Mercury Free Dental Wellness » crowns

Cosmetic Dentistry – It’s Not Just For Looks

Shelby Township Dentist — Wed, 18 May 2011 19:58:51 +0000

Cosmetic Dentistry. It brings to mind the photos of your favorite movie star with their $1 Million smile that probably cost that much to get. What is often times missing from the doctor-patient discussion regarding cosmetic dental procedures is the health benefits of having these procedures done.

You might be wondering, “How can cosmetic dentistry benefit my health?” It’s a great question, one that many dental professionals do not regularly communicate to their patients. Cosmetic procedures include teeth whitening, veneers, crowns, dental implants, and Invisalign© Invisible Braces, just to name a few. All of these procedures have benefits that can affect your oral health and total wellness.

A well-aligned smile is not just a part of a pretty face – it’s the mark of a healthy mouth. Straight teeth allow you to brush your teeth more efficiently, improve speech, and allow for better digestion, leading to overall better health. Having crooked teeth isn’t just an eyesore, it also provides more nooks and crannies for food to get trapped making them harder to clean. This will lead to a build up of plaque or an abscess, or even gum disease, which can result in one or several teeth being removed. Recent studies have shown patients with gum disease are at significantly higher risk for heart disease, diabetes, and other serious health conditions. Well-aligned teeth trap fewer particles, develop fewer areas of decay and are easier to floss, all of which are vital to good gum and oral health.

Missing, crooked, or worn teeth can cause changes in your bite and jaw that can lead to functional problems when chewing and pain in your jaw. Procedures like, dental implants, veneers, or crowns restore the strength back to teeth that are weakened from large fillings, cracks and wear. Crooked teeth are often the result of overcrowding, which can be easily fixed with Invisalign© Invisible Braces, which will straighten and align your teeth over a few short months. Having a missing tooth is not purely a cosmetic problem either. It can leave your gums exposed, making it difficult and painful to eat on that side of your mouth. A missing tooth can also upset the balance of the other teeth in your mouth. This can result in the teeth shifting & moving around your jaw in order to compensate for the missing tooth. Your teeth can then become more crooked which can result in other problems. Missing teeth can easily be replaced with dental implants and crowns which will restore the strength and functionality of the missing tooth, prevent bone loss and prevent the rest of your teeth from shifting due to the loss of a tooth, which could affect your bite and ability to chew efficiently.

In your mouth there are more enzymes that break up food than in your stomach, making digestion easier. People who chew longer and eat slower digest their food better and have a tendency to be slimmer! Straight, strong, and healthy teeth do a better job of breaking up food, allowing for better digestion.

Ensuring your smile is as healthy as it can be does include cosmetic dentistry! Remember strong, well-aligned teeth are easier to brush & floss and this can reduce your risks of developing serious oral health problems, including gum disease. Cosmetic dentistry also has a profound impact on your self-confidence, romantic, and career success. So, next time your dentist or hygienist talk to you about cosmetic procedures, remember the treatment they are recommending can have a profound impact on your oral health and total wellness.

About HPS Advanced Dental Care, PC

Dr. Heather Pranzarone Stratton is a Family and Cosmetic Dentist practicing with a Biological and Biocompatible philosophy in Shelby Township, Michigan. Our practice provides a full range of Family and Cosmetic Dentistry services for your entire family including, professional cleanings and oral cancer screenings, tooth restoration, porcelain veneers, crowns, bridges, root canal therapy, tooth whitening, and dentures. We are a mercury free and mercury safe dental practice and latex free practice. HPS Advanced Dental Care, PC easily serves Macomb and Oakland Counties. We are easily accessible from many metro Detroit cities including: Shelby Township, Rochester, Rochester Hills, Macomb Township, Oakland Township, Washington, Birmingham, Troy, Sterling Heights, Clinton Township, and many more.

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Help Take a Bite Out of Oral Cancer

Shelby Township Dentist — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:39:15 +0000

Screening for the early warning signs of oral cancer is one of the most important reasons why you should visit the dentist on a regular basis. More than 34,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral cancer this year. It will cause over 8,000 deaths, killing roughly 1 person per hour, 24 hours per day. This is a number which has not significantly improved in decades. In fact, recent statistics published by the American Cancer Society indicate that while the incidence and death rates for cancers overall have decreased, both the incidence and the death rate for oral cancer have increased. Early detection and diagnosis are essential in successful treatment of the disease. Oral cancer is 90% curable when found in its early stages.

