Dr. Louis Paul Sterling, DDS

Bonding will not bleach. The color of the bonding will remain constant. Only natural tooth structure will respond to the bleaching solution.

The surface of a healthy tooth is hard. A cavity is a soft spot in your tooth. If left untreated, it will get larger and larger. You cannot brush away a cavity.

If you have a small cavity, waiting one month should be no problem. With a larger cavity, you may develop pain if you wait too long.

Depends on the reason for the pain. If you have a deep cavity in your wisdom tooth and you have a toothache because of the cavity, it will just continue to be painful. Alternately the source of the pain may be your gum around the wisdom tooth. Often times the tooth erupts slowly and while it is erupting into your mouth, a flap of your gum remains covering the tooth. This flap can become irritated, inflamed and infected causing pain. This can happen because debris can become trapped between the gum and tooth or you can actually begin biting this flap of gum between your upper and lower wisdom teeth. This gum pain can be made to feel better by rinsing with 1/2 tsp salt in 12 oz of warm water (several times each day). Either way, if you have pain being caused by your wisdom teeth, it is better to have them removed.

That's a very interesting question. You may have learned about the laws of nature a long time ago in school. One of nature's laws states simply that "Entropy increases". Entropy is the degree of disorder. It is natural for things (teeth included) to become more disordered (or crooked) NOT straighter. So the unfortunate answer to your question is that there is nothing you can do to naturally straighten your teeth. But left to themselves they will become more disordered (crooked). The only way to straighten your teeth is by having some kind of orthodontic treatment.
The only way they will remain straight is to wear a retainer forever!

Firstly and most importantly, no rinsing or spitting for the first 24 hours after dental surgery. You may spit out the clot that forms in the first stage of healing. This will cause increased bleeding and slow your healing. Once 24 hours have passed, you can begin rinsing with warm salt water (1/2 tsp per 12 oz warm water) every 2-3 hours. I also advocate the use of an OTC rinse called Healthy Gums. It is produced by a company called The Natural Dentist. It is a great rinse for all kinds of intraoral irritations and sores. Very healing and soothing.

One time is not an issue. If this is a constant habit, it will allow for a much greater probability for oral disease (cavities, gum disease).

You can eat immediately after having your tooth bonded. If you receive a local anesthetic injection, you might want to wait for its effects to wear off before eating. But, the bonded tooth is ready for function immediately.

I am unaware of any documented studies that link gum pain to Covid-19. There are some documented cases of people suffering from sores on their soft palate while also suffering from Covid -19.

Drinking diluted cider vinegar should have no effect on dental implants. Implants are fully embedded in your jaw bone and are not exposed to the oral cavity.

Various blood issues can affect your mouth. This includes your gums, palate, skin inside your cheeks and tongue. Your teeth are typically not affected by blood problems as they are composed of hard tissue with a very limited blood supply to the pulp.

Absolutely. Diabetes can cause dry mouth and diminished blood supply to your gums. Both of these conditions can result in gum disease, excessive cavities, bad breath and difficulty talking and swallowing.

Absolutely! Dentures must be properly disinfected, brushed and cleaned daily to prevent tarter accumulation. Tarter on dentures is tedious and difficult to remove. It's much easier to prevent than remove.

Not recommended. Plain water is the only thing you should eat or drink.

Complicated answer. Both have pros and cons. Bonding is used for minor modifications to teeth. It can be used to close spaces, fill cavities and alter the appearance of teeth. It can sometimes be reversible (you can remove it to restore spaces between). It is much cheaper to have done than veneers. It does not require lab work, so it can often be done in one visit. It is not as strong, long lasting or as beautiful, when completed, as porcelain laminates. They are a more conservative procedure, as not as much (if any) tooth preparation is required before bonding. Porcelain laminates are created by a laboratory from impressions made from your teeth. They typically need more than one visit to complete. They are never reversible. Once you have laminates, you will always need laminates (or crowns). You can never return to your natural teeth. When done properly, they are beautiful, lifelike and strong. They far outlast bonding. They are also much more expensive because they involve the use of a dental lab. They require more preparation (reduction) of your teeth than bonding because you need to have enough room on the face of your teeth to have the porcelain bonded. If the teeth are not sufficiently reduced, your laminates will be overly bulky. You may not be able to close your lips properly or speak properly. Your gums will become red and inflamed as you trap plaque and food debris at the margins of your veneers. Well done bonding can last from 4-8years. Well done veneers can last from 10-20 years before needing replacement. Depending on home & dental care and eating habits.

Cleaning under an implant Bridge can be done three different ways. In addition to a regular toothbrush, you can use a waterpik, super floss or a proxy brush. All three items will dislodge debris from under your Bridge. You can't find samples of using each of these items on YouTube.

The same tooth can need and have root canal treatment more than once. The seal at the end of the tooth can fail and a reinfection can occur years after the tooth is first treated successfully. If a previously treated tooth becomes reinfected and if the tooth is savable (not cracked or decayed), retreating the root canal is the treatment of first choice.

Most tooth infections are embedded within the bone or tooth. So, this bacteria is typically not transferable from person to person. However, depending on the kind of kiss, the bacteria responsible for gum disease is easily transferable from person to person.

The best oral care regimen for all-on-four consists of: regular tooth brushing + water pik to flush out from around and under the bridge + proxabrush use to clean around the crowns. Finally a rinse like "Healthy Gums" or "Listerine" will complete the job. Using this 4 step apporach, along with regular professional cleanings, should keep you in good shape.

While the answer will vary depending on who you ask, there is no disputing the fact that there is more research and a longer proven record of success with titanium implants than ceramic implants.