Invisalign Archives - Drake & Wallace Dentistry

I Still Have Baby Teeth at 16

Posted on December 9, 2023 by writeradmin.

Hi,

I was online looking for some imformation on do it yourself teeth whitening because a bunch of girls at school are doing it when I came across your blog. I learned a lot! I wonder if you can help me figure out something else? I have baby teeth still in my mouth and then adult teeth came in behind them. Those parts of my teeth look freaky. I had tried to pull one out myself, but it hurt like mad. Is there any way to fix this?

Danuta

Dear Danuta,

First, let me say I’m impressed that you are taking initiative to look these things up. I am curious as to whether or not your parents have been bringing you to a pediatric dentist. I realize that is hard for some families, especially in today’s economy. If you have been under the care of a dentist, you really need to switch dentists because he or she has caused very preventable problems for you.

The short answer is, yes, this can be fixed. Though, how that is accomplished depends on the specifics of the case. I don’t know which teeth specifically you are talking about. If you want to write again giving more details I can help with that. In the meantime, I’ll provide some general advice.

If all of your teeth are in, then it will be a matter of having those baby teeth extracted. After that, you will probably probably need some orthodontics. There are traditional braces that can help straighten those teeth, but there is also Invisalign which will allow you to straighten your teeth without anyone knowing you are wearing braces.

If you are missing some adult teeth, then the orthodontics will have to be planned in a way that makes space for a tooth replacement. There are many options for replacing teeth. I’d recommend you use a temporary replacement until your jaw is finished growing and developing and then you could get something more permanent, such as dental implants.

The key for you at this point is to get with a dentist who can help you.

This blog is brought to you by Decatur, AL Dentists Drs. Drake and Wallace.

Porcelain Veneers versus Invisalign

Posted on May 31, 2021 by writeradmin.

I’m a little confused. I heard that porcelain veneers could straighten teeth for you. I have one tooth in the front that barely crosses over the other. I wanted to get porcelain veneers to fix that and make my teeth look whiter and a bit longer because I grind them. My dentist said he wants me to get Invisalign first and then the porcelain veneers and teeth whitening. I’m confused. Don’t porcelain veneers handle all of that?

Joyce

Dear Joyce,

I’m glad you wrote. Let’s start with the teeth whitening. Getting teeth whitening done is fairly standard procedure, but often you can have it done just on the bottom arch of your teeth. You probably don’t want to spend the money to have porcelain veneers placed on the bottom teeth, but you will want them to blend in with the upper teeth. As to whether or not you will need to whiten the top arch as well, that will depend on how many veneers you plan on getting. Most smiles are around eight to ten teeth wide. If you don’t plan on getting enough veneers to cover all the visible teeth when you smile, then I would whiten.

The Invisalign, however, is a completely different story. Based on what you described, this should not be necessary at all. An experienced cosmetic dentist can make those two teeth look completely straight and perfectly in line with one another. That being said, I would not push this dentist into doing it. He or she is obviously uncomfortable with his ability to do so. You would be better served having another dentist do the veneers so they can be done right. It is never a good idea to push a dentist out of their comfort zone. The results are rarely what you would hope for.

I want to address one other thing. You mentioned grinding your teeth. Make sure you get a night guard to wear while you are sleeping. Porcelain veneers are very strong, but they will be damaged by the grinding, as will your bottom teeth. In fact, those can be ground down to little nubs which will require you to have dental crowns placed on each of them. A night guard will protect them from the grinding.

This blog is brought to you by Decatur, AL Dentists Drs. Drake and Wallace.

Thumb Sucking

Posted on April 29, 2021 by writeradmin.

I’ve sucked my thumb my entire childhood and now that I’m an adult, I’m embarrassed by how much my teeth stick out. Is there something I can do as an adult to fix this?

Emily

Dear Emily,

It is normal for children to suck their thumbs and up until the age of around seven there is no permanent harm. It is when the habit continues after that where you end up needing some intervention to get the teeth back in the correct position.

I am surprised your pediatric dentist never addressed this. Though, it may be that your parents did not have you under the care of a dentist in your childhood.

I would start by speaking to a dentist who offers Invisalign. This will allow you to straighten your teeth without anyone knowing. There is no metal involved in the procedure at all. Instead, it uses clear aligners in order to guide your teeth back into their healthy, natural position.

Invisalign has another side benefit in that the aligners are able to double as teeth whitening trays. This gives you a mini smile makeover, enabling you to straighten and whiten your teeth at the same time, at a fraction of the cost.

For the benefit of those parents reading this. If you have a thumbsucker, often if you do not make a big deal out of this it will resolve itself. This often happens around school age when they don’t want to appear like a “baby” in front of their friends.

If your child is having trouble kicking the habit, there is a product, called Thum that allows you to place a non-toxic, bitter-tasting liquid on their thumbs, which is usually enough to help them kick the habit if that is what they want.

This blog is brought to you by Decatur, AL Dentists Drs. Drake and Wallace.

Zoom Whitening and White Spots

Posted on January 4, 2021 by writeradmin.

When my daughter had her braces taken off, there were white spots on her teeth. We were looking for a quick way to fix them. Our dentist suggested teeth whitening and told us that Zoom would be the fastest. She didn’t have a Zoom machine but recommended to us someone she knew who did. We went ahead with it, but the spots didn’t go away. Her teeth are whiter, but still uneven. What went wrong?

Gabby L.

