Category: Blog

Periodontal disease can become quite a serious matter if it is not addressed when it begins. This can start with something simple as mild gum inflammation but can build up into something that essentially corrodes the bone under the gum line away over time if it’s not treated and addressed properly. The best way to address this is regular dental visits every 6 months as is required by the American Dental Association (ADA) for optimal oral health. This can be more often if you have special conditions or issues that need to be addressed as well.

More importantly, advanced periodontal issues can cause sicknesses and illnesses can result from periodontal can make you physically sick by allowing various bacteria into your body that can cause illness.

What Causes Bone Loss?

Bone loss is the result of an untreated periodontal disease that has permeated the gums and gotten into the bone of the jaw’s structure. Bacteria from gingivitis penetrates the gums and gets into the bone structure. The bacteria wear away at the bone structure below the gum line and causes the bone to corrode away, which later can result in loosened teeth and sometimes in extreme cases loss of teeth entirely.

As plaque fills those crevices it starts to become toxic to the bone structure surrounding it. Therefore, the bone begins to corrode away over time.

How Do You Treat Bone Loss?

Bone loss cannot be reversed but saving it from getting worse begins by addressing the periodontal disease the person is suffering from. Clearing up the infection is the first step. Your dentist will have to perform root planning and scaling to help get the plaque beneath the gum line cleaned out! There will likely be one of the following procedures ensuring:

• Pocket reduction where the size of the pocket under the gums is reset under your teeth
• Tooth removal and replacement for loose teeth
• Bone reshaping which includes smoothing bones to avoid dips in the bone where more plaque could collect in the future
• Bone regeneration using bone grafts or synthetic bone to fill in the areas that were created to fill in the portion of the bone lost

Will I Ever Have a Functional Smile Again?

The healing process will take time and it may feel overwhelming to you at some points but bone can be regenerated or grafted through our team here at Ramona Dentistry of Chino is committed to working with you to help restore your smile and offer solutions to your specific situations such as dental implants or dentures.

If you are seeking treatment for a periodontal disease you can always reach out to use here at Ramona Dentistry. It’s our pleasure to provide you complete and affordable services to help you restore the smile of your dreams!

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about us visit us here or call us 909-465-1016. The Ramona Dentistry Team “Where Family Comes First”

Trying to decide between composite and amalgam fillings has been a continuing decision dental patients that need a filling have had to continue to try to make. Here are 3 reasons that it is argued the composite filling beats out the amalgams:

Composite Fillings Are Less Invasive:

Tooth-colored composites can be bonded right to the surface of the tooth which means only the decayed enamel needs to be removed. The rest can stay in place to protect the surrounding tooth from another possible cavity. Silver amalgams, however, require the healthy tooth to be removed before it can be wedged in to cover the damaged part of the tooth.

Composite Fillings Can Go Where Silver Fillings Cannot:

As the composite fillings are directly bonded to the teeth they are able to go in places the silver ones cannot go. They are able to hold themselves in place and are able to cover smooth surfaces on the teeth or the biting edges that may have chipped or decayed with wear overt time.

They Are Available in Many Shades Ensuring a Perfect Color Match:

Repairing your cavity with a composite filling will give you the look of a more natural, healthy-looking tooth. Amalgams are dark and pretty obvious when they are in the mouth, whereas composite resin fillings are very subtle if at all noticeable. It provides a more confident smile for the people who have to have them!

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about us visit us here or call us 909-465-1016. The Ramona Dentistry Team “Where Family Comes First”

Courtesy of recent technological advancements there is more options for dental patients today than ever before when it comes to filling cavities. Today there are many naturally-colored options that blend right in with your natural teeth available. Some are resin-based while others are still traditional fillings made of metal amalgam materials. The new materials are much more aesthetic looking and also much more durable so they will almost always last longer. These metals are even better when there are teeth in the back of the mouth receiving the most wear that need filled!

What Is a Dental Amalgam?

Dental amalgams are the silver fillings that used to be used on all teeth back before other materials that were more naturally-colored became available. Mercury is about 50% of the compound used in dental amalgams and the metals are bound together in a tight seal for tighter fits and a longer durability. Mercury still continues to be the only compound that can hold these fillings together well enough to be used in fillings for teeth yet allowing the material to be manipulated easily enough to fit into the tooth to fill a cavity.

Dentists will often prefer dental amalgams as they are easier to work with than their newer alternatives. These are also considered stronger than the amalgam’s resin-based counterparts. It is estimated that well over 1 billion amalgam-based filling are used annually in the dental industry.

What Are Resin-Composite Fillings?

Resin composite fillings are made of ceramic compounds and are very close to the natural color of the surrounding teeth so the fillings look much less obvious. These have been used in teeth for years. When they first came out dentists often refused to use them for various reasons. Resins are often considered less durable than the amalgams as they are subject to heavy wear such as chewing and grinding they tend to wear much faster than their amalgam counterparts. The average lifespan of an amalgam is about 8-10 years but can last up to 20 years if taken appropriate care of.

Amalgams are one of the best substances to fill a tooth with when the dentist needs to fill areas that are difficult to keep dry like molars or cavities (back teeth) at the time line. Resin is harder to put on as the tooth must be completely dry for it to stick where it’s meant to and clinical experience still shows amalgams are the best for long-term durability and a long-term result for the filling.

Resin fillings are also much more expensive than the traditional amalgams such as that some insurances will pay for it some will not.

Resin is usually offered for front teeth and more amalgams are recommended for the bigger teeth such as the molars.

ADA & FDA Recommendations for Fillings:

Far as the ADA and FDA go in the recommending of fillings the dental amalgam has the 150-year track record of being the safest and most durable filling that is able to be offered by patients. The past 100-year study has proven that the level of mercury in the filling is low enough that it is not likely to affect the health of the patient it is being used upon.

Deciding which filling is the best for the patient is the decision made by the patient and the dentist. Check with your dental insurance to see if resin fillings are covered and if not realize how costly they may be to pay for out-of-pocket. The front teeth can usually use resin-based fillings where the back teeth such as molars will use amalgams but the decision ultimately comes down to what is best for the dentist and patient using the filling at that time.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about us visit us here or call us 909-465-1016. The Ramona Dentistry Team “Where Family Comes First”