Everything You Wanted to Know About Dental Implants: A Cosmetic Dentist in Pueblo CO Addresses Your FAQ, PART 2

Welcome to the second installment of this four-part FAQ guide to teeth replacement using dental implants! Previously, in Part 1, an experienced cosmetic dentist in Pueblo CO provided the insightful answers to our initial questions, which included an explanation of what dental implants are and how the cost of implant surgery is determined.

Now, let’s move on to some questions on how dental implants compare with traditional teeth replacement technology…

Question: Oftentimes, it’s the cost of a service that determines whether or not consumers choose it. Do you find patients opting for cheaper technologies over dental implants even though it is clear that implants are superior?

dentures in a water glass, symbolic photo for dentures and care

Answer: “To correct you, it’s actually not clear to most of our patients that implants are superior,” explains the cosmetic dentist. “The Pueblo residents we treat come to us knowing very little about why they are experiencing tooth loss in the first place and what treatment options they have to correct it. And so we explain to them that they could have a denture fitted or they could have dental implants done. Unfortunately, patients tend to tune out the very long list of implant benefits we provide and focus only on the cost difference. Naturally a few hundred dollars sounds far better than a few thousand.

“What’s especially sad is that these same patients will come back in our office every year complaining about the increasing pain, discomfort and difficulty caused by wearing dentures and there’s really very little we can do about it if they’re unwilling to foot the bill for a more sophisticated dental solution. These concerns didn’t matter at the beginning of treatment, because these patients were just so relieved to have a set of teeth that looked healthy. Now, however, they are faced with the reality of denture-wearing… and it’s not pretty.”

Question: Why are dentures so problematic?

Closeup portrait, elderly business woman with tooth ache, crown problem, cavity pain, touching outside mouth with hand, isolated white background. Negative human emotion facial expression feeling

Answer: “Two reasons: they don’t replace the roots of the teeth and as a result, the underlying jawbone actually begins to atrophy and waste away, because it’s not getting any functional stimulation. This causes the bite to weaken and the maxillofacial region to develop that sunk-in appearance typically associated with denture wearing.

“The next reason is that dentures rely on their bulkiness and the underlying gums to remain stabilized in the mouth. Their bulk causes unnatural smile aesthetics by stretching the lips and they’re very uncomfortable to eat with – some patients complain that their dentures make them gag. Additionally, the fact that dentures push down on and rub against the gums causes incessant pain and discomfort, so much so, that it can lead to malnutrition,” says the Pueblo dentist.

Question: So, dental implants are the industry recommendation for a very good reason?

Answer: “Absolutely! Wearing dentures can totally wreck your quality of life, as well as shorten your life expectancy by 10 years due to lack of proper nutrition and depression.”

Stay Tuned for Part 3

Stay tuned for the third installment of this four-part article series to read the answers to more of your frequently asked questions about dental implants.

How a Cosmetic Dentist Can Help You

What does a cosmetic dentist do exactly? Learn how a cosmetic dentist can help you improve your smile.

Oftentimes, when people think of going to the dentist, they conjure up images of getting their teeth cleaned or having cavities filled. However, a cosmetic dentist does much more than help you with your basic dental hygiene. A cosmetic dentist can improve the aesthetics of your smile.

Boost Your Confidence

Simply changing the way your smile looks can dramatically change your appearance and your self-image. If you aren’t entirely happy with the way your teeth look when you speak, smile, and laugh, a cosmetic dentist can transform your smile with a variety of different techniques. Cosmetic dentists in Colorado Springs can also perform general dental procedures, so you can continue to see your cosmetic dentist after any procedures to ensure proper cleaning and care.

 

Are your teeth damaged, stained, misaligned, too small, chipped, discolored, or even missing? A skilled cosmetic dentist in Colorado Springs can transform even the “worst” case of bad teeth into a movie star smile that looks natural. Services can include smile rejuvenation, porcelain veneers, crowns, lumineers, gum lift and recontouring, gum bleaching, snap-on smile, dental bridges, teeth whitening, and tooth-colored fillings to help you achieve the look you’ve always dreamed of having.

