Dentures can be removable or fixed appliances that replace missing teeth and keep your smile looking healthy. They can rest on your gums or on implants to keep them in place. Technology has advanced a lot in dentistry in the last 20 years, and you are no longer stuck with ill-fitting dentures that make you sound like you have a mouthful of marbles.

People often take the ability to chew, speak, or even taste food for granted. Losing your natural teeth and not replacing them can cause many problems, including:

Collapsed Bite – Sometimes called facial collapse, a collapsed bite occurs when you have lost enough natural back teeth that you rest on gum tissue when you close your mouth. This throws your jaw out of alignment and can cause jaw pain, headaches that mimic migraines, and put undue strain on muscles that weren’t designed to handle the pressure of supporting the jaw.

Sagging Facial Muscles – Going hand-in-hand with a collapsed bite, the lack of back teeth can cause muscles in the face to sag, making you look much older. This can also lead to premature wrinkling because there’s no underlying dental structure to support the skin.

Malnutrition – It seems odd in this day and age, but the inability to chew well can cause vitamin and mineral deficiencies that can lead to further muscle loss and sickness.  Many prepackaged shakes and smoothies are loaded with sugar, and soft, easy-to-chew foods like bread, offer little nutritional value.

Speech Impediments – Your lips and tongue need your teeth to form words properly. Without their guidance, your speech can become slurred, and difficult to understand.

Further Tooth Loss – Missing, un-replaced teeth can also contribute to the loss of other teeth and disrupts the complex function of your mouth. Gaps also allow teeth to slowly lean and migrate into the extra spaces, leading to wear and cracking from excessive forces and creating more problems.

Fortunately, dentures help fill in your face and profile. They can closely resemble your natural teeth so that your appearance does not change much, or allow you to change things up to get the smile you’ve always wanted. Dentures give your jaw muscles the support they need to help you chew, speak, and smile naturally.

Technology’s Role

Digital scanning technology has made getting attractive, well-fitting dentures easier and more affordable — even traditional dentures benefit. Digital scans of your mouth make the impression process computerized, faster, and often more detailed than traditional impressions.

Your new smile can be created using high-tech software that allows you and your dentist to alter the shape and size of your new teeth in real time and by uploading your picture, you can see exactly what your new smile will look like, often before you leave your dentist’s consultation room.

In many cases, implants are used to give the dentures something more substantial to hold onto.  Implants are placed in the jaw and connected under the base of the denture. This technique can be used on both fixed and removable dentures and can replace a few teeth or a whole mouth’s worth.

When it’s time to replace missing teeth, whether it’s one or a full set, several options might be available to you. Whether it’s a full denture, a partial denture or an implant-retained denture, your dentist and modern technology can give you your smile back to help you look younger, smile bigger and return your self-confidence!

Why Do I Need Root Planing?

Gum disease affects more than half of the adult U.S. population. In fact, it’s estimated that chronic gum disease affects a whopping 47% of American adults over the age of 30.

Gum disease is an infection in your gums. Some factors that contribute to gum disease are smoking, poor home hygiene, missed professional cleanings, pregnancy, mouth-breathing, alcohol abuse, stress, and crooked or overlapping teeth that are difficult to clean. Some medications contribute to gum disease because they slow saliva production which allows oral bacteria to flourish.

Bacteria in plaque can build up on your teeth, and if not cleaned properly, can cause swelling of the gums which allows more plaque and bacteria to seep below the gum line. Once this happens, the gums pull away from the teeth creating periodontal pockets. At this point, only a professional using special instruments can remove the plaque. If untreated, gum disease could lead to bone and tooth loss.

If the pockets between your gums and teeth are too deep, however, scaling and root planing may be needed.

The Procedure

Scaling and root planing is usually completed over a series of appointments with a local anesthetic. Some dentists will numb one side of your mouth and see you for two appointments, while others will numb a quarter of your mouth at a time and treat you over the course of four appointments.

After you have been sufficiently numbed, your hygienist or dentist will remove the built-up plaque below the gum line. Hand instruments or an ultrasonic scaler may be used to clean your mouth.

After all the hardened plaque is removed, they may rinse your periodontal pockets with an anti-bacterial solution or sterilize them with a laser to kill any bacteria hiding below the reach of the hygienist’s instruments.

Recovery, Homecare, and Maintenance

After each visit, you can expect to have a little sensitivity or soreness in the treated areas, which might last for a day or two.

You may be given an oral antibiotic or a mouth rinse to help with healing.

After all of the affected areas have been scaled and root planed, you might be placed on a shorter hygiene schedule, referred to as periodontal maintenance, usually every 3-4 months. At each visit, your hygienist will check to make sure your periodontal pockets are not getting any larger.

The best way to prevent gum disease is to have regular professional cleanings, brush at least twice a day with a soft-bristled toothbrush and floss at least once a day.

Once gum disease passes a certain point, it becomes a chronic condition that never goes away. Proper at-home care, a healthy diet, avoiding all tobacco products, and seeing your hygienist at least twice a year are all simple ways you can help prevent gum disease from affecting your health.

Regardless of the reason, having a tooth removed doesn’t have to be a pain if you follow the post-op instructions provided by your dentist.

Here are some overall tips for making the recovery period following an extraction as pain-free and straightforward as possible.

