FAQs

American Association of Endodontists says that over 15 million root canals are performed by dentists every year. Receiving a root canal near you can help remove the infection and save the tooth.

Today's root canals aren't a big deal; they are just like receiving a dental filling for cavitated teeth because our dentist uses sedation dentistry. You must let the dentist know about any signs you have that signal the need for a root canal.

A severe pain that presents like a wave could indicate an infection of the pulp or a dead tooth, thus signaling the need a root canal. When you bend or lie down, the pain in your tooth and face intensifies due to the increased pressure. If you notice bumps on your gums, it may be a sign of an infection in the pulp. These pimple-like bumps, also known as fistulas, are a clear indication of a pulp infection.

Swollen gums can indicate various dental issues. While brushing or flossing vigorously can cause temporary gum inflammation, persistent swollen gums may be a distinct problem. During pulp infection, the swollen gums feel tender, slightly painful to touch and remain swollen.

Reach out to us if you are experiencing signs, such as an abscess, tender gums, and sensitivity to cold and hot.

Composite fillings are tooth-colored fillings fabricated of resin material. They are flexible, meaning they can be better molded and crafted to fit an individual's tooth.

Resin fillings can bond to the natural tooth at a micro-level, and the bonding itself offers additional support. Composite fillings are preferred by both patients and dentists due to the aesthetic appeal they offer. When compared to amalgam or silver fillings, composite fillings provide a superior appearance for the restored tooth.

Composite fillings also prove safer for patients with allergies to metals found in amalgam fillings. Certain individuals, including pregnant women and infants under six months old, may have apprehensions regarding the presence of mercury in amalgam fillings. As a result, they may opt for composite fillings instead. Composite resin fillings are made of ceramic materials and do not contain any mercury. We do not recommend amalgam fillings.

One big advantage of any filling, including composite-based fillings, is that they can stop damage to your tooth. When a tooth has a cavity, bacteria creates tiny holes within the tooth. Over time, decay makes its way deep into the tooth. Dental fillings help seal the holes, thus helping stop the decay, which, if left, could continue causing damage and reach the pulp or even the jawbone.

It is not uncommon to have a filling fall out. When a filling is displaced and falls out because it begins to loosen and eventually comes out of place while brushing, eating, or flossing. Nonetheless, there are other times when it may be difficult to notice that a filling has loosened up or fallen out, particularly if it is small.

There are common signs that would indicate that an amalgam or composite resin filling has come out. Signs of a dislodged filling include sensitivity to cold or hot temperatures and sudden pain in the tooth where the filling was placed. If you notice that food is getting stuck in the areas where the filling is placed, it could mean it has fallen out.

A missing filling can cause a noticeable hole or crack in your tooth. A feeling of a hard, solid, little object within the mouth after biting down or chewing on something can also indicate a fallen-out composite resin filling.

If you notice any of the above signs, it is prudent that you schedule an appointment with our dentist to have the tooth examined and treated as recommended. If you believe a filling has fallen out, ensure you act quickly if the dental filling used to fill a gap between teeth becomes dislodged or falls out because food and bacteria will contact the tooth's interior or expose the nerves. This direct exposure may contribute to decay or infection of the tooth.

Once you have had wisdom tooth removal near you, you must follow the aftercare guideline and instructions our dentist provides you. Speedy recovery is essential to get back to normal activities. Without proper care of the extraction site, you could have complications such as a dry socket, in which the clotting is displaced, and the site begins bleeding. You may also experience pain when the clotting is displaced.

For two days following wisdom teeth removal, please consume liquids and soft foods such as yogurt, milkshakes, cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, and smooth soups, pudding, fruit smoothies, protein shakes, and refried beans are also ideal. You want to avoid sugary foods since they could contribute to bacteria entering the site or taking hold of the other teeth.

Avoid chewy, hard, crunchy, and sticky foods as they can break into pieces when chewing and can cause irritation to the site or potentially dislodge the blood clots. Keep on mind, acidic foods can hurt the gum tissue and cause inflammation, while spicy foods can irritate the gums and surgical areas, causing pain.

