The Wait Is Almost Over

Are you a candidate for a pinhole gum recession procedure? The pinhole gum recession procedure is a revolutionary procedure that allows Dr. Rice and her team to to decrease gum recession without soft tissue grafting, without sutures, and with less discomfort overall!

In a typical grafting procedure Dr. Denine Rice would have had to remove skin from the roof of the mouth in order to graft skin onto the area where tissue was missing. Once it was placed, the healing process would begin. This procedure required cutting, sutures and time, and patients may have had to wait months for healing, or they may have had to get grafting procedures done in incremental sessions that could cost a lot of money.

Last week Dr. Rice and her team became updated on the Pinhole technique because this revolutionary procedure can help her patients get the smile they deserve without the pain and healing time that other periodontal procedures take. This procedure allows Dr. Rice to build up the healthy tissue with just one tiny pinhole, no sutures, and quick healing.

Contact Dr. Rice and her team today in order to determine if you are a candidate for this procedure.

Why You May Need A Bone Graft After An Extraction

Bone graft surgery can help improve the health of your smile and if you recently had an extraction you may want to consider a bone graft procedure. It can be stressful to have a tooth extracted and you may be wondering, when you meet with Dr. Denine Rice and her team, now what? When you extract the tooth what is going to happen with my smile?

A bone graft procedure is usually completed immediately after an extraction to make sure you have healthy and enough bone where the tooth was extracted. Many times the reason for a lost tooth in infection which is in the bone. A bone graft cleans out infected tissue and replaces it with health bone. A bone graft procedure at the time of extraction can decrease the overall surgical procedures you need to have, and so can mean financial savings for you. If you have an extraction done and do not have the bone graft procedure, you may end up having to have a procedure later if you are moving forward with an implant or a denture, or you may notice that as the area heals shrinkage of bone that becomes that much more difficult to correct.

A bone graft procedure at the time of an extraction can also help hold your implant if you are doing an immediate placement. This procedure allows Dr. Rice and her team to have a wider ridge to work with when completing your implant procedure and will help ensure your implant will hold for years to come. 

For more information about bone graft procedures, contact Dr. Rice and her team today!

Don’t Let Your Benefits Go To Waste!

The end of the year is fast approaching and when the New Year rolls over, so do your dental benefits. Dental insurance benefits are paid for throughout the year by you. You may have money left over that you have not taken advantage of, but that you have already paid for. Once the New Year comes around, those benefits are no longer available to you. These are benefits you have already paid for and that you are able to take advantage of and that insurance companies hope you don’t know about. Not only that, but once the New Year begins, you pay a new deductible for dental services.

It can be beneficial to use your benefits now because fee increases can happen, and your insurance company may change the amount they pay. If you have had your eye on enhancing your smile for a while but have been holding off, now is the time to take advantage. You deserve an amazing smile that is going to wow your friends at the next holiday party.

Sometimes, treatments that are needed to keep your smile healthy, or it may seem like a something you can just do later. In fact you may have been putting this off all year. But by delaying treatment, you may cause extensive damage to your smile, which costs more.

For more information on your dental benefits, or to take advantage of dental benefits before they expire contact Dr. Rice and her team.

Be Proud & Flash Your Pearly Whites

Your gums are the foundation to a healthy smile. When your gums are happy and healthy, your smile is happy and healthy. Periodontal disease can attack the gums, causing them to recede or look puffy, red and swollen. Not only does periodontal disease have a negative impact on your smile and body, it can have a negative impact on your self-esteem. So, treat yourself to a Laser Periodontal treatment and start enjoying your smile again.

Some say that a smile is more important than any other characteristic in creating a warm and likeable personality. It invites people to communicate with you. It shows you are interested in the story your friend is telling, and from across the room your smile lets someone know that you would like to talk to them further. Our smile can communicate what our words fail to say.

But not smiling because you are embarrassed by your smile can communicate the wrong message. People may think you are unfriendly, angry or sad when you are not. Pursing your lips too tight in order to avoid showing off your teeth can cause wrinkle lines around your mouth, which in turn can cause you to look older than you are.

If you are feeling uncomfortable with smiling due to periodontal disease or other gum problems, contact Dr. Rice and her team today!

A Walk a Day Can Keep Your Smile Healthy

If you are looking to hang onto your pearly whites for longer, healthy dental habits along with a daily walk can help to strengthen your teeth and keep them healthy for longer. As you get older the risk of bone loss becomes even greater and a lifetime of poor dental habits can negatively impact your smile. By implementing a walk a day and/or taking Vitamin D supplements can help to decrease the risk of bone loss.

But just taking a walk or supplements isn’t going to save your teeth, you will also have to engage in positive dental habits to ensure your smile stays healthy for a lifetime. The research study conducted by WebMD showed that individuals who flossed, took a supplement or walked and utilized a medication that lowered blood pressure were 40% less likely to lose a tooth compared to people who didn’t.

Increasing water consumption and decreasing your chance of a dry mouth can also help to decrease the build-up of bacteria in your mouth. There are multiple medications and climates that can increase dry mouth, consuming fruit infused water, or sugar free gum can help to decrease the impact of bacteria.

For more information on vitamin D and how vitamins can improve your smile contact Dr. Rice and her team today.

5 Myths About Flossing

Waking up in the morning, flossing may or may not be a part of your routine. But Dr. Denine Rice says, “It’s the number one habit you have that can save your smile for a lifetime.” Here are 7 myths about flossing that you need to know.

1.     Bleeding gums is a bad sign & you should not floss.

a.     Your gums bleed because bacteria below the gum line is impacting their health. Flossing can ensure that your gums stay healthy.

2.     I don’t have food in my teeth, I shouldn’t floss.

a.     In fact, floss helps to remove plague built up between teeth, not just remove food from between the teeth.

3.     Flossing is only for older individuals.

a.     Flossing can begin as soon as your child as their first tooth. The earlier you start the habit, the more likely they are to continue the habit into adulthood.

4.     Flossing can damage your gums.

a.     Flossing helps to save your gums not damage them. You do need to be careful when flossing to make sure you are gently pulling the floss between the teeth. Do not dig the floss in the gum.

5.     You cannot floss because your teeth overlap.

a.     “While this can make it more difficult to floss,” says, Dr. Rice, “it is not an excuse to stop.” It is recommended that you utilize a waxed floss to help with this. 

For more myths about floss, contact Dr. Rice & her team today!

Don’t Make Sacrifices With Your Gum Health

Your gums are important to the overall health of your smile. “Once you lose one tooth, or your gums begin to recede, it can be downhill from there,” says Dr. Denine Rice. While some family members may tell you about a great new flossing alternative, do your homework first. Oil pulling is one of those new procedures.

Oil pulling is the procedure of using coconut or sunflower seed oil to swish around your mouth. The thought behind it is that the oil attaches to the food between your teeth and removes it. Research does not support that oil pulling does a great job of removing food, in fact, some food can be left behind to mix with bacteria and cause decay, which can lead to periodontal disease.

Periodontist, Dr. Rice recommends completing the tried and true practice of flossing, as it is the only way to guarantee your dental health and keep your smile in tip-top shape. If you are struggling with your smile and looking to improve your gum health, adding a mouth rinse specific for gingivitis can be a bonus. 

For more information on how to help your smile, contact Dr. Rice and her team.