Despite the benefits of a healthy smile, many Americans tend to slack on scheduling regular dental checkups. In our busy lives, it isn’t always easy to remember to make it an appointment to see the dentist. But prioritizing your oral health is key - and can help your overall health as well. Perhaps it has slipped your mind. Maybe you’ve been putting it off because you haven’t noticed any pain or problems with your teeth. We all know how life can easily get in the way! But skipping regular … [Read more...]

There is always the possibility of a skin graft failure or even a rejection with reconstruction surgery. This will certainly be a nuisance for anyone in this situation. While you may make every attempt to prevent it, sometime a failure or rejection may just occur. Much like any other type of transplant, sometimes these failures and rejections cannot be prevented. Preparation and Precautions To minimize the chances of a failure, several guidelines have been put in place to prevent rejections. … [Read more...]

A dental implant is the best long term solution for a missing tooth. Most people worry about dental implants because they associate them with other types of implants. Dental implants are made in a single session and without any pain. Let's learn more about them in this article about dental implant frequently asked questions. What is a dental implant? The dental implant is a metal piece like a screw, located in the jaw bone or mandible in the former dental root to help replace one or more … [Read more...]

Dental Implant Consultation The dental implant process begins with a consultation from an implant specialist. Your general dentist may not be the person to perform this consultation. Be sure to ask whether they have experience in this process. There are some dentists that perform the entire procedure including surgery. It may seem easier to see a "one-stop-shop" dentist who does it all him or herself. In our opinion, this is not always advisable. Be sure to thoroughly vet their professional … [Read more...]

Dental implant failure is very rare. In fact, dental implant surgery has a success rate of 95%. When surgical failures happen, they are typically due to improper patient selection. Causes of Failure Implants fail for numerous reasons. Causes include biological or microbiological factors, biomechanical factors, biomaterial factors, and implant surface treatments. Potential complications involved in the dental implant procedure are nerve damage, infection, the body's rejection of the implant and … [Read more...]

A dental flipper is a type of removable partial dentures, or "removable partials." All removable partials, including dental flippers, use standard acrylic denture teeth to replace missing natural teeth. The pink base or "plate" portion of a partial denture is an acrylic material identical to the base used in standard full dentures. The Fabrication Several steps are required to fabricate a dental flipper. First, the dentist or dental technician makes an impression of the patient's existing … [Read more...]

A common question that we run into is, "how do I get over the fear of getting my wisdom teeth pulled?" We often hear our Los Angeles and Beverly Hills patients saying that they're down-right "scared of wisdom teeth extraction." Some even say they would rather deal with the pain than the procedure! Being afraid of your oral surgeon and the procedure done is mostly irrational. Many of these fears are based on horror stories you've from grandparents or the internet. The best way to combat fear is … [Read more...]

Oral Surgery: What to Expect Injuries, diseases, and defects that affect the teeth, gums, mouth, and jaws sometimes require oral surgery. Many oral surgeons provide corrective options to improve jaw health, remove wisdom teeth, repair broken or damaged teeth, and much more. These surgeries are often performed on an outpatient basis. This means the patient is often responsible for her or his own care once the surgery is completed. While no two patients are the same, there are some common outcomes … [Read more...]