Tag Archives: San Jose dentist
A bridge is a prosthesis used to replace one or more missing teeth. Usually the teeth on either side of the empty space are ground down to help anchor the missing tooth (or multiple teeth).
Pros:
1. The patient does not have to wear a removable appliance to replace the missing teeth.
Cons:
1. Sometimes perfect natural teeth have to be destroyed in order to anchor the bridge.
2. The bite force can destroy the integrity of the anchored teeth if it is inadequately controlled.
3. The strength of the roots of the anchored teeth can be compromised.
4. It can be difficult to keep the underside of the bridge clean.
5. The nerve inside the canal can be compromised from the trauma of the tooth preparation as well as the bite force when multiple teeth are splinted together.
As you can see, there are more “cons” then “pros”.
Let’s take a look at a real case:
In the case below a bridge was constructed by anchoring a root canal-treated molar to two smaller teeth in front. After a period of time, the molar roots were cracked into three pieces. The tooth structure underneath the restoration was also destroyed from decay and trauma. The xray also shows that one of the two anchored front teeth also has a small infection from the damaged nerve.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Let’s think about the problems behind this bridge:
1. Three teeth were affected at the expense of one missing tooth.
2. By anchoring one weak root canal-treated tooth to two strong teeth, the root canal treated tooth was the weak link.
3. The bite stability of this patient was not taken into consideration when this bridge was done.
If we can turn back the clock, a better treatment plan could have been:
1. Properly develop the bone at the site of the missing tooth.
2. Treat that site with an implant and a crown.
3. Crown the root canal-treated molar individually.
4. Leave the two natural teeth in front untouched.
With the advancements of implant dentistry, bridges should be considered as the last option in restoring a missing tooth.
1 comment | tags: AACD Accredited Dentist, Accredited Cosmetic Dentist, Alex Nguyen DDS, Bay Area Cosmetic dentist, Bay Area Dental Implant Dentist, Bay Area Dentist, Broken implant bridge, Implant or Bridge which is better?, San Jose dentist, Saratoga dentist | posted in dental, dentistry, dentist, smile, cosmetic dentistry, root canal, Health, Technical Questions, Uncategorized
Material choice and technique plays an important role in creating life-like restorations for the front teeth. In the case below, improper choice of material and technique resulted in 2 dark front teeth.
Material problem:
Using translucent porcelain over dark underlying tooth structure allows the dark color to bleed through. Not all materials fit all situations, and the dentist must understand when to apply the right material to the right situation.
Technique problem:
1. The margin (the demarcation between the porcelain and the root) does not fit properly. This results in excess accumulation of plaque right at the root area. This type of problem may cause the gum to initially become inflamed, then slowly deteriorate and shrink away from the crown.
2. The dark underlying tooth structure must be masked out.
3. The shape, size, contour, shade, surface characteristics must blend in with the patient’s existing teeth.
Since the smile’s center of attention is the two front teeth, it is important that the restorations look like they are your real teeth. It is crucial to seek the right clinician to help with your front teeth. Unfortunately, once the restorations are bonded to the teeth, they would have to be redone from scratch if you are unhappy with the result.
Leave a comment | tags: AACD Accredited Dentist, Accredited Cosmetic Dentist, Alex Nguyen DDS, Bay Area Cosmetic dentist, Bay Area Dental Implant Dentist, Crowns on the Front Teeth, Dark crowns on the front teeth, San Jose dentist, Saratoga dentist | posted in dental, dentistry, dentist, smile, cosmetic dentistry, root canal, Health, Technical Questions, Uncategorized
I do not like them.
I am talking about products like Crest Pro-Health, Listerine Total Care, etc. Routinely, I am seeing more problems caused by these mouth rinses rather than benefits for my patients. The most common side effect manifests as sore spots on the gum tissue, the cheek tissue inside the mouth, and the inside borders of the lips.
If you have unexplained sore spots and have recently switched to some of these multi-purpose rinses and tooth pastes, try going back to just using the basic fluoride tooth paste. It may just be the solution to your problem if your family doctor cannot pin point the cause.
Simply put, you can rinse with any magic potion all you want, but if you do not spend the time to mechanically remove plaque with flossing and brushing then you are defying your home care effort.
The best prevention of decay and gum disease is flossing and brushing. This has not changed since the invention of the tooth brush and the dental floss. There is no such thing as a magical multi-purpose mouth rinse on the market today.
Leave a comment | tags: AACD Accredited Dentist, Accredited Cosmetic Dentist, Alex Nguyen DDS, Bay Area Dental Implant Dentist, Bay Area Dentist, Best Bay Area Dentist, Best mouth rinse, San Jose dentist, Saratoga dentist | posted in dental, dentistry, dentist, smile, cosmetic dentistry, root canal, Health, Technical Questions
May the Spirt of Christmas warm your heart, and may the cheers of the Holidays bring you Love and Happiness!
1 comment | tags: AACD Accredited Dentist, Alex Nguyen DDS, Bay Area Dentist, San Jose dentist, Saratoga dentist | posted in Uncategorized
Tetracycline is an antibiotic.
