Cosmetic Dentistry Options for a Beautiful Smiles

When meeting someone new or facing any ordinary day, you want to be able to put your best smile forward! A beautiful smile gives us confidence and reasons to flash those pearly whites! Here in our Fullerton, CA dental office, Dr. Eric M Meyer, DDS offers several cosmetic dentistry options to bring your smile up to where you want it!

If you are looking for bright, white teeth, look no further than our professional whitening systems; BrightSmiles, ZOOM!, and take-home custom whitening trays. Depending on your current level of staining and your lifestyle, Dr. Meyer will choose the system that will work best for you. Our patients often receive smiles 4-10 shades whiter!

If you are looking for a total smile overhaul, we have veneers and Lumineers available. These are thin, ceramic shells that are bonded to your existing teeth. They are fantastic for fixing the look of gapped teeth, misaligned teeth, chips, cracks, discoloration and much more. They are also durable and stain-resistant!

Teeth are not the only part of our mouth that can affect a smile. Gums are also part of our aesthetics. For those who deal with “gummy smile”, the excess gum tissue may make their teeth appear shorter. In this case, we can perform a crown lengthening. This procedure takes away excess gums, uncovering more of the tooth and creating a nice, even gum line.

If you are hiding your smile because of cosmetic issues, be sure to schedule an appointment with Dr. Eric M Meyer to learn about your options! To schedule an appointment at our Fullerton, CA dental practice, call our office at (714) 879-7943 or visit our website, www.fullertondental.com. 

Brushing and Flossing With Braces

Brushing and flossing are essential for clean, healthy teeth. With braces, proper brushing and flossing are a little more complicated, but still vitally important. Dr. Eric M Meyer, DDS of Fullerton, CA wants all of his patients to have their own action plan for great oral care.

When wearing braces, it means that you have brackets that can collect plaque and wires that can prevent you from reaching areas of your teeth. This means you will need to implement some new dental supplies. Make sure you own an interdental cleaner. These are those little tree-like brushes that will allow you to go under the wires to clean the sides of your brackets. Then make sure you are also brushing along the tops and the bottoms of your brackets with a regular toothbrush. You want to be able to see all four sides of a bracket clearly when you are finished; no plaque in sight.

When it comes time for your daily flossing, purchasing Superfloss or floss threaders will help. They help you get the floss underneath your wire easier and faster. Flossing is very important to avoid cavities between teeth. It will also help avoid staining.

Brushing, flossing, and visits to your dentist for a cleaning and examination are all important parts of proper oral health. To schedule your appointment with Dr. Eric M Meyer, DDS, call our Fullerton, CA office at (714) 879-7943 or visit our website, www.fullertondental.com. 

What to Expect After a Crown Application

Any dental procedure will probably introduce some changes in your mouth. Maybe it is just healing time or maybe it is getting used to the feeling of a newly restored tooth. When a dental crown is applied, there are several things you will need to be aware of that Dr. Eric M Meyer, DDS of Fullerton, CA wants you to know.

During the process of applying a crown restoration, you will most likely wear a temporary crown while your permanent crown is being created. We take impressions of your tooth and the surrounding area so that a laboratory can create a custom crown, so it may take a few weeks for the crown to be ready. During the time you are wearing the temporary crown, you want to be careful when eating and cleaning your teeth. Stay away from especially hard or sticky foods, as this may pull on the crown or make it pop off. When brushing and flossing, be gentle on the tooth (you should be brushing gently anyway). When flossing, do not pull up on the floss. Instead, move the floss upward gently by moving the floss back and forth.

After your permanent crown is cemented into place, the gum tissues in the area will need some time to heal. They may feel sore or irritated and there may be some swelling. You can take ibuprofen or rinse with salt water to help with swelling and pain. After a while, the new crown will feel like one of your own teeth.

For more information about dental crowns, feel free to visit our website. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Eric M Meyer, DDS, of Fullerton, CA, call us at (714) 879-7943 or visit our website, www.fullertondental.com. 

Do You Clean Your Tongue?

When brushing your teeth, do you clean your tongue? It is a simple, but often skipped step that your oral health can really benefit from. Dr. Eric M Meyer, DDS of Fullerton, CA is committed to healthy mouths for all of his patients. Keep reading to learn how to clean your tongue and why it is important.

The tongue is a harbor for bacteria. With tiny, hair-like taste buds, bacteria can become trapped, leading to more plaque, more cavities, and bad breath! Just like how plaque can form a thin film over the teeth, a thin, bacterial film can also form over the tongue. You should clean your tongue each time you clean your teeth.

To clean your tongue, you only need your toothbrush. There are, however, tongue scrapers on the market where most dental supplies are sold. They are usually plastic or metal and do about the same job as a toothbrush.

Take your toothbrush or tongue scraper and place it on the back of your tongue, press down firmly and drag the toothbrush down towards the tip of your tongue. Do not press down hard; this may injure taste buds. Just press firmly. You can usually see the color of the film when you rinse your toothbrush off. Scrape your tongue a few times until it looks clean, rinsing your toothbrush or tongue scraper after each stroke.

By cleaning your tongue, you are on your way to a cleaner, healthier mouth (and fresher breath)! To schedule an appointment with Dr. Eric M Meyer, DDS of Fullerton, CA, call our office at (714) 879-7943 or visit our website, www.fullertondental.com.