Tag Archive for: Jaw

Dental Implants – One of the Best Fixes for Tooth Loss

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Losing teeth is part of life. Tooth loss occurs for a variety of reasons ranging from accidental tooth loss from an accident to severe oral problems such as tooth decay, congenital defects, mouth trauma, root canal failure, gum disease of periodontitis or the simple collapse of tooth structure from use. Fortunately, there is a dental procedure which can help cover up these tooth loss issues to avoid low self esteem and embarrassment; dental implants. Dental implants are an excellent way to fix a flawed smile. Dental implants have high success rate, making this one of the best procedures to have done whether for cosmetic or medical purposes.

The dental implants’ procedure is rather simple. Generally, a titanium screw is placed into a small hole which has been created in the site where the tooth is missing. This screw is used in order to connect the jaw to the implant. Once the screw is in place, to avoid infection and to allow for osseo integration to occur, a protective layering is placed on top of the implant and screw. Once the site heals and osseo integration has occurred this protective layering is removed and then a temporary crown is used to replace the protective layering. The healing process may take anywhere from three to six months. The gum will naturally mold itself around the temporary crown. The final step in the dental implants’ procedure is to replace the temporary crown with a permanent crown.

As previously mentioned, there is a high success rate that is associated with dental implants. The major reason why an implant may fail is due to the osseo integration process. Osseo integration is the process where the jaw bone and the dental implant root naturally bond by the dental implant being lodged into the jawbone. Dental implants are desirable compared to other dental procedures in the case of tooth loss because they are highly durable and look like natural teeth. Other advantages associated with dental implants include being immune to cavities. However, this does not mean that a patient who has dental implants can ignore his or her oral hygiene. Dental implant patients are still susceptible to peri implantitis or periodontitis which can be painful and lead to more serious dental problems.

Many people opt for dental implants over other types of dental procedures to replace teeth. Many dental implant procedures will be covered by one’s dental insurance, at least partially under the right circumstances. However, if the procedure is done for only cosmetic purposes then one will most likely have to pay the cost of the procedure. There are many financial plans that are available for these dental implant patients.

If you are looking for a solution to your dental tooth loss problems, then dental implants may be the right option for you. A dentist will have to approve you as a candidate, but once approved, dental implants will give you back your confidence and let your pearly whites shine.

Dr. Kelaher

How Can My Dentist Help Me With Snoring?

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One of the causes of snoring is the common disorder called “sleep apnea”. Literally “apnea” means no breath. It is a cessation of breathing while you sleep. The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea. This condition is caused by the air passages from the nose and throat being blocked during sleep. This blockage frequently causes shallow breathing or breathing pauses. These breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes and can occur as often as twenty to thirty times per hour. This results in, among other things, fits of snoring.

Since it happens during sleep most people who have sleep apnea don’t even know it unless they are informed about it by someone sleeping within earshot of them.

Here’s what happens:

Without sleep apnea the airway from your nose and mouth remain open while you sleep. The airway includes your nose, mouth, throat and windpipe. The open airway allows a free flow of oxygen into your lungs and exhalation of carbon dioxide from your lungs while you sleep. With sleep apnea this airway can become smaller or collapse completely for a short period of time. This makes it harder for fresh air to flow into your lungs and carbon dioxide to be exhaled. Air squeezing through the airway can cause a vibration that results in the sound of snoring.

When the airway becomes completely blocked, allowing no airflow this is called apnea. With the decrease in airflow caused by the partial or complete collapse of your airway there is a decrease in the blood oxygen going to your brain. This sends a signal to the brain to wake up and open the airway. Naturally this causes a disruption of sleep as the person partially or completely awakens. You can sometimes hear a person with sleep apnea gasp when their airway is suddenly opened after a period of apnea. Once the episode of sleep apnea is over the individual returns to normal sleep until the next episode of breathing disruption. You can see how this cycle prevents the sufferer from getting a complete and restful night’s sleep.

