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We are often conditioned to believe that in almost everything, cheaper is better. In truth, all things being equal, this is right.

However, in dentistry, as in most things, all things are rarely equal. Cheap dentistry is usually a poor choice. Quality dentistry, although initially slightly more expensive, ends up giving you better results, and is likely cheaper in the long run.

Here are some of the benefits of quality dentistry that make it a better choice. 

Personal Attention

One of the things you pay for with quality dentistry is the office’s time. With cheap dentistry, an office is trying to churn as many patients through as possible, which means you get little time from anyone, especially the dentist.

This makes it hard to get your questions answered, and hard to address any concerns you might have. It also makes mistakes more likely.

When you pay for quality dental care, you actually get dental care from everyone. Personal attention helps you feel comfortable and welcome. You can bring up questions and concerns, and know that you’re more than just a number on a chart–you’re a real patient who gets personal care.

Customization

If people don’t have time to listen to your concerns, they have even less time to address them. Churning through as many patients as possible means that everyone gets the same dentistry. Standard assembly-line processes help keep costs down so a dental practice can offer cheap dentistry.

A dedicated dentist designs quality dental care specifically for you. It’s customized to your needs and your functional and cosmetic dentistry goals. With quality dentistry, you have the time to ask for special solutions to your dental concerns, and your dentist will take time to design a solution just for you.

Appearance

Many dentists consider the appearance of your smile to be a secondary concern, even though an attractive smile is one of the vital functions of your teeth. Cheap materials often look fake and unattractive. In this type of practice, an attractive appearance is an extra feature that you have to be billed for separately. Assuming that the dentist is capable of providing an attractive appearance, which might be outside the scope of their dental talents.

Quality dentistry incorporates appearance from the beginning. Using quality materials, your dentist will design a smile that is both attractive and functional, made with high-quality materials that look natural.

Durability

Cheap materials are not generally very durable. They won’t last very long, which has the benefit for a cheap dentistry practice that it generates more business as people are constantly coming in for repairs and replacement of old dental work.

Quality dentistry uses materials that are capable of lasting a long time. And by taking the time to ensure the proper fit and function of restorations, a good dentist can get the most out of these materials by creating a blanched bite that encourages healthy biting and chewing without wearing out or breaking restorations prematurely.

Comfortable and Functional Bite

At some dental practices, dentists pay only minimal attention to the comfort and function of your teeth. A simple tap, tap, tap on the bite paper is all the test of the function and bite that you’ll get from these practices.

Quality dentistry includes a thorough analysis of your bite. This helps identify if you have issues like temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJ). TMJ can lead to symptoms like headaches and ear problems. Plus, an imbalanced bite may damage your dental restorations. A quality dentist will take enough time to evaluate your bite and recommend a dental procedure that either maintains or restores your bite. This helps you chew effectively and enjoy a longer life from your dental restorations.

Holistic Dentistry Options

Dentists trying to move as many patients as quickly as possible through their office don’t look beyond your teeth. They just don’t have the time, energy, or training to help you understand how your dentistry choices can contribute to poor overall health.

At a quality dental office, we make sure we are looking at your oral health and overall health together. We know how your choices today could potentially contribute to poor health and more dental problems in the future. To help foster good oral and overall health, Irresistible Smiles offers holistic dentistry options.

Looking for Quality Dentistry in San Diego?

Are you unhappy with cheap dentistry? Have you had bad experiences with cheap dentistry in the past? Then it’s time to experience for yourself the benefits of quality dentistry in the San Diego area. Let dentist Shahin Safarian and his outstanding dental team show you how dentistry can be different from any dental experience you’ve ever had.

Please call (619) 656-6785 or use our online contact form today to schedule an appointment with Irresistible Smiles in Chula Vista.

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If you’re searching for an orthodontic treatment to straighten your teeth, you’ve likely explored a few different options. Usually, most people choose between the two most popular treatments—Invisalign or traditional braces. Is one treatment really better than the other? For some patients, the benefits of one might outweigh the benefits of the other. To help you decide whether Invisalign is the right treatment for you, we’ve compiled a list of their top benefits in comparison to traditional braces.

1. Comfort

One of the top benefits of Invisalign in comparison to traditional braces is their level of comfort. Traditional braces use metal brackets and wires to straighten the teeth. These can feel sharp against the sides of the mouth, the lips, and the tongue. It’s common for those with metal braces to experience cuts and sores in their mouths from the braces. With Invisalign, there is significantly more comfort involved. Instead of sharp metal resting against the cheeks, it’s smooth plastic. The clear plastic aligners won’t cause any irritation or discomfort like traditional braces.

2. Appearance

Some patients might feel bothered wearing metal braces because they’re painfully obvious—especially if they’re an adult seeking orthodontic treatment. If you would prefer a more discreet treatment that not everyone knows about, Invisalign is the better option. You will wear clear plastic aligners that are nearly invisible. You can keep your treatment a secret between you and Dr. Safarian. Throughout your treatment, you won’t feel self-conscious about your treatment because it will look so invisible.

3. Convenience

One of the best benefits of Invisalign is how convenient it is. The aligners are completely removable and you can remove them for up to two hours per day to eat, brush your teeth, snap a photo, or do whatever you want. With traditional braces, the brackets are bonded to your teeth until your treatment is over.

