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1235 W. State ST
Hastings, MI 49058
(269) 948-8029
Patient Library
Find helpful information in our digital library.
Archive:
- 2017
- 2016
- November (5)
- Reduce Your Oral Cancer Risk with Better Diet and Lifestyle Choices
- Clear Aligners Make it Easier for Teenagers to have Their Teeth Straightened
- 4 Reasons you may want Your Dentist to Whiten Your Teeth
- Transform Your Smile and Dental Health by Correcting Your Bad Bite
- Follow These Common Sense Steps When Your Child has a Toothache
- October (5)
- What to Expect Before, During and After Implant Surgery
- Don't let Gum Disease - the 'Other Dental Disease' - Rob you of Your Smile
- Reduce Sugar Consumption - for a Healthier Mouth and Body
- Keeping up Good Hygiene Still a Necessity with Dental Implants
- Teenagers May Need a Temporary Tooth Replacement
- August (5)
- Do you need Simple Tooth Removal or Surgery? It Depends on a few Factors
- People Born with Missing Teeth can Still Gain a Beautiful Smile
- You can Still have Implants with Diabetes - if you have it under Control
- See Your new Look Before Dental Work with a 'Trial Smile'
- Topical Fluoride Adds Extra Protection against Tooth Decay
- June (5)
- Keeping Gum Disease at Bay Could Help Your Overall Health
- The Risk for Gum Disease Increases While Wearing Braces
- Monitoring Blood Pressure is Also Important During Dental Care
- Adult Tooth Root Resorption is a Serious Issue that Requires Prompt Action
- Weigh a Poor Smile's Emotional and Social Cost when Considering Restorations
- March (5)
- Surgically Accessing Sinuses can Help Grow New Bone for Implants
- Kids, Cats and Canines: Dental Development Through the Ages
- Removable Dentures Remain a Viable Option for People with Total Tooth Loss
- Advancing Gum Disease Requires Thorough Treatment to Control it
- Support Your Child's Teeth Development with Proper Hygiene and Dental Care
- 2015
- 2014
- December (5)
- Reduce Your Risk of Oral Cancer With a Healthy Whole Food Diet
- Periodontal Surgery may be Needed to Halt Gum Disease and Encourage Healing
- Extend the Life of Your Dental Appliance With Proper Care
- More Than a new Smile - Dental Implants Help Stop Bone Loss as Well
- Dealing With Dental Emergencies While Traveling Abroad
- August (5)
- Does Your Toothbrush Need A Cleaning?
- Replace Missing Teeth to Prevent Other Teeth From Moving Out of Place
- Composite Resins are a Viable Restoration Option for Mildly Defective Teeth
- A Fixed Bridge Remains an Effective Option for Tooth Replacement
- Make Informed Choices on Drinking Water by Knowing the Facts
- April (5)
- Five Things You Should Know About Sleep Apnea
- Seeking Relief From Burning Mouth Syndrome
- Non-Vital Bleaching Removes Unsightly Tooth Discoloration From Within
- Considering Bone and Gums Critical to Achieving a Better Smile With Implants
- Know What to do to Ease Your Child Out of the Thumb Sucking Habit
- 2013
- 2012
- 2011
Tags
- celebrity smiles (5)
- dental hygiene (4)
- teeth whitening (9)
- cosmetic dentistry (35)
- dental implants (31)
- diabetes (2)
- periodontal (gum) disease (5)
- smile makeover (20)
- wedding day smiles (2)
- veneers (6)
- teeth grinding (5)
- oral health (58)
- night guards (1)
- crowns (5)
- mouthguards (3)
- sports dentistry (4)
- dental injuries (5)
- nutrition (6)
- oral cancer (6)
- fluoride (4)
- dental injury (2)
- dental emergency (2)
- root canal (8)
- tooth decay (12)
- dental health tips (1)
- oral hygiene (23)
- tmd (4)
- tmj (5)
- laser dentistry (3)
- common symptoms (6)
- wedding day smile (1)
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- brushing teeth (2)
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- snoring (2)
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- tongue scraper (1)
- bad breath (3)
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- dental implant (3)
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- pediatric dentistry (18)
- wisdom teeth (3)
- sensitive teeth (2)
- snoring and sleep apnea (2)
- tooth wear (2)
- grinding (1)
- sedation dentistry (3)
- oral sedation (2)
- gum recession (5)
- endodontics (1)
- crown (1)
- discolored teeth (1)
- bleaching (1)
- stained teeth (1)
- missing teeth (2)
- clear orthodontic aligners (2)
- invisalign (2)
- orthodontics (7)
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- loose teeth (2)
- periodontal disease (14)
- gum disease (28)
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- cosmetic gum surgery (2)
- tooth extraction (2)
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Categories:
My Blog
With college, a full-time job and an upcoming wedding to plan, Brooke Vitense had the hectic life of an average young woman in her twenties. But a chance discovery one morning would completely upend her normal life.