When we normally think of snoring we tend to think only in terms of the general disruption this causes to our sleep and the sleep of others. This alone would be enough of a reason to do something about it. However obstructive sleep apnea has further, more serious implications and potential effects on health. The sufferer of sleep apnea is at greater risk of heart failure, irregular heart rhythm and high blood pressure. The lack of sleep caused to the individual with sleep apnea and his or her family can create other problems in life associated with insufficient rest.

The great news is that your dentist can help you discover if your snoring is related to obstructive sleep apnea. If so, he or she can fit you with a device you wear at night which positions your jaw in a manner where the space in your airway increases thereby preventing the soft tissue vibration that causes snoring.

Dr. Kelaher

Dental X-rays – What do they Show?

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Dental X-rays are a wonderful tool of modern dentistry, because they can reveal potential weaknesses or infections in teeth that are not otherwise visible to the naked eye.

By using good X-rays, educated and qualified dental professionals can study the images and then interpret them to identify strengths and weaknesses, possible areas of infection or other trouble, and serious dental issues such as cavities, cracks, and gum problems.

What the X-rays cannot very effectively show or illuminate are areas within the mouth that are composed of softer tissue and less dense material. X-rays are great, however, for taking revealing pictures of hard substances including teeth and bones. Because most dentistry involves the teeth, X-rays are a resource or tool whose value cannot be underestimated. Take a quick X-ray, for example, and you can immediately spot a developing cavity in the tooth. You can also see how deep into the tooth the cavity extends, which means that the dentist can see how close it is to the center of the tooth where a cavity will rapidly accelerate into a much more dangerous and painful root canal infection.

If an infection has gone done into the core of the tooth and become a full-fledged root canal problem, the dentist can then use X-rays to find out if the problem is boring down into the jawbone. But X-rays are useful in other ways, too. They can help identify the position of wisdom teeth that are hidden from view beneath the gums and under other teeth, and they can show where “permanent” or adult teeth are developing below the surface and underneath baby teeth. When fillings are in teeth the X-rays show them clearly, and they also help to show if they are shifting out of proper position, corroding and curling around the edges, or are situated nicely to perform their job as they are meant to do. Not all cracks in teeth will show up clearly on an X-ray because some so-called hairline cracks are too thin and tiny to be seen, even with the help of X-ray images. But significant tooth cracks will show up on a decent X-ray image, and then the dentist can take the necessary steps to either repair the crack or cap it with a crown to prevent future problems.

In the days before the general use of X-ray machines in the dental industry, both the dentist and the patient were left literally in the dark, and much of the diagnostic work of dentists was left to educated guesswork. Problems might have been lurking beneath the surface of the patient’s tooth, in other words, but unless the patient experienced pain or discomfort those issues would go totally undetected. Then tooth problems would suddenly erupt out of nowhere, causing not only poor dental health but more dental work – because in order to repair teeth or stop the spread of infection that had been allowed to reach an advanced state the dentist had to do more significant treatment.

Dr. Kelaher

Root Canal Therapy

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The root canal is the portion of the tooth that forms a canal within the core or center of the tooth. This area extends down into the jaw, where it acts much like the root of a plant or tree to draw up nutrients, minerals, and other things that are vital to a healthy tooth. If the root canal becomes infected, then the dentist will likely perform root canal therapy to clean out the harmful bacteria and restore dental health.

The root canal area becomes compromised when bacteria invades the pulpy middle part of the tooth that is protected by the hard enamel exterior crown of the tooth. This usually happens because of a cavity that gets too deep and pierces the wall of the tooth, allowing the infection that caused the cavity to continue down into the root canal. This is one reason why it is so important that you schedule regular dental checkups to examine for potential cavities. Otherwise, if you go too long between dental appointments, it is possible that a cavity can progress to the point that there is no other option but root canal therapy.

Another avenue that infectious bacteria uses to travel into the root canal is through the gums or bloodstream, so it is equally important to maintain healthy gums and good overall health. By following a recommended program of flossing and brushing, eating a wholesome diet high in natural vitamins and minerals, and drinking plenty of fresh water every day it is possible to avoid most dental health problems.