At the age of three, children have already developed tooth buds of the permanent teeth inside the jaw. When tetracycline is given to children, this drug penetrates the developing tooth buds and incorporates itself into the tooth structure. When the teeth erupt into the mouth, the result is bands of dark stains with usually a combination of brown, gray, and yellow colors. These stains make up the actual colors of the teeth and are impossible to bleach completely into normal white teeth colors.
Note: Once a tooth has erupted into the mouth and the root of that tooth has completely formed, tetracycline cannot affect that tooth. It is also a misconception that all antibiotics will cause yellowing of teeth.
The human eyes are used to seeing the smile with white teeth. Smiles with dark tetracycline teeth are not as esthetically pleasing as smiles with normal white shades of teeth.
Porcelain veneers done on tetracycline stained teeth are very difficult for many reasons. A clinician has to mask out the dark colors underneath, and create at the same time the proper tooth form, contour, texture, and details of the edges of the natural tooth.
Here are the before and after photos of a case where I used porcelain veneers to enhance a severely tetracycline stained smile. The after photo was taken two weeks after delivery. The gum tissue will continue to heal and adapt to the new porcelain, and the colors of the porcelain teeth will become even more realistic after some time. In this case the patient opted for a super white shade, yet with proper planning and execution we can still create a natural looking smile.
Images of actual patients of Alex Nguyen, DDS are Copyrighted and Digitally Embedded to track Unauthorized Use.
Leave a comment | tags: Accredited Cosmetic Dentist, Alex Nguyen DDS, Bay Area Cosmetic dentist, Bay Area Dental Implant Dentist, Bay Area Dentist, Bay Area Orthodontist, Bridges or Implant, Cosmetic Dentistry in San Jose, Crown temporaries, Invisalign dentist in San Jose, Lumineers dentist in Bay Area, Lumineers dentist in San Jose, Porcelain Veneers in San Jose, San Jose dentist, San Jose Implant Dentures, Saratoga dentist, Sensitivity problems with tooth colored filling., smile makeover, Teeth Whitening in San Jose, Tooth colored fillings in San Jose, Veneer temporaries, Veneers for tetracycline stained teeth, What to do with a fractured tooth? | posted in dental, dentistry, dentist, smile, cosmetic dentistry, root canal, Health, Technical Questions
Your tooth will only hurt if the cavity penetrates the chamber which houses the nerve inside your tooth.
A cavity begins from the outside surface of your tooth and usually balloons inwards until it penetrates the nerve. Bacteria from the cavity and temperature exposure will cause the nerve to become inflamed and eventually … die. That’s when it really hurts.
The best way to diagnose the extent of a cavity is to use proper radiographs. Regular check-ups allow your dentist to catch cavities in their early stages of development. A small cavity is much easier and inexpensive to fill, than to wait until that cavity dictates the need for root canal, build-up, and crown treatments.
The Xray below shows 3 cavities on a patient who has not been to the dentist in a number of years. This patient has no pain in her dentition, yet it is a matter of time before these cavities become big problems for her dental health.
Leave a comment | tags: Accredited Cosmetic Dentist, Alex Nguyen DDS, Bay Area Cosmetic dentist, Bay Area Dental Implant Dentist, Bay Area Dentist, Bridges or Implant, Cosmetic Dentistry in San Jose, cosmetic dentistry San Jose, Dental Implant complication, Fractured tooth, Pain after tooth colored filling, San Jose dentist, San Jose Implant Dentures, san jose porcelain veneers, Saratoga dentist, Sensitivity problems with tooth colored filling., silver filling, smile makeover, Teeth Whitening in San Jose, Tooth colored fillings in San Jose, What to do with a fractured tooth? | posted in dental, dentistry, dentist, smile, cosmetic dentistry, root canal, Health, Technical Questions
This beautiful flower was sent to us this week from a patient, fresh from her garden!
Just for fun, you can win a free teeth whitening procedure if you are the first person to leave a message on our office voicemail or with our reception desk with the correct name of the flower. One catch though… You must be willing to come to us because we cannot deliver teeth whitening over the internet 
.
Our office number is 408-867-8648
Leave a comment | tags: Accredited Cosmetic Dentist, Alex Nguyen DDS, Bay Area Cosmetic dentist, Bay Area Dental Implant Dentist, Cosmetic Dentistry in San Jose, dental implant in San Jose, Invisalign dentist in San Jose, Porcelain veneers, San Jose dentist, Saratoga dentist, Sensitivity problems with tooth colored filling., Tooth colored fillings in San Jose | posted in dental, dentistry, dentist, smile, cosmetic dentistry, root canal
The arrival of Spring induces allergy symptoms such as itchy/watery eyes, excess nasal irritation and drainage, dry cough, skin rash, etc. However, there is a unique symptom which occurs sometime in conjunction with excess drainage in the sinus: Toothache on the upper molars or bicuspids.
