Chicago Dentist

Artificial – although they look realistic, porcelain veneers are artificial teeth, which may be a problem for those desiring a more natural solution to their dental problem.

High Cost – Veneers, especially porcelain veneers, are expensive. Each veneer can range anywhere from $500 to $1000. When that gets multiplied with the number of teeth that needs veneering, it becomes a costly investment.

Fragility – Although porcelain veneers are relatively tough, they are not impervious to any chipping/breaking when exposed to excessive impact or force, e.g. teeth grinding, eating hard foods, etc. Repairing or replacing veneers then becomes an expensive endeavor.

Permanent Procedure – when its done, there’s no going back.

Side effects: Teeth Sensitivity – Since the veneering procedure requires the removal of enamel, your tooth may become more sensitive to hot and cold foods and beverages.

You may not be candidate – If you have unhealthy teeth (for example, those with decay or active periodontal disease), weakened teeth (as a result of decay, fracture, large dental fillings), have an inadequate amount of existing enamel on the tooth surface, or suffer from bruxism (teeth clenching).

Overall, most people find that the advantages porcelain veneers can bring, outweigh the disadvantages. Porcelain veneers are an easy way to attain a perfect smile and a friendlier appearance. The resultant natural-looking, well-aligned, whiter, more evenly-spaced teeth provide for that much sought-after cosmetically perfect smile. That is the reason why veneers are so popular among professionals, actors and actresses and other public performers.

LINK

Bleeding from the gums is mainly due to inadequate plaque removal from the teeth at the gum line. This will lead to a condition called gingivitis , or inflamed gums. If plaque is not removed through regular brushing and dental appointments, it will harden into what is known as tartar. Ultimately, this will lead to increased bleeding and a more advanced form of gum and jawbone disease known as periodontitis .

LINK

Root canal therapy refers to the process by which a dentist treats the inner aspects of a tooth, specifically that area inside a tooth that is occupied by its “pulp tissue.” Most people would probably refer to a tooth’s pulp tissue as its “nerve.” While a tooth’s pulp tissue does contain nerve fibers it is also composed of arteries, veins, lymph vessels, and connective tissue.

LINK

Cavities occur as a result of tooth decay. Tooth decay is the destruction of tooth structure. Tooth decay can affect both the enamel (the outer coating of the tooth) and the dentin layer of the tooth.
Tooth decay occurs when foods containing carbohydrates (sugars and starches) such as breads, cereals, milk, soda, fruits, cakes, or candy are left on the teeth. Bacteria that live in the mouth digest these foods, turning them into acids. The bacteria, acid, food debris, and saliva combine to form plaque, which clings to the teeth. The acids in plaque dissolve the enamel surface of the teeth, creating holes in the teeth called cavities, or caries. Who Gets Cavities? Many people think cavities only affect children, but changes that occur with aging make cavities an adult problem too. Recession of the gums (a pulling away of gum tissue from the teeth), often associated with an increased incidence of gingivitis (gum disease), can expose tooth roots to plaque. Also, sugary food cravings in pregnant women can make them more vulnerable to developing cavities.  Decay around the edges of fillings is also common in older adults. Because many older adults lacked the benefits of fluoride and modern preventive dental care when they were growing up, they often have a number of dental fillings. Over the years, these fillings may weaken and can fracture, allowing bacteria to accumulate in the tiny crevices causing tooth decay.

LINK

Cavity. That’s the word no one wants to hear at the dentist’s office. A cavity (say: ka-vuh-tee) develops when a tooth decays (say: dih-kaze), or breaks down. A cavity is a hole that can grow bigger and deeper over time. Cavities are also called dental caries (say: kar-eez), and if you have a cavity, it’s important to get it repaired. But why would your tooth develop a hole? Blame plaque. That’s a sticky, slimy substance made up mostly of the germs that cause tooth decay. The bacteria in your mouth make acids and when plaque clings to your teeth, the acids can eat away at the outermost layer of the tooth, called the enamel (say: ih-na-mul).
LINK

Cosmetic Dentistry Offers A Smile Makeover
Cosmetic dentistry comprises of dental procedures that are aimed at improving the overall aesthetics of your smile. A beautiful smile enhances the self-confidence and the personality of an individual. With the increasing media focus on ’smile’ and recent popular TV shows such as ‘Extreme Makeover’, wearing a stunning smile has suddenly become almost everybody’s covet. Further, the growing awareness towards dental health has many people flock to dental clinics where advanced dental care procedures are readily available. The recent development in the technology of dentistry has enabled dental surgeons to address an extensive range of challenges in the direction of dental surgery and treatment procedure. With the introduction of cosmetic dentistry, which is popularly known as wedding smile, smile makeover and even Hollywood smile, the dentists are now able to improve the overall aesthetics of smile that empowers you with an impressive personality.

