Join us at Stonehaven Dental Lehi for a Free educational seminar about Implants. Raffle prizes, refreshments, and the Doctors will be available to answer all your questions about implants
Tuesday, January 24th 6:30pm
Lehi Location
181 N 1200 E
Call to reserve your spot!
801-610-4172
Are Dental Implants right for you? Improve your health and quality of life with dental implants. Enjoy increased chewing ablility, clearer speech, and a natural look. Attend our Free informational seminar. The Doctors will be available at the seminar to answer questions. Raffle Prizes, and Refreshments will be provided. At our Lehi location! Call for details. January 24th at 6:30 pm.
What is the difference between Silver (amalgam) fillings vrs. tooth colored (composite) fillings?
Silver fillings have been around for decades and millions have been placed over the years. They are relatively easy to place, wear well, and have been the standard filling material for decades. There are some obvious and not so obvious problems associated with silver fillings however. Their color is an obvious concern and detriment to any concerned with the poor esthetics that they create. For this reason, tooth colored composite restorations usually have been the standard filling placed in front teeth. In addition, silver fillings expand and contract differently than teeth do when exposed to hot and cold beverages and foods. For this reason, they tend to cause cracking and eventual breakage of the teeth that they are placed in.
Another concern is that all metals are subject to corrosion. Silver fillings also corrode over time leaving a microgap between the filling and the tooth that eventually starts to decay. We have noticed in our practice that as silver fillings are replaced, quite a high percentage of them (80% or so) have decay somewhere underneath the filling that is often not detectable on traditional X-rays but can be fairly deep.
Finally, one component of silver fillings is mercury. Exposure to mercury vapor is harmful to humans. There is a small amount of mercury vapor released when silver fillings are placed, as they are used for chewing and finally when they are removed. The amounts of mercury vapor released are relatively mineute, but they have been the subject of much controversy over the past few years and some have advocated amalgam replacement/removal for the perceived health benefits (eg. no mercury).
Tooth colored fillings have had some problems, especially in teeth that do a lot of chewing. The major problems have been excessive wear of the filling material compared to the teeth and sensitivity problems. Advances in both the bonding agents that are used to bond composite fillings into place, and the composite filling material itself, have overcome these problems.
Today, composite fillings are a very good and esthetic alternative to silver fillings in both anterior and posterior teeth, last well, and have overcome many of the problems and issues associated with silver fillings such as tooth breakage, recurrent decay and mercury. We have found them to be long lasting and pretty much sensitivity free.
When Jeff came into our office, he never smiled. Born with a cleft palette and missing lateral incisors, he was always too self-conscious. Our doctors were excited for the chance to give him a new smile. Bridges were placed to replace the missing lateral incisors. The crowns and bridges make a huge difference in his smile. Today Jeff has a smile that he’s proud to share with the world!
We are excited to announce our New location in Draper! Dr Dave comes with years of experience and cant wait to serve the Salt Lake City community. In celebration of the New Location we will be having a Grand Opening on December 9th. You can take a photo with Santa, have refreshments, enter for prizes and take a tour of the office. It’s a party you won’t want to miss.
What is sedation dentistry, exactly? Sedation dentistry is a safe and effective alternative for patients who are anxious, afraid, or who need surgical or extensive treatment. Children are a wonderful candidates for sedation dentistry-often to young to tolerate needed treatment, it is critical that their dental experience is a positive one.
Come learn about sedation and see if it is right for your children! Our Doctors will be on hand to answer questions!
Also starting November 10th we will be having a crown special of $595 on your first crown (some restrictions apply)
See our Lehi office for details 801-766-3600
At stonehaven Dental, we love to give back to our community. Last month, our team participated in the “Dirty Dash” 10K. The Dirty Dash is a mud-filled obstacle course where a military boot camp meets your inner five-year old’s fantasy. The mud was plentiful and everyone had a great time. As an office, we dressed up as “Grime Fighters” ready to attack the grime-filled mud pits. The proceeds of the race went to Soldier Hollow legacy Foundation, and The Leukemia Lyphohoma Society. For a video of the muddy fun, visit our Facebook page.