After seven days of wisdom tooth extraction, you should return to your normal diet. Avoiding very hot or crunchy foods for a few days is still advisable. Your soft-food diet will most likely last a week. You will also notice that the swelling and pain reduce throughout the week; therefore, you can gradually switch from soft foods to semisoft foods and then to normal foods.

When you have your wisdom tooth removed, there is a healing period that needs attention. What foods you eat can break or make the healing process work for you. Usually, wisdom tooth extraction will take about two weeks or so to heal. Only after you have healed can you revert to your usual diet. Otherwise, when the clot is forming and the site is healing, you are limited to only certain foods, such as a soft diet and liquid, not hard, crunchy, or chewy foods.

At around day seven after the extraction, some patients do not have any pain and swelling is reduced. The discomfort, if any, will continue to disperse, and usually, by day three, it is when you begin to feel better. The first days may be slightly discomforting since the site has not healed properly, and clotting is still forming.

After undergoing a wisdom tooth extraction, it is recommended to gradually return to your regular diet within a few days. You should still be careful because consuming hot and crunchy foods can harm the site.

A week after extraction is typically an appropriate time to begin getting back to your normal diet. We recommend you eat vegetables, proteins, and fruits like avocados, peaches, pears, and bananas. A balanced diet is crucial because it provides the required nutrients to promote the site's healing.

There may be no easy way to know if a dental crown is the treatment for your damaged tooth. A dentist is the only best-placed professional who can tell if a crown is an ideal restoration for you.

Nonetheless, you can watch for signs of needing a dental crown, such as a large filling or a cracked, broken or fractured tooth. A tooth with a large filling may require crowing, particularly one you received months or years ago. Over time, after filling the tooth, it may have weakened, fractured, or cracked, and it needs to be strengthened and protected. In this case, you can get a crown. Infected pulp refers to a dental condition where the soft tissue, known as pulp, within the tooth becomes infected.

After receiving root canal therapy to eradicate a diseased or infected pulp, a dentist may consider filling a crown. Though the root canal saves your tooth, it can weaken its structure. When you have a weak tooth, it can fracture easily.

An advanced cavity can necessitate a crown placement. The reason is that the cavity has left little structure to allow a filling. Therefore, a dentist should consider placing a dental crown. Crowns offer better long-term protection than a simple filling when you have an advanced cavity.

Another way to know if you need a crown is when you have stained, misshapen, or severely worn teeth. Severely stained, mishappen or worn teeth can affect your self-esteem and confidence. Dental crowns can cover the stained, mishappen or worn teeth, helping improve their look, size, shape, and health.

Tooth extractions arise for a variety of reasons. You could have an impacted tooth that could present potential problems in the future. You may need dental implants, and your damaged tooth needs to be extracted. Not all extractions are an emergency, though. A tooth extraction may become an emergency when the tooth is diseased, damaged, infected, and hurting.

A severe toothache can compel you to visit a dentist near you for an extraction. An emergency dentist can pull the tooth to help stop the pain and prevent additional bone or surrounding teeth damage. The dentist will evaluate the nature of the damage or infection and see if extraction is the best possible treatment. Remember that dentists always strive to save a tooth, and extraction only arises when other techniques have failed, or they cannot resolve the problem.

A root canal, for instance, may be done if the tooth is aching, but it is still salvageable. If the dentist finds that the tooth cannot be saved, then extraction is recommended. Receiving emergency dental care when you have a damaged or badly infected tooth is crucial because it takes away the pain and discomfort. Additionally, the extraction averts further harm to your jawbone or other teeth.

When an infection is left untreated, it can reach and attack the jawbone, damaging it to a point where other teeth or even implant placement may become difficult. Talk to us regarding your toothache to see if tooth removal is the best option. Our emergency dentist near you will conduct an exam before suggesting the right treatment.

The best toothpaste to whiten teeth should contain sensitivity-reduction properties. It should also have mild to moderate whitening agents, so patients do not risk damaging their teeth. Additionally, the toothpaste manufacturer should provide essential information on how frequently and to what extent you should whiten your teeth with the toothpaste.