As your dental team, we are the front line of defense in early detection of this disease. It is estimated that only about 50% of the US population visits the dentist every year. Unfortunately, only about 15% of those who visit a dentist regularly, report having had an oral cancer screening. This is unfortunate and unacceptable in my opinion, when you consider that historically, the greatest strides in combating most cancers have come from increased awareness and aggressive campaigns directed at early detection. For cervical, prostate and breast cancer, we’ve gotten used to annual screening exams — Pap smears, PSA tests and mammograms — each of which has greatly reduced death rates and increased early detection of the disease. In a similar fashion, utilizing new technologies available through our dental office, like computerized oral cancer risk assessment software, PreViser, and ViziLite Plus, an FDA-approved early detection test, could help reduce the deaths and disfigurement that can result from oral cancer. At our practice we are concerned with much more than cavities; we’re focused on total wellness, as indicated by conditions in the mouth.

Actually, it is easier to follow through with oral cancer screenings, since unlike many other cancer screening procedures, there is no invasive technique necessary to look for it, no discomfort or pain involved, and it is very inexpensive to have your mouth examined for the early signs of disease.

While most cases of oral cancer are associated with smoking and alcohol, one-quarter of all cases affect people with no risk behaviors. There is growing evidence that HPV (human papillomavirus), a sexually transmitted virus that has long been associated with cervical cancer, is associated in nearly 10% of oral cancer cases in both men and women. Public health experts think this may account for the growing number of oral cancers in younger people. The bottom line for everyone: See your dentist; it may save your life. It is our goal to have 100% of our practice family screened for oral cancer on a yearly basis. It is important to realize that a visit to our office is no longer about a filling, a crown, or “just a cleaning,” but can actually be a matter of life and death. Dental examinations, when properly done and which include a screening for oral cancer will save lives.

About HPS Advanced Dental Care, PC

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Have You Been Screened for Oral Cancer Lately?

Shelby Township Dentist — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:04:59 +0000

Did you know that every time you visit our office for your routine hygiene therapy appointment you are screened for oral cancer? Screening for the early warning signs of oral cancer is one of the most important reasons why you should visit our office on a regular basis. More than 34,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral cancer this year. It will cause over 8,000 deaths, killing roughly 1 person per hour, 24 hours per day. This is a number which has not significantly improved in decades. In fact, recent statistics published by the American Cancer Society indicate that while the incidence and death rates for cancers overall have decreased, both the incidence and the death rate for oral cancer have increased. Early detection and diagnosis are essential in successful treatment of the disease. Oral cancer is 90% curable when found in its early stages.

As your dental team, we are the front line of defense in early detection of this disease. It is estimated that only about 50-60% of the US population visits the dentist every year. Unfortunately, only about 15% of those who visit a dentist regularly, report having had an oral cancer screening. This is unfortunate and unacceptable in my opinion, when you consider that historically, the greatest strides in combating most cancers have come from increased awareness and aggressive campaigns directed at early detection. It is now commonplace to annually get a PAP smear for cervical cancer, a mammogram to check for breast cancer, or PSA and digital rectal exams for prostate cancer. Oral cancer is no different. Actually, it is easier to follow through with oral cancer screenings, since unlike many other cancer screening procedures, there is no invasive technique necessary to look for it, no discomfort or pain involved, and it is very inexpensive to have your mouth examined for the early signs of disease.

It is our goal to have 100% of our practice family screened for oral cancer on a yearly basis. It is important to realize that a visit to our office is no longer about a filling, a crown, or “just a cleaning,” but is actually a matter of life and death. Dental examinations, when properly done and which include a screening for oral cancer will save lives. How do we do it? At our practice we utilize a 3 pronged approach:

A comprehensive visual examination of the oral cavity, head, and neck by Dr. Heather and Suzy
At least a yearly screening with the Vizilite Plus Oral Lesion Identification and Marking System
Comprehensive Oral Cancer Risk Assessment with the Previser™ Risk Assessment Software

Please help us reach our goal of screening 100% our practice family for oral cancer every year by starting with you and your family. Call our office today to schedule your regular routine hygiene therapy appointment and oral cancer screening today.

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