Dear Gabby,

Uneven tooth color, including white spots, are usually made worse by teeth whitening, which includes the fast-acting Zoom Whitening. So why did your dentist recommend it? The only real explanation is your dentist has a fundamental misunderstanding of how teeth whitening works.

This is one of the big issues with cosmetic dentistry not being a recognized specialty, but also not being taught in dental school. Teeth whitening will whiten your teeth, or in this case your daughter’s teeth, evenly. So, because her teeth were uneven in color before the whitening, they will be uneven after the whitening.

The Solution to White Spots After Braces

First, it helps to know the cause of these white spots to begin with. This is something your dentist should know about. The white spots are a sign of decalcification. Think of them as pre-cavities. It is pretty common after braces when a patient didn’t quite get everything brushed the way they needed to during their orthodontic treatment. To be fair, getting the area around all those wires and brackets clean is pretty tough. This is why we often recommend Invisalign to teens who are responsible enough to keep up with their aligners. Because they are removable, it is much easier for patients to brush and floss their teeth, making it much less likely they will develop white spots.

The best solution for this is to have the white spots carefully ground off and then replaced with composite tooth bonding. However, don’t let your dentist talk you into letting her try this herself. It is a much more advanced procedure than teeth whitening and she was clueless about that. Whoever you are considering to do it, ask to see before and after pictures of bonding cases they have done so you can make sure you love their results before letting them work on your daughter’s case.

This blog is brought to you by Decatur, AL Dentists Drs. Drake and Wallace.

Tips on Finding a Good Dentist

Posted on April 25, 2020 by writeradmin.

I’ve never really liked my current dentist, but it is always so expensive starting over. Plus, they all require x-rays and I don’t want to end up with countless x-rays and die of radiation poisoning in my search for a dentist. Any tips to make this easier? I don’t need any cosmetic work, but just because I want a general dentist doesn’t mean I don’t want one who is high quality and easy to deal with.

Kathleen

Dear Kathleen,

Finding the Best Dentist for You

You have brought up some interesting points, the most important being that finding the best dentist for you varies from person to person.
Here are my recommendations for whenever someone is ready to find a better dentist.

Check their Websites

Your first step would be to see if the dentist has the services you need available. Some people, like yourself, don’t want any cosmetic procedures at all. You are just looking for a top-quality general dentist. Others would like just basic cosmetic services, like Invisalign or teeth whitening. Then, there are those who want the full cosmetic treatment. There are also people with specialized needs, like metal sensitivities, who need a metal-free dentist. Or maybe they suffer from TMJ Disorder and need a dentist with that training as well. I always recommend going through their website to see whether they do the procedures which will be important to you.

Check their Reviews

There are several great review sites available these days which can give you a decent picture of what to expect. Often people only post reviews when they are thrilled with service or they hate it. Either way, you’ll know. If there aren’t many reviews, it may mean they’re just average. Not so awesome people rave about them, but they don’t seem to mess anything up or behave rudely to patients either, so no one is unhappy with them.

Some great review sites to check are:

Google Reviews
Yelp!
Facebook

Ask for a Complimentary Consultation

Some offices will let you come in and tour the office, meet the staff, and possibly even consult with the dentist to get a feel for their practice. They should be putting their best face forward, so if you’re not happy then, you certainly wouldn’t be happy on a regular basis there.

Best of luck to you in your search. One side note to put your mind at ease about your x-rays. These days, most dentists do digital x-rays. These are WAY less radiation than we used to get exposed to during regular film x-rays. You would have to be seeing several new dentists a day, every day to get enough radiation to even begin to be a problem. So, I wouldn’t be too worried about radiation poisoning.

This blog is brought to you by Decatur, AL Dentists Drs. Drake and Wallace.

Affordable Dentist for Cosmetic Dentist Work?

Posted on November 10, 2018 by writeradmin.

I’ve been looking for an affordable dentist to do my cosmetic work, but they’re all pretty pricey. Is there any way to get a pretty smile if you don’t have a trust fund?

Callie

Dear Callie,

There’s a difference between affordable and cheap dentistry.

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “You get what you pay for.” That is especially true with smile makeovers. If you’re looking for a smile makeover with porcelain veneers, it’s not going to be cheap. In fact, a dentist who was cheap on this procedure would NOT give you a gorgeous smile makeover. Instead, you might end up with something extraordinarily disappointing.

There are a number of patients who went to the cheapest dentist only to end up with a smile which was worse than the one they walked in to get repaired.

Instead, when you need an affordable dentist when it comes to cosmetic work, you need to look for affordable cosmetic procedures.

Affordable Cosmetic Dental Procedures

If you’re looking for a cosmetic treatment which will give you the most bang for your buck, I’d look at teeth whitening. This will take years off your appearance without costing much at all. The reason for this is our teeth pick up stains as we age. Whiter teeth give the appearance of youthfulness.

If you have crooked teeth, Invisalign costs significantly less than veneers. Plus, the aligners used with their procedure can double as teeth whitening trays allowing you to get two procedures in one.

If your heart is absolutely set on getting a makeover with veneers, don’t go for cheap. Instead, get your teeth whitened and save up for your veneers.

Now, maybe you’ve got something coming up, such a school reunion, and you just can’t wait. There is the option of getting Care Credit, which will allow you to pay it off over time. Just make sure you feel it’s worth going into debt for before you make a decision.

This blog is brought to you by Decatur, Al Dentists Drs. Drake and Wallace.