Tag Archive for: commercial drive dentist

Veneers

Dental veneers are what dental professionals call a complete “smile makeover” because of the superb results seen after just a few short appointments. They are specifically designed to alter dental imperfections such as irregular shape and yellowish color. Each veneer is placed over the surface of the tooth in order to fix these imperfections, thus allowing patients to feel better about their appearance and feel more confident when they smile.

Reasons for Veneers:

  1. Misshapen or misadjusted teeth
  2. Chipped teeth
  3. Crooked or gapped teeth (slight or largely noticeable)
  4. Stained tooth enamel

Is a complete smile makeover something that you’ve been debating?

Ask yourself these questions before considering treatment from our dentists:

  1. Do I feel self-conscious with others when I smile and worry about what they think?
  2. Do I want to improve my confidence?
  3. Do I want to look my best in professional and social situations?

Frequently Asked Questions About Veneers

What happens to my teeth after veneers, and will I ever get cavities? The integrity of veneered teeth is only marginally compromised, and the veneer is bonded to the existing teeth. There is no higher incidence of decay provided the veneers are properly cared for as previously mentioned with regular flossing and brushing with toothpaste. In general, it is good dental advice to keep your sugar consumption low and confined to meal times to prevent decay.

How long will porcelain veneers last? They can last from seven to twenty years. While the veneer itself is inert and non-living, the tooth or teeth to which they are attached and the surrounding gum tissues are living and may change. For example, gum line shrinkage may expose or reveal root surfaces. If a veneer comes off it can generally be rebonded. If it chips it can sometimes be rebonded or otherwise replaced.

How Do I Choose a Dentist for Porcelain Veneers? As with any elective procedure, the most important factor in choosing a doctor is experience. While any dentist can offer porcelain veneers, not all have additional training in cosmetics. This is where things can get tricky and research (before and after pictures) becomes even more important.

Do Porcelain Veneers Look Fake? Individual results vary, but the goal is for the porcelain veneers to look and feel like a person’s own teeth, only better. To avoid the too-straight, too-white appearance that many associate with obvious veneers, intentional imperfections like slight rotation, subtle discoloration, and grooves can be made to imitate natural flaws.

A successful case is the result of great teamwork between a dentist and lab technician. The dentist must design the case for long-term success and the ceramist must create custom works of art to give a beautiful and natural look. Cosmetics is not taught in dental school, so it’s important to find a dentist that has extra training and certification showing this education. Experience counts.”

Can Veneers Be Removed? Because some tooth structure and enamel are removed prior to placing veneers, this is considered an irreversible treatment. Veneers may be replaced, but removing them for good will leave your teeth permanently scarred, at high risk for damage, and unhealthy looking.

What are the advantages of porcelain veneers over other types of cosmetic dental bonding procedures? Porcelain veneers are superior to other types of cosmetic dental bonding procedures in several ways:

  • Veneers look very life-like
  • Veneers are highly stained resistant
  • Since porcelain is a ceramic, stain-producing products such as coffee, tea, and red wine will roll right off the surface of your teeth. This means after your porcelain veneers are placed, you don’t have to worry about making changes to your lifestyle to accommodate your beautiful teeth.

If my teeth are reshaped for veneers or crowns, what will they look like? Will they be sensitive? Generally, cemented restorations, such as crowns or veneers (see the procedure section), will require two visits: one to shape the teeth and one to cement the restorations to the teeth. Between visits, your dentist can place attractive provisional restorations to help prevent sensitivity, allow limited function, and provide a nice smile. These temporaries are designed to be in your mouth for a limited time, but should be comfortable and natural looking until your new smile is completed.

Do porcelain veneers stain with normal things like tea, coffee and wine? Porcelain veneers should never stain; however; if your teeth have a propensity to stain you should try to avoid or minimize the behaviours that lead to staining and look after them as recommended above with normal hygiene and maintenance procedures.

How do I get veneers to match my other teeth? This concern will be addressed by your dental professional. Most people get their veneers in a whiter shade than their natural teeth and then under tooth whitening to create a matching esthetic.

How do I take care of my veneers? Once applied to your teeth, porcelain veneers should be treated just like your natural teeth. Don’t miss your twice-annual visits to the dentist for a professional cleaning and dental exam. And be sure to brush and floss daily to clean your teeth properly. There is no special treatment needed to care for your veneers.

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Oral Surgery

Any procedure that involves cutting into or removing tissue from your mouth, tooth extraction, or installing a dental implant is considered oral surgery. This type of surgery is used to treat many problems in the areas of the face, jaw, neck, and the hard and soft tissues of the mouth.