A study published in F1000Research in March 2022 hinted that whitening toothpaste could deteriorate the enamel over time when a person relies heavily on them or whitens too frequently. The researchers discovered that whitening toothpaste is likely to reduce the mineral content within the enamel that helps provide the hardness and strength needed for the tooth's protection against cavities.

When you have the right toothpaste to whiten your teeth and use them correctly, you can remove some surface stains from your teeth. Some whitening toothpaste also lessens intrinsic stains from teeth; effective whitening toothpaste can lighten teeth by about 2 to 3 shades.

It is also prudent to understand that whitening toothpaste is only as good at removing the stains as the type of stains you have. For stains caused by coffee or smoking, you can get toothpaste to slightly whiten the teeth by removing the surface stains. If you have stains that go deeper into the tooth's enamel or dentin, toothpaste cannot whiten them. Also, whitening toothpaste is unable to change the teeth's natural color.

The most preferred way to whiten teeth is to seek professional teeth whitening such as Zoom! A dentist can perform zoom whitening to lighten the shade of your teeth to up to six - eight shades depending on the severity of the staining and discoloration.

Although most people think of teeth whitening and placement of crowns or veneers when seeking to improve their smile, there is also a need to consider the gums' appearance. You may consider a gum contouring procedure if your gums are too pronounced or have receded to make gum too small.

Gum contouring is aimed at changing the gums' shape. A dentist utilizes the procedure to remove excessive gum tissue responsible for the gummy smile you have. During your smile evaluation, the dentists at Holger Dental Group will look at the health and aesthetics of your teeth and gums, and recommend gum contouring when necessary to achieve the best results. Dr. Holger can perform both a gingivectomy (to remove excess gum tissue), and connective tissue grafting (to replace receding gums) when appropriate.

You may know that gum contouring is right for you if you have uneven gums. If the gums cover too little or too much of the teeth, you could also be a candidate for gum reshaping. A dentist can perform the procedure under anesthesia or sedatives to make you comfortable.

After the gum reshaping surgery, you may feel discomfort and swelling as the site heals; this should subside after a few days. A laser may be used in the gum countouring surgery for precision and easy healing. In any case, you can apply ice packs and use pain reduction medications as the dentist prescribes. Our team will go over further post-operative instructions with you prior to your surgical visit.

Talk to our dentist about receiving gum contouring near you if you are worried about the look of your gums.

Here is an example of one of our patients, Maggie Helget, and how gum contouring was used to improve the appearance of her smile.

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Tooth bridges can help after you have lost teeth. Today bridges are more innovative, and in addition to the traditional bridges supported by the adjacent teeth, there are also implant-supported bridges that use implant screws for improved stability, balance, support, and strength.

Dental bridges function to prevent bite problems, chewing difficulties, an undesired look of a smile, and pain from the excess stress placed on the teeth and jaw due to missing some teeth. Before receiving a tooth bridge, you should know how long the restoration will last.

Several things can determine how long a dental bridge may last, including the method of installation, the construction of the dental bridge, and the kind of care you give to the restorations. For traditional fixed bridges supported by the nearby teeth, they may last 5 to 15 years, potentially and ideally more. Depending on a host of factors such as home care, following up with routine dental hygiene visits, and not tensing or grinding.

Regarding implant-supported bridge, since the dental implants osseointegrate with the natural bone, therefore the implants themselves can last a lifetime with proper care.

Make sure you maintain at home oral care by doing twice-a-day brushing and flossing carefully. Also, see our dentist regularly to inspect the tooth bridge to see its good function.

The time it takes to complete a dental implant procedure varies depending on what implants you are receiving, the pre-implant procedures needed, and your general health or ability to recover quickly. Typically, a traditional implant procedure will take about 3 to 9 months. Once you receive the implant screws fabricated of titanium or zirconia, you have about 3-6 months of healing, during which the metal screw bonds and cements onto the jawbone this is called osseointegration.

After the osseointegration occurs, you can have the permanent crown placed. The procedure may take much longer for patients who need additional dental work. After undergoing a tooth extraction, as well as additional treatments like a bone graft or sinus augmentation, it may require an additional few months to fully complete the entire process. These additional procedures, aimed at promoting proper healing and preparing the area for future dental work, can extend the overall timeline for treatment.

