A New Smile with Dental Crowns and Bridges

Quality, Natural-Looking Crowns

When a broken or worn-down tooth can’t be restored by a standard filling, a crown can save and strengthen the damaged tooth. We use the most advanced, high-quality materials to construct your crown. They look so natural, you won’t be able to distinguish them from real teeth.

Bridging the Gap – Affordable Alternative for Missing Teeth

For some patients with more than one missing tooth, a bridge may be a viable solution. Custom made with the same high-quality materials, a bridge is anchored on two sides with crowns and fills the gap, returning to function and comfort as well as a full smile.

Precision Fitted Crowns

The TRIOS™ digital impression system is dentistry gone 3-D. With TRIOS, we take a highly precise digital impression for your crown or bridge area, completely removing the need for an uncomfortable tray and putty impression. In addition, TRIOS technology all but guarantees a perfect fit for your new crown or bridge, with a much faster dental visit!

Solace Dental
Bill Skinner, DDS
14381 Hickman Rd.
Urbandale, IA 50323
(515) 412-4200

SolaceDental.com

Dry Mouth at Night: The Causes and Management Tips

Below is an article written by by Diana Tosuni-O'Neill RDH, BS and found on Colgate.com 

Have you ever woken up from a sound sleep with a dry mouth at night? Dry mouth, or xerostomia, can be caused by something as simple as sleeping with your mouth open or as complex as a side effect of medication. Read on to find out what may be at the root of your nighttime lip smacking.

Signs of Dry Mouth
Dry mouth can be as simple as the salivary glands not producing enough saliva to keep the mouth moist. Saliva is key to washing debris from your teeth and remineralizing tooth enamel. With too little of it, you may be at risk for tooth decay.

Aside from increasing your risk for cavities, dry mouth can be uncomfortable. If you are experiencing dry mouth at night, some noticeable morning signs are:

• A sticky feeling in your mouth
• Thick or stringy saliva
• Bad breath
• Dry or sore throat
• Cracked or chapped lips
• Mouth sores
• Changed sense of taste

What Causes Xerostomia?
The occasional case of dry mouth at night may simply be due to dehydration, but age, medical conditions and habits can also contribute to its symptoms. The Mayo Clinic reports that several medications can cause dry mouth, such as muscle relaxants, depression and anxiety medications and antihistamines. It's also associated with diabetes and the autoimmune disorder Sjogren's syndrome. Cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy and radiation, can change or damage the salivary glands, as can nerve damage to the head and neck area.

Frequent tobacco and alcohol use can lead to xerostomia. Besides putting you at risk for oral cancer, smoking causes changes in saliva production. Alcoholic drinks and tobacco also irritate an already dry mouth and contribute to bad breath.

To read the entire article visit Colgate.com

The remainder of the article details the following:

• Ways to Manage Dry Mouth at Night

Solace Dental
Bill Skinner, DDS
14381 Hickman Rd.
Urbandale, IA 50323
(515) 412-4200

SolaceDental.com

Good Food for Dental Health: Fruits & Veggies

Fruits and Veggies Pack an Extra Punch
Fruits and veggies are an important part of any balanced diet, and they are also good for your teeth. Since they are high in water and fiber, they help to balance the sugars they contain and help to clean your teeth. Chewing also helps to stimulate saliva production, which washes harmful acids and food particles away from your teeth. 

Above article from: MouthHealthy.org

Solace Dental
Bill Skinner, DDS
14381 Hickman Rd.
Urbandale, IA 50323
(515) 412-4200

SolaceDental.com

Good Food for Dental Health: Nuts

Nourishing Nuts
Nuts contain protein which help strengthen and protect your teeth. Also, chewing helps to stimulate saliva production, which naturally cleans your mouth. Remember: Not only is a balanced, nutritious diet essential to healthy living, your eating patterns and food choices play an important role in preventing tooth decay and gum disease. You may eat with your eyes first, but your mouth, teeth, and gums are more than just tools for eating.