Fix Crooked Teeth

Misaligned and crowded teeth can place unnecessary stress on your jaw, or even make it difficult to eat or properly keep your teeth clean. They also don’t portray a professional or attractive appearance. A simple procedure such as Invisalign or porcelain veneers can straighten your teeth and dramatically improve the way you are perceived by others when you show your teeth.

If your teeth are discolored from tobacco, tea, coffee, soda, juice, poor oral hygiene, medications, or illness, this can simply be corrected with teeth whitening. Porcelain veneers and crowns may also be an option if your teeth are damaged.

Help For a Gummy Smile

Do your gums show when you smile? This is often referred to as a gummy smile, and it can make your teeth look too small. Upon first glance, it may even appear as if you have no teeth when you’re smiling really big and lots of gum tissue is visible. The great news is that this problem can be corrected. Gum recontouring, gum lift, lip surgery, botox, veneers, crowns, and sometimes even braces are used to correct this embarrassing condition. A cosmetic dentist can help you decide the right option for you.

Are your teeth worn down? This can actually lead to health problems if nothing is done to fix this. Thinning enamel can cause you to become susceptible to tooth decay. Crowns and veneers can correct worn teeth and prevent future health problems.

Do you have large spaces between your teeth that are unattractive and make it difficult to chew your food? Braces and Invisalign are smart options for spaced teeth. Sometimes crowns and veneers are also used.

No More Missing Teeth

Are you missing one or more teeth? This can often be one of the most confidence-lowering cosmetic concerns, but it also presents a health issue. Missing teeth expose your gums to bacteria and plaque, and can actually promote loss of bone tissue in your jaw. Fortunately, dental implants can permanently correct this problem. A dental implant looks and feels just like a natural tooth, and it preserves and protects the health of the surrounding teeth and gum tissue. A cosmetic dentist in Colorado Springs can fix your missing teeth problem.

Professional Teeth Whitening

Teeth whitening is of course one of the most common cosmetic dental procedures. It can be done much more safely inside a cosmetic dentist’s office than with over-the-counter whitening kits. Teeth whitening is also fairly inexpensive, and when done professionally, the results can last for a long time.

 

The benefits of professional teeth whitening from a cosmetic dentist.

This article explains why professional teeth whitening is safer and more effective than at-home teeth whitening systems.

There is a growing demand for a wide variety of cosmetic dentistry procedures, and thanks to technology this area of dentistry continues to advance with better strategies for creating perfect smiles. Even if you have healthy teeth with no obvious chips, cracks, or cavities, you probably suffer from a bit of staining or yellowing of your teeth. Coffee lovers, tea drinkers, and closet soda addicts will most definitely have some staining. If you’re a health nut with a penchant for drinking green smoothies for breakfast and munching on kale chips at snack time, you might even develop a little bit of a mossy green tint to your teeth. Even your Instagram filter will not be able to make your teeth the sparkly white teeth color you need for your social media profile photos!

Boost your confidence, as well as your following on Instagram and Twitter, with some professional teeth whitening. The difference between professional whitening and an at-home whitening kit is striking. Let’s go over the top four benefits of using a cosmetic dentist in Colorado Springs to make your teeth a sparkly movie star

1. Fast and Easy

There are distinct benefits to a professional teeth whitening. You’ll feel relaxed in the dental chair, knowing that an expert cosmetic dentist is helping you attain the perfect shade of white. There is no guesswork involved. There are many whitening agents on the market over-the-counter, but leaving them on too long or choosing too high of a strength of whitener could lead to tooth sensitivity that may be permanent. Obviously, that’s not pleasant. One simple visit to your cosmetic dentist in Colorado Springs can whiten your teeth with long-lasting, safe results that won’t damage the enamel on your teeth. If your teeth are unusually dark, you may require two to six visits for optimal results.

