What Your Pearly Whites Tell the Dentist in Arlington TX About Your Lifestyle, PART 2

This two-part article series explains what the health of your teeth and gums can tell a dental healthcare professional about your lifestyle and the bad habits you may have.

Welcome back to the second installment of this two-part article series on the toll unhealthy lifestyles take upon the health of your teeth and gums. In our previous article post, the dentist in Arlington TX discussed teeth grinding, unhealthy eating and addiction: three traps people who hit it hard at work frequently fall into. In this article, we shall look at the dangers faced by those who hit it hard after hours…

2. Hitting it Hard After Hours

There is nothing better than loosening the tie, sitting back with a bunch of friends and knocking back a couple of beers, or cosmopolitans or whatever your poison may be. “Alcohol is a fantastic social lubricant and, because it acts as a central nervous system depressant, serves to relax one,” explains the dentist in Arlington TX. It’s then not hard to understand why a beer (or three) is especially welcome after a long and stressful day at the office!

It’s when alcohol becomes synonymous with ‘unwinding’ that lifestyles go from balanced to seriously compromised. “There’s nothing wrong with having the occasional drink with friends,” says the dentist in Arlington TX. “But most people don’t know when to draw the line. Alcohol becomes a coping mechanism; a way to escape and even a form of rebellion when one spends their entire day in a highly demanding and stressful work environment.”

Dentist in Arlington TX: Excessive Drinking

“For many reasons, heavy drinking has a terrible impact upon oral health and hygiene,” say the dentist in Arlington TX. “Most alcoholic beverages contain a lot of sugar and are very acidic. The sugar encourages oral bacteria to flourish, while the acid softens your dental enamel, leaving it more vulnerable to decay and cavity-formation.”

In addition to this, alcohol causes ‘dry mouth’. “The enzymes in your saliva act as a natural defense against bacteria,” explains dentist Arlington TX. “Xerostomia or ‘dry mouth’ impedes the healthy production of saliva, which leaves your teeth and gums incredibly vulnerable to decay.”

Dentist in Arlington TX: Bad Habits and Poor Oral Hygiene

It’s not only the direct impact hard drinking has upon your oral health. Hitting it hard after hours is also linked with other bad habits, such as smoking, poor oral hygiene and unhealthy eating. “If you stagger home at 5am, chances are you’re going to skip brushing and flossing and go straight to bed with a half-eaten bag of chips still clutched tightly in your one hand,” says the dentist in Arlington TX.

Drug abuse is also a problem amongst people who hit the pubs and clubs after hours.

The Dentist in Arlington TX: Achieving the Ideal Balance

There nothing wrong with having the occasional party. In fact, it’s essential for your overall health, even if you do find yourself getting a little tipsy. The socializing, dancing and unwinding serves to de-stress, lower blood pressure and increase ‘happy’ hormones. But, as with everything in life, we need to establish a healthy balance. “Hitting it hard at work is fine if you swap the nicotine and caffeine with a solid gym session,” says the dentist in Arlington TX. “The latter is a far more effective stress reliever anyway.”

Look after yourself well and you will find that your general and oral health will reflect your lifestyle. “What this means,” says the dentist in Arlington TX, “is more energy, greater emotional vitality, a stronger mind and… a beautiful award-winning smile!”

What Your Pearly Whites Tell the Arlington Texas Dentist about Your Lifestyle, PART 1

This two-part article series explains what the health of your teeth and gums can tell a dental healthcare professional about your lifestyle and the bad habits you may have.

Whether you’re hitting it hard at work, or hitting it hard after hours (or both), an unbalanced lifestyle can take a visible toll on your oral health. In this two-part article series, the Arlington Texas dentist discusses some of the consequences unhealthy living has on the quality of your smile…

1. Hitting it Hard at Work

The human lifestyle has moved out of the forests and plains and into the concrete jungle. When intellect is pitted against intellect, it takes a lot of time, effort and hard work to get to the top of your game, whatever your ‘game’ may be. “Nowadays, most of us spend eight or more hours draped over our computers, leaving us precious little time to do those essential activities that keep us strong and healthy, both physically and mentally,” says the Arlington Texas dentist. These include:

• Eating properly and regularly
• Getting a good night’s rest
• Exercising
• Socializing with friends
• Spending time with family
• Pursuing a hobby

The results of a life spent rushing from one appointment to the next vary depending upon the individual. But without the time we need to recharge our batteries, the common denominator ends up being stress. And stress, as the Arlington Texas dentist will tell you, wrecks your teeth!

