Getting Crowns

We offer a variety of cosmetic dental services at the South Carthay office of Dr. Suzanne Haeri. If a patient has small cracks or chips in their teeth, we can provide ultra-thin veneers or naturally colored fillings to give them back a smile they’re proud of. But sometimes, teeth are damaged so badly that cosmetic care isn’t enough. In those cases, we provide patients with artificial crowns that we take care to ensure look and feel just as good as their original teeth. This week, we’re going to discuss the process of getting a crown and why they may be necessary.

 

Artificial crowns, or caps, replace the entirety of the outer part of the tooth above the gum line. They are used if a tooth has lost too much enamel to sustain a partial crown. Often, when a tooth is that damaged, it also requires root canal therapy to remove potentially infected pulp. Following the pulp extraction, the dentist will fill in the empty pulp chamber with a sealant, and then smooth the remaining enamel into a cylindrical abutment. An impression is then made of the patient’s mouth and sent to a dental laboratory, where a custom-fitted and colored artificial crown is fabricated out of a material such as porcelain.

 

While the permanent crown is being made, the patient will wear a temporary version. This could last for about two weeks. Once the new crown arrives at our office, the patient will be able to return to have it cemented in. Artificial crowns are vulnerable to decay, like natural teeth, and can be broken if the patient clenches their jaw in their sleep. However, with proper brushing and flossing, and with protection from night time grinding, an artificial crown can last for over ten years.

 

The dental office of Suzanne Haeri, DDS, is located at 1100 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, California, 90035. To schedule an appointment, call 310-657-2200 or visit our website at Suzanne Haeri DDS.

Halitosis

We specialize in cosmetic dental care at the South Carthay office of Dr. Suzanne Haeri. Maintaining a smile that you're proud of isn’t just a function of how it looks, but also of how it smells. We’ve all had moments when we suddenly realized that something we’d eaten was causing us to have bad breath. But what about halitosis, the chronic, lingering unpleasant smell that sometimes seems to come from our mouths for days on end? This week, we’ll take a closer look at the reasons for halitosis, and what can be done about it.

 

Halitosis can generally be traced to oral pathogens. Certain species of bacteria produce an odor when they metabolize food debris left over in the mouth. When those bacteria are on the teeth, they may contribute to tooth decay and gum recession, but there are a lot more of them hiding in the bumps on the tongue. They may not do much substantive harm there, but the white coat they form is probably responsible for a patient’s bad breath. People who wear dentures or retainers may also experience outbreaks of fungus, which emit bad odors for similar reasons, and people with nasal infections may experience discharge leaking onto the backs of their tongues.

 

One of the most effective things you can do to eliminate halitosis is to drink more water. Increasing your saliva output won’t just rinse away food particles and bacteria, it will also counteract the effects of acid. Saliva also contains antimicrobial enzymes for additional protection from infection. Scraping your tongue once a day will also remove build-up, and you can use mouthwash to scour the back of it. Following meals, you might also want to try sugar-free gum or candy to stimulate more saliva production and remove a small amount of debris if you can’t use a toothbrush, floss, or scraper right away.

 

The dental office of Suzanne Haeri, DDS, is located at 1100 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, California, 90035. To schedule an appointment, call 310-657-2200 or visit our website at Suzanne Haeri DDS.

Bite Checks

You may be familiar with twice-annual dental check-ups as a way to get your teeth cleaned and your fillings inspected. But that’s not all that happens at a check-up, and even if you think your mouth is free of decay, there are good reasons to keep your appointments. One of the most important aspects of a dental examination is the bite check. At Dr. Suzanne Haeri’s South Carthay dental office, we provide for our patients’ general and cosmetic dental needs, and both of those depend on their teeth closing comfortably and completely together.

 

Bite checks are an opportunity for the dentist to check for malocclusions and damage from temporomandibular joint disorders (tmd). Malocclusions, which are misalignments in the teeth, may also be evident through x-rays, but a bite check would alert us if the patient’s jaws are coming together at an angle. TMD both results from and contributes to swelling in the joints where the lower jaw connects to the rest of the skull. Damage to those joints can result in difficulty opening the mouth, pain radiating from the head to the shoulders, and increased pressure on the teeth, causing them to move out of place, lose enamel, or crack.

