Monthly Archives: June 2017

When You Don’t Qualify for Teeth Whitening | Palm Harbor Dentist

We all want a bright white smile, but not everyone is an ideal candidate for teeth whitening. This is mainly due to tooth colored fillings, crowns or bonding on your front teeth. The whitening gel cannot change the color of these types of dental materials. In such cases, patients may want to look into alternative options, such as veneers or dental bonding.

Dental veneers are thin pieces of porcelain or plastic that are bonded to the front of your teeth to improve their appearance or function. Veneers can aid in improving teeth that are severely discolored, chipped or misshaped. Veneers are stain-resistant to classic stains, making them a very popular option for people looking to have a perfect smile.

Dental bonding uses a tooth-colored composite resin to restore teeth that are chipped or broken, slightly gapped, discolored or misshapen. Bonding can also be used as a cosmetic alternative to silver fillings. After applying a mild etching solution that slightly roughens the surface of your tooth and allows the bonding material to adhere, your dentist will apply the composite resin and will begin to sculpt and shape the bonding material. Following the sculpting, your dentist will use a high-intensity light to harden the material and then finely polish the restoration.

Several patients choose bonding over silver fillings due to it looking more natural. The material can be match to your natural tooth color. But, because the bonding material is more porous, smokers will see that it yellows so curbing that habit is a great idea.

If you’re interested in learning more about teeth whitening options, contact Dr. Larry Lieberman, DDS at 727-785-8017 to schedule a consultation today. Or visit www.dentist-lieberman.com for additional information.

Dr. Larry Lieberman proudly accepts patients from Safety Harbor, Palm Harbor, Clearwater, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs and surrounding areas.

Why Botox Is Used in Dentistry | Palm Harbor Dentist

Botox injections is the best known among a group of drugs using various forms of botulinum toxin, a toxin that’s produced by the same microbe that causes botulism, a type of food poisoning. It’s used in treating all sorts of condition in the medical field because of the temporary paralysis of muscle activity, making it very useful for things like as cervical dystonia or repetitive neck spasms, excessive sweating and overactive bladder. Though, there are also cases where Botox was used in treating crossed eyes, as well as chronic migraines. Most prominently, however, Botox is to help make people look younger by reducing the appearance of certain facial wrinkles.

Still, you’ll wonder, what does that have to do with Botox earning a place in dentistry? It’s not like teeth have wrinkles, right? Well, not exactly, but our jaws do have muscles and they’re prone to suffering from constant muscle spasms. Conditions such as bruxism, TMJ and others involving facial pain have been proven to benefit from Botox injections, though not all dentists are aware of this.

Safe for treating conditions involving facial pain, Botox injections may also prove useful in many other dental cases. In orthodontics, the teeth of patients with strong mentalis muscles are prone reverting back to pre-therapy positions. Not only that, but local anesthesia, which is far more frequently used by dentists, is also a lot more dangerous and have greater potential for complications, as well as negative reactions compared to Botox or dermal fillers.

If you’re interested in learning more about Botox, contact Dr. Larry Lieberman, DDS at 727-785-8017 to schedule a consultation today. Or visit www.dentist-lieberman.com for additional information.

Dr. Larry Lieberman proudly accepts patients from Safety Harbor, Palm Harbor, Clearwater, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs and surrounding areas.