Dr. Noah's Dentistry Blog

Questions About Dentistry Answered

What is a Snap-On Smile?

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I’ve heard there’s a dental apparatus that gets placed directly on your teeth and it’s similar to a mouth guard. The only thing is that it covers your existing teeth and gives you a different or more beautiful look than your existing teeth. What is it called? Is the procedure or device pain-free, inexpensive and quick to do?
– Mike in Oklahoma

Mike,
Yes, there’s a dental apparatus that gives you an ‘instant smile makeover.’ It’s called a “Snap-On Smile.” This is a temporary smile makeover that’s easily snapped over your real teeth. Sometimes actors use it when they assume character roles or people will use it for weddings and other events where photography will be evident. The device isn’t that durable but it offers a temporary improvement of your smile. It can make your natural teeth look bulkier or larger and it does need to be removed before you eat and also to be cleaned.

The procedure begins with your dentist. They need to send a model of your teeth to a laboratory. In a couple of weeks, your Snap-On Smile will come back and you are called in to try it on. There’s no preparation needed for your teeth; the appliance simply snaps on to your teeth.

To get the best results with your Snap-On Smile, it’s best to use an expert cosmetic dentist who will use their skills and abilities and get you the best results.

This blog brought to you by Tulsa dentist, Dr. Noah.

Is there a soft denture?

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I have upper dentures and hate the feeling of hardness in the roof of my mouth. Is there anywhere I can get an upper denture that has a “soft or flexible or pliable” feel?
– Tina from Oklahoma

Tina,
“Soft dentures” generally refers to dentures with a soft lining. Often, dentists suggest this option to patients who have bony “bumps” along their jaw as regular dentures would become sore if the denture was to fit too closely on these sore or tender areas. These type of dentures are more comfortable but they are also costlier, are more work to clean and don’t last as long.

You won’t find a pliable complete denture in the market because you need to have some firmness to the denture so it will fit right and feel solid when you bite and chew.

If you’re not happy with the hardness of your dentures, a good option for you would be to go get dental implants. This would be done with a hybrid implant restoration that eliminates the section that fits over the roof of your mouth.  The teeth would then be completely supported by dental implants. This procedure costs more but completely restores your chewing capacity and your mouth feels natural. Another really important consideration that some people overlook is that it prevents the facial collapse which will eventually happen with complete dentures.

This blog brought to you by Tulsa dentist, Dr. Noah.

 

 

How Long Can You Delay a Root Canal?

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I have a tooth that needs a root canal but I don’t feel any pain in the tooth. How long can my root canal be delayed before I get the procedure?
– Jonathan from Oklahoma

Jonathan,

It’s hard to estimate how long you can go without a root canal without seeing your tooth. If your tooth is causing you pain, you need to do the procedure right away. If your tooth hurts a little or hurt recently and the pain went away, you still need to have the root canal as soon as you can schedule it. Pain, past or present indicates an active infection that’s growing and when it comes to your teeth, the sooner you deal with it, the better.
If you notice a pimple in your gums or drainage in your mouth, the same applies. Active infections must be handled promptly. While it’s not an emergency, you want to schedule the procedure soon.

If your tooth hurt a long while ago, or never hurt at all, it may or may not be a problem to delay your procedure. Sometimes a tooth infection slowly eats away at the tooth root and will keep growing until the tooth is destroyed. If you are told the infection is latent and your tooth is fully intact with no active decay, you may be able to wait. Be sure you get expert advice.

This blog sponsored by Dr. Noah of Region Dental

Can I bleach my non-veneered teeth?

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I have veneers and wanted to know if over-the-counter products like Crest White Strips will ruin or damage my veneers? I’ve noticed that over time, my other teeth look yellow in comparison to my veneers and the color change is noticeable between my natural teeth and the veneers. I want to bleach my natural teeth to match the veneers but don’t want to damage the expensive veneers. What do you recommend?
– Brent from Oklahoma

Brent,
If you want to bleach your natural teeth, you may use over-the-counter whitening products such as: Crest Whitestrips and products by other manufacturers but only for limited situations. The strips hold peroxide in a gel that’s attached to the strip. When you affix the strip to your tooth, it allows the peroxide to penetrate your teeth and whiten them.

If you decide to use other products with powders, rinses or toothpastes, these won’t be that effective as they’re on the teeth briefly and don’t penetrate the teeth. Also, some of these products are acidic and etch the tooth surface. The teeth may look white for a few days but then they start attracting stains and look darker because the etched surface easily attracts stains.

The challenge when using the White Strips is that they’re designed to cover only your front six teeth so if you’re attempting to reach the natural teeth that aren’t in the front, you’ll need to cut the strips and try to fit them to your teeth that are further back. This is a hassle.

The other issue with the strips is they whiten slowly because the peroxide bleach is fairly weak as it’s sold over the counter and can’t be too strong. The strips are also expensive and may end up costing you more than if you had your teeth whitened in a dental office.

