Tag: Teeth Whitening Oakdale

Veneers for a More Confident Smile

By: Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

The same degree to which a less-than-perfect smile can have a negative impact on a person’s self-esteem, a straight, bright white smile can have a positive one. Fortunately, if you’re in the former camp and long for a more confident smile, Eggert Family Dentistry can help. One effective solution for addressing a variety of dental imperfections are veneers. Let’s take an up-close look at veneers so you can decide if they’re right for you.

What are veneers?

Veneers are thin ceramic shells that cover the front of the natural teeth in order to hide stains, cracks, chips or gaps and serve to improve the appearance of misaligned teeth. Veneers are one of the least invasive cosmetic procedures available and are considered a permanent solution that can last for decades with proper care.

The process

If Dr. Elizabeth or Dr. Jeff agree that veneers are an effective choice for helping you achieve your ideal smile, you will embark on a series of three visits. At the first visit, Dr. Elizabeth or Dr. Jeff will discuss your goals with you and together you will envision the shape and look you are striving for. At this time, we will also outline your individualized treatment plan. At the second visit, Dr. Elizabeth or Dr. Jeff will prepare your teeth to receive your customized veneers by removing a thin layer of outer enamel, taking an impression of your prepared teeth and providing you with a stunning temporary solution. At the third visit – two to three weeks later – Dr. Elizabeth or Dr. Jeff will place your veneers. We work hard to ensure that your permanent veneers look and feel just like your natural teeth. After placement, we will provide you with follow-up care instructions.

Follow-up care after preparatory appointment

After Dr. Elizabeth or Dr. Jeff prepare your teeth for your veneers and provide you with a temporary solution, it’s perfectly normal for your gum tissues, teeth and jaw to be sore for a few days. Rinsing with warm salt water multiple times a day and taking over-the-counter pain meds should help alleviate any discomfort to these areas. We also encourage you to brush and floss in order to expedite tissue healing. Because the temporary splints your teeth together, you must use a floss-threader or a Waterpik. Also, avoid hard, crunchy foods as your temporary is just that – temporary! – and doesn’t maintain the integrity of actual veneers.

Follow-up care after veneer placement

Similar to your post-preparatory experience, after you receive your veneers you may incur mouth soreness. Rinse with warm salt water, take over-the-counter pain meds and brush and floss frequently.

Here are a few things to be mindful of once you receive your veneers:

  • Avoid scrubbing the gumline while brushing in order to avoid gumline recession. When gums recede, the junction of the veneer and natural tooth is exposed and can be unsightly.
  • Just like natural teeth, veneers are prone to staining. Limit or avoid coffee, tea, red wine, berries and other acidic or highly pigmented foods and brush thoroughly after consuming them. Also, it’s best to avoid smoking as nicotine can stain veneers.
  • Lastly, keep in mind that applying excessive force to your teeth via nail biting or consuming hard or crunchy foods can occasionally cause a veneer to pop off or become damaged. Veneers are adhered with a strong bond but also must be treated with care.

In the instance you experience nerve pain following either your preparatory appointment or your veneer placement, contact our office right away. On rare occasions, particularly on teeth with large fillings, deep decay or previous cracks or fractures, nerves can become irritated and additional procedures on that tooth may be required.

At Eggert Family Dentistry, we succeed when you leave our office with a confident smile! If you long for a smile you want to show off, give us a call at 651.482.8412. We would love to discuss some great options with you and see which one helps you best achieve your goals.

Laser Dentistry – An Innovative Solution

By: Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

Lasers are increasingly common across nearly all fields of medicine and dentistry is certainly not excluded. Delivering energy in the form of light, laser dentistry procedures are incredibly precise and minimally invasive, making them a popular choice among practitioners and patients alike. At Eggert Family Dentistry, we utilize lasers in a number of procedures to the benefit of our patients.

What can laser dentistry treat?

