Treating Your Everyday Smile Concerns
Do you consciously keep your lips together when you smile, or even cover your mouth while smiling, due to being embarrassed by how your mouth looks? Do you have other persistent conditions that you wish you could do something about? Far too many people are dissatisfied with their oral health and even refrain from smiling or cover their mouths, rather than suffer the embarrassment of an imperfect smile. Don’t let your smile hold you back from showing who you are and your personality! At Tri-Cities Periodontists and Implants center, we are dedicated to achieving the smile you want.
Even the Small Things Matter!
At Tri-Cities Periodontist & Implants center, we are dedicated to making your smile shine and to also make it healthy. During your visits we want to here from you and any issues that you may be experiencing when it comes to your oral health. Whether you are wanting to whiten your teeth or may be experiencing gum disease; everything counts! In Kennewick, WA, we treat the following conditions:
Bad Breath
Occasional bad breath after eating a spicy or garlicky meal, or upon waking up in the morning, is normal and can generally be remedied with mints or by brushing your teeth. However, if you have constant bad breath (known as halitosis) accompanied by gums that bleed easily, a bad taste in your mouth, sensitive or loose teeth, and gum recession, the cause may be something more ominous: gum disease. Eventually, untreated gum disease may cause tooth loss, compromise your immune system and aggravate existing medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Advanced cases of gum disease have even been linked to heart attack and stroke! Our team at Tri-Cities Periodontists and Implants center can treat your bad breath in Kennewick, WA, by performing customized gum disease treatments to eliminate bacteria and infection, restoring proper health to your mouth.
Bleeding Gums
If your gums bleed easily when you brush and floss, you’re experiencing one of the most common symptoms of gum disease. When plaque is allowed to harden into tartar, it releases bacteria that irritate the gums. This can cause your gums to bleed easily and appear red and swollen. Over time, your gums will recede and pull away from your teeth, creating more space for bacteria and tartar to collect—and eventually, gum disease can become uncurable! Advanced stages of gum disease are linked to systemic health complications, including respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, and even heart attack and stroke! You may also find it increasingly difficult to control pre-existing medical conditions, such as diabetes. It’s critical to your oral health and physical well-being that you seek treatment at the first sign of swollen and/or bleeding gums. If you have bleeding gums in Kennewick, WA, reach out to our experienced team at Tri-Cities Periodontists and Implants center. There are many surgical and non-surgical procedures available that can treat and monitor your gum disease. Once you’ve been evaluated, our team will determine if you need one or more of these treatments.
Gum Disease
Red, receding or tender gums, sensitive teeth, and pockets forming between the gums and teeth are all signs of gum disease. Brushing and flossing twice daily, in addition to having regular checkups and professional cleanings at [Practice Name], are critical to maintaining your dental health. By following recommended dental hygiene routines, you eliminate harmful oral bacteria which, when allowed to flourish, can cause gum disease or periodontal disease. Untreated, gum disease can lead to tooth loss, jawbone recession, and even serious whole-body health problems like cardiovascular disease! It’s also been linked to systemic health issues including respiratory disease, diabetes, pregnancy complications, and even heart disease, stroke and cancer! With all the dangers that gum disease can present, it’s easy to see why you should see your periodontist in Kennewick, WA, and get help at the first sign of symptoms!
The extraction process for most teeth is fairly straightforward. After making you comfortable with anesthesia, we grip the tooth firmly with a pair of forceps and carefully pull it loose from the socket. Unless it’s a wisdom tooth, a tooth should be replaced once it’s removed, in order to restore the function and esthetics of your smile, as well as to protect your jaw from deterioration. Dental implants are the best overall tooth replacement option, not just in terms of function and esthetics, but also for long-lasting performance.
Chronic Gum Disease
At this stage of gum disease, you’ve lost significant soft tissue and bone, and maybe even teeth, as bacteria from calculus buildup continues to destroy your oral structures. As pockets deepen around your teeth, more calculus and bacteria will accumulate, creating a dangerous and chronic cycle of infection and inflammation. Seeking treatment for periodontitis, or any stage of chronic gum disease in Kennewick, WA removes the bacteria from your mouth so it can no longer harm your oral structures or travel throughout your body. Periodontists are the only dental specialists who have focused education and training in treating soft tissue conditions like chronic gum disease. At Tri-Cities Periodontists and Implants center, we have the expertise to not only provide personalized treatment, but training in related procedures as well, including gum grafting, bone grafting, and tooth extractions.
