• Five Tips for Preventing Periodontal Disease

    Periodontal disease is a sneaky condition. Even people who brush and floss daily are not immune, and people are often unaware that there is a problem until the disease has become serious. When left untreated, periodontal disease, or gum disease, can lead to infections, gum pain, and tooth loss. In fact, periodontal disease can have an impact on the overall health of your body, because it has been associated with a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, and even cancer. Nearly half of the population of the United States has gum disease, but there is good news. With a few simple precautions, you can protect your mouth from periodontal disease.

    • Clean your teeth thoroughly. At least twice a day, brush your teeth for at least two minutes to remove food debris and plaque. While you’re brushing, make sure to brush your tongue, where bacteria loves to hide. Swish with mouthwash after brushing, to reduce plaque and remove particles that may have been missed, and floss at least once a day.
    • Visit your dentist regularly. At least once a year, have your teeth cleaned by professionals. Dentists have the necessary professional cleaning tools to get rid of plaque and tartar on your teeth and in your gums. Your dentist can also discover signs of periodontal disease, and advise you on how best to care for your teeth.
    • Understand your risk of periodontal disease. Your risk for periodontal disease increases as you age, but smoking, diet, and genetics also play a part. If you are at increased risk, bring this up with your dentist. He or she may recommend a visit to the periodontist.
    • Quit the bad habits that are putting you at risk. Smoking, eating a lot of sugar, and eating late at night are all habits that increase your risk of gum disease. If you must have a snack after you’ve brushed your teeth for the night, brush them again so that food particles don’t stay in your mouth overnight.
    • Keep an eye on your teeth. Look for early signs of periodontal disease, because as the disease progresses, it gets worse and does more damage. Pay special attention to gums that bleed when you brush or floss, seeing your dentist to report this as soon as possible.

    If gum disease progresses to an advanced stage, your dentist may recommend periodontal therapy. This requires multiple appointments, treating one region of the mouth at a time while the area is numb. Tartar, plaque, and toxins are removed from above and below the gum tissue, and rough spots on root surfaces are smoothed. This allows the gum tissue to heal and periodontal pockets to shrink. In some cases, periodontal disease must be treated with surgery. In a surgical procedure known as flap surgery, the doctor pulls apart the gum and removes tartar from deep pockets. It’s much easier and less expensive to care for your teeth properly before it gets to that point and to have regular appointments with a well-qualified dentist.

    At Glenwood Premier Dental, we believe that a healthy, confident smile is an important part of a happy and healthy lifestyle. Our staff of caring professionals is committed to offering a wide range of dental services, exceeding our patients’ expectations, and providing the best possible service. We offer dental exams and teeth cleanings, implant dentistry, Invisalign, laser dentistry, teeth whitening, veneers, and more, using state of the art technology in a comfortable and friendly environment. If you’re looking for dental care in Hazlet, contact us through our website or call 732.264.4477 for more information.

  • Playing the Part of The Perfect Tooth Fairy

    The loss of a child’s first tooth is such a fun milestone! Are you ready for it? For over a century losing a tooth been a rite of passage that involves magic, as the tooth fairy collects a tooth left under the child’s pillow and leaves a small gift in exchange. This used to be a little bit of money, but in the Pinterest age, the game has changed, and being the perfect tooth fairy may require a little bit of creative thinking.

    Before we get to the magic part though, it’s only fair to address something that first-time parents might not have considered. The whole losing a tooth thing is pretty disgusting. First of all, you have a child with a loose tooth, and most of them basically refuse to keep their hands off of it. They wiggle it back and forth, and some of them refuse any assistance until the thing is basically hanging on by a thread. Then, when you finally persuade the child to let you just pull the tooth already, what is your reward? You’re standing there with a tooth in your hand, which is not really something most of us want.