There are many types of crowns available and the type of crown you get should be based on individual needs. The two main challenges with crowns are strength and esthetics (looks). Unfortunately, the strongest crowns are not the most esthetic and vice-a-versa. For simplicity, crowns may be subcategorized into 3 main groups: all porcelain crowns, porcelain crowns that are reinforced with a substructure such as metal or zirconia, and all metal crowns (gold, for example).
The back teeth (molars) do all the chewing and take a lot of abuse in the form of pressure from chewing. That is why back teeth are usually the teeth which crack and break. Because they are so far back in the mouth, esthetics is usually not a paramount concern but strength is. The reverse is true for the front teeth. Esthetics is the primary concern and strength, although still important, is not as critical because the front teeth are used more for tearing and biting into food as opposed to chewing it.
All porcelain crowns are the most life-like and esthetically pleasing crowns, they are unfortunately, also the weakest although recent advances have improved their strength. Reinforced porcelain crowns provide excellent strength and moderate esthetics. Ten years ago this category of crown was by far the most common (porcelain fused to metal crowns) but esthetic demands and advances in dental materials have given us other options with similar strength and improved esthetics (porcelain fused to zirconia, for example).
For back teeth, especially in a patient who grinds their teeth or has a very muscular bite, the gold standard would still be an all metal (typically gold) crown. Porcelain reinforced crowns or an all zirconia crown might also be an option if an improved esthetic result is desired.
There are other factors which must be considered. They would include how much a tooth must be reduced (ground down) to get the best result (all porcelain crowns requiring the most and all metal requiring the least), if there are adjacent teeth that already have crowns (typically we might use a similar type crown so it matches the adjacent teeth), and what the underlying tooth looks like (if is us discolored, an all porcelain crown might be a poor choice because the underlying tooth color typically shows through).
If care is given in the selection of the type of crown, the preparation of the tooth for the crown, and proper home care/cleaning after the crown is placed; you should expect a crown that is both long lasting and esthetically pleasing.
If you have any questions give us a call!
Dr. Bret
This is a patient who had been given tetracycline as a child resulting in a permanent staining of her adult teeth. When mild, this condition can be improved with bleaching (although the typical horizontal bands are sometimes still visable). In her case, the best treatment was to restore her teeth with cosmetic crowns to cover the tetracycline staining. This is a before and after photo of her upper teeth before and after the cosmetic crowns. She was so pleased with the result that she has since had her lower teeth done also. She has been so pleased with the result. It is a life changing event when we change a smile like this. Tetracycline staining, tooth decay, crowding, excessive wear with resultant chipping of the edges of the teeth, discoloration, and unesthetic previous dental work are all conditions that may contribute or combine to indicate the need for cosmetic crowns. When needed, they can make a huge difference in a persons appearance, confidence and outlook on life.
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Bret A Tobler DMD
Bone loss following tooth extraction & effect on implant placement .
Did you know that following the extraction of a tooth, the surrounding bone diminishes in both height and thickness by as much as 50% in the first year? Why would that be a concern? The single best option for tooth replacement is a dental implant. Implants have to be placed in good bone (meaning a good volume of healthy bone) and quite often, there simply is an inadequate amount of bone available for implant placement, especially if it has been some time since the tooth was extracted. When an upper molar is extracted, not only does the remaining bone surrounding the tooth shrink, the sinus space above the roots of the tooth also expands into the space previously occupied by the tooth roots further compromising possible implant placement.
Patients may have to go through bone grafting procedures which may be time consuming, costly and painful to restore the missing bone back to better dimensions if they want dental implants. Bottom line; it is best to place an implant as soon as possible after a tooth has been extracted (eg. within 1 year). If you know that it will not be possible to do so, the bone volume can be preserved by adding bone grafting material to the extraction site to prevent the imminent bone loss.
Bone quality, especially thickness, as well as other important anatomical features such as nerves, sinuses etc., are best visualized on a 3 dimensional X-Ray or CAT scan. More traditional dental X-Rays have a much more limited use/benefit when evaluating a patient for possible implant placement. CAT scans are also much more accurate in determining accurate distances (eg. both height and width) than more traditional X-Rays which may have as much as 25% magnification/error in determining height/width.
Implant pic 2
If you have any questions give us a call.
Dr. Bret
