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Are you looking to improve the appearance of your front teeth? Dental veneers are widely used to improve the appearance of front teeth and are a much more conservative option than a full dental crown. Veneers can be used to improve the appearance of staining, large gaps, large fillings, chipped teeth, or overall shape. Veneers are a thin covering over the front and biting end of the tooth used to restore the beauty of a smile. Over the years we have helped many patients who opted for veneers and now have the confidence to smile again.

Dental veneers are made in a lab from long-lasting porcelain materials. The shade can be chosen to a desirable color to whiten the appearance of your smile. Dental veneers are usually placed on the anterior, or front teeth, where the chewing forces are not as hard as the back teeth. The process of placing veneers is relatively easy requiring only two dental appointments. In some cases, only one appointment is needed. It depends on the fabrication process.

The first appointment is to “prep” the teeth and take an impression to be sent to a lab to fabricate the veneers. Veneers are fairly conservative in the preparation as it requires a small amount of space to be created on the face (front), bottom, and sides of each tooth to allow space for the veneer to be placed and look natural. You will leave the office with temporary veneers for the next week or two while the permanent veneers are being made.

The second appointment is to place the veneers and make minor adjustments if needed. What a difference it makes in the appearance of the teeth! If you’re interested in learning more, give Dr. John Zarrella and Dr. Peter C. Rider a call today!

A dental sealant is a liquid that is applied to the teeth. The sealant hardens and provides a protective coating that is designed to reduce cavities and create a smoother tooth surface. Dental sealants are clear or white; they do not take away from the appearance of teeth. You can think about this treatment as being similar to varnish that protects a wood floor.

Sealants are not the same as fluoride treatments. The application is similar, but sealants are a semi-permanent protective coating. Dr. John Zarrella and Dr. Peter C. Rider and our staff recommend that sealant applications for children begin soon after molars erupt, first molars around the age of six, and second molars around the age of 12.

Simple Application

Having sealants applied is not uncomfortable at all. First, your child's teeth will be cleaned and dried. A gel is applied, which helps the sealant adhere to the tooth, and then is rinsed away. Your child's teeth are dried again and the sealant is applied. A few seconds of exposure to a light source may be used to cure the sealant and make it semi-permanent. Sealants should last for a long time, normally between five and ten years.

Sealant Benefits

The coating on the surface of your child's teeth reduces the amount of acid contact. Normal acids in foods that are consumed can eat away at the surface of teeth. Bacteria also react to plaque formation and create more acid in the mouth. These small pits or weakened areas are prone to caries or cavity formation. Preventing cavities is a much better choice than drilling and filling damaged teeth.

A sealant also helps to smooth the chewing surfaces of your childn't teeth. The smoother surface is not as likely to retain small particles of food and bacteria. Your child's mouth stays cleaner and food is not left behind to form acids. The protective application can also be used on other teeth that have a rough surface, to protect the grooves or pits from decay.

After the sealant is applied, your child still needs to take proper care of his or her teeth. Regular brushing and flossing is required. Dr. John Zarrella and Dr. Peter C. Rider may recommend fluoride treatments to strengthen and protect your child's teeth further.

If you have any concerns about sealants, please discuss them with during your child's next appointment at Zarrella Dentistry. We want your little one's teeth to stay healthy for life.

October’s here! A month when we celebrate the beauty of fall, the taste of pumpkin spice, the fun of Halloween in Ashland, and the healthy smiles which orthodontic treatment makes possible!

Because October is Orthodontic Health Month, and it’s a great time to talk about how your orthodontist helps you create not just a more beautiful smile, but a healthier one. 

Straight, evenly spaced teeth are the visible benefit of treatment, but there are many health benefits which might not be quite as noticeable. Orthodontic treatment can:

• Help You Prevent Cavities and Gum Disease 

When teeth are crowded or crooked, it’s hard for your toothbrush and floss to reach all of the plaque which builds up on and between your teeth. The bacteria in plaque create acids which start to dissolve tooth enamel. And a very small hole in the enamel surface can grow until it becomes a cavity. 

Plaque and bacteria also irritate the gums. When you can’t remove plaque completely, your gums are at risk for gingivitis. This early stage of gum disease causes redness, tenderness, swelling, and bleeding. Left untreated, gingivitis can develop into more serious gum disease. 

And, over time, plaque hardens and becomes tartar, which needs to be removed professionally at Zarrella Dentistry.

When your teeth are straight and evenly spaced, brushing and flossing are both easier and more effective, helping you keep your teeth and gums healthy and plaque-free.

