Author: Jennifer Wells

What is Periodontal Disease?

Periodontal Disease, a bacterial infection of the gums and bone around your teeth, begins when sticky bacteria, or plaque, and calcified plaque, or tartar, coats your teeth at and below your gum tissues. The bacteria triggers inflammation that leads to bone loss and pocket formation around your teeth.

Unfortunately, you get this infection when your resistance to periodontal bacteria is low and disease susceptibility is high. This infection occurs in bursts of activity and become worse fairly quickly. If periodontal treatment, such as scaling and root planning (SRP), is suggested, it is important to have the treatment done soon to remove the bacteria causing bone and soft tissue damage.

How is Periodontal Disease detected?

At your dental appointment, the hygienist or doctor will look for symptoms of periodontal disease by evaluation; 1) current x-rays for bone loss; 2) inflammation/bleeding; and 3) probing depths around your teeth.
Probing depths of 1-3 mm represents health, while probing depths of 4+ mm often signify periodontal disease present and bone loss. Larger (higher) probing depths mean more bone loss and deeper bacteria deposits.
The severity of the bone loss may necessitate a referral to a periodontist. Early to moderate periodontal disease infections can often be treated by your general dentist office with scaling and root planning (SRP).

What to expect after treatment

You may feel transient gum tenderness and temperatures sensitivity (cold sensitivity is common). These issues should decrease over the first couple of days. Antibiotics; disinfection mouth rinses; desensitizing agents; and mild pain relievers may be needed during healing. You can return home or to work right after your appointment.

With removal of the bacteria, you can expect:

Healthier gum: firm and pink
Tighter teeth (more stable)
Little or no bleeding from gums
Better breath

How is your treatment response evaluated?

Your dentist will usually evaluate your gums 4-6 weeks after treatment by checking the same parameters as at the initial examination: inflammation, bleeding, the presence and amount of plaque and tartar; and your overall oral hygiene. A less than ideal response may require a referral to a periodontist.

Do You Have Other Questions?

We hope this blog has been helpful. Please do not hesitate to call us at 704-933-2115.

Let’s face it – no one actually enjoys brushing their teeth! We all love a clean mouth, but the idea of dragging bristles over our teeth for a couple of minutes isn’t the most entertaining experience. More often than not, we tend to stop well before the 2-minute mark and hope it’s good enough. Even if we do put in the time, our tooth brushes and fancy toothpastes are rarely suitable for our hygienist and dentist likes. Understanding our society’s love for gadgets and technology, Oral-B gives us Genius, a revolutionary toothbrush.

Even calling this electronic toothbrush just a “toothbrush” is injustice – that would imply that a simply brushing is all it does. Instead, the Oral-B Genius is loaded with all the latest oral hygiene technology and is paired with an equally smart app.

Although the Oral-B Genius looks like your typical electronic toothbrush, the technology behind it includes loads of sensors to detect how you are brushing and how you should be brushing. By communicating with the camera on your smartphone, the Oral-B Genius has a Position Detections to show details about where and how you are brushing. Placing your phone at head level on your bathroom mirror with a suction cup, this app provides you with the toothbrush’s exact location on each tooth as well as the pressure you’re using on it.

The Oral-B Genius has earned its name because it really is a genius. As if real time data about your teeth wasn’t enough, it actually uses all of your brushing measurements to detect your poor brushing habits and alter its movements to compensate. For instance, if you’re applying too much pressure as you brush, the Oral-B Genius will automatically adjust its speed and pulsation intensity to prevent any damage in your mouth. Talk about SMART!

The toothbrush is also outfitted with a timer so you can efficiently clean each quadrant of your mouth for the required 30 seconds. It alerts you when it’s time to move onto the next, making it easier and more effortless than ever before. The Oral-B Genius transforms brushing your teeth from a daily chore with moderate benefits into an expertly and precisely controlled two minutes. It’s like having a hygienist sitting next to you, ensuring you to do your best.

As far as electronic toothbrushes go, the Oral-B Genius is pretty genius! So come by our office to get your Oral-B Genius and receive a $30 MAIL-IN REBATE. (Expires June 30^th, 2017)

Here at First Impressions Family Dentistry we had the opportunity to transform a new smile! AMAZING RESULTS! 

One of our patients arrived at First Impressions Family Dentistry for her routine cleaning appointment. She then told our hygienist, Kim, that she was unhappy with her smile. Kim spoke with Dr. Jennifer Wells to see what we could do to improve her smile! Dr. Jennifer Wells went over the treatment and decided to do crowns on the upper anterior from pre-molar to pre-molar. We told the patient that our team could make a wax model. This would allow her to see what the final appearance (smile) would look like before starting treatment.

The patient  started with our Venus White pre-filled trays to whiten the lower anterior teeth before the crowns were placed.

 At the cosmetic wax-up appointment, the patient is able to view the Smile Styles Chart and have input on the shape of the teeth. She preferred the “softened smile” look. After deciding the shape of the teeth, the patient then will decide on the color.

After the patient approves the wax up,  we start the transformation of a new smile! We prepare all the teeth and scan digital impressions to send to the lab for the permanent crowns. This will ONLY take about 2 weeks to get the permanent crowns delivered! The dental team will make custom temporary crowns for the patient to wear while waiting on the permanent restorations.  This is to ensure the patient will be comfortable when smiling.

Two weeks later the permanent crowns are delivered and we have a NEW SMILE! AHHHH-MAAZ-ING!!!!!!