Arlington Texas Dentist: Your Arlington Dental Health and Teeth-Grinding, or ‘Bruxism’

“Teeth grinding and jaw clenching are unconscious expressions of stress and anxiety,” explains the Arlington Texas dentist. “They also occur most frequently at night, when you’re asleep, so you might not even be aware that you do it.”

The Arlington Texas dentist can generally tell from the excessive wear on the biting surface of your molars if you are a teeth grinder. They can also tell by the presence of fracturing in your dental enamel. The short of it is that teeth grinding, which is believed to be caused by stress, absolutely wrecks your Arlington dental health.

Arlington Texas Dentist: Your Arlington Dental Health and Poor Eating Habits

“A stressful lifestyle can also have a deleterious impact upon your eating patterns, as well as the quality of what you eat,” explains the Arlington Texas dentist. If you’re incredibly busy during the day, you may find yourself grabbing what you can for lunch and unfortunately the most accessible food is, as the name suggests, ‘fast food’. “It’s much easier to grab a hot dog from a food vendor than it is to spend 20 minutes packing your own healthy lunch at home,” says the Arlington Texas dentist. “And if you don’t have the time to get lunch, energy drinks and sugar-packed snacks will fill in the gaps!”

The result of all this is an unhealthy, unbalanced and irregular diet. “Your Arlington dental health depends as much upon nutrition as the rest of your body,” explains the Arlington Texas dentist. “Not only will this kind of diet take a toll on your immune system, but the high sugar and acidic content of fast foods, sugared beverages and energy snacks and drinks will increase your risk of cavities and tooth decay.”

Arlington Texas Dentist: Your Arlington Dental Health and Addiction

“Last, but certainly not least, stressful lifestyles tend to culture addictions,” explains the Arlington Texas dentist. Most people rely on coping mechanisms to deal with stress. They provide a mental vacation from the incredibly difficult tasks at hand. For the smoker, a cigarette break provides seven delicious minutes of peace and quiet. For the 12-a-day coffee drinker, caffeine provides the nervous energy they need to meet their deadlines.

Then there are the more dangerous addictions: prescription pain-killers and sedatives to numb the brain against constant anxiety. “Highly educated people can even turn to illegal drugs to help them cope with stress, however false this coping may be: crystal meth, cocaine and heroin,” says the Arlington Texas dentist.

All of these addictions, one way or the other, ruin your teeth and lead to the development of diseases like gingivitis, periodontitis and even oral cancer.

For More on Your Arlington Dental Health, Stay Tuned:

People hitting it hard at work need to find a healthy balance and they need to prioritize what’s important; their health,” stresses the Arlington Texas dentist.

But this isn’t where things end. When the sun goes down, people who hit it hard at work tend to swing violently to the other end of the spectrum, hitting it hard after hours…

Stay tuned for the second installment of this article series!

Arlington TX Dentist Talks about the Top Four Causes of Tooth Loss, PART 1

This two-part article series explains the four main causes of tooth loss: accidental trauma, tooth decay, periodontal (gum) disease and, interestingly enough, tooth loss to begin with!

You can’t imagine what it’s like to lose a permanent tooth until one of your pearly whites actually falls out your mouth or is extracted by your Arlington TX dentist. Unfortunately, too many people have become acquainted with this feeling; According to the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, approximately 70% of all Americans between the ages of 35 and 44 have lost at least one of their original adult teeth! The initial shock and anxiety caused by losing a tooth has as much to do with a concern for your smile aesthetics as it does the cost and trouble involved in fixing it. Any Arlington TX dentist (and anyone who’s lost a tooth) will explain to you that prevention is ALWAYS better than cure, especially when it comes to tooth loss. This is because your teeth are irreplaceable and no fancy modern technology - even Arlington dental implants - can rival your own biological technology.

