Nothing beats the form and function of a real tooth—but dental implants come pretty close. That's why they're tops among both dentists and patients for replacing missing teeth.

Much of an implant's functionality and durability can be credited to its material construction, from the titanium metal post imbedded in the jawbone to the lifelike porcelain crown attached at its other end. But an implant's “nuts and bolts” isn't the only reason why this premier dental restoration is so popular: A good portion of their success comes from the adjunct support provided by digital technology.

Without this varied array of computer-based applications used in planning, designing and installing them, implants couldn't produce the level of satisfactory outcomes they currently do. Here then are a few of the high-tech tools dentists use to make sure your implants result in a winning smile.

CBCT scanning. Implant placement requires a high degree of precision often complicated by various anatomical structures like nerves, blood vessels and sinuses within the gums and jaws. Cone Beam Computer Tomography (CBCT) scanners rotate around a patient's head, taking hundreds of digital x-ray images that are then assembled into a 3-D model image. Dentists can view this model from various angles to identify obstacles and better pinpoint the best implant locations.

Digital impressions. Dentists can also create a 3-D digital impression model of the inside of a patient's mouth that can give them views of their current teeth and gums from any angle. This aids in determining the size and type of implant so that it blends seamlessly with remaining teeth. A digital impression can also provide both the dentist and patient a preview appearance of their future smile after treatment.

3-D printed surgical guides. To accurately drill the implant site during surgery, dentists often create a custom-made device called a surgical guide that fits into the patient's mouth during the procedure. Using results from scanning and digital impressions, highly accurate guides can be created with a 3-D printer. This further ensures that the implant will be in the exact best location for the most attractive and functional outcome.

Implantology is as much art as it is science in achieving a beautiful smile. These and other digital tools help make that desirable end a reality.

If you would like more information on dental implants, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation.

The fast-paced world of sports and entertainment isn’t all glitz and glamour. These high-profile industries create a unique kind of emotional and mental stress on celebrities. For many of them, a way to “let off steam” is an oral habit known as teeth grinding.

Teeth grinding is an involuntary habit in which a person bites and grinds their teeth outside of normal activities like eating or speaking. It’s common among young children, who usually grow out of it, but it can also affect adults, especially those who deal with chronic stress. If not addressed, teeth grinding can eventually wear down teeth, damage gum attachments or fracture weaker teeth. It can even contribute to tooth loss.

A number of well-known personalities in the spotlight struggle with teeth grinding, including actress Vivica Fox, model and TV host Chrissy Teigen, and star athletes Tara Lipinski and Milos Raonic of ice skating and tennis fame, respectively. The habit represents not only a threat to their dental health, but also to one of their most important career assets: an attractive and inviting smile. Fortunately, though, they each use a similar device to manage their teeth grinding.

Besides seeking ways to better manage life stress, individuals with a teeth-grinding habit can protect their teeth with a custom mouthguard from their dentist. Made of slick plastic, this device is worn over the teeth, usually while sleeping, to minimize dental damage. During a grinding episode, the teeth can’t make contact with each other due to the guard’s glossy surface—they simply slide away from each other. This reduces the biting forces and eliminates the potential for wear, the main sources of dental damage.

Chrissy Teigen, co-host with LL Cool J on the game show Lip Sync Battle, wears her custom-made guard regularly at night. She even showed off her guard to her fans once during a selfie-video posted on Snapchat and Twitter. Vivica Fox, best known for her role in Independence Day, also wears her guard at night, and for an additional reason: The guard helps protect her porcelain veneers, which could be damaged if they encounter too much biting force.

Mouthguards are a prominent part of sports, usually to protect the teeth and gums from injury. Some athletes, though, wear them because of their teeth grinding habit. Tara Lipinski, world renowned figure skater and media personality, keeps hers on hand to wear at night even when she travels. And Milos Raonic, one of the world’s top professional tennis players, wears his during matches—the heat of competition tends to trigger his own teeth-grinding habit.

These kinds of mouthguards aren’t exclusive to celebrities. If you or a family member contends with this bothersome habit, we may be able to create a custom mouthguard for you. It won’t stop teeth grinding, but it could help protect your teeth—and your smile.

If you would like more information about protecting your smile, please contact us or schedule a consultation. To learn more, read the Dear Doctor magazine articles “Teeth Grinding” and “When Children Grind Their Teeth.”

It's a sad fact: Many people postpone needed dental treatment because of their finances. There's no doubt that treatments for many tooth and gum problems can be expensive. But delaying treatment can make matters worse—and when they do see their dentist to address the issue, the costs can skyrocket.

The thriftiest way to manage your dental health is to prevent disease before it occurs or seek treatment as early as possible. You may incur some initial expense, but you'll pay less in the long-run and have better health to boot.

Here's a common sense approach for easing the impact of dental care on your budget.