That morning Brook noticed white spots on the underside of her tongue while brushing her teeth. Not long after, she pointed out the spots to her dentist during her regular dental checkup. He recommended having the spots biopsied, just to be safe. She needed a wisdom tooth removed, so she scheduled the biopsy with her oral surgeon to coincide with the tooth extraction.
She soon forgot about the biopsy — until her dentist contacted her about the results. The lesions were pre-cancerous: he recommended she have them and a portion of her tongue removed surgically as soon as possible.
She underwent the procedure, but that wasn't the end of her ordeal. The follow-up pathology report indicated cancerous cells in the tissue excised during the procedure. To ensure elimination of any remaining cancerous cells they would need to remove more of her tongue as well as the lymph nodes from her neck.
Brooke survived her cancer experience and has since resumed her life. Her story, though, highlights some important facts about oral cancer.
Oral cancer is life-threatening. Although cases of oral cancer are rarer than other types of malignancies, the survival rate is low (50%). This is because lesions or other abnormalities are often dismissed as simple sores. Like any cancer, the earlier it's detected and treated, the better the chances for survival.
Anyone of any age can develop oral cancer. While most cases occur in older adults, young and otherwise healthy people like Brooke are not immune. It's important for everyone to make healthy lifestyle choices (good oral hygiene and nutrition, moderate alcohol use and avoidance of tobacco) and see a dentist whenever you see an abnormal sore or spot in your mouth.
Regular dental checkups are crucial for early detection. Had Brooke not seen her dentist soon after discovering the spots on her tongue, her survivability could have been drastically lower. Regular dental visits (and cancer screenings if you're at high risk) could mean all the difference in the world.
If you would like more information on the signs and treatment of oral cancer, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can watch Brooke's interview by visiting How a Routine Dental Visit Saved My Life
Treating advanced periodontal (gum) disease takes time. If you have this destructive disease, it wouldn’t be uncommon for you to undergo several cleaning sessions to remove plaque from tooth and gum surfaces. This built-up film of bacteria and food particles is primarily responsible for triggering and fueling gum disease.
These cleaning sessions, which might also involve surgery and other advanced techniques to access deep pockets of infection, are necessary not only to heal your gums but to preserve the teeth they support. With these intense efforts, however, we can help rescue your teeth and return your reddened and swollen gums to a healthy, pink hue.
But what then — is your gum disease a thing of the past?
The hard reality is that once you’ve experienced gum disease your risk of another occurrence remains. From now on, you must remain vigilant and disciplined with your oral hygiene regimen to minimize the chances of another infection. You can’t afford to slack in this area.
Besides daily brushing and flossing as often as your dentist directs, you should also visit your dentist for periodontal maintenance (PM) on a regular basis. For people who’ve experienced gum disease, PM visits are more than a routine teeth cleaning. For one, your dentist may recommend more than the typical two visits a year: depending on the severity of your disease or your genetic vulnerability, you may need to increase the frequency of maintenance appointments by visiting the dentist every two to three months.
Besides plaque and calculus (tartar) removal, these visits could include applications of topical antibiotics or other anti-bacterial substances to curb the growth of disease-causing bacteria in your mouth. You may also need to undergo surgical procedures to make particular areas prone to plaque buildup easier to clean.
The main point, though, is that although you’ve won your battle with gum disease, the war isn’t over. But with your own daily hygiene maintenance coupled with your dentist’s professional attention, you’ll have a much better chance of avoiding a future infection.
If you would like more information on preventing and treating gum disease, 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 “Periodontal Cleanings.”
Most of us wouldn't think of buying a new car without a “test drive.” It's a serious investment, so you want to make sure you're comfortable with your new ride.
Like an auto purchase, the plan you and your dentist agree on to cosmetically enhance your teeth and gums — a “smile makeover” — is a significant investment. Wouldn't it be nice to “test drive” your future smile before you undergo any procedures?
Actually, you can — two ways, in fact. For one, your dentist could use computer imaging software that alters a photo of your face to show how your smile will appear after dental work. These computer enhancements are a great planning tool for making decisions on the look you want to achieve.