In this two-part article series, the Arlington TX dentist shall be discussing the four main reasons teeth become irreparably damaged and either fall out by themselves or need to be extracted: (1) accidental trauma, (2) tooth decay, (3) periodontal (gum) disease and curiously enough (4) tooth loss to begin with!

1. Arlington Dental Disasters: Accidental trauma

Contact sports involve all kinds of physical risks. Professional and amateur players alike regularly walk (or hobble) away from the field or court with serious injuries. Whether you play basketball, rugby, baseball, tennis or something a little more obvious like boxing, if there are balls, fists and feet flying around, you should have a mouth guard custom fabricated for you by your Arlington TX dentist and you should wear it at all times. “All it takes is an accidental fist to the face or a stray tennis racquet to the teeth and in a single second, your smile can be irreparably altered,” says the Arlington TX dentist.

“Hundreds of millions of teeth are lost or severely damaged every year as a result of accidental trauma. While most accidents aren’t ‘planned’, you can certainly exercise the correct amount of caution to either help prevent them or mitigate the damage done by them,” explains the Arlington TX dentist. The message here is to be careful, tread cautiously and wear a mouth guard if you play sports. Take care of yourself.

2. Arlington Dental Disasters: Tooth decay

The next major cause of tooth loss is decay. “Your mouth, no matter how good you are about keeping your teeth clean, is teeming with opportunistic bacteria,” says the Arlington TX dentist. “If you don’t brush and floss regularly and if you don’t see your Arlington dental health care professional twice a year, you are leaving your teeth highly vulnerable to oral bacteria.”

“Bacteria feast upon the sugary residues left in your mouth after eating and drinking,” explains the Arlington TX dentist. “Just like any other organism that eats, they produce waste products and this excrement is very acidic. By neglecting to brush and floss your teeth, you give bacteria a chance to establish vast colonies in the natural creases of your gums and teeth,” says the Arlington TX dentist. Eventually, bacterial acidic waste will erode away your dental enamel forming cavities which provide even greater shelter for bacteria.

Without treatment by the Arlington TX dentist, cavities eventually deepen, allowing bacteria a direct pathway into the heart of the tooth. Once the pulp chamber becomes infected, the tooth will need to be sterilized via a root canal procedure. The vast majority of Arlington dental patients, however, opt to simply have the decayed, problematic tooth extracted.

“Preventing decay requires high standards of oral hygiene and regular attention from an Arlington TX dentist. You should also minimize your intake of sugar and lead a healthy lifestyle,” advise Arlington dental health care professionals.

For More on Your Arlington Dental Health, Stay Tuned for the Second Installment of This Two-Part Series!

Dentist in Arlington TX Recommends “All-on-4” Surgical Protocol for Fixed Oral Rehabilitation, PART 4

This four-part article series takes a comprehensive look at the modern dental implant protocol able to give edentulous and near-edentulous patients a brand new set of fixed and non-removable teeth in as little as a single day.

Welcome to the final installment of our four-part article series on “All-on-4” dental implants. So far, the dentist in Arlington TX has discussed how this technique for oral rehabilitation works and how the solutions it provides compare with those of removable dentures. In this final part of the series, the dentist in Arlington TX will describe how the “All-on-4” dental implant protocol is able to provide patients with a brand new set of teeth in as little as a single day, with a single surgery. It all begins with the design of the technique…

Dentist in Arlington TX: The Innovation of “All-on-4” Implants

In 1993, European implantologist Dr. Paulo Malo innovated a surgical technique that overcame one of the largest hurdles in oral rehabilitation using dental implants: bone grafting surgery. You see, people who have been living without teeth for many, many years (or with dentures) frequently present with a lack of bone volume in the jaw. This is caused by atrophication of the hard tissue, which wastes away without the stimulation provided by the tooth roots. So, when these patients come to the dentist in Arlington TX for help, depending upon the degree of bone loss in the jaw, they may not be considered candidates for dental implants.

