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Are Electric Toothbrushes Better? The main question many consumers still have – years after the invention of the electric toothbrush – is are electric toothbrushes even better than a traditional toothbrush? The answer is somewhat complex, but can also be distilled down into an easy yes or no. And the answer, in brief, is yes. The traditional thinking was that the best electric toothbrush would not provide better hygiene than a traditional toothbrush as long as you brushed your teeth thoroughly twice per day, for two minutes at each session. However, new research has shown that the best electric toothbrushes actually beat the traditional brushes. The studies concluded that the best electric toothbrushes got rid of 20% more plaque, and 10% more of gum inflammation when used for over 2 months continuously. While 10% more gum inflammation being removed may not seem like a big deal, removing 20% more plaque…

One of dentistry’s biggest challenges is matching the color of a single central incisor (aka your front tooth) so that your new crown looks natural. To understand why requires a little background on light and color. As you may recall from high school science class, light carries color to our eyes. All the colors we see are the result of light either being reflected or absorbed by whatever object we’re looking at. All light contains every visible color in the spectrum, but we can’t see light at all until it is reflected off of an object. When light hits an object, some colors are absorbed into it. Those not absorbed are reflected back to our eyes as color. Every material reflects light differently. Wood and metal, for example, absorb different amounts of light, so it’s a challenge to make one look like the other. Sometimes, under the right circumstances we…

Dental prostheses usually consist of three components: The first is the implant, which can be thought of as a replacement for the root. The second is the abutment, which fits on the implant and provides a platform for the prosthesis. The third component is the prosthetic tooth itself, which connects to the abutment. Single tooth replacement and bridges require a tooth to be positioned and placed directly over an implant. If the implant is not correctly positioned, the result can be a misshaped tooth that has to be contoured to work with the bite of the opposing teeth, and must also twist and bend to meet and fit with the implant or abutment. The hybrid prosthesis usually consists of a CAD/CAM (computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing) titanium framework that interfaces with the implants or abutments, and connects the implants together with a bar to create a strong, solid and stable…