Milan Dental Associates
Dentist - Milan
519 W. Main Street , Milan, MI 48160
(734) 439-1543
My Blog
Posts for: April, 2016
A woman as gorgeous and funny as Sofia Vergara surely planned to be a model and actress from the get-go, right? Wrong! Sofia’s first career choice actually was to be… a dentist! That’s right, the sexy star of TV’s Modern Family actually was only two semesters shy of finishing a dental degree in her native Columbia when she traded dental school for the small screen. Still, dental health remains a top priority for the actress and her son, Manolo.
“I’m obsessed,” she recently told People magazine. “My son thinks I’m crazy because I make him do a cleaning every three months. I try to bribe the dentist to make him to do it sooner!”
That’s what we call a healthy obsession (teeth-cleaning, not bribery). And while coming in for a professional cleaning every three months may not be necessary for everyone, some people — especially those who are particularly susceptible to gum disease — may benefit from professional cleanings on a three-month schedule. In fact, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to having professional teeth cleanings — but everyone needs this beneficial procedure on a regular basis.
Even if you are meticulous about your daily oral hygiene routine at home, there are plenty of reasons for regular checkups. They include:
- Dental exam. Oral health problems such as tooth decay and gum disease are much easier — and less expensive — to treat in the earliest stages. You may not have symptoms of either disease early on, but we can spot the warning signs and take appropriate preventive or restorative measures.
- Oral cancer screening. Oral cancer is not just a concern of the middle aged and elderly — young adults can be affected as well (even those who do not smoke). The survival rate for this deadly disease goes up tremendously if it is detected quickly, and an oral cancer screening is part of every routine dental visit.
- Professional teeth cleaning. Calcified (hardened) dental plaque (tartar or calculus) can build up near the gum line over time — even if you brush and floss every day. These deposits can irritate your gums and create favorable conditions for tooth decay. You can’t remove tartar by flossing or brushing, but we can clear it away — and leave you with a bright, fresh-feeling smile!
So take a tip from Sofia Vergara, and don’t skimp on professional cleanings and checkups. If you want to know how often you should come in for routine dental checkups, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can learn more in the Dear Doctor articles “Dental Hygiene Visit” and “Dental Cleanings Using Ultrasonic Scalers.”
Although highly preventable, total tooth loss continues to affect millions of people worldwide, harming their nutrition, health and social standing. In the United States alone, a quarter of adults between 65 and 74 suffer from total tooth loss.
Fortunately, there are a number of ways to restore lost teeth, including fixed bridgework and dental implants. These fixed solutions, though, can put a strain on finances; implants in particular require a minimum amount of bone in the jaw, which may not be present in people with extensive tooth loss. In these cases, removable dentures, time-tested and affordable, are a viable option.
While the technology is simple, adaptable and effective, creating custom-fitted dentures is a painstaking process. It begins with an impression mold of the patient’s jaw ridges that once supported the natural teeth. A dental lab technician uses the impression to fashion a life-like plastic resin base, making sure the final dimensions won’t interfere with the patient’s cheeks, lips, and jaw movement.
The prosthetic (artificial) teeth, each chosen to match the patient’s facial structure and past appearance, are then carefully positioned on the base. Teeth positioning on each denture arch must also balance with the opposing arch to assure a good bite. Once delivered, the dentist may make other adjustments to assure they fit comfortably within the patient’s mouth.
Dentures also require regular care and maintenance to ensure a continuing good fit and an overall healthy mouth. Your gums will still be susceptible to disease, so cleaning and maintaining both your dentures and the mouth’s soft tissues is an ongoing necessity.
The lack of natural teeth can also lead to more bone loss, which can cause the dentures to lose their accurate fit and make them uncomfortable to wear. To remedy this, we can add more resin material to the dentures to refit them or, in extreme cases of poor fit, create a new denture to match current gum contours. Alternatively, we can install a few dental implants that will support the denture instead of the gum ridges, which would inhibit further bone loss.
To learn whether dentures could be a good option for you, we’ll first need to conduct a thorough examination of your mouth. It could be this original tooth replacement system will bring back the teeth and smile you’ve lost.
If you would like more information on dentures, 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 “Removable Full Dentures.”