    Once that ordeal is done, and the blood is rinsed down the drain, it’s time for the magic to begin. How do children even know about the tooth fairy? It seems like something they’re born knowing, but if your child wants a tooth fairy origin story, you can find one here, all about how the tooth fairy uses the teeth she collects to build a castle. When your child is sold on the concept of trading teeth for loot, the next step is to determine where to hide the teeth. Under the pillow is traditional, of course, but it’s more challenging than you might think to root around under a child’s pillow in the middle of the night. Consider a cute tooth fairy pillow, with a pocket to securely hold the tooth.

    Now, decide on your ritual. You might want to talk to some friends about the going tooth fairy rate because it can vary pretty widely. Some kids get change, while others get bills, and it’s good to know the consensus in your social circle before you choose something too far off from what your child will hear from the other kids. For older kids, cash is king, but with little kids, you might consider skipping the money in favor of a small trinket, book, or another prize. Remember, though, that whatever you do the first time will set the bar for the rest of your tooth fairy years. If you overshoot, you may regret it about 15 teeth from now.

    There’s more to the tooth fairy than money and prizes, though. Some parents leave notes from the tooth fairy, written with a special pen in some very fancy handwriting, giving advice on dental hygiene. Others leave glitter somewhere, either sprinkled over the bed or in tiny footprints that meander through the house. What your tooth fairy does is up to you, so have fun with it!

    Once you’ve glittered and gifted, you’re left, once again, holding a tooth. What should you do with it? This is another thing that’s entirely up to you, but we suspect that most parents have a secret tooth stash somewhere in the house. It’s a little bittersweet, that first little lost tooth, because it probably seems like just a minute ago that you were watching that tooth grow into your baby’s little pink gums. No one will blame you if you get a little sentimental and decide to hang onto those little teeth.

    From the moment those first teeth erupt into that gummy grin, they’re yours to care for. It’s a big responsibility, so it helps to have a dentist you trust as a partner in your child’s oral health. At Glenwood Premier Dental, we believe that a healthy, confident smile is an important part of a happy and healthy lifestyle. Our staff of caring professionals is committed to offering a wide range of dental services, exceeding our patients’ expectations, and providing the best possible service. We offer dental exams and teeth cleanings, implant dentistry, Invisalign, laser dentistry, teeth whitening, veneers, and more, using state of the art technology in a comfortable and friendly environment.

  • Improve Your Smile With Implants

    How do you feel about your smile? Are you confident enough to flash it openly to the world, or do you think of it as something to be hidden behind closed lips or concealed behind your hand? Smiling makes you look younger and more attractive, boosts the mood of those around you, and can even improve your health by boosting stress-reducing chemicals in your brain. So what’s holding you back? If missing teeth are making you embarrassed about your smile, it may be time to consider dental implants.

    Dental implants are one of many options for replacing a missing tooth, but they’re the best in terms of functionality and aesthetics. Especially if the missing tooth space has no surrounding teeth, a dental implant is the way to go. There are a few different ways that dentists use dental implants:

    • Single implant to replace a single tooth: An implant that replaces a single tooth looks like a screw or cylinder. This is placed in the jaw, and bonds with the jawbone to provide an anchor for a crown. The dentist then uses an abutment as an extension for the new tooth to be attached.
    • Supported removable dentures: Implant dentistry has advanced over the past 25 years, and one of the most important advancements is the development of miniature dental implants, which are used to stabilize dentures. In just one visit, in about an hour, with no cutting of the gums and no stitches, mini dental implants can be placed to support your dentures. There’s very little discomfort involved, and no long-term healing, but the results are impressive. In a procedure that’s benefited thousands of patients, your dentist will place these mini-implants into your jawbone, and then securely attach them to the base of your dentures. It’s a revolutionary solution to loose dentures, allowing you to eat, speak, and smile, comfortably and confidently.
    • Supported bridge: An implant-supported bridge is a great option if you have several teeth that need to be replaced. With a supported bridge, the bone is better preserved than it would be with a fixed bridge or removable partial dentures because it replaces some of the tooth roots that had deteriorated. Getting a supported bridge usually takes two trips to the dentist, during which time your dentist will numb and clean the surrounding teeth and reduce those teeth so that the crowns can be fitted. He or she will then make a mold or impression of the teeth for the creation of a customized permanent impression, which takes a week or two to be ready. The patient is then fitted with a temporary bridge until the permanent bridge is ready for placement, at which point the dentist will remove the temporary bridge and replace it with the permanent one. After that, the bridge just needs to be adjusted for the proper bite and fit, then permanently bonded into the mouth.