Because the root canal is also the location of the main nerve running up inside the tooth, procedures involving this sensitive area typically require sedation in order to ensure the comfort and well being of the patient. There are many options available to the patient in terms of pain management or anesthesia, and the dentist will work to make sure that the best possible type of painkiller or sedation is used.

During root canal therapy the dentist will drill or probe into the center of tooth in order to then use various tools to remove any bacteria or infected tissue or fluids. Sometimes dental antibiotics can be applied directly to the area to promote rapid healing and make sure that the infection does not linger or return. In severe cases the root canal infection may be so severe that the main nerve of the tooth or some other vital component is damaged beyond repair. In that kind of situation the dentist can extract the tooth and replace it with a synthetic crown.

After surgical procedures to fix problems in the root canal region the dentist will also usually prescribe a course of pain medications and antibiotics as needed, and then ask the patient to return for a follow up appointment to monitor the healing process. Most people experience mild discomfort after a root canal procedure and have to be careful about what they eat for a day or two, but for the most part modern root canal procedures do not have a long healing time and many people return to work the following day.

Dr. Kelaher

Full Mouth Rehabilitation

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It Can Be the Solution to Everything From Migraine Headaches to Missing, Cracked and Chipped Teeth.

When you have migraine headaches, pain in your face, neck, and shoulders or numbness in your fingers and arms…making an appointment with your dentist probably isn’t the first thing you think about. But it should be considered… because a misalignment of your jaw can result in each and every one of these problems. And if in conjunction to those symptoms, you have missing, worn, broken, chipped or cracked teeth, a full-mouth rehabilitation (also called full-mouth restoration or rejuvenation) could be the solution for every one of those difficulties.

Think of it as being similar to restoring a house whose foundation needs some stabilizing and whose walls and floors need replacing or refurbishing. A full-mouth rehabilitation procedure does the same thing for your mouth… working on each individual problem and using different products to create an overall solution that is healthier and more aesthetically pleasing.

It is no longer necessary to deal with migraines or neck pains that are caused from misaligned jaws or imperfections in your bite position. Dentistry now has a variety of technologies that can move your jaw back into its natural position, which as a result will eliminate a plethora of uncomfortable or even painful symptoms.

My name is Dr. Kelaher, and as a dentist, I begin a full-mouth restoration by first diagnosing any bite or jaw misalignment problems that may exist along with assessing the condition of your gums and if they are healthy enough to support repaired or reconstructed teeth. From that point, I look at each tooth in your mouth (or a space where a tooth is missing), assess the reasons for any uneven wear or tooth deterioration, decay or loss, and then begin a treatment plan for repairing existing damage or replacing teeth that are no longer there.

Because of advanced dental technologies, teeth that could not be saved several years ago and would simply have been pulled can now be saved. Depending on your existing teeth and gum structure, procedures can vary from periodontal procedures to strengthen your gums to bridges, partial dentures or dental implants to fillings, crowns and veneers.

As a result of a full-mouth restoration, you will not only no longer deal with headaches and pains that may have hampered your daily activities, you will also have a healthy mouth and a beautiful smile.

Even though a full-mouth reconstruction can be relatively complex, it doesn’t have to be a long process or a complicated procedure from the patient’s perspective. Depending on the procedures that are required for your particular mouth, a full-mouth restoration can actually be completed in as few as two or three visits. However, in more complicated cases where periodontal issues are involved, it could take twelve months or longer.

No matter how many different approaches may be needed for your particular rehabilitation, the surfaces of your corrected teeth will all match perfectly, leaving you with a beautiful smile. And with no more migraine headaches or neck pains to deal with…you’ll definitely have something to smile about!

Dr. Kelaher

Highland Dental Group
100 Highland Avenue, Suite 103
Salem, MA 01970

Phone: (978) 740-5135

Office Hours

  • Monday 7:00 a.m – 6:00 p.m.
  • Tuesday 9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
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  • Thursday 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
  • Friday 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
  • Saturday Closed
  • Sunday Closed

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