Healthy smiles are happy smiles — but despite this fact, many Americans don’t visit the dentist as often as they should. Thanks to dental insurance, most can afford to visit the dentist, yet they still don’t. This could be due to a number of reasons. Unfortunately, many have misconceptions about their dentists and are afraid — or for that matter, they’re afraid for no reason at all. Another issue that people have with going to the dentist is that, ironically, they’re often self-conscious about someone seeing their teeth so closely. While a dentist will not judge your teeth — aside from evaluating them in a medical sense — and is the best person to fix any dental issues, it can still be intimidating to “bare all”, dentally speaking! Luckily, many seemingly major teeth issues can be fixed in a fairly simple manner. Your local dentist can probably help you in ways that you wouldn’t even imagine. You may think that your dental issue is impossible to fix, but this is far from the truth. For that matter, there are often multiple solutions to one problem. If your teeth are crooked, you don’t have to have traditional braces; metal-free dentistry does exist. Oral surgery doesn’t equal “going under the knife” the way you might think it does. For that matter, if you do want mend an issue that is purely cosmetic — a dentist can help you do that as well. Below, we’ll take a look at common dental problems and how they can be solved.
Dental Implants: Less Intimidating Than You’d Think
While tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body, there are plenty of ways in which it can chip or break. Some people lose teeth in sudden accidents — they might fall and lose multiple teeth at once, or simple one. Some lose teeth because of poor dental care — this is nothing for you to be ashamed of. We all make mistakes, and some don’t have the same access to dental care as others. The NCDR estimates that seniors over the age of 65 have an average of just 18.5 remaining teeth — yes, some really do lose teeth just in the process of aging. In fact, it’s believed that about 3.75% of Americans have no remaining teeth at all. Luckily, there is a solution to this problem that is very successful — and that solution is dental implants. Dental implants can replace one or multiple teeth on a fairly permanent basis; while they may have to be replaced eventually, they are meant to be long-term solutions. Dental implants are relatively painless, and can be done fairly quickly with a short recovery time. These implants have a success rate of 98%, and can truly change a person’s life. Now, it’s believed that 10% of dentists perform this procedure — see if your dentist does as well, or if they can refer you to a dentist who does!
Teeth Whitening: Simple And Easy
Many of us have issues with discoloration in our teeth. Discoloration can happen for a variety of reasons — coffee, which many of us drink at least once a day, is responsible for a lot of teeth staining issues. Of course, typical foods can stain our teeth too, as many contain acids responsible for discoloration. Some turn to home teeth whitening kits to treat this issue, but in fact these kits are often ineffective, wastes of money, and can even damage your teeth. Luckily, many dentists offer teeth whitening procedures; they’ve gone up by 300% in the U.S. over the last five years.
Invisible Braces
Braces are dreaded by many adults. Often, we regret not getting them when we were children — but now, having a mouth full of metal seems embarrassing. Luckily, you don’t need to have these types of braces at all. Invisible braces accomplish the same effect, while being effectively invisible to the naked eye.