Usually, our EastVan dentist will remove a tooth if it appears to be broken, infected, loose, or impacted. After taking a dental x-ray and examining the problem area, our dentist in Vancouver will decide which type of extraction is needed. Of course, other options are available if tooth removal is unwanted.

Reasons for Extraction:

  1. Trauma to the mouth
  2. Badly damaged tooth or teeth
  3. Crowded mouth
  4. Caved or infected tooth or teeth

Frequently Asked Questions About Oral Surgery

1. Who will need an oral surgery?

Oral surgical procedures involve the incision, excision, or reflection of tissue that exposes the normally sterile areas of the oral cavity. Examples are biopsy, periodontal surgery, apical surgery, implant surgery, and surgical extractions of teeth (removal of erupted or nonerupted tooth requiring elevation of the mucoperiosteal flap, removal of bone or section of tooth, and suturing if needed).

2. Who will need periodontal surgery?

Periodontal or “gum” surgery is needed when conservative non-surgical treatments are ineffective in completely eradicating the periodontal disease. Luckily, periodontal surgery is a very simple and extremely effective technique to treat advanced periodontal problems.

3. What is apical surgery?

Apical surgery is considered a standard oral surgical procedure. It is often the last resort to surgically maintain a tooth with a periapical lesion that cannot be managed with conventional endodontic (re-)treatment. The main goal of apical surgery is to prevent bacterial leakage from the root-canal system into the periradicular tissues by placing a tight root-end filling following root-end resection. A major step in apical surgery is to identify possible leakage areas at the cut root face and subsequently to ensure adequate root-end filling. Only a tight and persistent apical obturation will allow periapical healing with good long-term prognosis.

4. When do I need a surgical extraction of teeth?

If a more volatile tooth has yet to grow in, however, our Commercial Drive resident dentist needs to remove gum tissue or bone in order to extract it. This is called a surgical extraction and requires stitches to close the site so that it can heal properly.  If a tooth breaks off during the procedure, for instance, it may need to be taken out in pieces. Wisdom teeth often face surgical extraction because they are usually impacted, meaning they are not completely erupted into the mouth. This condition requires cutting through bone and tissue. Removing severely broken down teeth, root tips or teeth with long-curved roots are other examples of surgical extractions. Then there are times when the bone around a tooth has become dense, resulting in the need for surgical treatment.

5. What will happen during my procedure?

At EastVan Dental, our dentist will explain how they plan to perform your surgery. Without having to get into too many specifics, you will know where your incision is being made, and any other details about what the procedure entails and what the goal is.

6. Do I need to be sedated during my oral surgery instead of the local anesthesia?

east vancouver dentist sedation

Our dentist on Commercial Drive will request in-depth past medical history before a patient can be sedated. Not all patients are able to be sedated. Patients who are anxious, nervous, or scared of dental visits may request sedation for a variety of dental care from a regular cleaning to wisdom teeth extractions. However, there may be other techniques to help a patient receive the necessary dental treatment in a safe and comfortable manner.

7. How long will the procedure take?

It depends on which oral surgery that our Dentist in East Vancouver consulted you to take. It could be from one hour to four hours or more. Ask our dentist for more details to suit your schedule.

8. How long is the recovery?

It depends on the kind of oral surgery. Wisdom teeth extraction usually takes a few days to one week for the pain and swelling to subside. The gums can take up to a month to completely heal. Our dentist will recommend a soft diet for a few days and provide detailed recovery instructions, such as how to deal with discomfort and swelling. Dental implants also require some healing time and this varies from patient to patient and procedure to procedure.

9. What food should I eat and avoid after surgery?

For 2 days after surgery, drink liquids and eat soft foods only. Such as milkshakes, eggnog, yogurt, cooked cereals, cottage cheese, smooth soups, mashed potatoes, refried beans, ice cream, pudding, fruit smoothies and protein shakes. On day 3 after surgery, eat soft foods that do not require much chewing, such as macaroni and cheese, cooked noodles, soft-boiled /scrambled/ poached eggs and soft sandwiches. Avoid tough or crunchy foods, such as pizza, rice, popcorn, and hamburger. Avoid spicy and acidic foods. Most patients may resume their normal diet 7 days after surgery.

10. What should not you do after oral surgery?

  • Do not apply heat to your face, unless your surgeon told you to do so.
  • Heat can increase swelling.
  • Do not use straws, suck on anything, or smoke.
  • These actions cause negative pressure in your mouth, which can dislodge the blood clot that is keeping your wound closed, causing more bleeding, and delay your healing.
  • Do not blow your nose. Wipe instead.  If you need to sneeze, do so with your mouth open.
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