Are those supposed to feel like separate teeth?!

Your teeth are all meant to have some space in between them.

Some teeth have only a tiny space and may be very hard to floss.

Some teeth have more space and may be very easy to floss.

But all teeth are supposed to have space between them.

Take your tongue and run it along the back side of your bottom front teeth.

Does it feel like a wall of teeth or does it feel like individual teeth?

If it feels like a wall of teeth with very little space in between then you need a cleaning.

Below is a picture of some front lower teeth before and after they were cleaned.

The yellow stuff in between the teeth is build up that is too hard to

be cleaned off by your tooth brush alone.

The only way to get this stuff off is by a trained dental hygienist or dentist.

It doesn't look very good but that is not the worst part.

The worst part is the bacteria that can be harbored in your mouth

and thus pose health risks, some severe, throughout your entire body.

Before the cleaning.

After the cleaning.

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Why are my new fillings so sensitive?

New fillings that are placed by your dentist should not be sensitive.

If they are they should not remain that way for long.

Some very large fillings may take longer then others, but

eventually every filling should calm down.

So what exactly is going on when a fillings sensitive?

It has to do with expansion and contraction.

As with most things, when a tooth is exposed to hot or cold

temperatures it will expand or contract accordingly.

If a tooth has never had a filling it will all contract and expand at the same time.

If a tooth HAS had a filling however this is where we may get an issue.

If the tooth and the filling have a different point at which they want

to expand or contract then there can be some discomfort.

Over time this discomfort should go away as the tooth gets used to the filling.

If the discomfort does not go away then the filling needs to be re-done.

If it still hurts then there are some different types of filling materials that can be used.

If it still hurts then other treatments may be needed.

Filling sensitivity is a funny thing.

Someone can get 4 fillings in the same day.

Same doctor.

Same filling material.

Same everything.

But only 1 will end up hurting.

It is a real tooth by tooth thing and can drive patients, and dentists, crazy!

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Does Dr. Ellis.........?

I get asked all the time, "Dr. Ellis do you......"

followed by all kinds of questions.

Here is a little list of the most popular questions I get.

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Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

There has been a large push in the media over this issue but we are still

seeing it in the office so I think it bears repeating.

Early childhood cavities are bad news.

These cavities are costly to fix, it is harder to keep them intact,

and drilling on children gives them a bad perception

of what going to the dentist is all about, which will stay with them

for a long long time and effect how they view dental care in the future.

Simple rule of thumb here.

Do not give your children anything to drink, that is not water, in between meals.

At meal time they can have lots of stuff.

Juice, milk, koolaid, etc.

After the meal is over have them brush their teeth or swish with a glass of water.

This will help clean the sugars out of their mouths that they got form the meal.

ANY other time you should be giving them water.

It is the child that is continuously exposed to sugars that will get the cavities.

And for the love of all that is good and holy do not, under any circumstances,

put your child to bed with a bottle of juice, milk, or anything else.

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Are dental implants safe?

Yes.

The question of safety with dental implants is one that seems to persist

among the general population.

Perhaps a lack of news coverage is responsible for this.

Someone getting a heart or lung replaced gets a lot more attention

(as it should) then replacing a tooth.

So lets see if this helps.

This is a picture of an artificial heart.

This is a diagram of a real heart.

This is a diagram of the lungs.

All 3 of these items are very complex.

Yet doctors, very successfully, place (transplant) these items into patients all the time.

Below you will see a diagram of a tooth implant.

Yup, that's it.

Its a titanium screw.

No moving parts are pieces.

Far less complex then the heart or the lung.

The point.

Please please please do not be afraid of dental implants.

Replacing severely broken teeth with implants is safe and simple.

If you think you may be a candidate simply talk to your dentist

about implants and if they are right for you.

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Get those ugly metal fillings out!!

This is patient E.

She didn't like the look of her old metal fillings.

She wanted them out.

So we got her hopped up on some happy gas.

Numbed her up.

And away we went.

All the teeth before.

Individual tooth before.

All the teeth after.

Individual tooth after.

Patient E was very excited to be done with her metal fillings.

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Before and After

The picture quality is not as good as I would like but you get the idea.

Patient came into the office with some trouble on her two front teeth.

She had bonding done on the teeth about 22 years ago.

The bonding had since chipped and discolored.

The gums had also receded which revealed more discolored tooth up by the gumline.

We removed all of the old bonding.

The patient chose the color that best suited her and it was placed within about 45 min.

Patient was happy with result and if there is anything that she does not

like then we can change it just that fast.

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