Reconstructive Dentistry

For most adults, making sure their smiles are protected from decay and infection is one of the biggest reasons for attending their routine examination and cleaning. Indeed, most individuals consider these harms the biggest threat that could bar them from maintaining a healthy smile for life. For others, however, the biggest threat is not oral bacteria, but a condition that causes jaw dysfunction. In today’s blog, your North Hollywood, CA dentist will address how bruxism causes structural damage and misalignment and how you can combat it with a custom appliance.

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When a tooth develops a cavity, then your North Hollywood, CA, dentist will often treat the issue with a lifelike composite resin filling. But what if the tooth has an infection, or a painful abscess? A filling may not be enough, which is why we offer an endodontic procedure, often referred to as a root canal, to restore your smile’s health and function!

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If you develop a cavity in your tooth, then the good news is that it can likely be treated conservatively with a tooth-colored filling. However, if you don’t treat the cavity as soon as possible, then it may have a chance to progress and lead to increasingly damage to your tooth and harm to your oral health. Today, we examine what a cavity is and what happens when it gets worse, along with why it’s important to stop the decay in your tooth as early as possible.

What a cavity means in your tooth

Cavities are common, but not everyone who develops one fully understands what it means for their tooth or oral health. The reason cavities are common is because they form from tooth decay, which is a product of oral bacteria infecting your tooth structure. The cavity that forms as a result of tooth decay is a hole in your tooth’s main structure, and this hole will grow increasingly larger as tooth decay becomes more severe. Most importantly, the tooth structure that’s lost as the cavity grows will be lost permanently, which is why treating a cavity as soon as possible is imperative to preserving your tooth and oral health.

What happens when it progresses

The earliest stages of cavity development aren’t as severe as its later stages, which is why some people may mistake their cavities as minor concerns. For example, their tooth might grow sensitive as oral bacteria erode the enamel around it, and the sensitivity can grow more intense as the cavity progresses. In addition to the feeling of sensitivity in your tooth, the damage to its structure and the harm caused to its structural integrity will also grow worse the more tooth decay progresses. In more severe cases of tooth decay, saving the tooth could require more extensive treatment to remove the tooth’s nerves and tissues from inside of its inner chamber.

Saving your tooth from decay

The most effective way to save a tooth that’s developed decay is to remove the decay. When treating a mild or moderate cavity, this can typically be accomplished by cleaning out the cavity to remove infected tooth structure and oral bacteria from within it. Then, your dentist can fill the cavity with a biocompatible, tooth-colored material to restore the tooth’s health, strength, and integrity. However, if your tooth decay and cavity get worse, then you may require root canal treatment to remove the infection from within the inner pulp chamber and root canal of the tooth.

Learn more about treating your cavity

Treating a cavity as soon as possible is the only way to stop it from getting worse. To learn more, schedule a consultation by calling Modern Smile in North Hollywood, CA, today at 818-763-9353. We also proudly serve patients who live in Burbank, Toluca Lake, and all surrounding communities.

It’s never a good idea to wait too long to receive any dental treatment. When a concern develops with your healthy, natural tooth structure and/or oral tissues, it’s likely to get worse over time, until you actively stop it by having it treated. Cavities, which are the most frequent concern for patients of all ages, pose the same problem, and they can become more severe faster than patients often realize. While you may be able to treat a cavity in its mild to moderate stages with a convenient tooth filling, it may require more extensive treatment to resolve if you wait to long to receive the filling.

The reason your tooth needs a filling

Tooth fillings are designed to treat cavities, which develop in a tooth when it starts to decay. This decay is an infection in the tooth’s structure caused by certain harmful types of oral bacteria, and it’s a progressive condition that grows increasingly worse over time. The point of filling a cavity is to clean away the bacteria that have infected the tooth, as well as any infected tooth structure, then filling the space with a biocompatible material to restore the tooth’s strength and integrity. The cavity results from the erosion of your tooth’s natural structure, and restoring this structure is essential to restoring and preserving your tooth.

The point of the treatment process

When you treat a tooth for tooth decay, the point of the treatment process is largely to stop the decay from progressing any further. This will help you preserve the remaining healthy, natural tooth structure and protect it from becoming decayed. The treatment also serves to restore the tooth’s strength and integrity after it’s lost some of its structure to the decay. Any loss of a tooth’s structure can cause it to grow weaker, making it more likely to suffer more damage from bite pressure.

