San Ramon Cosmetic Dentistry Blog | Sean Michael Anderson, D.D.S.

Fillings are a fact of life. No matter how thorough your daily oral hygiene routine, food and bacteria can find their way in between your teeth, hiding in crevices and along the gum line, and cause cavities.

When a tooth has a cavity, dental fillings become a necessary fix to stop the spread of the decay and save the remainder of the tooth. Preventing the spread of decay helps eliminate the need for more invasive dental procedures like dental implants and crowns.

Dental Bonding vs. Metal Filling

Dental fillings have come a long way over the years. Metal fillings are effective, but require a large portion of healthy tooth to be removed to accommodate their being packed into the cavity. In addition, they can be unsightly, they contain mercury, and they are susceptible to temperature changes that can cause them to expand and contract, resulting in a cracked tooth; they may then need further dental work.

In comparison, tooth colored fillings are not affected by temperature changes. They are comprised of resin and silicon dioxide, are very strong, and do not appear out of place in your mouth.

Before there was a choice in fillings, dentists used what resources were available to them to prevent the further spread of decay. Now, with dental advancements, you are able to choose what best suits your needs and meets your expectations.

If you live in San Ramon, Danville, or Livermore, California, and are in need of a filling, but have been dissatisfied with your options, please contact experienced cosmetic dentist Dr. Sean Anderson for an initial consultation.

Molded and shaded to match adjacent teeth, porcelain crowns are caps placed over dental implants or on top of teeth that have been severely damaged by decay or trauma. Porcelain crowns restore damaged teeth to their full functionality, making eating, biting, and talking much easier than it was before the tooth was capped.

Life Expectancy of Porcelain Crowns

Like most dental work, the life of your porcelain crown relies heavily on the care you take of it. Proper oral hygiene and regular dental visits will both work to ensure your crown lasts for its entire life expectancy. The average crown lasts for ten years. In some cases crowns may last for as little as five, or as long as 15 years, but it is important to remember that porcelain crowns are not a permanent fix, and will eventually need to be replaced.

Common Reasons to Replace Porcelain Crowns

Common causes that require porcelain crowns to be replaced include:

• General use has caused the crown to wear down
• The crown has broken
• Decay has formed at the base of the crown
• The crown has dulled or become aesthetically objectionable

All-porcelain crowns do not share the same aesthetic issues as metal/porcelain composites, but can still grey or stain over time. On the other hand, porcelain maintains its sheen and reflects light in the same way as your surrounding teeth, providing a natural, seamless smile during their lifetime.

If you live in San Ramon, Danville, or Livermore, California and are suffering from missing or chipped teeth, or you need to have existing dental crowns replaced, please contact experienced cosmetic dentist, Dr. Sean Anderson for a free consultation.

A chronic sleeping disorder in which you stop breathing for ten seconds or longer, sleep apnea can occur up to 50 times an hour while you sleep creating serious problems. When you stop breathing during sleep, your normal sleep cycle is interrupted, which can result in drastic changes in mood, weight, and blood pressure, and can even lead to diabetes and death. Experts agree that a good night's sleep is vital for a healthy, active lifestyle. Sleep apnea disrupts healthy, restful sleep, in turn disrupting your ability to fully enjoy your life.

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

Symptoms of sleep apnea you may notice include:

• Fatigue during the day
• Waking up tired
• Frequent headaches
• Irritability

You may not notice all of the symptoms of sleep apnea since many of them occur while you are asleep. If you wake up tired, have frequent headaches, or feel fatigued during the day, you may ask a family member to check and see if you:

• Stop breathing for extended periods of time in your sleep
• Choke, or gasp loudly while sleeping
• Snore loudly
• Appear restless

Sleep apnea can often be treated with simple lifestyle changes like quitting smoking, or losing weight. In some instances, medical intervention is necessary. Mouthpieces, breathing devices, and some surgeries can all help correct sleep apnea, restoring your sleep, and providing you with a better rested, more satisfying life.

If you or a loved one suffers from sleep apnea, and live in San Ramon, Danville, or Livermore, California, please contact experienced sleep apnea dentist, Dr. Sean Anderson for a free consultation and review of your treatment options.

A smile with missing teeth can cause problems both functional and aesthetic. Missing teeth can lead to an awkward, uneven smile, making social situations uncomfortable. They can also make simple functions like chewing, biting, and speaking difficult to impossible.

Dental implants are artificial tooth roots that are permanently placed into the jaw and covered with a dental crown. Dental implants are precisely placed in the exact area where the tooth is missing creating a seamless, fully functional smile. Unlike dentures, implants are permanent so they will not slip, or fall out at inopportune times, nor do they require expensive, inconvenient adhesives to affix them into place.

Dental Implant Procedure

Dental implants are placed into the jaw using a small, precision drill. Once a hole large enough to support the implant is created, the implant is screwed into place. During this process, Dr. Anderson takes special care to ensure no damage is done to surrounding bone and tissue. Once the implant is in place, a healing period is required before it can be fitted with a crown.

Dental Crown Placement and Aftercare

After your initial healing period, Dr. Anderson will fit your implant with a dental crown that has been molded and colored to match your adjacent teeth. Your dental crown will be ready for immediate functional use, and will erase any evidence of the original missing tooth. Once your crown is in place, you will need to tend to it as you do your natural teeth. A proper oral hygiene routine and regular checkups and cleanings will help ensure your new crown will last for a long, long time.

