Dr. Noah's Dentistry Blog

Questions About Dentistry Answered

Can’t get a date. Is it my teeth?

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Everyone says I am beautiful. I can see where my face is pretty, but I have a huge gap in my front teeth. Could that be why I can’t get a date? If so, what can I do about it at 37? I’m not wearing braces.

Jenna S. – Maine

Jenna,

I would be ridiculously unfair of me to say your teeth are the reason you can’t get a date. It could be you just haven’t met the right guy. It could be you’re beautiful AND wicked smart, so men are intimidated.  I won’t convince you to get a procedure based on something emotional and personal.

What I can do is tell you how to discreetly fix your teeth at 37. You have a few options.

  1.  Fill in the gap.  That can be done wtih dental bonding. I have a hesitation with this, simply because you said the gap was huge. You don’t want to do this if filling it in will make your smile look unnatural.
  2. Invisalign.  If all that is worrying you about your smile is the gap, Invisalign can close it without you having to wear traditional metal braces.  This uses clear aligners to gently shift your teeth into proper alignment. No one will even know you’re doing it.
  3. Porcelain Veneers. I’d only suggest this if you needed a complete smile makeover. It can change the shape, size, and color of your teeth.

I’d pick one of these only if YOU are unhappy with your smile.  Otherwise, go about your life. The right man will come along.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

 

Could my teeth be keeping me from getting hired?

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A company I worked for has closed.  I worked with them for ten years.  The owner sold it and the new owners decided to only use their own people.  So, here I am looking for a job, something I never thought I’d have to do again.  My qualifications and recommendations are good.  I always get an interview, but once the interview is over someone else gets the job.  I’ve done interview skills tutorials and even mock interviews with peers I trust.  My interviewing doesn’t seem to be the problem.  I’ve begun to wonder if it is my teeth.  I know that sounds a little far fetched, but I’m getting desperate and reaching for anything that can help.  I will admit I have an ugly smile.  My teeth are stained. A few are chipped and crooked. Could that be the problem?

Davis L., Washington

Davis,

I don’t think that is far fetched at all. We are often judged and categroized in the first few seconds of a meeting with someone. As they haven’t had time to really get to know us, the judgment is based on appearance and maybe very intitial greetings and responses.  Our smile is one of the first things people notice about us.

If yours is unattractive, and you readily admit it is, that could likely be the factor that is keeping you from closing a deal with a hiring company.  The easiest way to find out would be to fix your smile.

I recommend you use Invisalign to do that. It is invisible, even at a conversational distance, so that will allow you to go to interviews without feeling self conscious about your orthodontics.

It is possible to whiten your teeth at the same time.  You can ask your dentist to allow you to use your invisalign aligners as whitening trays and just provide you with the gel.  This will also save you money.

Good luck with the job search.  This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Can invisalign be used on young children?

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My daughter has some teeth coming in crooked. Can we use invisalign?

Ellie L. – Miami

Ellie,

Invisalign is a fantastic procedure, but it won’t work for your daughter. One of Invisalign’s limitations is that the teeth have to be fully erupted to work properly.

If you wait until her teeth years, you could use invisalign. Before that, you’d have to try other types  of procedures.

However, even if it were possible, I wouldn’t recommend invisalign for children. The reason is patient compliance.  Unlike braces, which are stuck to your teeth, it is up to the patient whether or not to wear their invisalign aligners. Children are very likely to not only take out the aligners and mess with them, but to lose them as well.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

I ruined my aligners

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I have been using Invsialign for about two months. I’ve been very pleased with them. I guess that could also be the source of my problem. I completely forgot I had the aligners in when a friend came over. I made some coffee for the two of us and drank a complete cup before I realized what I’d done. Now the aligners are warped. What do I do?

Anita R. -Arvada,  Colorado

Anita,

I guess too comfortable isn’t a bad problem to have. There isn’t much you can do about the aligners that have been warped. You’ll have to have your dentist make a new pair.

You mentioned you forgot you had them in. I’m hoping you keep your Invisalign aligners in most of the time. You can take them out for meals obviously, but other than that you will want to leave them in for the treatment to be effective.

They’ve got a high patient satisfaction rate, so I understand how you can forget about them.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Tea and Invisalign

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I’m thinking of getting invisalign, but have heard you can’t drink tea with it. I’m a native of the U.K. and don’t much enjoy the idea of six months without tea. Is this accurate?

Zoe K. – San Diego

Zoe,

You can drink tea during your treatment, but you won’t want to do it while your aligners are in. The reason for that is two-fold.

First, tea is hot (at least the type of tea I’m assuming a Brit will be asking about). The heat is likely to warp your aligners. This will negatively impact your Invisalign treatment plan and could cause it to take longer.

Second, the tea will pool in the aligners. When that happens, the acid from the tea, and possibly sugar, will eat away at your dentin. This will lead to tooth decay.

This doesn’t mean you cannot drink tea at all. You take your aligners out for each meal. I’d have a cup of tea then.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Is my Invisalign Fake?