The upper bicuspid and molar roots are embedded in the sinus cavity. When the sinus cavity is filled with excess drainage from allergies, pressure from the sinus on the roots can cause a discomfort which mimics a toothache. An improper diagnosis may result in unnecessary root canal treatments to alleviate the associated pain. Careful examination and tests should be done to rule out toothache associated with sinus drainage or infection.
In this case, a regiment of antibiotics and antihistamines may very well alleviate the toothache-like problem. Yes, sometimes you can blame pollen for your toothache !
Leave a comment | tags: Accredited Cosmetic Dentist, Alex Nguyen DDS, allergies and toothache, Bay Area Cosmetic dentist, Bay Area Dental Implant Dentist, Bay Area Dentist, Bay Area Orthodontist, Bridges or Implant, Cosmetic Dentistry in San Jose, cosmetic dentistry San Jose, Crown temporaries, Dental CT Scan, Dental Implant and CT Scan, San Jose dentist, San Jose Implant Dentures, Tooth colored fillings in San Jose, Toothache, What to do with a fractured tooth?, What to do with a toothache | posted in dental, dentistry, dentist, smile, cosmetic dentistry, root canal, Health, Technical Questions, Uncategorized
Implant dentistry can really change people’s lives. In cases where there have been significant amounts of bone and tissue loss, this type of restoration allows the patient to regain both the function and the look of a real dentition.
Here is a rough outline of the process:
1. Before the treatment was executed, proper diagnostics were done with study models, X-rays, CT Scan, etc.
2. The implants were then placed, and allowed to integrate with the patient’s bone.
3. An accurate impression was done to capture the implant positions and was sent to the laboratory.
4. The lab then created a duplicate model of the patient’s arch (with the implants replicated exactly how they are in the mouth).
5. A Cad Cam scan was done to design a titanium framework for the prosthesis. See my blog entry dated Dec 4, 2010 about the Cad Cam technology for this same case.
6. The titanium bar is tried in the mouth on the actual implants to ensure accurate fit.
7. Teeth and gum colored materials are placed over the titanium bar.
8. The final prosthesis was placed precisely over the implants in the patient’s mouth. The entire prosthesis was held in placed by screws that fit into the implants. Openings at the screw access were filled with proper composite materials to blend in with the surrounding areas.
9. Proper contacts and functional guidance of the bite were checked and fine-tuned.
The patient once again has a full arch of teeth fixated to his/her arch to replace the missing teeth. This type of restoration takes away the pain and inefficient chewing problem for patients who maybe suffering from the lack of ability to simply … eat.
Case Photos:
Images of actual patients of Alex Nguyen, DDS are Copyrighted and Digitally Embedded to track Unauthorized Use.
The titanium bar on the stone model:
The prosthesis on the stone model. Note the access holes where the implants were positioned.
The final hybrid prosthesis in the mouth. Note all implant access holes were filled.
The patient’s smile at completion of treatment.
Leave a comment | tags: Accredited Cosmetic Dentist, Alex Nguyen DDS, Bay Area Cosmetic dentist, Bay Area Dental Implant Dentist, Bay Area Dentist, Bay Area Orthodontist, Bridges or Implant, Cosmetic Dentistry in San Jose, cosmetic dentistry San Jose, Dental Implant complication, dental implant in San Jose, Invisalign dentist in San Jose, Porcelain veneers, San Jose Cosmetic Dentist, San Jose dentist, San Jose Implant Dentures, Saratoga dentist, Tooth colored fillings in San Jose, What to do with a fractured tooth? | posted in dental, dentistry, dentist, smile, cosmetic dentistry, root canal, Health, Technical Questions
A recent new patient consultation this week has inspired me to write this blog entry…
Sometimes I hear this question during my discussions with the patients. In reality, as a patient you should not have to worry about the “name” or “type” of porcelain. In fact, it is always the “technique” employed by the dentist that makes a difference in the outcome of a case.
In the photo below, three front teeth are marked with arrows. They look different from the rest of the restorations because our eyes can see dark areas on the teeth. In particular, the patient was most bothered by the tooth on the far right of the screen. This lateral incisor had an extremely dark tooth structure build-up underneath. When the same “type” of porcelain is used in a series of teeth, color differences of the underlying tooth structure will affect how the final restorations look.
In this case, proper technique can be used to mask out the dark underlying tooth structure in order to allow better color blend. This “technique” is a coordination between the dentist and the ceramist, and it is not a choice that the patient would have to make.
In order for your restorations to look natural, a number of factors must come into play. Those factors are not limited to just … the porcelain.
Leave a comment | tags: AACD, AACD Accredited Dentist, Accredited Cosmetic Dentist, Alex Nguyen DDS, Bay Area Cosmetic dentist, Bay Area Dental Implant Dentist, Bay Area Dentist, Cosmetic Dentistry in San Jose, Pain after tooth colored filling, Porcelain Veneers in San Jose, San Jose Cosmetic Dentist, San Jose dentist, san jose porcelain veneers, Saratoga dentist, smile makeover, Tooth colored fillings in San Jose, What to do with a fractured tooth? | posted in dental, dentistry, dentist, smile, cosmetic dentistry, root canal, Health, Technical Questions