Dental implants, recognized as today’s “gold standard” for tooth replacement, can prevent you from experiencing any of those issues. If you follow a tooth extraction or trauma-related tooth loss with dental implant placement, you can continue eating the foods you love, speak and smile without embarrassment, and even significantly boost your self-confidence. All this can be yours, since nothing looks more authentic or lasts longer than our dental implants in Kennewick, WA. Even if you’ve already begun to suffer bone loss, our team of board-certified dentists can reverse it through bone grafting before placing your dental implants.
Gummy Smile
A great smile is noticeably healthy and attractive. The teeth are all whole, aligned and shiny. But there’s another aspect to a smile that many people don’t think of: the gum tissue. Gums don’t just provide a protective barrier for your teeth, they contribute to your smile and overall look. Ideally, they feel comfortable, maintain a healthy shade of pink, and are in good proportion to the teeth they protect. If they dominate your smile, make your teeth look short, or make you feel self-conscious, you may need treatment for a gummy smile. Our periodontist at Tri-Cities Periodontists and Implants center offers precise gum recontouring at our state-of-the-art practice in Kennewick, WA. With years of experience helping our patients achieve cosmetically appealing smiles, our periodontist can typically complete gummy smile treatment in just one office visit, so we encourage you to consider just how easy an attractive smile with a balanced gumline can be.
Fortunately, our team of board-certified dentists is extensively trained in treating even the most severe cases of bone loss. We’re able to give new teeth and a new life to patients who may otherwise have to settle for living without teeth. Beyond single and full mouth dental implant solutions with bone grafting treatment plans, we also offer zygomatic dental implants. These specialized implants can help patients who have lost a significant amount of bone. Placed in specialized facial bone beyond the jawbone, zygomatic implants are precisely placed for lasting security.
Missing or Falling teeth
If you’ve lost teeth, you might only be able to eat soft foods, you might not be able to speak clearly and naturally, and your face may have even taken on a sunken appearance. It’s likely that your failing teeth have affected your self-esteem, as well. Apart from the ways tooth loss can decrease your quality of life, it can also trigger a sort of “domino effect” in your health. Without natural tooth roots stimulating healthy bone growth, the bone beneath the empty tooth socket will begin to deteriorate. This can spread, and even lead to additional tooth loss in adjacent teeth! The good news is that there are many solutions to recover your smile at Tri-Cities Periodontists and Implants center, including dental bridges and dental implants, which offer jaw protection and the function and esthetics of real teeth. If you have failing or missing teeth in Kennewick, WA, give us a call, and our knowledgeable periodontist will help you find the tooth replacement solution you need for a complete, confident and healthy smile!
While jaw misalignment can sometimes be alleviated by orthodontia or the use of a mouthguard, severe misalignments may require surgery. Whether your jaws are out of alignment or your facial features are uneven, our skilled and experienced team can correct those issues and allow you to enjoy a more comfortable and confident life. As dentists, we’re qualified to effectively treat complex and even medically compromised cases through jaw surgery.
Cysts and Tumors of the Face and Jaw
The presence of cysts or tumors on your face and in your jaws can be frightening, and can also cause you significant discomfort. Sometimes they’re not as bad as they seem, but you won’t know until they’ve been professionally assessed. The best way to find out is to have an evaluation done by our team. We can diagnose the issue through advanced imaging or through a biopsy, during which we remove a portion of the growth for lab analysis.
Based on our determinations, we may recommend jaw surgery, medical therapy or a combination of both. Surgery may involve the removal of the cyst or tumor, as well as portions of the jawbone, teeth and soft tissue. As highly trained dentists, we’re acknowledged experts in these types of procedures, and as a follow-up to surgery, we can provide all the necessary treatments (such as bone grafting to restore your jawbone and dental implants to replace the function and beauty of your missing teeth) to allow you to live a normal, comfortable life!
