Causes of a Toothache
I found this diagram on the internet and it really helps explain causes of tooth sensitivy or pain. Causes of a toothache can be many different things. I wanted to share this. Dr. Johnston
Press Release #1 – Cerec
Local Colorado Dentist Utilizes CEREC Technology to Execute Simplistic and Efficient Dental Appointments for all Patients Dr. Jeff Johnston, dentist in Cherry Creek, is pleased to announce that his practice is able to utilize CEREC technology to create crowns, fillings and veneers in just a single visit. This technology allows Dr. Johnston to offer superior dental service to his patients in the Denver and Cherry Creek area. Denver, CO (1888PressRelease) October 09, 2012 – CEREC allows the practice to offer a tremendous level of service to all patients. Instead of taking two or three weeks to create and implement a crown, Ascent Dental is able to do so in a single appointment. The patient will be able to leave the same day with a fully constructed dental crown(s). The practice will continue to use CEREC to successfully treat the patients. Prior to CEREC in Colorado, receiving a dental crown was much more complicated. To do so, a dentist had to take a muddled impression of the tooth and then send it to a dental lab. During the two to three weeks in between appointments, patients would wear a temporary crown before the permanent crown would be attached at times causing it to be uncomfortable or to become dislodged. CEREC is an acronym for Chairside Economical Restorations of Esthetic Ceramic. CEREC uses special imaging technology to get an accurate digital representation of the patient’s tooth. Using specialized software, Dr. Johnston then is able to design a crown that will fit perfectly within the patient’s tooth. An on-site milling machine is then used to physically create the crown, allowing Dr. Johnston to permanently attach to the patient’s tooth. The ceramic material used to create the crown or filling expands and contracts as natural teeth do. Because of this, there is no danger of cracking. Furthermore, they are neither too hard nor too soft. There is no undue wear and the patient will not need to replace them time and again as one might with older crown or filling technology. They also accurately represent the visual aesthetic of natural teeth. The crown is ready for placement in as little as 15 minutes and the results can last years. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Johnson, patients can call (303) 975-6987 or use the online appointment request form www.ascentdental.com . To do this, patients simply have to enter in the date, time and a few words detailing the nature of their appointment into the online form. Shortly after, the practice’s scheduling coordinator will follow up with a confirmation email. About Dr. Jeff Johnston: At the age of 12, Dr. Johnston’s life goal was to be a dentist. Dr. Jeff Johnston, Denver Dentist is a member of several professional organizations, which he chooses on the basis of whether they contribute to the overall wellbeing of patients and the profession. He is currently pursuing the Fellowship Award to the Academy of General Dentistry, which is earned through continuing dental education on the many different fields of dentistry. Other organizations include: American Dental Association, Metro Denver Society, Texas Tech Alumni, Biking Club of Colorado and the NRA. Dr. Johnston is always striving to be the best dentist when it comes to serving the Colorado dental industry. Ascent Dental is a full-service dentist office, providing general dentistry and cosmetic dentistry services to the Denver-area patients. This includes such services as: • Dental hygiene and teeth cleaning • Family dentistry • Dental crowns while you wait • Endodontics (root canal) • Porcelain veneers • Tooth whitening • Dental implants • Porcelain fillings Affordable dental treatments that alleviate any worry or fear of going to the dentist can be completed in one day. The advancement in technology at Ascent Dental is immediately available to all new patients. To learn more about Dr. Johnston, his staff or any of the services that are offered at his practice, patients are encouraged to visit his practice’s comprehensive dental website at www.ascentdental.com .
Omnicam
Sirona Dental Systems, based in Germany, has just released Omnicam. The first intra-oral camera of its kind for CAD CAM sytems. This is a 3D/2D intraoral camera. They have also released thier CAD CAM software to be in color, not just stone looking models. I was at the release in Las Vegas in August. They spend a fortune on the meeting, with over 4,000 dentist. This is a game changer in CAD CAM and patient care. We have a little ways to wait before it can come to Ascent Dental, but looking forward to having this new toy! Dr. Johnston
Top 11 Reasons Cerec is Better..