Form a customized care plan. The key to keeping your dental expenses in check is to be proactive, not reactive with your care. Don't wait until you begin noticing problems—instead, invest in regular dental visits where your dentist can assess your ongoing individual risk for dental disease. Using that assessment, your dentist and you can then create a care plan that lowers your disease risk and promotes optimal health.

Adopt sound hygiene practices. A simple toothbrush and a roll of floss could save you thousands in dental care costs over a lifetime. Using them daily removes dental plaque, the top cause for both tooth decay and gum disease. Couple that with regular dental cleanings and your risk for costly dental disease will go down significantly.

Try less expensive, short-term restorations. Even with the best prevention strategy, there's always a chance you'll encounter a problem with your teeth or gums. Unfortunately, the best permanent fix may be more than your budget can handle. In that case, consider a less expensive restoration (like resin or glass-based fillings) to protect and restore your problem teeth until you can afford a better permanent solution.

Talk with your dentist about long-term financing. Spreading out the bill for dental treatment over several payments can help you manage unforeseen costs. Talk with your dentist about treatment financing options they offer or sponsor. If possible, have a contingency plan for payment in place before you need it—just in case.

Any kind of dental care, even preventive maintenance, can cost you. But if you manage your care wisely, you can keep that cost to a minimum.

If you would like more information on managing your dental health, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation.

If all goes normally, we have most of our permanent teeth as we enter puberty. Except, though, when it doesn't—sometimes incoming permanent teeth don't fully erupt, often because there's not enough room for them on the jaw. This can leave all or part of a tooth still up inside the gum and bones.

This condition is known as impaction, and it can cause problems with a person's bite and their smile. This is especially true of the upper canines, those pointed teeth located just under the eyes. Without them present, a person's smile can look oddly different. Moreover, it can worsen their bite and increase the risk of trauma and disease for nearby teeth.

Fortunately, there may be a way to coax impacted canines into erupting into their proper position on the jaw. It will involve, though, some minor surgery and orthodontic intervention to accomplish that feat.

First, though, a patient with missing canines should undergo a thorough orthodontic evaluation. This exam will reveal not only what may be going on with the missing teeth, but how the whole bite has been affected. Knowing the big picture will help direct the next treatment steps.

After pinpointing the impacted teeth's exact position (usually through x-rays or cone beam CT scanning), we then decide whether it's feasible to attempt to expose the teeth. Sometimes, a tooth's position is so out of place that it may be best to remove it and consider a dental implant or other restorative measures.

If it is in a workable position, then the impacted teeth would be exposed surgically (usually by an oral surgeon or periodontist). The surgeon would then bond a small bracket to the exposed tooth and then attach a small chain.

After suturing the incised gum tissues back in place, the chain extending outward from the gums would then be looped over orthodontic hardware attached to other teeth. This will place downward pressure on the upper canine tooth, and over several months prod it to fully erupt.

This may sound like an elaborate procedure, but it's fairly routine and predictable. As a result, a patient can finally get the full benefit of all their teeth, enhance their dental health and transform their smile.

If you would like more information on dealing with impacted teeth, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Exposing Impacted Canines.”

It's not an exaggeration to say the modern root canal treatment has saved millions of teeth over the last century. Without this procedure, there's not a lot we can do to stop advanced tooth decay from infecting and destroying a tooth.

What's more, a root canal treatment could extend the life of a tooth for decades. Notice we said could—although most root canals do have satisfactory outcomes, there's still a chance a tooth may become re-infected. Here are 3 possible causes for an unsuccessful root canal treatment, and what you can do to lessen their impact.

The severity of the infection. Tooth decay usually begins at the enamel layer, softened by the acid produced by bacteria. Untreated, the infection can then spread through the next tooth layer of dentin until finally infecting the innermost pulp. From there the infection can move through the root canals to the bone, dramatically increasing the danger to the tooth. Root canal treatments have a higher chance of success the earlier they're performed in the disease progression, so see your dentist at the first sign of pain or other tooth abnormality.

The root canal network. An effective root canal procedure eliminates all dead or diseased tissue in both the pulp chamber and the root canals (these are then filled to prevent future infection). But this may prove difficult with teeth that have intricate root canal networks because of a higher risk of overlooking some of the canals. It may be best in such cases for an endodontist, a specialist in treating interior tooth issues, to perform the procedure using their advanced techniques and microscopic equipment.

The age of the tooth. Root canal treatment can weaken a tooth's structural integrity, especially with older teeth. This can make them more susceptible to fracture and a higher chance of infection. We can avoid this outcome by placing crowns on root-canaled teeth: The crown provides structural strength to the tooth and can add further protection against infection. Older teeth may also benefit from the placement of a small support post within it to further add stability before applying the crown.

If you would like more information on root canal treatment, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Root Canal Treatment: How Long Will It last?”