Can Old Fillings Cause a Metallic Taste?
Why Does my Mouth Taste Like Metal? Metallic fillings have always been controversial. From the time of their introduction until today, they were a source of contention within the dental community. Originally banned by dentist organizations, they eventually became the standard of care, but lingering doubts about their safety have many people wondering about the wisdom of this decision. One of the key questions about metal amalgam fillings is whether the metal stays in the filling or whether it can migrate out of the filling into your teeth, gums, and even bloodstream. Today, we think the answer is that metal can move out of the fillings, and that may be responsible for the metal taste in your mouth, and you might want to replace them with composite or porcelain fillings. Causes of a Metallic Taste There are two main mechanisms by which metal can move from amalgam fillings. First, chemical reactions can “liberate” metals that should be locked in the filling. This usually occurs when you either have lots of fillings or have another type of metal in your mouth that can create a galvanic reaction, the sort of reaction that is used in batteries, which is why they not only release more mercury and other metals, they create painful shocks. Next, mercury can simply seep out of the amalgam, slowly penetrating through your teeth and gums and causing a metallic taste. Are Your Amalgam Fillings Responsible for That Metal Taste? However, if you have a persistent metal taste in your mouth, it’s important to note there are other possible causes so we don’t leave the real cause of your metallic taste untreated. Some medications can give you a metallic taste, especially antibiotics. Talk to your doctor about your prescriptions and whether any of them can lead to metallic tastes. Another important cause of a metallic taste is bleeding gums. Once you have periodontal disease, you need to get it treated to avoid losing your teeth, so we want to make sure bleeding gums aren’t to blame for your metallic taste. At Ascent Dental, a local dentist in Cherry Creek, Denver, we can help you track down the taste of metal in your mouth and eliminate it. We offer composite and all-ceramic restorations so that you can get rid of metal amalgam fillings forever. For more information, please contact Ascent Dental Group today. Book a FREE Consultation
Can Cavities Go Unnoticed?
How To Tell If You Have a Cavity Cavities are always painful, right? This makes them easy to detect. If you don’t hurt, you don’t have a cavity. If only it were that simple . . . The truth is that cavities can be very difficult to detect, especially for you. You may not experience any pain from a cavity until the decay has penetrated deep into the tooth, close to or even into the nerve cavity, when it’s too late for a filling and they need to be treated with a root canal. Fortunately, dentists know where and how to look for cavities to try to find them before that’s necessary. Hidden Cavities You Can’t See Sometimes you may see a cavity developing in your mouth, but often cavities develop where you can’t see them. Cavities are actually most likely to develop where you have a hard time reaching when you brush, and if you can’t reach them, it’s a pretty good bet you can’t see them when you look in the mirror, either. Cavities often form on the back surfaces of teeth, on the rear teeth, sometimes on the sides, and at the gum line. If you’re not flossing, you’re more likely to experience cavities on the surfaces between teeth. Cavities may even form behind the tartar that builds up because you’re not successfully removing plaque from these areas and it calcifies as a result. Small Openings Reveal Big Cavities Another problem that makes it hard to detect cavities is that often a large cavity might have a small opening. This is pretty common. Bacteria create a tiny cavity, which provides them some shelter from saliva and tooth brushing. In here, the bacteria are freer to multiply and consume sugars, creating more acid, which can dissolve more of your tooth, creating a larger cavity inside the tooth. Detecting Hard-to-See Cavities Dentists have many skills and tools they can use to find your cavities. First, they can look where you can’t, and they examine every visible surface of the tooth. They can tell where you can’t reach when you’re brushing, and after the hygienist has removed the tartar from your teeth they have a clear view of these areas and can see any cavities that might be hidden there. Additional light, magnification, x-rays, and digital photography also give us a more complete view of your teeth. At Ascent Dental, we’ve even got another tool in our arsenal for finding cavities: the DiagnoDent. This light tool penetrates into the enamel and can detect areas that either conceal hidden cavities or have been softened by bacteria or other sources of acid in your mouth. This tool means that even though cavities are not as easy to find as you might think, we can detect 90% of them early, which means smaller fillings and better oral health for you. If you would like to learn whether you have any hidden cavities, please contact Ascent Dental in the Cherry Creek area of Denver today.
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 .
