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Showing posts from December, 2018

Periodontal Maintenance

In its most advanced stages, gum disease can lead to gum recession, and even tooth loss.  At Redwood Dental Smiles, we want to make sure it never gets to that point for you and your family!  When plaque builds up on a tooth, the gum starts to pull away from the tooth and forms a pocket around the buildup, which only leads to more gum recession.  A scaling and root planing procedure is used to treat this buildup and prevent the later stages of gum disease. Scaling and root planning are two parts of a deep cleaning procedure your dentist can perform to help reverse the progress of gum disease.  The procedure beings with scaling, which is the process of the dentist removing plaque from the surface of the teeth, all the way down to the gums. Root planing is the term for any minor contouring to smooth the surface of a tooth near the root.  When plaque has been removed and the tooth root has been smoothed, the gums that have pulled away will have a clean, smooth surface to reattach to as the

Dental Implants to Replace Teeth

Dr. Vijay Munagala of Redwood Dental Smiles replaces teeth and restores patient smiles with dental implants. Implants are a permanent restorative option for teeth that are missing or have been extracted.  They look and feel like natural teeth, and are the most permanent and efficient means of replacing lost teeth. An implant is placed over a series of appointments because of the healing time required.  Implants are titanium screws inserted through an incision in the gum. Over a period of 3-6 months, the jaw bone heals around the implant to become a solid, stable base for the new tooth. During this time a patient is fitted with a temporary crown, and a custom crown is created to match their smile perfectly. After the jaw bone and gums have healed appropriately, the custom crown is placed in a second minor procedure.  The doctor may need to expose the head of the implant by removing some gum tissue, and the crown will be screwed to the top of the implant.  When this is complete the tooth

White Spot Lesions

As a general dental office, preventing tooth decay is one of our top concerns at Redwood Dental Smiles in Castro Valley. Regular brushing and flossing is the best defense against tooth decay, but some parts of the teeth, especially the sides and the areas around orthodontic brackets, are particularly vulnerable. That’s why we want our patients to be able to recognize incipient lesions, also known as white spots. When teeth are exposed to acid, there will be a period before they form cavities when molecules are being dissolved and the enamel is weakening. This can happen when the acid is being regurgitated from the stomach, but on the front teeth, it is likelier to be caused by bacteria metabolizing food debris and excreting acid as a waste product. The more sugar is on the teeth, the more bacteria consume and the more acid they excrete. As enamel dissolves, it turns a chalky white that is noticeably different from enamel’s natural color. It only takes about thirty days for a white spot