The best solution would be to see a dentist and have your teeth bleached properly. Dentists have experience with bleaching and use stronger peroxide that easily covers your teeth.

Bleach won’t harm your veneers and they won’t change color. You may notice slight lightening of your veneered teeth, but this will come from behind the tooth and won’t affect the look from the front.

For more information about Dr. Noah, visit Region Dental.

Do I Need to Keep Wearing My Retainer?

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When I was a teenager, I had to get braces and was told to wear a retainer for a month all day and then later, only at night. My upper front teeth relapsed a bit, so I spoke with a new orthodontist who said new braces would fix this problem. He also suggested I could use my old retainer to get the teeth pretty straight and then have a new retainer made. He mentioned six months of daily full time wear and then at night would do the job.
I’ve worn the new retainer fulltime for nearly three years and notice one tooth seems to shift after a few hours of not wearing the retainer. So now, I feel like I can’t go more than a few hours without the retainer. Am I imagining this or does this occur sometimes? And if it happens, what are the repercussions? What should I do?
– Justin in Oklahoma

Justin,
You’re probably not imagining that your teeth are moving. Clearly, one tooth in particular, seems to be changing position a bit. You should continue to wear the retainer all the time, day and night. If you don’t want to wear it during the day, you have a couple choices.
Your first choice is to get a permanent retainer bonded to the insides of your teeth. This could be done on the upper or lower teeth. The only issue is cleaning your teeth – you’d need to use a floss threader to adequately clean your teeth. If you’re okay with this, this may be a good solution.
If you’re not keen on this, your other option is to have a tooth bleaching splint created. This clear bleaching tray holds your teeth in position and isn’t as noticeable as the basic orthodontic retainer.
A dentist should see you to determine why your teeth haven’t stabilized. It isn’t good for your teeth to change position so you need to keep using the retainer to avoid this issue. Hopefully, over time, the movement will stop.

This blog brought to you by Tulsa dentist, Dr. Noah.

Covering a dark line at the gumline

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I have two porcelain crowns done. They are on my top front teeth. They’re starting to get a dark line at the gumline, which is a little embarrassing and frustrating. I wondered if Lumineers would fix this?

Ammon M. from Idaho Falls

Ammon,

Lumineers are a brand of porcelain veneers. They are designed to to re-design your smile. However, the problem you are having isn’t with your smile. Instead it is with the type of dental crown you’ve gotten. The type of crowns that develop a dark line at the gum line are the porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns. I’m a little surprised he or she put those on front teeth, because they are known to develop that dark line. Plus, they have to be made more opaque to cover the metal base.

The only way to get rid of that dark line is for you to have your crowns replaced. This time, you’ll want to make sure your dentist gives you all-porcelain crowns. These will give you a more natural looking smile, without the opaqueness of the other type of dental crowns, plus there is never a dark line at the gumline.

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

Sensitive crowns

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I had six crowns put on last week. two of them are dryving me crazy!!! Theyre sensitive to everything. hot cold you name it. My dentist says to be patient, but I just think maybe he did something wrong. I got a second opinion. this doc thought “maybe” some of the dentin (?) was exposed. What do I do!!

Brent W. from Little Rock

Brent,

It is not uncommon to have sensitivity after having crowns placed. Sometimes it takes several weeks to get them to settle down. If the dentist wasn’t sure about the dentin, then I am prone to think there wasn’t an obvious problem. My suggestion would be to give it a few more weeks. However, the pain should be getting better, not worse. If things worsen, I would have your dentist double check to see why these two teeth aren’t healing. You may end up needing a root canal treatment.

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

Dealing with acid reflux

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I have very bad acid reflux. Recently, it has caused sensitivity in my back fillings. Is there anything I can do about that?

Robbie B.- San Antonio, TX

Robbie,

As the name implies, acid reflux is very acidic which is damaging to the enamel on your teeth. I suspect it is your teeth that are sensitive, not your fillings. The ideal solution is to deal with the acid reflux, but if that is going to take a while you may want to get porcelain crowns on your back teeth to help protect them. This is not a solution because the acid will attack the thin strip of tooth that the crown doesn’t cover. In the meantime, make sure that every time you have a reflux episode, to brush your teeth immediately.

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

Insurance for implants

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I am a candidate for dental implants (yay!) and wondered if there is a dental insurance that covers them?

Brooke C. – Alpine, Utah

Brooke,

Generally, a dental plan will cover the least expensive treatment option. In this case they might pay for a removable partial dentures instead of an implant. However, you can apply that payment toward dental implants and just make up the difference. It would be worth it because they are generally the best solution to missing teeth.

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

Whitening with dental bonding

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I recently had some bonding done on my front tooth. I want a whiter smile, so I want to do professional teeth whitening. I just wondered if that could harm the bonding at all.

Thanks for helping,

Sandy D. – Mississippi

Sandy,

The problem isn’t that teeth whitening would hurt your bonding, but that it won’t whiten your bonding. All your natural tooth structure will whiten and the bonding will stay the same color. That would look worse than if you just left teeth as they were without whitening.

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