Reasons to Have Your Old Metal Fillings Replaced
Reasons To Have Your Old Amalgam Fillings Replaced With Natural-Looking Composite Fillings If your mouth is still full of those old, metallic fillings that were inserted into your teeth years ago, then you may want to consider making the switch to more natural-looking composite fillings. It’s been shown in studies the average life of a metal filling is 8-15 years. If your fillings are older than 15 years, you may want to consider having them updated. Here are some great reasons to upgrade your old amalgam fillings: 1. Hidden Decay A metal filling can have fractures or weak margins allowing bacteria to enter the tooth beside the filling, ultimately causing decay under or around the filling. This cavity can not be detected in the dental x-ray, as the metal filling will mask it. The only way its detectable is to remove it and look under it. 2. Increased Strength Since composite fillings are actually bonded into the matrix of the tooth structure, they can slightly strengthen your teeth and help hold the tooth together. If an old metal filling is large and little natural tooth structure exists, a crown may be the best way to update and strengthen the tooth. 3. Steady Size Silver fillings expand or contract due to temperature change. If your fillings change size whenever you drink hot or cold beverages, then your teeth may develop cracks. Since composite fillings aren’t made of a metal that expands or contracts in such a manner, you will have less potential for tooth damage. 4. Less Invasive If you are terrified at the thought of somebody drilling holes in your teeth, then you should definitely choose natural-looking composite fillings over amalgam fillings. Although the removal of some of your tooth is necessary because of the cavity, much less of the tooth will need to be removed, which means more conservative drilling is involved. Composite fillings don’t need the same depth, thickness and mechanical retention to be stable, unlike metal fillings. 5. Natural Appearance For most people, this is the biggest benefit of composite fillings. Instead of having a mouthful of silver fillings, your teeth will look all-natural, and after a while, you probably won’t even remember which teeth have fillings! 6. Metallic Taste Some get a metallic taste in their mouths from having metal fillings. By getting rid of them, we can eliminate this metallic taste which can allow foods to taste better. Micro metal wear and fatigue occur during chewing. 7. Potential Health risk While the FDA and the ADA do not claim metal fillings pose health risk, there are studies out there that show different conclusions. While I am not legally able to say metal fillings pose a health risk, I do feel there has to be some small merit in these studies. I let people make their own decisions about this subject, and don’t recommend people to remove metal fillings based on this reason alone. Have a great day.
Taste of My Own Medicine
Today, I went to the dentist to update my fillings. I need to admit, I had a horrible love with candy during my teen years, which led to having many fillings completed in my adolescent years. (Being in the dental office so much interested me in becoming one – so its not all bad!) What got me was braces, braces and candy don’t mix. You can’t floss very easily with braces, so I decided brushing would be enough. In college, some of these metal fillings had cracked and needed to be replaced. So in college, I had another round of metal fillings. After college and into dental school, I became and still am, a dental mutt. I had a filling or two done in dental school by other students and teachers. When I graduated from dental school, I had several other dentists I worked with do fillings on me. Two years ago I had a small laser gum surgery at a laser course as a demonstration! So, in my goal book this year, I wrote down to get my routine dental work updated. So today, I went to a dentist I met in a conference in Scottsdale, AZ, who practices in Lafayette, CO. His name is Dr. Greg Keene of Keene Smiles. Last night (the night before the appointment, I was nervous. I thought about shots, drills, feeling the pain, etc. This morning on the drive to the appointment, I was also nervous. I had to tell myself everything would be ok! However, I was going to a new dentist I have never gone to before, trust is huge, other than knowing Dr. Keene at dental courses, I did not know what he was like as a dentist. This morning he replaced 8 metal fillings on my upper right and lower right side. I replaced them with composite and porcelain onlays. My teeth were not bothering me, I just knew that it had been over 13 years since those fillings were placed. I know that fillings can leak and decay can set up under them and go undetected, even with dental x-rays. I was right, some of my fillings, had decay under them. I have had excellent hygiene, a fairly good diet, and received professional cleanings every 6-8 months the last 10 years of my life too! So, today, I felt the needles, drill sounds and vibrations, was opened for long periods of time, numb lip, bad tastes, etc. Was the work totally comfortable? No, but it wasn’t bad at all. Dr. Keene did a great job! I am so proud of myself today that I took care of this and know my teeth are in much better shape. I have one more round on the left side and my teeth and fillings will be up to date. I now have a thorough understanding and appreciation of the drilling noises, vibrations, needles, taste, numbing feel, etc. During the appointment, I thought about all my future patients and what I can do to make it more comfortable for you all. I want to give a big thanks to Dr. Greg Keene of Keene Smiles in Lafayette, CO for all the work he did on me today. In conclusion, I wanted to share with you, that today – I received a dose of my own medicine.
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
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.
Do you feel metal fillings are safe?
Over the last 10-15 years, major controversy has been associated with metal (mercury) fillings. It has been banned in 5 countries within the last 10 years. The FDA has cleared the fillings as safe with a study completed in 2008. However, in 2011 the FDA plans on reopening an investigation on metals fillings safeness. A few things come into play: Most dental insurance companies only pay for metal fillings. The ADA and the insurance companies refuse to say metal fillings have any health risks. Due to the controversy, I have decided not to do metal fillings at Ascent Dental. I also leave the decision strictly up to the patient if they want to update their metal fillings or not. After all its YOUR mouth / body, not mine. If I see a cracked or broken down metal filling, I will suggest replacing it. My gut feeling – Sometime in my career, they will be banned… I am on the fence and see both sides of the argument.