But even the best computer images only provide a static, two-dimensional representation of your new smile. It can't capture all the angles and movement dynamics of any proposed changes. That's where the other way, a trial smile, is a true test drive — you can see your future smile in action.
With a trial smile, your dentist temporarily places tooth-colored material called composite resin on your teeth to simulate the proposed changes. The resin can be shaped and sculpted to create a life-like replica that you'll be able to view in all three spatial dimensions. What's more it will give you a chance not only to see what your new smile will look like, but to actually experience how it feels in your mouth.
Creating a trial smile is an added expense and it's only available during your consultation visit — the dentist will need to remove the resin before you leave. But you'll still be able to get a good impression of what your final smile will be like. You'll also be able to take photos you can show to family and friends to get their impressions of your proposed new look.
A trial smile allows you to know beforehand what your dental work investment will provide you, and even fine-tune your makeover plan before work begins. With this particular kind of “test drive” you'll have greater assurance that you'll be happy and satisfied with the end results.
If you would like more information on trial smiles, 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 “Testing Your Smile Makeover.”
Do-it-yourself (DIY) whitening kits are a popular option for restoring a healthy shine to stained and dulled teeth. They're relatively safe and generally live up to their packaging claims.
But a home kit might not always be your best option. Here are 4 reasons why DIY whitening might not be right for you.
You're on the early side of your teen years. Tooth whitening at home is quite popular with teenagers. For older teens it doesn't really pose a dental risk as long as you use the product appropriately (more on that in a moment). However, the immature enamel of younger teens' permanent teeth is still developing and can be vulnerable to damage by whitening processes.
You don't follow instructions well. Not to say you have this particular character quirk — but if you do you may run into trouble with DIY whitening. Home kits are safe if you follow their instructions carefully. If you use them to excess as one 13-year old boy was reported to have done, you could severely (and permanently) erode your teeth's protective enamel.
Your teeth are in need of dental work. Tooth whitening can't fix everything that may be contributing to an unattractive smile. It's always better to have issues like dental disease or chipped teeth addressed first before whitening. And, if your tooth discoloration originates from inside your tooth, a whitening kit won't help — they're only designed for staining on the enamel's outside surface. You'll need a special dental procedure to whiten internal (or intrinsic) tooth staining.
You want to control the amount of brightness. Home kits don't have the level of fine-tuning that a clinical procedure can achieve. While the bleaching agent in a professional whitening solution is much stronger than a home kit, your dentist is trained in techniques that can vary the amount of bleaching, from a softer white to dazzling “Hollywood” bright. And clinical whitening usually takes fewer sessions and may last longer than a home kit.
If you're interested in teeth whitening, see your dentist for a dental examination first before purchasing a DIY kit. Even if you decide to do it yourself, your dentist can give you buying advice for whitening kits, as well as how-to tips.
If you would like more information on tooth whitening, 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 “Tooth Whitening Safety Tips.”
Before you consider cosmetic changes to your smile, ask yourself one question: how's your bite? How your teeth are positioned and aligned doesn't just affect their function — it also affects your appearance. A proper bite is foundational to a beautiful smile — and it deserves your attention first.
Here are 3 important steps for addressing your bite problem on your way to a more attractive smile.
Get an orthodontic evaluation. Only a dentist or orthodontist can determine if your teeth are properly aligned and working well with each other — and if not, why. With their knowledge and expertise they'll be able to tell you what specific bite problem (malocclusion) you have and the best treatment to correct it to support any future cosmetic enhancement.
Consider your tooth-movement options carefully. If you have a malocclusion, your dentist or orthodontist may recommend correction before undertaking other cosmetic work. In most cases, you'll have two choices. The first is traditional metal braces, which uses wires held in place and anchored by brackets cemented to the teeth. They're effective, but must be fixed in place and aren't considered attractive. The other choice is clear aligners, which use custom removable plastic trays worn in sequence to gradually move teeth. They're easier for oral hygiene and are hardly noticeable to others, but may not work in every bite situation.
Don't slack on the retainer phase of treatment. The day will come when the braces or aligners come out of your mouth for good. But your realignment project isn't over — you'll need to wear a retainer appliance for a while. Re-aligned teeth can relapse to their former positions, so it's essential you wear a retainer to keep them where they've been moved. Without a retainer, all the time and effort invested in your bite will have been to no avail.
In a nutshell: get the big picture about your bite, choose the treatment best for you and follow through on every phase. The end result will be a solid platform for the smile you've always dreamed about.
If you would like more information on orthodontic treatments, 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 “The Magic of Orthodontics: The Original Smile Makeover.”
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