going to have a medical procedure, it’s important that you feel like an empowered member of the team. Empowered means that you are informed of what’s going to happen, and you feel like you have some say or control in what is happening to you. A medical professional who makes you feel otherwise is not the medical professional for you! At Torrance Dental Arts, we work to make sure that you feel empowered. We do this by answering any and all of your questions regarding your procedure. We also do this by making sure you are completely comfortable during a procedure.

Empowerment comes in all forms. Some of our patients feel most empowered when they are awake during their procedure. We can accomplish that through our very precise administration of sedation. We can administer nitrous oxide gas or an oral sedative to ensure that you can be awake for your procedure. This will allow you to be a part of the procedure, but with local anesthesia, you won’t feel any of the procedure.

Other patients prefer to have no idea what is or was going on. It’s a different form of empowerment that is choosing what will and will not be remembered. We have IV sedation available to help us with these patients. IV sedation will form a deeper relaxed state than the nitrous oxide gas or oral sedation. Some patients can be awake while on IV, but most choose this form of sedation so that they won’t remember or be aware of what is going on during the procedure.

What is empowerment to you? We think true empowerment is getting to decide what you want your dental experience to look like. We are here to help you make that happen, so give us a call. We’d love to show you what great dental care means to us.

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Cosmetic Dentistry Comes in All Shapes and Sizes

2014-07-18T17:58:53Z

Cosmetic Dentistry Comes in All Shapes and Sizes

Here at Torrance Dental Arts, we believe that every person has the right to a beautiful smile. We also want to help our patients get the smile of their dreams without having to sacrifice their entire life savings to do it! That’s why we offer cosmetic dentistry on multiple levels so that you can find a solution in your price range. Aside from price, our variety also allows you to find a cosmetic solution procedure that you are comfortable with. Maybe oral surgery isn’t for you, but we can find another way to help you achieve your smile goals within your comfort level.

Bonding – Dental bonding is a great way to correct small issues without breaking the bank. Bonding requires us to use composite material to mold and shape your smile. We can change the color, size, and shape of your teeth as well as correct cracks and gaps in your teeth with dental bonding. This is a very cost effective way to make improvements!

Veneers – Dental veneers are a step up from bonding. They require a bit more work because we have to remove a layer of your tooth enamel to make room for the veneers. We then create the veneers to fit over the fronts of your teeth. They are then bonded into place. Veneers are a bit more permanent than bonding, and aren’t as susceptible to stains, but they cannot be removed.

Crowns – Another cosmetic solution is dental crowns. Crowns create a complete cover for teeth, which makes them another step up from veneers. Crowns, which can be made right here in the office, can be used to correct severely discolored, decayed, or damaged teeth.

Whichever restoration avenue you’d like to travel, we are able to help you. With our One Visit Restoration, we can help you get the smile of your dreams in no time! Contact us today and let us know if you’d like to take a conservative approach, or if you’re wanting a complete smile makeover! We would love to help you out! Come see us soon!

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A New Smile In 6 Months Can Be Your Reality

2014-07-16T23:21:11Z

A New Smile In 6 Months Can Be Your Reality

Are you in need of a new smile? Not just an improved smile, but a new smile? If you’ve been wearing dentures or are looking at your fading teeth with worry, we are talking to you. A complete dental restoration is what you need to get your confidence back, and we can do that for you in six months! Our 6-Month Implant and Teeth in a Day procedures will take you from worrisome look to confident smile! By the time these six months are over, you’ll feel like you’ve never been without this amazing smile!

Traditionally, dental implants take closer to a year to place. The main cause for that time is that many patients need bone grafting before implants can be placed. Once you lose your teeth, your jaw bone begins to get smaller. That makes it difficult to place an implant for every tooth, so dentists would add extra bone to make the implants hold better. We no longer need to do that with a new procedure for placing dental implants, which makes the entire process much, much faster.

What Makes It All Possible

Through a new technique, we no longer have a place an implant for every tooth. Instead, we can place 4-6 implants around one arch of your mouth. We place the implants at a very specific angle to maximize the strength of the implant. We can then place several crowns on the same implant. The end result is a much less painful, faster way to place dental implants without losing any of the strength or longevity of dental implants.

Since your dental implants are so much less painful, we can immediately place temporary crowns so that you walk out of our office with a smile! We call this Teeth in a Day. You can go home and enjoy your favorite foods without any more concern for slipping dentures or missing teeth. Contact us today to learn more about the dental implant process. We’d love to discuss it with you soon!

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When An Old Filling Goes Bad

2014-07-16T23:21:28Z

When An Old Filling Goes Bad

By the time you are an adult, you’ve probably had a filling! That is, if you have seen a dentist throughout your life. Some fillings are very small and you hardly know you ever got one. Other fillings are much larger, and you can sometimes feel where the filling is. Those larger fillings tend to be troublesome as you age. The old silver fillings sometimes cause your tooth to weaken faster than it would on its own. The only way to know this is happening (before a dental disaster occurs) is to maintain your regular dental visits where we can take great digital images of your teeth.

If we notice a tooth weakening, we will take action to protect your natural tooth from the unthinkable. Weakened teeth can be protected using a dental crown. We simply prepare the tooth to be covered, then bond a dental crown over the top of your tooth, creating a strong dental restoration that will hold your weakened tooth steady and prevent any more harm from occurring. We can do the same thing for a tooth that is broken or cracked.

And We Can Do It In One Visit

One visit is all it takes to completely restore a tooth damaged from an old filling. With CEREC technology, we are able to create a perfect crown for you while you wait in our office. We don’t even have to mess with taking an impression because CEREC will create a 3D map of your mouth for us! From start to finish, we’ll repair damage from an old filling, and send you on your way with an improved smile!

The key to it all is that routine dental appointment. Without it, your tooth would weaken without your knowledge, and then one day you would be in a world of hurt, literally. We need to see your teeth regularly to prevent weak teeth from breaking down. Contact us today to set up your appointment, and get on the right track with a routine dental appointment schedule!

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