Desert Smiles Blog

Archive for September, 2011

What Is Cosmetic Dentistry?

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Some people think of cosmetic dentistry as a collection of procedures, such as teeth whitening, but that isn’t really the essence of the discipline. Cosmetic dentistry is not a certain procedure or group of procedures–it’s a dental philosophy. It is dentistry practiced with the awareness that part of your teeth’s function is to look great every time you smile. It also builds off the fact that healthy teeth are attractive teeth, and generally vice versa. Cosmetic dentistry is like general dentistry, but with an extra emphasis on great-looking results that last.

It’s easy to see cosmetic dentistry in something like porcelain veneers–it’s obvious that porcelain veneers should make your smile more attractive. But they can also protect and strengthen your smile. If your teeth are uneven because of a chipped tooth or a crooked smile, your bite may be inefficient, putting stress on the other teeth, which can lead to their failure as well. Or it could result in neuromuscular dental problems such as TMJ. And damaged or crooked teeth likely have more harborages for bacteria and food particles, making them harder to clean.

But what is the benefit of cosmetic dentistry for someone seeking a dental crown? Ideally, like porcelain veneers, a dental crown should make your smile look more attractive because it looks better than your damaged natural tooth and matches the other teeth in size, color, and luster. This also helps your crown to last longer. A well-proportioned crown will last longer because it doesn’t experience or cause as much wear. It will also be less likely to result in neuromuscular issues because it will harmonize nicely with your existing bite.

To learn more about how cosmetic dentistry can help you, please contact Desert Smiles today to schedule a consultation with cosmetic dentist Dr. Donald Wilcox today.

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Why a Smile Makeover

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

A winning smile is considered to be more than just a sign of the health and attractiveness of your teeth. Although it is certainly that, it is also considered be a sign of who you are as a person, and based on your smile people often make judgments about your character and personality. Here are just a few of the assumptions people make about you based on your smile:

Age–if your teeth are discolored or short, people automatically assume you are older
Personal habits–if a person sees your teeth are discolored or in poor health, they may assume you do not take care of them and may assume you are equally sloppy in other areas such as work habits
Class–people assume that poor people are more likely to have unattractive smiles
Friendliness–If you are uncomfortable about the appearance of your smile, you may not smile as wide, and anxiety in your eyes can be read as hostility

If you find yourself facing these kinds of assumptions because of the state of your smile, you can either live with the effects and simply try to overcome them with your youthful energy, fastidious habits, and winning attitude or you can get a smile makeover to improve the appearance of your smile. Procedures like teeth whitening, porcelain veneers, and gum recontouring in a smile makeover can whiten, lengthen, and improve the appearance of your smile to give you the confidence to let your personality show through the first time and every time you greet someone.

To learn more about a smile makeover and how it can help you to get a confident, attractive, younger-looking smile, please contact Desert Smiles today.

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Treatment to Fix a Gummy Smile

Monday, September 19th, 2011

Although your smile is made up of many elements, there’s no doubt that your teeth should be the stars. However, if your gums are upstaging them, giving you a gummy smile, there are many possible treatments that can help you to get the tall, beautiful, toothiful smile you desire, depending on the cause of your gummy smile.

If your gummy smile is due to inflammation of the gums as a result of gum disease, the best treatment it to improve your oral hygiene routine, especially making sure you are making your regular dental visits every six months. Note that this type of gummy smile may seem to resolve on its own as your gums recede, but that’s not the kind of resolution you want–it’s a step on the way to actually losing your teeth!

If your gummy smile is due to enlarged or naturally overgrown gums, we can help take care of that with gum recontouring. At Desert Smiles we use a diode laser to reshape your gums, giving them a proper proportion and shape quickly and with little discomfort.

If your gummy smile is due to teeth that are worn or naturally short, then your smile can be improved using porcelain veneers. Porcelain veneers can be made to add length to your teeth, putting them in proper proportion with your gums. At the same time, your veneers will cover tooth discolorations, stress cracks, gaps, and other aesthetic problems, making them the best solution if you are looking for a smile makeover.