In these cases, the dentist in Arlington TX may recommend bone grafting surgery, which augments the existing bone and encourages the growth of new and healthy hard tissue in the jaw. The problem with this step towards oral rehabilitation is that it is invasive and incredibly painful for the patient to go through. It’s also expensive and requires months of healing before the jaw is ready to accept dental implants, explains the dentist in Arlington TX. The need for bone grafting surgery represented a hurdle in one’s journey towards having a full set of beautiful and functional teeth again. But with the advent of “All-on-4” dental implants, the dentist in Arlington TX is almost always able to skip this procedure entirely.

Dentist in Arlington TX: How the “All-on-4” Avoids Bone Grafting

Dr. Paulo Malo specifically designed the “All-on-4” technique to avoid the need for bone grafting entirely. This was done through the placement and angulation of four dental implants in the jaw:

• Two dental implants are placed by the dentist in Arlington TX in the front portion of the jaw, where the bone naturally exists in a greater volume and is more resistant to atrophy.

• Another two (longer) dental implants are placed towards the back of the jaw, in the region of the second and third molars. These implants are inserted at a very precise angle, which enables them to reap maximum support from the underlying jaw bone, explains the dentist in Arlington TX. This angulation also ensures that they avoid damaging vital structures, such as the nerve canal in the lower jaw and the sinus cavity in the upper jaw.

Together, these four dental implants provide ample support for a fully customized prosthetic dental bridge. Because only four dental implants are placed per jaw, the entire procedure can be completed in a single day, with a single surgery, explains the dentist in Arlington TX. And it is this unprecedented treatment time that has earned “All-on-4” dental implants ‘breakthrough’ status in the fields of implantology and fixed oral rehabilitation!

A Final Note from the Dentist in Arlington TX

Removable dentures are no longer the best and most sophisticated solution to edentulism and near-edentulism. Whether you already wear dentures or are facing an immediate future of them, dental implants provide a much more comprehensive and long term answer; one that doesn’t cost you in your quality of life. Speak to your dentist in Arlington TX about the sophisticated solutions provided by the “All-on-4” protocol!

Dentist in Arlington TX Recommends “All-on-4” Surgical Protocol for Fixed Oral Rehabilitation, PART 3

This four-part article series takes a comprehensive look at the modern dental implant protocol able to give edentulous and near-edentulous patients a brand new set of fixed and non-removable teeth in as little as a single day.

Welcome back to our four-part article series on dental implants and how they offer an incredibly sophisticated, comprehensive and long-term solution to missing teeth. In our previous article post, the second installment of the series, the dentist in Arlington TX explained how the “All-on-4” dental implant protocol worked, as well as some of the key differences between it and traditional dental implant techniques. In this article, the third installment of the series, the dentist in Arlington will move on to explain how oral rehabilitation with the “All-on-4” affords edentulous (not having a single original tooth left) and near-edentulous patients a much higher quality of life.

Key Differences between “All-on-4” Implants and Removable Dentures

In our previous article post, the dentist in Arlington TX explained how the “All-on-4” technique worked. Essentially, to recap, it involves the placement of four dental implants in the jaw, which are subsequently used to support a fully customized and non-removable prosthetic dental bridge. The dental implants, explains the dentist in Arlington, provide all the support this bridge needs to function like a natural set of teeth; for eating, smiling and speaking. Many of the differences between the “All-on-4” and removable dentures arise from the fact that the former is permanently fixed in the mouth with dental implants, which are in turn ‘anchored’ in the jaw, whereas dentures are loose and rely on the gum-covered jaw bone ridge for support. Consequently:

• Removable dentures can shift around and fall out, causing acute social embarrassment and difficulty eating.
  
• Removable dentures exert pressure on the gums, causing inflammation, irritation, pain and discomfort for the patient. In fact, says the dentist in Arlington TX, after a few years of denture-wearing, the majority of patients prefer to eat without their teeth! This is a direct failure of the technology.
  
• Removable dentures require patients to buy adhesives and anesthetic gels to combat the above-mentioned problems. This is a repeated investment they will be required to make for a lifetime, or as long as they wear dentures, explains the dentist in Arlington.
  
• Removable dentures rely on their bulk to keep them stable. This can cause a number of problems for the patient, says the dentist in Arlington. It pushes on the lips from the inside causing unnatural (and aged) smile aesthetics. The bulkiness of dentures can also trigger the gag reflex and impede a patient’s ability to taste and enjoy their food properly, says the dentist in Arlington.
  