 

During a bite check, we would ask a patient to demonstrate closing their teeth together. They should be able to close with the back teeth on both sides fitting into each other, and without the front teeth tilting outward. We can provide veneers to fix minor malocclusions on the front teeth, but teeth grinding induced by tmd will leave distinctive wear patterns, and a patient may need to wear a night guard during sleep to protect themselves from it. Correcting more serious malocclusions may require referral to an orthodontist, but we can still teach patients jaw stretching exercises to reduce the strain in their joints in the meantime.

 

The dental office of Suzanne Haeri, DDS, is located at 1100 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, California, 90035. To schedule an appointment, call 310-657-2200 or visit our website at Suzanne Haeri DDS.

Toothroot Decay

Tooth decay is painful, makes it harder to chew and eat, and can put your health at risk if it goes on long enough. But even so, some kinds of tooth decay are even more inconvenient than others. At the South Carthay dental office of Dr. Suzanne Haeri, we provide care for our patients’ general oral health needs. We’re happy to treat patients who are suffering from toothaches, but those who have decay in their tooth roots should be aware that they may need treatment that is a bit different than what they’re used to.

 

Although there are a few reasons why the outer layers of teeth may lose material, “tooth decay” refers to the process of an infection on the tooth’s surface dissolving the part of the tooth surrounding it. Our mouths are home to many species of oral bacteria, only a few of which are harmful to our teeth. But those bacteria secrete acid as part of their cellular respiratory process, and that acid gets stuck on tooth surfaces and in gum pockets. As acid builds up, it dissolves the enamel, which is the hard covering of the crown of a tooth, and the cementum, which is the sticky material that seals a tooth root to the walls of a gum pocket. It also causes gum tissue to disconnect from tooth roots, creating gaps for more bacteria to colonize.

 

You can brush away bacterial infections on the crowns of your teeth, but you won’t be able to remove infections in the gum pockets. For that, you’ll need a deep cleaning. If we find that a patient has decay in their tooth roots, we’ll numb them with a local anesthetic, and then scoop out the decayed material through a process called scaling. We may also smooth down the tooth roots to make them easier to clean in the future, which is called planing. Tooth roots aren’t covered by as thick a layer of enamel as crowns, so decay there will cause sensitivity more quickly. If you’ve felt pain that seemed to be coming from your tooth roots, don’t delay scheduling an appointment.

 

The dental office of Suzanne Haeri, DDS, is located at 1100 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, California, 90035. To schedule an appointment, call 310-657-2200 or visit our website at Suzanne Haeri DDS.

Why You Should Start Your Kids Early At the Dentist

What age is best to begin visiting the dentist? Located in Los Angeles, CA, Dr. Suzanne Haeri recommends 12-months as the ideal age to bring your child into the office. Many parents are surprised at how young this age is, but good dental habits start early. Here are three reasons why early dental visits are better for your child’s oral health.

Prevention
Don’t wait until your child develops cavities to take them to the dentist. Trips to the dentist when your kids are young are beneficial for preventing any oral health issues they are likely to face down the road. Whether it’s cavities, tooth decay, or sensitivities, your Los Angeles, CA dentist is ready to evaluate your child for any signs of poor dental health. Starting your children at 12-months is even better because we can evaluate your son or daughter’s primary teeth. While these teeth are considered baby teeth, they are essential in facilitating the growth and position of permanent teeth. Another advantage to starting dental visits young is the ability to monitor teeth and jaw development. Teeth naturally shift and change as we grow older, and for children, it’s no different. Whether it’s overbite or crowded teeth, the earlier the better it to monitor these issues, so book an appointment today at our office. 

Hygiene Habits

Your toddler begins to eat three meals a day at 12-months old. This means more food is likely to get stuck in the mouth, creating plaque and a higher risk for cavities. By visiting the dentist earlier in their childhood, your son or daughter will not only benefit from our treatments like sealants or crowns that work to remedy these dental issues but also gain a headstart to learning valuable oral hygiene lessons. From flossing techniques to colorful toothbrushes, our dentists are kid-friendly and hands-on to teach your kids the importance of good dental habits. 

Ease Dental Fears

It’s common for children to have fears about the dentist. Taking your kids early to the dentist prepares them for what to expect in the future. Many children are anxious about dental equipment or even the whole process of getting their teeth checked out. Early visits will familiarize them with a new environment and ease any lingering nerves.

To learn about the services we provide at our practice, visit www.suzannehaeridds.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Suzanne Haeri, DDS herself in our Los Angeles, CA office, call 310-657-2200.