Dr. Elizabeth and Dr. Jeff implement laser dentistry to treat issues including overgrown gum tissue, gum disease, tooth decay and root canals. We also use lasers when teeth whitening to activate the bleaching solution and speed up the whitening process. Additionally, laser dentistry aids in exposing wisdom teeth and removing benign oral tumors.

How does laser dentistry work?

There are two kinds of lasers used in dentistry:

Hard tissue lasers: These lasers cut through both water and bone and are effective for procedures such as detecting cavities and preparing teeth for fillings.

Soft tissue lasers: These lasers cut through soft tissue and are effective for procedures such as reshaping gums, lengthening crowns and performing biopsies.

What are the benefits of laser dentistry?

When you come in for a laser dentistry consult, Dr. Elizabeth or Dr. Jeff will share with you all the benefits of laser dentistry. These benefits include less bleeding, reduced likelihood of infection, diminished need for anesthesia and reduced healing time. Also, you won’t feel discomfort from the laser like you may from a drill. For this reason, laser dentistry can be a good choice for children who are fearful of the noise and pressure of the drill. Furthermore, our patients who undergo laser dental procedures report less discomfort during the recovery process than following scalpel procedures.

If you would like to learn more about our laser dentistry services here at Eggert Family Dentistry, give us a call at 651.482.8412. We would be happy to discuss this further!

Professional Teeth Whitening: What to Expect

By Elizabeth Eggert

At Eggert Family Dentistry, we know that a beautiful smile contributes greatly to a person’s self-confidence and directly impacts all relationships – both personal and professional – in a positive way. We also recognize a host of daily elements that threaten to dull its lustre. From coffee, tea and red wine to tomato-based products, berries, beets and smoking, sometimes keeping our pearlys white feels like an uphill battle. That’s why, here at Eggert Family Dentistry, we offer multiple effective, professional teeth whitening solutions, including the following two most popular and often asked about:  Zoom and KöR.

Philips Zoom Ultimate Protocol

Our most popular teeth whitening procedure is the Philips Zoom Ultimate Protocol. Performed in a single, two-hour appointment, Zoom can whiten teeth anywhere from 4-10 shades! Dr. Elizabeth or Dr. Jeff start by noting the “before” shade of your teeth. Then our assistant Heather takes over where she removes plaque and polishes your teeth with a fine powder. Heather takes various precautions to keep your mouth dry and your gums protected during the whitening process. Then a professional whitening gel is applied to your teeth and that gel is activated with an LED light, allowing the gel to penetrate better into the teeth. Heather wraps up your appointment by educating you on follow-up care and sensitivity management. One great bonus of the Zoom system is that it also includes at-home whitening trays so you can continue to maintain your brighter smile over time!

KӧR Whitening Deep Bleaching™ System

Another professional whitening system we use to help our clients achieve the bright white smile they long for is the KӧR Whitening Deep Bleaching™ System. This system is similar to the Philips Zoom system and because of the well-researched science behind it, can be our most effective method to bleach teeth that might previously have been though to be “unbleachable.” KöR bleaching restores your teeth’s ability to absorb oxygen and can brighten teeth up to 16 shades!

The KӧR Whitening Deep Bleaching™ System causes little to no sensitivity and is incredibly comfortable to use. The KöR system is somewhat more labor intensive, but the results are well worth it!

When you first come into our office, Dr. Elizabeth or Dr. Jeff will start by taking impressions of your teeth. We then send these impressions into KӧR where they create your custom bleaching trays. Once your trays are ready, we have you come back into our office at which time we apply a special conditioner to your teeth and send you home with your home bleaching kit. This kit includes your custom trays, bleaching gel and desensitizer. You will wear your custom trays every night until you achieve your desired shade. At this point, an in-office procedure is completed to help “set” the shade for long-term results. With proper maintenance, you can maintain your bright and beautiful smile indefinitely. Especially for grey-stained teeth, or tetracycline stained teeth, KöR bleaching really is the only way to go.

If you’re ready for a smile you can wear with confidence, we would love to discuss our professional teeth whitening options with you! Give us a call at 651.482.8412.