Porcelain Veneers to Mimic Natural Teeth

Porcelain veneers are used not only for super white Hollywood makeovers. Depending on the patient's preference, we can use porcelain veneers to simply restore the smile back to its original healthy state. In the case below the patient just wants to have a natural looking smile without the blemishes of decay and old fillings.  Detailed characteristics were built into the porcelain veneers to make them come to life.  In these close-up photos we can see spots of white decalcification, layers of translucency, and intentional surface textures.  Combined with proper tooth length, contour, shape, and proportion, the result is a natural and beautiful smile.  When this patient smiles in real life, it is very difficult to tell that the teeth have been restored.

 

Actual patient case photos are copyrighted by Alex Nguyen, DDS

Floss or Waterpik ?

It is my opinion that nothing beats traditional brushing and flossing. Mechanical removal of plaque and food debris in the space between the root and the gum flap is key to controlling inflamation caused by bacteria in that space.  The Waterpik cannot project a strong enough jet to get into that space to clean it out.

By leaning the floss against the root of the teeth and rubbing that root with the floss we can remove plaque much more effectively in the gum pocket.

 

Judging Teeth with Cell Phone Pictures of Teeth

Two days ago I received an email from a patient's father with a picture of his son's tooth.  The message was : "I am sending you photos of my son's tooth (bottom left). It seems there's a small piece of something growing out. I will call your office tomorrow to make an appointment." I looked at the photo of what seems to be a gum laceration around a molar tooth.  The quality of the picture did not clearly depict whether that tooth was a baby tooth or a permanent tooth.  Hence, my suggestion to the father was to observe the area and see how it does in a couple of days.

This morning I received an update email from the patient's father.  "My son wiggled the tooth, and it came out."  Attached to the email was a photo of a baby tooth that has exfoliated on its own.  We both laughed and joked at the quality photography that was sent to me for a diagnosis, but the moral of the story was :  We cannot diagnose a dental issue with a cell phone picture.

As a restorative dentist, I have received multiple photos from patients asking me to judge their smile and their teeth.  Cell phone photos just do not have the proper focus and magnification for a proper assessment.  When a photo of a smile is taken using a cell phone, any slight inclination of the phone in any direction will distort the shape of the teeth and the lips.  Furthermore, proper assessments of the details of teeth require high quality macro-photography with proper illumination with a high quality flash system.

 

Dental Implants Can Address both Functional and Esthetic Problems

This is a follow up of my blog entry dated December 19th, 2013 .  In that entry I discussed why lower dentures hurt and what can be done to address the problem. These images illustrate a complete case from preliminary assessment to the final prosthesis in the patient's mouth.  I was able to execute this treatment by handling both the surgical procedures and the restorative procedures in my office.

1.  CT scan to assess bone condition and location of the nerves:

2.  Treatment planning using computerized software and the actual CT Scan.

3.  Placement of the planned dental implants in the exact locations as displayed by the stone and model with replica of the soft tissue and the implants.

4.  Final delivery of upper full denture and lower fixed zirconia/porcelain hybrid prosthesis.

By keeping the lower prosthesis away from the nerves, the patient regained her chewing function which used to be debilitating from the pain induced by the removable lower denture.  Note the difference in esthetic between the lower zirconia/porcelain and the upper denture acrylic.

Images of actual patients of Alex Nguyen, DDS are Copyrighted and Digitally Embedded to track Unauthorized Use.