• Avoid strenuous physical activity for at least 24 hours – Physical activity increases blood pressure and blood flow. After an extraction, no matter how simple, you want to keep your blood pressure down. Don’t do any heavy lifting and postpone your workout to give your body time to heal and to allow a clot to form in the extraction site.
• Watch for bleeding – After your extraction, your dentist will have you bite down on a piece of gauze for a while depending on the difficulty of the removal. When you remove it, there may be a little blood on the gauze or some light residual bleeding at the extraction site. This is normal. Remember, a little bit of blood mixed with saliva looks like a lot of blood. While there is usually no cause for concern, if the bleeding seems to continue for more than a few hours, call your dentist for an evaluation or further instruction.
• Keep the clot in place – After surgery, the goal is to get a clot to form in the socket where your tooth used to live. Avoid drinking from a straw, smoking, and vigorously rinsing your mouth (even with water) for at least 24 hours, preferably a little longer. All these actions create suction in the mouth and can dislodge a clot causing a lot of pain and may delay healing.
• Use cold compresses to relieve swelling – Sometimes your dentist needs to move your lips and cheeks in unnatural ways to get to a tooth that needs to be removed, and that can cause swelling in the cheeks or lips. Use an ice pack wrapped in a towel can help or a cold, damp washcloth to reduce swelling and make you more comfortable.
• Brush and floss gently – DON’T brush the extraction site and try to avoid the teeth on either side for a few days just to be sure the clot stays intact.
• Keep all follow-up appointments – These checkups help your doctor make sure you are healing as you should. There are things a dentist can see that you can’t – they are trained professionals! Skipping a follow-up can cause more problems than missing a little time out of work or school and could make a small issue become much larger and more costly.

Today’s technology combined with your dentist’s expert training makes modern dental procedures safer and often reduces the healing time when compared to just a few decades ago. Following your dentist’s post-op instructions and keeping all follow-up appointments can make sure the pain ends with your extraction.

Here are 6 non-dairy choices so you can keep your bones strong and healthy:

Beans- A favorite substitute for meat, beans are high in protein, fiber, and also pack an incredible calcium-rich punch.

Bone Broth- While this option is off the table for vegans, bone broth is an amazing and flavorful way to get calcium. Boiling and simmering chicken, lamb, beef, or fish bones over long periods of time allows the calcium and other minerals to dissolve into the water. Bone broth is also high in the amino acids proline and glycine which are important for skin health, the nervous system, digestion, and cellular turnover.

Calcium-Fortified Foods- Nowadays cereal, orange juice, soy milk, and energy bars come with added calcium. Be sure to check the label though, because these foods can also be highly processed and may contain added sugars and fats.

Seeds- Many seeds not only provide protein, fiber, and healthy fats, but seeds like chia, sesame, and poppy also pack a lot of calcium. Sprinkled on salads or blended in your morning smoothie, seeds are a great way to add calcium to your diet.

Canned Fish- Canned sardines and other fish are a great way to up your calcium intake, but be sure your canned fish includes the bones because that’s where most of the calcium lies. Anchovies’ salty, briny, nutty flavor can be a great-tasting addition to many recipes instead of adding more salt.

Kale- Kale and other dark leafy greens are not only high in calcium but so versatile you may never get bored with eating them. Kale, collards, and spinach, to name a few are also high in fiber to fill you up, without adding extra calories to your diet.

This short list just scratches the surface of amazing calcium-rich alternatives to dairy products. Even if you do eat cheese and enjoy the occasional glass of milk, the above choices are a great way to add variety and flavor to your diet while making sure your teeth and bones stay strong and healthy for life.

Tooth sensitivity can have many causes including:

• Enamel loss along the gum line – Clenching, grinding, and brushing too hard or with a hard-bristled toothbrush can cause the thin enamel along the gum line to wear away. Under the tooth enamel lies a layer of dentin. Dentin’s composition is much like our bones, hard, yet porous. It is made of tiny tubules which act like pathways to the pulp and nerve of our teeth. When exposed, they send signals to the nerve in the form of pain to let you know that the protective enamel is no longer there.
• Tooth decay – A small cavity in the enamel of a tooth is generally an easy fix, but if left to grow, it can cause excruciating pain. Once the decay has eaten away at the enamel into the dentin, it can cause pain. If ignored, it can reach the pulp chamber, or nerve of the tooth, resulting in a constant ache made worse but sudden changes in temperature from food or drink.
• Fractured teeth/worn or missing fillings – A broken tooth, or worn broken fillings allow liquids, saliva, and food to seep into the crack or hole in your tooth causing discomfort. Even a small fracture can cause a lot of pain.
• Gum disease – Periodontal disease causes the gums to shrink back, exposing a protective layer called cementum that covers the root of your tooth. The roots of our teeth are much softer than the enamel that protects the tops of our teeth and are much more susceptible to decay. When gum disease is present, the gums recede exposing this sensitive area that can cause extreme sensitivity even when breathing cold air.
• Neglect and lack of professional checkups – Neglecting your oral hygiene routine and not seeing a dental professional for regular cleanings and exams can also cause tooth sensitivity. When you don’t brush well or at all, plaque builds up on your teeth and hardens, turning into calculus, also called tartar. Once this happens, no homecare routine can remove it. Gum tissue doesn’t like calculus and can’t “breathe,” so it shrinks away from the root of the tooth not only exposing the root to sensitivity but kicking off the cycle of gum disease.

Fortunately, there are also many ways to treat tooth sensitivity that are quick, painless, and cost-effective. Depending on the level of sensitivity and the cause, your dentist may recommend a desensitizing toothpaste or fluoride gel as a first step to help ease the pain. There are many on the market today with varying strengths from over-the-counter to those that need a prescription. If the cause is due to clenching or grinding, you may need to wear an appliance at night to prevent further damage to your teeth. Sometimes, more intensive procedures are necessary to alleviate the sensitivity. Root canals, gum grafts or a crown may be needed to fix the problem.

In some cases, tooth sensitivity can be avoided altogether by using the softest toothbrush recommended by your dentist. Gentle brushing (not scrubbing), flossing regularly, and seeing your hygienist and dentist at least every six months are also recommended. By working together with your dental professionals, your mouth can be pain-free and can keep you smiling for years to come.