• Dentures can harbor food and bacteria causing bad breath and poor oral hygiene.
  
• Removable dentures compromise 75% of your bite functionality, says the dentist in Arlington TX! After 15 years of wearing dentures, patients lose 97% of their bite strength, which not only limits their diet severely, but also causes malnutrition in the elderly.
  

Because the bridge used in the “All-on-4” is supported by dental implants:

• It cannot shift around or fall out.
• It does not cause any pain, discomfort or inflammation of the underlying soft tissue.
• It feels entirely comfortable to eat with, says the dentist in Arlington TX.
• It does not require patients to constantly stock anesthetic gels and adhesives.
• The construction of the bridge is much slimmer and so it doesn’t tend to cause problems such as gagging and taste impediment, explains the dentist in Arlington.
• The “All-on-4” promotes the health of the underlying jaw bone and relies upon this hard tissue for all the support necessary for eating (as is the case with natural teeth.) As such, explains the dentist in Arlington TX, the “All-on-4” bridge supports a strong and fully functional bite, enabling patients to eat a balanced healthy diet without compromise.
• Owing to the slim construction of the “All-on-4” bridge and its tight fit against the gums, it cannot harbor food and bacteria.

Dentist in Arlington TX: Stay Tuned

To find out how the “All-on-4” dental implant technique is capable of providing patients with a brand new set of teeth in as little as a single day, with a single surgery, stay tuned for the final installment of this four-part article series.

Arlington Dental Groups Recommend “All-on-4” Surgical Protocol for Fixed Oral Rehabilitation, PART 2

This four-part article series takes a comprehensive look at the modern dental implant protocol able to give edentulous and near-edentulous patients a brand new set of fixed and non-removable teeth in as little as a single day.

Welcome back to our four-part article series on dental implants and why they are, for those who have lost one or more or even all of their teeth, the clear choice in Arlington. In our previous introductory post, we began discussing why removable dentures, which have long been the main teeth replacement solution for edentulous (toothless) and near-edentulous patients, cannot rival modern dental implant protocols provided by Arlington dental groups. In this article, the second installment of the series, Arlington dental group professionals shall take a much closer look at the revolutionary “All-on-4” dental implant technique, explain how it works and why it offers far more sophisticated and long term solutions to missing teeth than dentures.

Arlington Dental Groups: What are “All-on-4” Dental Implants?

The “All-on-4” is a dental implant protocol that involves the affixing of a fully customized prosthetic dental bridge to the abutments of, as the name suggests, four dental implants per jaw. What this essentially means, explain professionals in the Arlington dental group, is that all you need are four dental implants per jaw in order to have a complete set of immediately functional and attractive teeth fixed in your mouth. Better yet, these teeth are non-removable, are looked after just like natural teeth and don’t cause any of the pain, discomfort and endless challenges that removable dentures do. This really makes the “All-on-4” the clear choice in Arlington for those who have either already lost all of their original adult teeth to periodontal (gum) disease, or who are about to.

Arlington Dental Groups: What If I’ve Been Told I’m Not a Candidate for Dental Implants?

Many long-time denture-wearers are told by Arlington dental group practitioners that they are not candidates for dental implants. But there is a distinction to be made between traditional dental implant protocols and the “All-on-4” technique. The problem arises from a lack of sufficient bone volume, explain Arlington dental group professionals. Denture-wearers and those who have lived without teeth for many, many years undergo substantial changes to their jaw bone. Without natural tooth roots to keep the jaw alive and stimulated, this hard tissue atrophies and wastes away, just like unexercised muscle tissue, explain professionals in Arlington dental groups. Dentures only replace the visible part of your teeth, but don’t do anything to stimulate the underlying jaw bone. Dental implants replace both the crowns of the teeth and the roots, which is why dentists, when it comes to tooth replacement, consider them to be the clear choice in Arlington.