(For those of you who don’t know what a Cerec Machine is….please see our webpage over here here) This past weekend, I attended the Cerec 3rd Annual Symposium, in Scottsdale, AZ at the Scottsdale Center for Dentistry, a premier leader in Cerec Education. Many Topics were covered over the weekend and we even met the software designers from Germany. They presented us the new Cerec software coming out next month, version 4.0, which is one of the best software improvements of Cerec over their 25+ year history. We heard from independent dental material researchers,dental lab technicians, and top clinicians. I took home many things from this meeting, but mainly the confidence that Cerec is the best way of making dental restorations. Here are reasons why Cerec is better than traditional dentistry (presented to us again by top researchers and lap technicians in the world). 1) No Temporaries / One Visit – Temporary restorations can break, fall off, or not last during the 2 weeks needed to fabricate a crown at a lab. Teeth can be sensitive, micro-shift and drift, etc. that can allow the crown from the lab not to fit well or damage to the unprotected tooth. 2) No lab remakes – A lab presenter from a major dental lab stated on average crowns remakes range from 6-10% of the time. This means a crown could take up to 3 maybe even 4 visits! 3) Machine Made Materials – Traditionally porcelain is stacked from a powder liquid technique allowing for weak micro space in the porcelain. Regulated, precise, machine made porcelain is precise and uniform, allowing for a consistent, strong and predictable material. 4) Accurate Impressions – Digital scans are shown to be up to 20-40% more accurate than traditional impression material. Traditionally, a impression is made, sent to the lab and poured up in stone. There are about 20-40 inconsistencies / distortions that can occur in this traditional step. Materials can shrink, expand, get to hot or to cold during shipping, etc. This more accurate scan leads to a more accurate fit and seal with the tooth. 5) Better Bonded Strength- Traditionally, dental crowns are cemented. Cerec crowns are bonded to the tooth vs cemented, using stronger, high sealing, long lasting bonded materials. 6) Every step can be controlled by the dentist – From Start to Finish, the whole CEREC procedure is controlled by the dentist. You can tweek everything about the crown such as bite, tooth contacts, anatomy, width, etc. 7) You can copy– With Cerec, existing Teeth can be copied. This means we can let you keep the exact shape you are used to. This cannot be done with a dental lab. We scan, prepare tooth, copy the scan onto the prepared tooth and give you exactly what you were used to. 8) No 2nd Numbing – many times you need to get numb again to take the temporary off. Not a concern with Cerec single visit porcelain dentistry. 9) In office custom staining and glazing – Traditionally if the crown color we got back from the lab isn’t correct, we had to send it back or you had to go to the dental lab. With Cerec, we can re-stain and glaze the custom color right here in the office. 10) Crown is saved – If you happen to break or fracture a crown make with Cerec, we have the crown stored in the computer. We hit mill and make you a new crown instantly. 11) Environmentally friendly – Instead of delivery trucks to send the case to the lab, we can now email the precise scan to a lab, and the lab can fabricate the crown. You also don’t have to come here twice, so that also saves gas. No need for impression materials, stone, temporaries to go into landfills. Have a great Day
85% don't make it!
Wisdom teeth, or third molars, are the last teeth to erupt in your mouth and are the teeth least needed for good oral health. Most people have four wisdom teeth that usually erupt through the gums in their late teens or early twenties. Sometimes wisdom teeth remain trapped in the jawbone under the gums because there is insufficient room for them to erupt. Wisdom teeth can cause gum disease, crowding or other damage to adjacent teeth, decay (due to the inability of your toothbrush to keep the area clean), and bone destroying cysts. Pain and swelling are the most common symptoms of problem wisdom teeth. Whether you have obvious symptoms or not, it is important to diagnose existing or potential problems caused by your wisdom teeth. Ultimately, at one time or another, its been shown that 85% of all wisdom teeth are removed due to crowding, gum disease and cavities. If they are in, and there is room for them, these usually go on to develop large cavities, as cleaning them is challenging. Waiting to have them removed after your 30’s can go on to become more challenging with longer healing times. We urge you to do this in your teens and 20’s. Removal is the wisest decision for your health and well-being. We can removed them for you, before they cause problems! Make your appointment today! This video can explain it.
Most Dental Problems are Silent
Daily, I get asked from patients, if I am not having pain, why do I have to get a filling? Like cancer and heart disease in the body, most dental problems are silent. Lets look at a few silent dental problems. Cavities When a cavity starts to hurt, that is when it is almost too late to just simply do a filling! Cavities do no hurt until they get close to the nerve in the tooth. The tooth has 2 layers to protect the nerve, the enamel and the dentin. The enamel is one of the hardest elements of the human body, its amazing to think microscopic bacteria can destroy it. Once the bacteria sets up in the dentin of the tooth, the tooth can literally become an eggshell and still look like nothing is wrong. The longer the bacteria sit inside the tooth, the more they destroy by their acid secretion/waste. The bacteria work their way through the dentin to the nerve. This is when pain can start. By then, the nerve has bacteria in it and an infection develops at the root tip of the tooth. The only way to save this tooth now is a root canal and crown, when a filling would have been more simple and cost effective. The assumption is if the tooth doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t need to be fixed Gum Disease Gum Disease is bacteria, plaque and tartar, that develops under the gums. The bacteria also secrete a substance that can kill and destroy bone structure around the teeth. As painful as that sounds, it can present no pain. With destroyed bone around the teeth, teeth can eventually get lose and fall out. Generally, this process can take 5-15 years, but can also happen rapidly, depending on diet, hygiene, bacteria levels in the mouth, etc. Existing Root Canals Once a root canal is completed, there is no more nerve in the tooth. At the bottom of the tooth (the root tip) is where a infection can set up. Bone doesn’t have nerves like tissue does, so therefor if there is an infection underneath a root canal, it can’t be felt. Once this gets to a large level, prognosis of retreating the root can decrease. Implants Dental implants can get gum disease around them and fail as well. Anytime a dental implant becomes loose, its a failure. So, the point of this blog is for me to show you examples of why and how most dental problems are silent. After any dental work is completed it should be checked yearly with an x-ray. The more dental work you have completed, the more work it takes to keep the work lasting. Don’t take chances and see a dentist routinely, so we can get to the problem, before other major problems creep up on you.