    At Glenwood Premier Dental, we believe that a healthy, confident smile is an important part of a happy and healthy lifestyle. Our staff of caring professionals is committed to offering a wide range of dental services, exceeding our patients’ expectations, and providing the best possible service. We offer dental exams and teeth cleanings, implant dentistry, Invisalign, laser dentistry, teeth whitening, veneers, and more, using state of the art technology in a comfortable and friendly environment. If you’re looking for dental care in Hazlet, contact us through our website or call 732.264.4477 for more information.

  • Cosmetic Dentistry Options by Glenwood Premier Dentistry

    If you’re lacking confidence in your smile, have you ever considered cosmetic dentistry? Once the domain of the rich and famous, cosmetic dentistry is now something within the reach of ordinary people. In addition to enhancing the look of your teeth, cosmetic dentistry can improve your teeth’s function, making it not just a confidence booster but also a boon to your quality of life. At Glenwood Premier Dental, we offer top-of-the-line cosmetic dentistry services, using state-of-the-art techniques, to fix chipped, discolored, and even missing teeth, to brighten and beautify your smile.

    Some of the services we offer include:

    • Tooth-colored fillings: Patients used to be limited to amalgam/metal fillings, which looked anything but natural. We now have white fillings, or composites, matched to the natural color of your teeth so that no one will even notice them. You can choose from fillings made of resin or porcelain.
    • Bonding: Dental bonding involves the application of a tooth-colored resin material to your teeth. This resin, a durable plastic material, is applied, shaped, and hardened with a special light that bonds the material to your teeth. It’s used to:
      • Repair decayed teeth and fill cavities
      • Repair chipped or cracked teeth
      • Close spaces between teeth
      • Make teeth appear longer
      • Change the shape of teeth
      • Improve the look of discolored teeth
      • Protect part of a tooth’s root that’s been exposed by receding gum lines
    • Invisalign: Much more convenient than traditional metal braces, Invisalign aligners are removable, clear braces, hand-crafted and designed specifically for your mouth. They gradually shift your teeth into position, without giving the obvious look of braces.
    • Porcelain crowns and veneers: If your tooth is damaged, your dentist might recommend a crown or veneer to cover it. Crowns are thick caps that cover the tooth’s entire exterior, while veneers are thin and only cover the front of the tooth. Porcelain crowns and veneers have a very natural appearance, which makes them a popular option for many people.
    • Teeth whitening: Our professional, in-office teeth whitening procedure allows us to make your teeth several shades lighter in a short timeframe. Our highly-trained cosmetic dentists can help to ensure that your teeth whitening occurs safely and effectively, and if you have any issues like tooth sensitivity, we will properly address them.

    When you’re ready to improve the beauty and function of your mouth through cosmetic dentistry, we’re here to help. At Glenwood Premier Dental, we believe that a healthy, confident smile is an important part of a happy and healthy lifestyle. Our staff of caring professionals is committed to offering a wide range of dental services, exceeding our patients’ expectations, and providing the best possible service. We offer dental exams and teeth cleanings, implant dentistry, Invisalign, laser dentistry, teeth whitening, veneers, and more, using state of the art technology in a comfortable and friendly environment. If you’re looking for dental care in Hazlet, contact us through our website or call 732.264.4477 for more information.