The result of waiting in severe cases

When you treat a cavity as early as possible, you can stop the decay while it’s still in its mild or moderate stages. The more moderate extent of the tooth infection means that your dentist can successfully treat and restore the tooth with minimally invasive treatment, such as cleaning and filling the cavity. However, it may not take long for tooth decay to become more severe if you hesitate to treat it early, and severe tooth decay involves the infection of much more than just your tooth’s main structure. For more extensive cases of tooth decay, you might require root canal treatment to save the tooth.

Learn how a filling can save your tooth

If your tooth needs a filling, then waiting too long to treat it could lead to more severe decay within the tooth’s structure. To learn more, schedule a consultation by calling Modern Smile in North Hollywood, CA, today at 818-763-9353. We also proudly serve patients who live in Burbank, Toluca Lake, and all surrounding communities.

The most effective way to keep your smile healthy for life is to prevent any oral health concerns from forming. However, this isn’t always 100% successful for everyone, which is why tooth decay and other concerns still develop so frequently. Fortunately, the development of tooth doesn’t necessarily mean that your fight to preserve your healthy smile is over. Today, we examine three different ways to address tooth decay, from preventing it to addressing its more severe forms, and how effective treatment can save your tooth from the infection.

1. Stop it from ever developing

Preventing tooth decay isn’t particularly difficult or tricky. The condition forms from oral bacteria overwhelming your teeth by gathering excessively on their surfaces. Therefore, preventing it largely centers on preventing the buildup of oral bacteria on your teeth. This means brushing and flossing your teeth twice a day as well as attending routine dental checkups and cleanings. The catch is that both routines take a high level of consistency to be effective. Skipping even one visit or dental hygiene session can give bacteria enough time to start the tooth decay process.

2. Clean and fill the cavity early

While preventing tooth decay can be relatively easy, allowing bacteria a chance to infect your tooth can also be easy, and may occur before you notice it. This can lead to tooth decay forming in your tooth structure and causing a cavity, or hole in the tooth, to form. The decay in the tooth will continue progressing, and as it does, the cavity will grow larger. If treated early, however, this can be stopped and the cavity filled with a biocompatible tooth filling. After the cavity is cleaned, your dentist can place a biocompatible, tooth-colored resin in the cavity to restore the tooth’s health and integrity.

3. Remove all the decay from inside the tooth

Severe cases of tooth decay are the cases in which the infection in the tooth has reached its inner pulp chamber. The tooth’s nerves and blood vessels rest in this chamber, where they travel to the jawbone through the tooth’s root canal. An infection in these structures can put the tooth at serious immediate risk of being lost or having to be extracted. However, the tooth may still be saved from extensive decay through personalized root canal treatment.

Learn how to treat your case of tooth decay

Tooth decay is different for everyone, with the main difference being how severe the condition is allowed to become before it’s treated. To learn more, schedule a consultation by calling Modern Smile in North Hollywood, CA, today at 818-763-9353. We also proudly serve patients who live in Burbank, Toluca Lake, and all surrounding communities.

Losing one or more of your natural teeth could lead to issues with the appearance of your smile, and also have negative impacts on your overall oral health. In order to help people with missing teeth, your North Hollywood, CA, dentist takes a cosmetic approach by creating and placing dental implants that look natural, while also restoring the health and function of your smile.

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We offer cosmetic dentistry to help improve the overall beauty of the smile. But what if you have a restorative issue, such as a cavity? Fortunately, your Burbank, CA, dentist can still help offer a lifelike solution! Our dental restorations, including fillings, can be crafted from strong, durable, and lifelike materials that blend with the smile.

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While we’re closed for general and elective treatments, our team is still able to help people in Burbank, CA, suffering from damaged teeth and other dental emergencies. In today’s blog, we’re looking at common example of dental emergencies, and discussing possible cosmetic solutions that ensure an attractive and healthy smile.

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Even though we’re no longer offering preventive and cosmetic care, we’re still providing emergency treatment for our North Hollywood, CA, patients. In today’s blog, we’re going to look at common emergency situations, and how we treat them. We want to make sure you’re smile continues to stay whole and beautiful, even if you’re sheltering in place!

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When a tooth becomes infected, this could lead to serious discomfort, as well as a risk of tooth loss! Right now, our office is closed to help stop the spread of COVID-19, but we’re still here for emergency treatment, which includes addressing infected teeth. How do you know if you should contact your North Hollywood, CA, dentist for treatments like root canal therapy?

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