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I’ve heard there are knock-off Invisalign going around. How can I tell if that’s what I got?

Andrea- Portsmouth, VA

Andrea,

There’s nothing funny about a knock-off. In fact, it is theivery. There are some off brand companies around, but there is an easy way to know if you’ve got the right thing. Look on your aligner. There should be a stamp on it indicating it is Invisalign with their trademark.

There will also be some numbers and letters. They represent your patient ID number. It should also tell you whether it is for your top or bottom teeth.

If it turns out you have been given an off brand, I would confront your dentist about it. You paid for Invisalign and that is what you should get.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

 

Invisalign or porcelain veneers

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I have a crooked front tooth. Basically, I see two options for me: Invisalign or Porcelain Veneers. I’m trying to figure out if one of the options is better than the other. Price isn’t a factor.

Melissa M. – Moore, OK

Melissa,

Really, the answer to that question depends on your personality and goals. If you’re happy with your teeth, except for the fact that they’re crooked, than I would go with Invisalign. Then you’d have nothing, but your natural teeth and they’d be just the way you wanted them.

If there is some other things about your teeth that you’d like to change, for instance, you don’t like their shape,  then I would get porcelain veneers. They can change, the shape, size, and color of your teeth.

You could also whiten your teeth during Invisalign treatment, using your aligners as whitening trays.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Fitting in with Invisalign

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Americans are obsessed with their teeth. I’m from a country where it is not as much a priority. However, I am moving to the United States and realize that I need to do something about my teeth to fit in. They are healthy, but they are quite crooked. Any recommendations? I can’t wear braces, becasue my employment is quite public and I don’t think that would fit with the image my company wants to portray.

Abhay- India

Abhay,

I’m sure our country would welcome you regardless of the state of your mouth, but it is nice you’re trying to blend with the culture of your new home. If the only problem is they are crooked, you may be a good candidate for Invisalign. These straighten your teeth and are so “invisible” that no one will even know that you are wearing them. They have a very high satisfaction rate and generally work in half the time as more traditional braces.

I will mention one other thing. Americans tend to whiten their teeth pretty fanatically. I know a lot of Indian spices are pretty good at staining your teeth. You may ask your dentist if he’ll allow your aligners from Invisalign to double as whitening trays. That way you can knock out two birds with one stone.

Welcome to the United States.
This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Give me wine or give me death

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I need a plan.  I got invisalign to straighten my teeth. I was excited about the idea that I could fix my teeth invisibly. I was excited about the fact that it works in half the time of braces too.  I didn’t realize that it would severly limit my wine intake.  I feel like I am dying. What will happen if I drink wine during my treatment? Will it truly ruin everything?  My dentist acts like I will be ending all chance for world peace if I consume.  Give me something to take back to him that contradicts this horrid dogma.

Brandon K. – Kansas City, MO

Brandon,

Let’s see if we can’t find a way to restore balance to the world.  You know that for treatment to be effective you need to keep your aligners on for the full amount of time—ideally about 22 hours a day. So, that leaves a full two hours for eating, drinking, etc…. I’m assuming you are in need of a plan to drink throughout the day and not just at meal time. So, let’s get to work.

You cannot drink any type of red wine (or other colored beverages) while you are wearing the aligners. It will stain them and then all hopes of invisible treatment will be out the window. Therefore, limit your red wine to when your aligners are out. As to white wine, it will not stain your aligners so you can drink it while they are in. However, I have some precautions for you to take. It is inevitable that at least some wine will get in your aligners. You don’t want to let the wine pool there for any length of time. The alcohol will eat away the enamel from your teeth. So, I suggest you excuse yourself after partaking and rinse off both your teeth as well as the aligners.

Invisalign has one of the highest satisfaction rates in dentistry. I’m confident if you follow the guidelines, you will be thrilled with your results. You’ll also get to indulge in wine, so you should be equally happy with life.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Invisalign helped me drop 12 pounds!

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Here is an interesting communication we got from an Invisalign patient.

I just finished my invisalign treatment and I am thrilled. My teeth look great. No one even knew I was wearing them the entire treatment, unless I told them myself. However, that is not the best part. I lost twelve pounds  during my treatment. Thanks for helping me feel gorgeous from head to toe!

Samantha

Now I can already predict the amount of email questions I am going to get regarding Invisalign and weight loss, so let me address it now.

If you’re considering Invisalign treatments, I want you to know that weight loss is not a part of the treatment program.  I spoke with Samantha and want to let you know what it was that helped her take off the weight because of Invisalign.

During your Invisalign treatment, you wear the aligners all the time, with the exception of when you eat and when you clean your teeth. Samantha had not realized how much she snacked during the day, until it became a matter of always having to remove her aligners and clean her teeth afterward. She began to just eat during her meal times. As a result, she lost twelve pounds.

So, will you lose weight during your treatments? That depends on whether wearing the aligners changes your eating habits. If it cuts down on your caloric intake, then yes. If not, then no.

Either way, you will get a beautifully straight smile, without out any of the unsightliness and uncomfortableness of traditional wire and bracket braces.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.