To learn more about solutions for your gummy smile, please contact Desert Smiles in Glendale, Arizona for a consultation with cosmetic dentist Dr. Donald Wilcox.

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How Can I Tell If I Have a Sleep Disorder?

Friday, September 16th, 2011

Sleep disorders may seem harmless. After all, snoring is just a nuisance, right? The truth is, though, that snoring is not just a nuisance to you and your spouse–it may be a sign of the life-threatening sleep disorder obstructive sleep apnea. How do you know if you have sleep apnea? Here are a few of the more common symptoms:

Waking up tired, no matter how much sleep you get
Waking with a headache
Daytime sleepiness
Dozing off in the middle of tasks
Changes in mood or personality
Memory problems
Lack of interest or motivation
Waking up in the middle of the night to urinate

If you have some or all of these symptoms, it is time to consider that you may be a sleep apnea sufferer. If you are a snorer, ask your cosleeper to monitor your snoring (chances are they’re already awake, anyway–cosleepers of snorers lose between one and five hours of sleep a night) for signs of choking or halting in your snoring. If you suspect your child is suffering from sleep apnea, look for the same sign.

Although most sleep apnea sufferers snore, not all do. Not all snorers suffer from sleep apnea. The only way to determine whether you are a sleep apnea sufferer is with a sleep study. If you suspect that you may suffer from sleep apnea, it’s time to schedule your sleep study today so you can get appropriate snoring or sleep apnea treatment. It may save more than your marriage–it may save your life.

To learn more about sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment, please contact a sleep dentist at Desert Smiles today.

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Improve Your Smile by Sleeping More; Phoenix Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Don Wilcox

Monday, September 5th, 2011

At our Phoenix cosmetic dental office, we transform many lives by giving Arizona dental patients new smiles they can feel great about. Feeling great about our weight can be a reason to smile! In his new book “The Sleep Doctor’s Diet Plan: Lose Weight through Better Sleep, Michael J. Breus, PhD shows how sleep can boost your metabolism, decrease your hunger, and increase your willpower and energy levels. Find out more about this valuable information source at www.thesleepdoctor.com.

Dr. Breus has referred our Glendale sleep apnea office many patients to help them with snoring and sleep apnea. In his recent posting on The Insomnia Blog, he recently reported research findings that sleep deprivation may actually make you eat more.

When compared to other women who had slept nine hours, those who had slept four hours took in 329 more calories.

When compared to other men who had slept nine hours, those who had slept four hours consumed 263 more calories.

If this can happen with only one night of sleep deprivation, when you do the math you can see why sleep disorders such as sleep apnea are highly correlated with obesity. For alternatives to CPAP for snoring and sleep apnea, visit Phoenix sleep dentist Dr. Don Wilcox at the Arizona Center for Dental Sleep Medicine in Glendale. For the finest in cosmetic and implant dentistry in Phoenix and Peoria, see www.DesertSmiles.com for more information.

Posted in Cosmetic Dentist Arizona, Oral appliance therapy for Sleep Apnea, sleep problems, snoring, Weight gain and sleep | No Comments »

Streamline Implant Design: Phoenix Implant Dentist Dr. Donald Wilcox

Monday, September 5th, 2011

Our partner in guided implant design, Implant Solutions, will soon be releasing a technique that will allow us to fit the initial scanning appliance for 3D cone beam images in the mouth. This will save one entire visit and step in the implant design process for Phoenix implant patients. No longer will an impression be needed for a scanning appliance and waiting a week to receive the appliance back from the lab prior to the 3D image being taken.

For our Glendale dental implant office this will streamline the implant design phase without decreasing the enhanced quality provided by guided surgery for implant placement. Patients who are apprehensive and require sleep dentistry in Phoenix will welcome less visits to the office prior to surgery, as well as most of our patients with tight work schedules.

For more information about Phoenix implant dentist Dr. Donald Wilcox visit www.DesertSmiles.com. For the finest in Phoenix cosmetic and sleep dentistry visit our Glendale dental office.

Posted in cone beam, Customer Service, dental implants, Implant Dentistry, losing teeth, pull tooth, teeth extraction, tooth loss | No Comments »