• Create a Better Bite

For a healthy bite, your teeth and jaws need to align correctly. The top teeth should slightly overlap the lower teeth, and the ridges of your upper molars should fit smoothly with the grooves of your lower molars. 

Malocclusions, or bad bites, can come in many forms, including overbites, underbites, open bites, cross bites, and overjets. A bad bite is bad for your dental health. Malocclusions can cause tooth grinding, worn enamel, and even cracked teeth. 

And bad bites don’t just affect your teeth. When your bite doesn’t align properly, you might suffer from problems such as headaches, jaw pain, indigestion, and sleep apnea. 

Orthodontic treatment creates a healthy, symmetrical, and pain-free bite.

• Improve Your Self-Confidence

We can’t forget the invisible health benefits of orthodontic treatment! Your smile is a gift which you share with the world. But if you’re hesitating to smile because of self-consciousness about your teeth or bite, orthodontic treatment can make a world of difference.

Your orthodontist can help you achieve straighter teeth, a bite which fits together properly, and, when malocclusions affect jaw symmetry, a more balanced facial profile. If you’re concerned about the appearance of your smile, talk to Dr. John Zarrella and Dr. Peter C. Rider about an orthodontic consultation. Today’s technology can even let you see what your future smile will look like!

Modern orthodontic treatment is more effective and takes less time to complete than ever before. And orthodontics offers patients of all ages more benefits than ever before: 

• New types of braces are less noticeable and more comfortable than older styles. Smaller brackets, brackets which blend with tooth enamel, clear aligners, and lingual braces give you a variety of options to customize your treatment.
• Early orthodontic treatment can guide jaw growth in younger children. 
• Appliances can help with jaw alignment in older children, or, for more serious malocclusions, an orthodontist can coordinate treatment with an oral surgeon.
• Treatment isn’t limited to the teen years. Adults make up a large and growing number of orthodontic patients. 

If you’ve been considering orthodontic treatment, October—or any month!—is a great time to schedule a visit with an orthodontist. An orthodontic evaluation will let you know just what your orthodontist can do to help you create a beautiful and healthy smile.

“Shouldn’t that be healthy gums,” you’re thinking? And, of course, you’re correct. Healthy gums are extremely important not only for our dental well-being, but for our overall physical health.

But that’s a subject for another blog! Today, we’re talking about healthy gum—chewing gum, that is. Because choosing the right chewing gum can actually improve your dental health.

Oral bacteria use the foods we eat, especially sugars and simple carbs, as fuel to produce acid. These acids attack our tooth enamel, gradually weakening the minerals in the tooth surface and allowing cavities to develop. Clearly, we want to reduce these acids to help prevent decay. Luckily, our bodies have a natural defense against acid attacks—saliva.

Saliva works to protect our enamel in three ways:

• It helps neutralize and wash away acids in the mouth.
• It rinses away the food particles which bacteria feed on.
• It strengthens teeth by providing the necessary minerals our enamel needs to “remineralize” after acids have weakened the tooth surface.

Studies have concluded that chewing sugarless gum for 20 minute after a meal can help prevent cavities. Why? Because chewing gum increases saliva production. You are actually reducing the effects of harmful acids, washing food particles away from your teeth, and strengthening weakened enamel with every stick! Some artificial sweeteners are even thought to inhibit the growth of the bacteria that lead to decay.

With all that in mind, it’s also healthy to know when you shouldn’t chew gum:

• When the gum contains sugar. Even with an increase in saliva production, bathing your teeth in sugar as you chew does your enamel no favors!
• When you wear braces. Gum can stick to your brackets and between your brackets and your wires. And while trying to clean gum from your appliance is no one’s idea of fun, an even more unpleasant possibility is the chance that gum might bend your wires out of shape. Sugarless gum is not quite as sticky as regular gum, but before you open that first pack, check with your orthodontist to see if you might be putting your orthodontic work at risk.
• When you have jaw problems such as TMD, TMJ or other temporomandibular concerns, or if you develop jaw pain while chewing gum.
• You should never give gum to a child too young to understand that it should not be swallowed. Beyond acting as a choking hazard, continual gum swallowing can lead to diarrhea, blockages, abdominal pain and other serious problems. Talk to your Dr. John Zarrella and Dr. Peter C. Rider about the right age for chewing gum.

While chewing sugarless gum has the potential to improve dental health, remember it should never take the place of regular brushing and flossing—still the best way to prevent cavities at home. Talk to Dr. John Zarrella and Dr. Peter C. Rider about the possible benefits of sugarless gum at your next visit to our Ashland office, and we can make recommendations based on your individual dental history. Because whether it’s healthy gums or healthy gum, we’re here to help.