dentistry

Does Laser Treatment Work for Cold Sores On Your Lips?

November 19th, 2015

Does Laser Treatment Work for Cold Sores On Your Lips?Keeping your mouth healthy and looking good isn’t limited to what’s inside of it. Though teeth and gums get the spotlight in most dentist offices, cold sores can be even more unsightly and irritating than any issue inside of your mouth. Thankfully, dentists have the technology to get rid of the viruses that cause cold sores on your lips and around your mouth in just minutes. This technology comes in the form of lasers.

How does a laser treat cold sores?

Unlike other cold sore treatments, like creams or ointments, lasers get to the root of the problem. They destroy the herpes simplex virus that actually causes cold sores. How do they do this?
Well, a trained dentist uses precise laser technology to heat up the cold sore. This heat is carefully controlled to one area and never touches the skin, so it won’t harm anything around the cold sore. The heat from the laser not only kills the virus, but it also triggers your body to heal itself more quickly. The treatment only takes about 15 minutes to complete and requires no downtime at all. You’re in the dentist chair, and then you’re out!

What are the results like?

Since lasers destroy the virus, they can stop the cold sores from appearing at all if you haven’t broken out yet. Pretty amazing, right? Once the virus is stopped, the cold sores can no longer appear on your face.
If you already have cold sores on your lips or around your mouth, lasers will significantly speed up the healing time and provide you with immediate relief of symptoms, like pain or itching. The breakout will also stop spreading. You won’t require another treatment.
Since her virus can’t be cured, your cold sores might come back. However, laser treatments extend the length of time between your breakouts. In fact, after several laser treatments in the same area, your cold sores might never come back! Best of all, laser treatments for cold sores are affordable, and may even be covered by your insurance.

How do you know if you have cold sores?

You can recognize cold sores by their appearance. Cold sores form in groups of small blisters. After the blisters form, they soon break open and release clear fluid. Finally, cold sores will crust or scab over and disappear within 2 weeks.
In order to skip all of this unpleasantness, the best thing you can do is get a laser treatment before the blisters appear. Look for signs such as itching, tingling or pain on your lips or around your mouth. Swollen glands, fevers, and sore throats are also signals that cold sores are developing.
When you start feeling the symptoms, you should see a dentist as soon as possible to receive a laser treatment. That way, the cold sores will never appear. At Water Tower Dental Care, we do our best to see patients with cold sores within 24 hours. We can often treat them on the same day that they call! Feel free to contact us immediately after you start feeling cold sore symptoms.

Why is laser treatment better than other cold sore treatments?

We believe that lasers are the best treatments for cold sores, as do our patients who suffer with the herpes simplex virus. Here are just a few reasons why:

  • It only takes a few minutes to complete and requires no penetration of the skin, numbing or anesthesia.
  • Though the technology is new, cold sore laser treatment is affordable and may even be covered by your insurance.
  • Patients receive immediate and drastic relief right after the treatment is over.
  • Over time, lasers can get rid of cold sore breakouts in a specific area forever.
  • Lasers get to the root of the problem by killing the virus.
  • Laser treatment can prevent breakouts before they occur and stops them once they begin.
  • Healing time is much shorter after a laser treatment with no more symptoms.
  • Cold sore breakouts will occur less frequently and intensely in the area treated.

Do you feel cold sores developing? Contact Water Tower Dental Care today, Chicago’s number one dental practice! We’re experts in laser technology, and can help you control your breakouts for years to come.

Process of a Dental Implant

June 19th, 2014

Dental ImplantLosing a tooth either by accident or through declining oral health can be a tough experience. It can affect your confidence and well-being along with your oral health. Dental implants are a great way to keep your smile looking great and prevent further damage to your mouth. Of course, dental implants aren’t as simple as one would hope and there are several aspects to receiving an implant. However, if you practice good oral hygiene and are in the hands of an experienced dentist, you should have no problem rebuilding an excellent smile.

