Dr. Dania Montejo-Sosa

Hello hope you you are doing well. To answer your question removing calculus/tartar from your teeth requires the proper instruments and preferably an ultrasonic scaler which removes tartar from teeth with a high speed vibration. It also requires that the person doing the prophylaxis has the proper hand skills and knowledge of the anatomy of the oral cavity and tooth morphology in order to remove it effectively and properly without damaging the surrounding tissue.

Hi hope you are doing well. There are many different types of esthetic crowns. Lithium disilicate (Emax crowns ) which is a glass ceramic material or a combination of porcelain and zirconia (Lava crowns) are great options.

Hello I hope you are doing better. Some patients report feeling soreness in the throat area after dental appointments. This could be attributed to the local anesthetic injections you received during treatment. Another possibility is the suction/saliva ejector that is used during treatment which can cause irritation to the back of the throat. Another more rare possibility is the appearance of a herpes labialis lesion. Patients that get fever blisters or cold sores which is thought to be caused by the herpes simplex virus (type one) usually present on the lips but can also present anywhere in the oral cavity usually brought on by some type of irritation including dental work. This virus lives latent in the nerves near the face and erupt after different types of stress both emotional or physical such as sun exposure , cold weather or dental treatment.

Hello I hope you are feeling well. Yes Invisalign can provide permanent orthodontic results.

Hello I hope you’re feeling well. You should be feeling results after 2 to 3 days of use. Your sensitivity is still present I recommend you visit your dentist to rule out the presence of decay. Also there are other treatment modalities that your dentist can offer you.

Hello I hope you’re feeling well. Gingivitis is swelling of the gingiva, the soft tissue surrounding the teeth it is caused by various Types of bacteria that live in the human oral cavity. Gingivitis usually resolves within a few days after a dental cleaning/prophylaxis however it is important to note that without treatment, gingivitis can be the beginning stage that leads to a more serious infection/malady called periodontitis also known as periodontal disease.

Hello I hope you’re feeling well. There are many different types of problems that arise in the soft tissue of the oral cavity. They can be caused by a tooth which Is infected normally caused by a large caries lesion also known a big cavity. Once the cavity has gone deep enough into the tooth it infects the nerve. This can lead to a lesion on the gums. There are other common dental problems such as gingivitis or periodontitis that cause swelling of the gums however these are usually asymptomatic unless an abscess has developed.

Hello I hope you are feeling well. There are many factors that come into play when deciding if a bridge can be repaired. Some of these include how long the bridge has been in the mouth, if there is caries or decay present surrounding the bridge, how large the fracture is, where the fracture is present in the mouth that is is it on a biting surface etc and what type of material the bridges are made of. In general most composite materials known as bonding have limited bonding capabilities long term to porcelain however small porcelain repairs can be successful with bonding/composite materials.

Hello I hope you are feeling well. There are many factors that are taken into account when developing a treatment plan for a well designed prosthesis for an edentulous patient. Some of these factors include quantity and quality of bone present in the edentulous arch (remaining gums), how long the patient has been edentulous (without teeth) the anatomical landmarks present near the sites where implant need to be place such as the maxillary sinus cavity and the nerves that innervate (give feeling to) the mandible and what type of prosthetic device will be used. For instance, will it be removable or fixed and how long the implants will be depending amount of bone and anatomical landmarks present.
Generally speaking the upper prosthetic device if it is going to be fixed meaning not removable by the patient only the dentist needs 6 implants but in some cases can be accomplished with four implants. The lower arch can usually be restored with 4 implants depending on bone quality and quantity.
Bone can be grafted in certain cases in order to increase bone height and successful case outcome. There are other factors that can also affect the complexity of each individual case which can only be properly decided after clinical exam diagnosis, xrays, ct scans and proper treatment planning.

Hello I hope you are feeling well. Dry sockets develop soon after tooth extraction within the first 3 or 4 days. It is caused by a poor formation of the blood clot. Only a small percentage of tooth extractions develop dry sockets however when it does develop the pain can be quite severe that will usually not resolve until after it has been treated. The treatment consist of removing the poor developed blood clot in order to create new blood supply and clot to the alveolus.

Hello I hope you’re feeling well. Yes, just about any tooth in the mouth can be crowned.

That is a great question, here’s why. Most people dont know that Bruxism (grinding your teeth) can become a very serious condition. The extent of the force and the length of time at which a patient will grind his/her teeth will be what dictates how serious the condition will become. In severe cases patients wear the teeth all the way into the nerve canal, which can only be treated by endodontic therapy (root canal) and crowns. If you grind enough teeth down to that extent you could end up loosing so much overall tooth structure on many or all the teeth that your entire mouth could become overclosed (loss of vertical dimension). This condition could lead to problems with fungal infections at the corners of the mouth (angular cheilosis) due to saliva seeping into those areas which cause redness, swelling,cracking, scaling and pain. Loss of the normal facial dimensions can also lead to other conditions, like difficulty swallowing, premature older appearance and TMD (temporomandibular dysfunction and chronic headaches. Once you have lost the space between your jaws the only way to restore teeth to there natural size and shape is with crowns., which many times requires all of the teeth to be crowned in order to open the bite evenly. In other words, not just one tooth can be fixed, requiring the patient to have to have full mouth rehabilitation which can be time consuming and very costly.
There are a few causes for bruxism, one of them being stress and psychological problems and sleep disorders.
Managing stress and sleep disorders as well as talking to your dentist about getting a custom fitted night guard are all important to consider in order to treat Bruxism.