Cosmetic Bonding

Many people have small gaps in between their teeth that they would like fixed. Most people think that expensive braces or crowns are the only answer so they choose to do nothing.

This is not the case. Cosmetic bonding is a procedure where white (color chosen to match your teeth) filling material is placed on the side of each tooth where the gap exists. This closes the gap and makes a rather unaesthetic spot a whole lot better. You can still floss the area, no one can tell that anything has been done, and best of all it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to get it done.

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What is cleft lip/palate?

The word "cleft" simply means a crack or divide. A cleft lip is simply the body incorrectly or incompletely closing the facial structures during development. This incomplete closing leaves a cleft, or divide, in the lip and/or palate of the new born. Below is an ultrasound showing a cleft lip.

About 6,800 children in the United States are born with isolated cleft lip/palates each year. This number accounts for about 70% of all the clefts in children. The other 30% of clefts are associated with one of over 400 syndromes that include a cleft as part of the syndrome.

Clefts are normally very repairable and the scare can be almost unrecognizable.

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Wisdom teeth

Do I really need my wisdom teeth out?

More than likely you do.

There is only a small segment of the population that has enough room that would allow for all 4 wisdom teeth to erupt completely into the mouth. Wisdom teeth removal can range in difficulty from very simple to very complex. Which end of the spectrum your own personal wisdom tooth removal ends up being is dependent upon several factors. How far can you open your mouth, how far up, or down, into the jaw do your teeth sit, and at what angle do your teeth lie are just a few of the concerns that must be addressed by you and your doctor to determine what to expect from your own wisdom tooth surgery.

Artist rendering of different kinds of wisdom tooth positions.

Two actual patient x-rays of horizontally impacted wisdom teeth.

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Methamphetamine

Just in case any of you were thinking of using meth? Don't.

The above are pictures of people before and after they used Meth. Below is a picture of teeth after meth. Not good, would probably be an understatement.

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Is amalgam dangerous???

No. The ADA (American dental association), WHO (world health organization) and the New England Journal of medicine all have reported that there is no connection between amalgam fillings and any type of condition or disease process.

Are metal fillings less attractive then white fillings? Well beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but most of my patients think so and I change out a lot of them for cosmetic reasons.

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Shark teeth

Does your kid look like he/she is getting a second row of teeth?!

While this would be a great concept for humans, as far as I know it only applies to sharks.

Your child is not getting a second row of teeth. The adult tooth has simply "missed" the baby tooth and is coming up (or down) next to it. The baby tooth will, more then likely, not become much more loose on its own. Baby teeth become loose due to the pressure exerted on them by adult teeth. You will need to bring your kid into the dentist and have that tooth taken out.

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Why is my tooth so long?

When you remove a tooth that's not the end of the story.

The tooth that now has nothing to chew against may start to move.

This tooth is coming out of the gums and further into the mouth.

Would it come all the way out? Only time will tell.

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Implant and Bone Graft Case

No molars. Without any molars a person's ability to chew can be severely hampered. This patient's previous dentist hooked hooked both pre-molars together and then hung a tooth off the back to give the effect of at least one molar. the only problem is that the second pre-molar fractured and was un-savable.

We decided to take the second pre-molar out and place an implant. The goal here is to try to duplicate what she already had except with 1 natural tooth and 1 implant instead of 2 natural teeth. We will keep you updated.

http://www.drellisonline.com

Was my root canal done well?

General dentists are legally able to do many of the procedures that specialists do.

They just have to make sure that they can do it as well as the specialist would do it.

The first picture is an upper molar done by a specialist.

The second one is a root canal done by a general dentist.

The thing to look for in a root canal would be a nice thick white line going as close to the end of the tooth as possible. Some root canals are very difficult and results can vary. However, more often then not, a nice thick fill, with no voids, as close to the end of the tooth as possible will lead to the best results. http://www.drellisonline.com

Don't let your tooth tip over!!!

This person lost 1 tooth. No big deal right.

Well..... no big deal until her other tooth tipped over!!

1st picture taken in 2000.

2nd picture taken in 2010 right before the tooth was extracted.

If you think something may be wrong....

Yesterday I had someone come in from another dentist.

The patient had pain in their lower right side.

What I saw looked questionable.

If you suspect anything wrong with the work your dentist is doing please go get a second opinion. This patient will need to have several teeth removed and the bridge completely redone.

Not a good day.