Above article from: MouthHealthy.org

Solace Dental
Bill Skinner, DDS
14381 Hickman Rd.
Urbandale, IA 50323
(515) 412-4200

SolaceDental.com

Antimicrobial Therapy for Gum Disease

Below is an article written by by Tracey Sandilands and found on Colgate.com 

Antimicrobial therapy is a form of oral treatment used to eliminate or reduce the development of bacterial infections in the mouth. The therapy aims to prevent periodontal diseaseresulting from infections, which can cause painful, bleeding gums and loosening of your teeth.

Preparation and Treatment
If your dentist decides you will benefit from antimicrobial treatment, they will likely start with scaling and root planing. This process removes plaque and calculus (tartar) from the sulcus area around the teeth using either a scaler or instruments as well as an ultrasonic scaling device. In severe cases where there are periodontal pockets greater than 5-6 mm deep, the dentist may recommend that the patient be seen by a periodontist to evaluate the area with deeper pocketing and determine if gum surgery may be necessary. The scaling and root planing and gum surgery treatments require local anesthesia to reduce the patient's discomfort. The dental hygienist performs the scaling and root planing procedure.

During gum surgery, the periodontist makes an incision into the gum tissue, flaps the tissue back and cleans and scales the surface of the affected teeth and bone to remove the diseased tissue and infection. The gum tissue is then put back in place and sutured and the gum tissue will heal, and the periodontist will check the area a week or so after surgery. The use of an antiseptic mouthwash or antibiotic medication may be recommended for the next seven to 10 days.

Antiseptic Mouthwashes
Mouthwashes containing antiseptic ingredients help control the reproduction of the bacteria, which grow on the gum tissue in the mouth, and help to clean out the pockets around the individual teeth. The ingredients in antiseptic mouthwashes may include chlorhexidine, essential oils, and metal salts Sn11 and Zn11 to help control dental plaque and halitosis.

To read the entire article visit Colgate.com

The remainder of the article details the following:

• Antibiotic Medications
• After Treatment

Solace Dental
Bill Skinner, DDS
14381 Hickman Rd.
Urbandale, IA 50323
(515) 412-4200

SolaceDental.com

Tooth Cavities

Tooth cavities aren't uncommon - but with the right dental health know-how, you can help prevent them. It all starts with proper brushing, daily flossing, and fluoride. Get the details right here.

What Causes Tooth Cavities?
Cavities are holes in the teeth resulting from acid attack. They generally start in the enamel, but can spread to the softer inner layer of the tooth. Tooth cavities are caused by decay that can occur when foods containing carbohydrates become trapped between teeth, and are not completely removed with brushing and flossing. Bacteria living in the mouth digest these foods, generating acidic byproducts that can eat away at tooth enamel.

Help Prevent Tooth Cavities
Fluoride, which is found in most public drinking supplies, some mouth rinses, and Crest toothpastes, helps prevent tooth cavities by slowing the breakdown of enamel and speeding up the remineralization process. Check with your dental professional to see if your drinking water is fluoridated. If it isn't, he or she may recommend that you use high concentration fluoride treatments.

To help strengthen weak spots in tooth enamel, and help prevent the early stages of tooth decay, brush regularly with a fluoridated toothpaste, floss daily, and visit your dental office regularly for professional cleanings.

Above article from: Crest.com

Solace Dental
Bill Skinner, DDS
14381 Hickman Rd.
Urbandale, IA 50323
(515) 412-4200

SolaceDental.com

What is Plaque?

Plaque is a sticky, colorless deposit of bacteria that is constantly forming on the tooth surface. Saliva, food and fluids combine to produce these deposits that collect where the teeth and gums meet. Plaque buildup is the primary factor in periodontal (gum) disease, including gingivitis.

How to Get Rid of Plaque

To help prevent plaque buildup, be sure to brush your teeth at least twice a day with an anti-plaque toothpaste such as Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste for around the clock protection against plaque buildup, and floss once a day.

Adding a mouth rinse such as Crest Pro-Health Multi-Protection Rinse to your routine can help against plaque buildup, without the burning sensation of alcohol. Eating well-balanced meals and brushing after snacks will reduce the formation of plaque. Visit your dental office regularly for oral exams and cleanings, during which your dental professional will scrape away any accumulated plaque with a special instrument.

Above article from: Crest.com

Solace Dental
Bill Skinner, DDS
14381 Hickman Rd.
Urbandale, IA 50323
(515) 412-4200

SolaceDental.com