A proper dental implant takes several weeks to resolve. The first step is to remove the infected, rotted tooth or to clean the area where a tooth has been lost. Next, if the gums are healthy, your dentist will surgically place a cylinder post made of titanium into your jawbone. This is known as the anchor and acts as the root of the tooth. It’s especially important, if you do lose a tooth, to try and receive the anchor as soon as possible so the bone can adhere properly to the post. This process is known as osseointegration. If the jawbone does not have a post to adhere to, it can naturally shrink back. Within a year of not having a tooth, a jawbone can shrink by 40% in the area of the missing tooth, and make it harder to place the anchor into the jaw.
Proccess of a Dental ImplantIt can take two weeks to a month for your jawbone to osseointegrate properly with the anchor. During that time, most patients are given a denture or temporary bridge to replace the missing tooth. Once the anchor is ready, the dentist will add a small connector to the anchor known as an abutment. The abutment connects the anchor to the replacement tooth
Just like a veneer for a chipped tooth, replacement teeth are measured and created to fit precisely in your mouth and to look as natural as possible. They are also color corrected to match the rest of your teeth to give a natural look that no one can tell the difference of.
Unlike replacing a vital organ, there is not much risk with the body “rejecting” the dental implant. As you adhere straight to bone without the need of tissue matching or blood typing, the risk is very minimal when it comes to a dental implant. Success is typically not measured by the implant accepting or rejecting bone, but placed more on the patient’s ability to practice good oral hygiene. Visiting your dentist after the procedure and making sure that gum tissue is healthy is the best way to keep your dental implant in top condition.
There are benefits to replacing a missing tooth as well. Most importantly it helps stop the loss of jawbone in your mouth and can help retain healthy bone structure that’s imperative for overall oral health. Infections in the area of the missing tooth can also occur more frequently than if a dental implant is secured to the area.
Candidates for dental implants are patients with healthy teeth and gums who practice proper oral hygiene. Typically if your teeth and gums are healthy enough to undergo bridgework or tooth extractions, they should be healthy enough to receive an implant. However, each patient's ability to receive implants and the time it will take for the jawbone to adhere to the anchor varies and an experienced dentist should know the exact steps needed to help you receive the best smile possible.
If you have any more questions about dental implants or are considering one for yourself, don’t hesitate to contact Water Tower Dental, Chicago’s highest rated dental office.
 
 
 

The Cosmetic and Health Benefits of Teeth Whitening

June 12th, 2014

Cosmetic and Health Benefits of Teeth WhiteningTeeth whitening isn’t just for aesthetic purposes anymore. Did you know it can actually have oral health benefits? While many patients come to our offices to receive safe and fast teeth whitening to make their smiles brighter and give themselves a great boost of confidence, many don’t realize that they are also helping control the pH level of their mouth. This is an important factor when it comes to controlling plaque, bacteria, and tooth decay.

The cosmetic benefits of teeth whitening are quite simple. Over time, even those with the most strict oral health practices can notice a change of color in their teeth. This comes from years of eating, drinking, and often smoking. Many common foods can drastically change the color to your teeth from a gleaming white, to a subtle off-white, yellow. Coffee, wine, tea, berries, pasta sauces, and cigarettes, and many more foods can discolor your teeth.
While you can prevent your teeth from becoming overly discolored by consistent oral hygiene, including brushing and mouthwash, discoloration can still occur. Whether you’re an actor, model, salesman, consultant, or just conscious of your looks, many professionals find it important to have a presentable, white smile. For this, many want to take advantage of teeth whitening products. The benefits of teeth whitening include a whiter, more confident smile. Many find discolored teeth an embarrassment and look to teeth whitening for a way of helping raise their self-esteem and give them that extra confidence to say hello to the beautiful woman standing at the other side of the cafe, or meeting their fiancé’s parents for the first time. A smile is a powerful tool.
Recently, research has observed that teeth whitening holds health benefits as well as cosmetic. The most effective teeth whitening products use a peroxide-based solution to whiten the teeth. These solutions can effectively remove plaque as well as control the pH level of the mouth.
The pH level of your mouth controls the environment of your mouth and can change a healthy mouth into a breeding ground for bacteria. When we eat or drink foods that are high in acidity, coffee, wine, citric fruits, etc, the pH level of our mouth becomes highly acidic. When the pH level of your mouth is too low, enamel begins to break down and bacteria can flourish.
When teeth whitening with peroxide-based solutions, an important byproduct known as urea can help control the pH level of the mouth. While a highly acidic mouth will have a pH level between 5.5 and 6.5, a more neutral level should rest around 7 and 8. Urea helps reduce plaque and prevent tooth decay by neutralizing the pH level of your mouth.  This is just one more reason to consider teeth whitening as not only a cosmetic benefit, but a health benefit as well.
When considering teeth whitening, look for products that are peroxide-based. Or, for the most effective teeth-whitening techniques, contact Water Tower Dental. We offer several methods to help whiten your teeth in due time. Whether it’s our Zoom! Whitening technique done in our office or the at-home kit that offers a personalized and private experience, you’ll find your teeth whiter and healthier within weeks. Contact us today, we’re happy to help!