Arlington Dental Groups and the “All-on-4” Avoiding Bone Grafting Surgery

After many, many years of edentulism, your jaw bone may have lost too much volume to support dental implants placed using traditional surgical methods. But the “All-on-4” protocol was specifically designed to avoid the need for bone grafting surgery, which would be the next step in oral rehabilitation if your jaw had indeed wasted away, explain professionals in Arlington dental groups. Through the careful placement and precise angulation of only four dental implants in regions of the jaw bone that naturally contain a greater volume of atrophy-resistant bone tissue, professionals in Arlington dental groups can find sufficient support for a prosthetic dental bridge (see image above). The benefits of this are numerous and make dental implants the clear choice in Arlington:

• It allows the dentist to skip the need for bone grafting surgery, which is an invasive procedure and very painful for the patient, explain Arlington dental group professionals.
• It saves patients the massive expense of having multiple surgeries, numerous implants placed and all that time spent in recovery.
• Arlington dental group practitioners can complete oral rehabilitation in a single day with as little as a single surgery and only four dental implants.
• Patients are literally able to save tens of thousands of dollars on getting a brand new set of teeth placed, making the “All-on-4” your clear choice in Arlington!

Your Clear Choice in Arlington Group: Stay Tuned

To find out how the solutions provided by the modern dental implant protocol, the “All-on-4” technique compare to removable dentures, stay tuned for the third installment of this four-part article series.

“All-on-4” Implant Dentistry in Arlington: Surgical Protocol for Fixed Oral Rehabilitation, PART 1

This four-part article series takes a comprehensive look at the modern dental implant protocol able to give edentulous and near-edentulous patients a brand new set of fixed and non-removable teeth in as little as a single day.

Implant dentistry in Arlington as we know it today is a field that was conceived in the 1950’s with the discovery of titanium’s biological compatibility with bone tissue. Dental implants went on to become popular in the 1980’s, offering people presenting with single, multiple and even total tooth loss a much better and long term alternative to dental bridges and removable dentures. It was only in 1993 that implant dentistry in Arlington underwent another massive leap with the advent of a surgical protocol that was better able to treat edentulous patients (not having a single original adult tooth left) and near-edentulous patients. In this four-part article series, we shall be taking a comprehensive look at the surgical protocol used to provide sophisticated and long term teeth replacement solutions to patients in desperate need of a new set of teeth. Removable dentures used to be the only option for these people, say professionals in implant dentistry in Arlington.

Now dental implants are the clear choice in Arlington!

Implant Dentistry in Arlington: Statistics of Edentulism in the United States

According to the Center for Disease Control, almost 30% of American adults over the age of 65 don’t have a single original tooth left. Not one. And this is almost always due to dental decay and periodontal (gum) disease. Before the availability of teeth replacement technologies offered by implant dentistry in Arlington, the people facing these kinds of crippling challenges would either have removable dentures placed, or somehow adapt to a life without teeth. However, when you consider the challenges, impediments and repeat expenses this archaic technology comes hand-in-hand with, it’s no wonder that dentists in Arlington and around the world recommend dental implants as the edentulous patient’s clear choice in Arlington.

Implant Dentistry in Arlington: Why Removable Dentures Just Won’t Cut It

A significant portion of patients who have already lost all of their teeth or who are facing an immediate future of edentulism opt for removable dentures as their tooth replacement technology. This is such a pity because these patients just don’t understand the crippling challenges, lifestyle impediments and repeated costs they are signing up for, explain professionals in implant dentistry in Arlington. Removable dentures were, at one time, the most sophisticated solutions dentists could offer toothless patients. But nowadays, with the sophisticated surgical protocols offered by implant dentistry in Arlington, fixed oral rehabilitation is available to one and all. We shall be exploring the benefits and advantages of these protocols over traditional approaches to edentulism (namely, dentures) in a later installment of this article series. But before we can explain why dental implants are the clear choice in Arlington, we need to take a look at how these modern techniques work and how the advent of the “All-on-4” technique revolutionized the field of implant dentistry in Arlington.

Implant Dentistry in Arlington: Stay Tuned

To find out how the modern dental implant protocol, the “All-on-4” technique, works and how it offers far superior solutions to edentulism than removable dentures, stay tuned for the second installment of this four-part article series. Dental implants, whether you have lost one tooth or all of them, are the clear choice in Arlington!