If you live in San Ramon, Danville, or Livermore, California, and are bothered by the diminished functionality and cosmetic appearance of missing teeth, or would like to find out more about dental implants, please contact experienced cosmetic dentist Dr. Sean Anderson to discuss you options, and get on your way to a healthier, happier smile.

For many people, a visit to the dentist’s office comes with fear, and anxiety. This fear can cause people to avoid undergoing common cosmetic procedures like tooth whitening and porcelain veneers. Unfortunately, it also keeps some people away from the dentist all together, leading to an increased risk for cavities, decay, and periodontal disease, all of which can be prevented or treated with regular trips to the dentist.

Fortunately, in both instances, Dr. Anderson offers sedation dentistry, a simple, safe way to help ease the anxiety you may feel when visiting a dentist – allowing you to comfortably receive both general and cosmetic dental services.

Sedation Instead of Sleep Dentistry

Oral sedation is the newest, most effective form of sedation dentistry. With oral sedation, you will feel as if you are sleeping, have no awareness of the procedure taking place, but still retain a level of consciousness. By contrast, sleep dentistry uses IV sedation or general anesthesia – both of which come with serious potential side effects, and dissolves any level of consciousness. Sedation dentistry uses sedatives that are less likely to cause adverse reactions, producing a safer, yet equally effective result.

For sedation, Dr. Anderson prescribes a sleeping pill to be taken one hour before your appointment. When you arrive, if you are still feeling nervous, an additional sleeping pill may be taken. Once you are comfortable enough, your procedure will begin and, before you know it, you'll be walking out with a healthy smile. It is important to remember that you should not drive to or from a sedation dentistry appointment.

If you live in San Ramon, Danville, or Livermore, California, and the fear and anxiety you associate with dental visits has kept you from routine checkups or cosmetic procedures you have wanted, please contact sedation dentist Dr. Sean Anderson for a free consultation to discuss your sedation options.

Everyone wants a whiter, more brilliant smile. A whiter smile can help improve your self confidence, help you feel more comfortable and relaxed in social and business settings, and give you a greater sense of freedom. With tooth whitening options ranging from take-home kits to in-office procedures however, it can be difficult to determine what solution is best for you. One determining factor is cost, but greater still is the length of time the whitening will last. Cost can, after all, be greatly increased if frequent applications are necessary to keep your smile its whitest.

Store Bought Kits

Easily the most accessible, store bought whitening kits also offer the least satisfactory results. Some kits can take weeks to start working, and during this time may cause severe tooth sensitivity. The results are also not nearly as long lasting as options provided by Dr. Anderson. Store bought kits generally provide whiter teeth for only a few months, after which the long, painful process will need to be repeated.

Professional Take-Home Kits

Take-home kits offered by Dr. Anderson start with a mold of your teeth. This already makes them superior for total tooth coverage to the strips you can buy at the store. Additionally, the whitening gel provided by Dr. Anderson is a higher strength than can obtained over the counter and produces results in a much shorter period of time. Like store-bought kits, tooth sensitivity is possible. Take-home kit results generally last up to six months.

In-Office Whitening

In-office tooth whitening takes about 90 minutes. A whitening gel is evenly and carefully applied to the teeth and then activated using a special light to speed up and enhance the effects. The result is a brilliant white smile in a comparably short period of time. Like the professional take-home kits, in office whitening generally lasts about six months, but with a proper oral hygiene routine, including professional cleanings and touch ups, the results can last much longer.

If you live in San Ramon, Danville, or Livermore, California, and would like more information on your options for professional teeth whitening, please contact experienced tooth whitening dentist Dr. Sean Anderson to schedule your free consultation.

Inlays and onlays are modern solutions to traditional metal fillings. They are bonded to the teeth with dental resin, making them a permanent part of the tooth. Metal fillings require a large portion of healthy tooth tissue to be removed in order to be packed into the filling, but inlays and onlays cover, rather than pack the filling, making them less invasive while removing the potential for their falling out.

Metal fillings react to temperature differences in your mouth – hot and cold liquids and foods can cause them to expand and contract. The result can be disastrous when the filling falls out, sometimes taking part of the tooth with it.

Inlays

Inlays are smaller than onlays due their placement. Inlay refers to a filling within the grooves of you teeth, between the contours. This area of your teeth is referred to as the “cusp.” If the damage does not extend beyond the cusp, an inlay will be used.

Onlays

Onlays are also used to fill in the grooves of your teeth, but wrap over the cusp. This additional coverage allows them to protect the chewing surface of your tooth as well as the cusp, and is used when the decay has spread beyond the cusp area of your tooth. Onlays are necessarily larger because they cover a greater portion of your tooth.

Both inlays and onlays are preferable to metal fillings because they offer more secure and aesthetically pleasing results. Porcelain fillings match more closely the natural color and shape of your teeth. Additionally, porcelain is stain resistant, allowing your teeth to maintain their whiteness for a longer period of time while preventing further decay within the tooth.

If you live in San Ramon, Danville, or Livermore, California, please contact experienced cosmetic dentist Dr. Sean Anderson for a checkup and cleaning to determine if you require fillings. Dr. Anderson is able to serve all of your dental needs, including inlays and onlays.