LINK

Two North Side dentists had their licenses to practice suspended Thursday after a popular Logan Square elementary school principal died after a routine root canal surgery in December. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation suspended the dental and controlled substance license and the conscious sedation permits of Joseph Feldman, D.D.S. and Lawrence Feldman, D.D.S., late Thursday afternoon, according to an IDFPR release. The Feldmans maintained a joint practice in Chicago in the 3400 block of North Broadway in the Lake View neighborhood on the North Side. The Department has the authority to issue a summary suspension when it determines that the health and safety of the public may be in danger by the continued practice of a dentist, the release said. Forty-six-year-old Georgette Watson, Brentano Math and Science Academy’s principal, stopped breathing while in surgery Dec. 17 at the dental office in the 3400 block of Broadway, police said. She was pronounced dead at a hospital and died after having a root canal surgery while under some type of sedation. A police report stated Watson died after a heart attack.

LINK

When using dental floss, think in terms of using the floss to scrub as much of the surface of each tooth as is possible. When reading Dental-Picture-Show.com’s flossing instructions take note of their description about pulling the dental floss up against the side of each tooth being cleaned. The vast majority of people, including those who do use dental floss regularly, simply do not have a grasp of this concept. Dental floss is intended to clean teeth by way of scrubbing dental plaque off their surface. Effective flossing is not accomplished by just placing dental floss between teeth. Effective flossing involves placing dental floss between your teeth and then drawing it up against the side of each tooth individual tooth and scrubbing as much of its surface as is possible.

LINK

As cosmetic dentistry becomes better known, more people have been discovering the many virtues of porcelain veneers. If you have a busy lifestyle that doesn’t give you big chunks of time to spend in a dental chair, they will have extra appeal. In this one procedure you can correct an array of dental defects:

• Discoloration that won’t brighten up with a tooth whitening procedure

• Small gaps between teeth

• Slightly mis-matched tooth sizes

• Small chips and shallow cracks in the enamel

• Slight crookedness or misalignment

LINK

Lumineers are porcelain veneers that fit on the surface of your existing teeth. They are constructed out of extraordinarily strong, contact-lens thin porcelain, and are a painless cosmetic solution to permanently stained, chipped, discolored, misaligned, or spaced teeth, transforming them into a naturally white, radiant smile.

LINK

A Pleasant Hill dentist will be all smiles when he watches the U.S. synchronized swimmers during the Beijing Olympic Games next month. And their smiles will be all the brighter because of his work. On Wednesday, the team dropped into Dr. Ricardo Perez’s office, where he and two assistants prepared free custom tooth-whitening trays for each swimmer and their coaches. Everyone spent about 10 minutes in the chair having impressions made in alginate, a gummy substance that molds to the teeth to create the custom trays. The team members will use the trays with whitening gel to maintain their pearly whites. The services were worth about $300 per person, said Perez, a longtime watcher of the Olympics  “I think it will be cool to see their white teeth when they’re on TV,” he said. “It will be a great thing for them to have a bright smile.”

LINK

ABC’s Good Morning America did a piece last month on dental bleaching at kiosks in malls. They claim that the kiosks are popping-up in malls across the country. I have not been in a mall since probably 1996 but I will assume they are correct and report what they found. ABC News’ Cincinnati affiliate WCPO investigated some mall bleaching kiosks using hidden cameras to uncover what goes on in the booths. The promise? Whiter teeth in just 30 minutes for a fraction of the price a dentist would charge. It’s not a dentist office, it’s a mall. People are getting their teeth whitened in a corridor, wedged between a jewelry story and a makeup shop.

LINK

Bad breath is breath that has an unpleasant odor. It’s also known as halitosis. This odor can strike from time to time, or it can be long-lasting, depending on the cause. Millions of bacteria live in the mouth, particularly on the back of the tongue. In many people, they are the primary causes of bad breath. The mouth’s warm, moist conditions are ideal for the growth of these bacteria. Most bad breath is caused by something in the mouth. Some types of bad breath are considered to be fairly normal. They usually are not health concerns. One example is “morning mouth.” This occurs because of changes in your mouth while you sleep. During the day, saliva washes away decaying food and odors. The body makes less saliva at night. Your mouth becomes dry, and dead cells stick to your tongue and to the inside of your cheeks. When bacteria use these cells for food, they produce a foul odor.

LINK

How Does What You Eat Affect Breath?

Basically, all the food you eat begins to be broken down in your mouth. As foods are digested and absorbed into your bloodstream, they are eventually carried to your lungs and given off in your breath. If you eat foods with strong odors (such as, garlic or onions), brushing and flossing - even mouthwash - merely covers up the odor temporarily. The odor will not go away completely until the foods have passed through your body.

LINK

Judging a person’s breath by way of organoleptic testing simply means that the researcher performing the breath evaluation has used their sense of smell (their nose) as the means for making the determination. Historically this method of breath testing has been a frequent choice among dental researchers. Noses are readily available, inexpensive to obtain and operate, and to their credit, noses can detect up to 10,000 different smells. One of the problems associated with using organoleptic testing is that this technique is not totally objective. Another is that factors other than just breath odors can and do influence organoleptic evaluations. In fact research has shown that factors such as hunger, menstrual cycle, head position, and the degree of attentiveness and expectation can each influence a judge’s interpretation of what they smell.

LINK

Category: Dentists

Neighborhood: Avondale
2833 N. Milwaukee Ave.
(between Dawson Ave & Woodard St)
Chicago, IL 60618
http://www.chicago-dental.com/