For All-on-X dental implant procedure, you can install the provisional fixed denture in one day after proper planning has been completed. At Holger Dental Group, we will ensure your temporary fixed denture functions well and looks beautiful before giving you the permanent fixed denture.

You will need to talk to our dentist about the recovery time for your dental implants because every patient is unique.

It is important to consult with a dentist for an appointment before scheduling a ZOOM! appointment. Additionally, we highly recommend using desensitizing toothpaste prior to ZOOM! treatment as whitening may cause sensitivity. Our offices include desensitizing toothpaste and trays included in your ZOOM! treatment.

ZOOM! Teeth Whitening is a non-invasive treatment that makes your teeth look brighter. It is a process that combines ZOOM! light or laser with a whitening gel made of hydrogen peroxide. A dentist uses a special lamp and a whitening gel to bleach every tooth to get a brighter smile.

The treatment lightens the discoloration or staining on the tooth enamel. It takes about 2 hours to complete the treatment. A dentist uses a high concentration of the whitening agent as a gel to cover the teeth being whitened. After the hydrogen peroxide gets in contact with the special light released by the lamp or ZOOM! light, it breaks down. The peroxide dissolves, releasing oxygen into small pores in your teeth. It is the oxygen that helps in flushing out the stains to make the teeth brighter. Zoom whitening does not impact the teeth's physical structure. It is a low-risk treatment and is considered among the best options for professional teeth whitening you can receive.

Before applying the gel, the dentist will cover the lips and gums to protect them from hydrogen peroxide. You will also utilize protective eyewear. Once the whitening gel is put on the teeth's surface and activated with a special light, it can remain there for about 15 minutes. The dentist will then clean the teeth and repeat the process. If needed, the light may be adjusted or more gel put on the teeth depending on the results obtained from each session. After the whitening, a sensitivity paste is coated on the teeth to help minimize sensitivity.

People receive temporary partial dentures after they have had a tooth extraction. The provisional dentures help with esthetic function while still holding and securing the space left by the extracted or lost teeth until permanent dentures are placed. The temporary denture secures the gap or space, ensuring other nearby teeth do not infringe on it and cause bite misalignment.

Temporary dentures are usually custom-fabricated before tooth extraction surgery. Dentists often make dentures to resemble natural teeth as much as possible. The base of the dentures features the color of the gums, and the artificial teeth mounted over the gum-looking base give an impression of natural-looking teeth.

Although they may look as natural and near to real teeth, temporary dentures are not meant to last indefinitely. In most cases, temporary dentures are difficult to differentiate from normal teeth. A dentist will choose a color or shade closest to the patient's real teeth. This way, a patient has dentures that bring a uniform appearance.

Also, in terms of the sharpness of the temporary partial denture, it does not feel like the permanent one. When you touch or look at them, you can see that the temporary denture's teeth aren't as sharp as expected. Therefore, they don't look and feel like normal teeth regarding sharpness.

Dentists advise that patients with healthy teeth and gums visit a dental clinic twice a year for cleanings and exams. These appointments are paramount and can help keep your oral health at its best while allowing the dentist to spot issues before they get serious. Dental wellness visits take roughly 60 minutes, but based on the status of the teeth and the presence of oral problems, it could take longer.

The cleaning helps to safely remove plaque and tartar. In addition to cleaning, the dentist inspects the teeth and gums to see any potential issues of concern like gum infection, cavitated teeth, or grinding and clenching effects. X-rays are also utilized for an in-depth view of the oral structures.

Additionally, the dentist does oral cancer screening whereby the throat, neck, mouth, and tongue are checked for signs of cancer. You may feel the dentist pulsating the neck and throat areas. You may also notice the dentist using a special light to look inside the mouth and tongue. Here the dentist is trying to see if there are abnormally-looking tissues in the mouth that could be checked for cancer.

Visit our dental office today to get dental cleaning near you to help prevent dental problems like cavities, gum disease, and decay from arising. After the 60-minute appointment, the dentist will let you know when you should be coming for your next cleaning and exam appointment.