2. Control and Guaranteed Safety

A cosmetic dentist in Colorado Springs will ask you questions regarding the sensitivity of your teeth, and he or she will examine your teeth and the strength of your enamel. This will help your dentist determine the optimal strength of the solution to use on your teeth, and how long it should be applied (and whether you will require more than one treatment application). With an over-the-counter whitening system, you are largely shooting in shooting in the dark and guessing.

 

3. Movie Star White Guaranteed

If you want your teeth to be the beautiful color of a movie star’s pearly whites, a professional can get you there. With an over-the-counter solution, you probably get what you pay for. Do you think the movie stars whiten their teeth with products from a discount store?

4. No worries about tooth sensitivity and side effects

You may be wary of having your teeth whitened because you may have friends, family, or co-workers who used an at-home tooth whitening system, and now they can’t eat ice cream or drink hot mocha lattes. Many of the homes whitening systems contain a high amount of hydrogen peroxide, which can damage tooth enamel and cause your teeth to become sensitive to hot and cold. Professional cosmetic dentists in Colorado Springs don’t use teeth whitening solutions that can damage your enamel.

 

About Teeth Whitening in Pueblo CO

This article takes a look at how professional teeth whitening works and the procedure followed by patients wanting to improve upon the color and brightness of their teeth.

Ever wonder why your teeth turn purple when you drink wine? Or why they become blue when you over-indulge in blueberries? Well, the enamel of your teeth is, under the microscope, riddled with tiny pores that absorb the tannins in red wine and dark pigments in berries. To get rid of the staining, you only really need to give your teeth a good scrub with some toothpaste, but over time, this staining can become permanent, especially if you regularly indulge in foods and beverages that contain dark pigments, dyes and tannins, such as tea, coffee, sodas and wine. Teeth that may once have been a beautiful, healthy pearly white can easily become dulled and discolored. Thankfully, cosmetic dentists in Colorado offer a solution to this problem and it comes in the form of a teeth whitening treatment.

How Does Teeth Whitening Work?

A professional teeth whitening, as prescribed by Colorado dentists, can be done many ways. The most popular is bleaching. Your dentist will custom design you a mouth tray from molds that are taken, in-office, of your upper and lower dental arch. Once this is ready for collection, which is usually the day after your appointment, you will pick up your teeth whitening kit and return home ready to begin your smile enhancement!

The kit consists very simply of the mouth tray and a tube of special teeth whitening gel, which contains the bleaching agent hydrogen peroxide. All you need to do is squeeze a small amount of this gel into the tray and spread it evenly so that, when you place it in your mouth and bite down, every surface of your tooth is exposed to the bleach.

“We generally recommend that patients perform this procedure once a day for one or two hours,” explains the cosmetic dentist in Colorado Springs. “Treatment length varies depending upon the severity of staining and discoloration, but usually we find that Pueblo CO patients wear the teeth whitening tray daily for about two weeks. Thereafter, patients can do a treatment once every now and then just to maintain pearly whiteness.”

What are the Advantages of Professional Teeth Whitening?

A professional teeth whitening treatment in Pueblo CO achieves natural, beautiful results in a much quicker time frame, unlike many over-the-counter products. Because this cosmetic treatment is prescribed by medical professionals, the whitening gel used can legally contain a greater percentage of bleaching agent, which means it acts faster and more efficiently. “We find that over-the-counter products are better for the maintenance of white teeth, whereas a professional treatment will get you white teeth in the first place,” explains a teeth whitening specialist in Pueblo CO.

When is Teeth Whitening NOT a Solution for Discolored Teeth?

Teeth that have become yellowed or darkened are not always stained. Sometimes, tooth decay and the accumulation of plaque and tartar can cause your teeth to turn a less aesthetic color. In cases of poor oral health and hygiene, the Pueblo CO dentist will want to thoroughly clean your teeth and treat any infection or decay before simply addressing your cosmetic concerns. “Healthy teeth are beautiful teeth,” says the cosmetic dentist in Colorado. “So treating unhealthy teeth is kind of like killing two birds with one stone!”