4. Speed

Another major difference between traditional braces and Invisalign is that Invisalign tends to work a little bit faster. This is because Invisalign moves the teeth in smaller increments. Instead of large movements every six weeks with traditional braces, you switch the aligners every two weeks. This allows the treatment to move along faster.

5. Easier to Clean Your Teeth

Since you can remove the clear aligners, you don’t have to invest in any special tools to clean your teeth effectively. Instead, simply remove the aligners and brush and floss like you normally would. Visiting the dentist for regular cleanings is also easy because you only need to take your aligners out instead of getting the wire removed first.

6. Fewer and Shorter Office Visits

When you have traditional braces, you typically need to visit the dental office every four to six weeks to tighten your braces. These appointments can take as long as an hour sometimes. With Invisalign, you will have all the aligners you need at home so you can switch to the next set without coming to our office. Instead, you will visit us about every six weeks so we can quickly check on the progress of your treatment. The visits will be short so you can spend less time at our office and more time enjoying your life.

7. Better Oral Hygiene

With traditional braces, it’s hard to maneuver between brackets and wires to effectively brush and floss. This can result in poor oral hygiene, tooth decay, and gum disease. Since you can easily remove your clear aligners for brushing and flossing, you will remove more plaque and bacteria from your mouth. As a result, you will have better oral hygiene than someone with traditional braces.

8. Eat Whatever You Want

The metal brackets and wires with traditional braces can easily become damaged. This is why when you get traditional braces, you’re given a list of foods you shouldn’t eat like chewy or sticky food, hard food, or food you bite into. If you eat the wrong foods, it can break your bracket or wire and require you to visit the dentist to fix it. With Invisalign, you can eat whatever you want throughout your treatment because the aligners are removable.

9. Beautiful Results

Invisalign can address most mild to moderate cases just as well as traditional braces. Only when there are severe misalignment or bite problems would someone not be a good candidate for Invisalign. In six months to two years, you can expect beautiful, straight teeth.

10. No Dental Emergencies

Since you never have to worry about breaking a bracket or dealing with a poking wire, you won’t have to worry about dental emergencies and extra visits to the dentist. The only type of emergency that might happen with Invisalign is losing your aligner or your dog getting ahold of it. However, if you keep it in your case whenever it’s not in your mouth, you should be fine.

Get Invisalign in Chula Vista Today

If Invisalign sounds like the right orthodontic treatment for your needs, you don’t have to just read about the benefits of Invisalign. You can experience them for yourself. Or, combine traditional braces with Invisalign. It really depends on your needs. Contact Irresistible Smiles at (619) 656-6785 in Chula Vista today to schedule a consultation. 

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A mouthguard’s sole purpose is to protect your teeth. However, if it protects your teeth but misaligns your jaw, is it really helping you? That’s one of the major differences between a store-bought and a laboratory-designed mouth guard. Laboratory-designed mouthguards not only protect your teeth but they protect your jaw, too.

At Irresistible Smiles in Chula Vista and San Diego, we care about your smile on a holistic level. We want to protect both your teeth and jaw while you’re playing sports.

Store-Bought Mouth Guards

I’m sure you remember your early sporting days. Anxious to get on the field, you would go out to the nearest sports store and purchase a mouth guard that looked decent. When you got home, you would boil it then shape it to your mouth. Half the time, you burned your gums. The other half, the mouth guard was too cold to shape.

When you finally shaped it properly, large pieces of plastic hung down your throat. Instead of gagging during the big game, you would cut half of the plastic off the mouthguard. If somehow, you managed this process without struggle, you still hated wearing your mouthguard. Every spare moment, you would chew on your mouthguard, decreasing its effectiveness and damaging your teeth. You may have opted for holding your mouthguard in your hand instead, increasing your risk of gum disease from bacteria.

How Do MonsterGuard Mouthguards Differ From Other Mouthguards?

MonsterGuard protects your teeth and your jaw, giving your entire mouth protection. Made from thick material and professionally-fitted, MonsterGuard helps to prevent injury while allowing you to move freely. Using advanced dental software and the highest neuromuscular dentistry available, the custom-fit mouthguard aligns perfectly with your face so your muscles relax.

Your jaw links to your vertebral column which, in turn, connects to the body parts you need to function naturally during sports competitions. With the laboratory-manufactured MonsterGuard, you’ll move freely with your mouthguard in place. Only the MonsterGuard mouthguard gives you the strength, flexibility, balance, range of motion, and endurance to put your best foot forward.

Dr. Safarian is your smile-designing expert in the San Diego area. Ensuring a good fit to keep your smile aligned properly is his goal. Our cosmetic dentistry practice cares deeply about both your teeth and your jaw alignment, ensuring a great smile.

We specifically design MonsterGuard mouthguards for athletes, with a 293% bigger breathing hole than any other mouthguard. When you come to Irresistible Smiles, we create a custom fit for your mouthguard. Your mouthguard provides ultimate comfort for any smile, including smiles with braces.

Is MonsterGuard Right For You?

If you’re considering MonsterGuard, stop by our offices for a free consultation. Give us a call in Chula Vista at (619) 656-6785.

The post How Can Dentist-Prescribed Mouthguards Help Your Smile? appeared first on Lovebites Dental.

Dental x-rays are classified as either intraoral or extraoral.

The most common intraoral x-rays include periapical, bitewing, and occlusal x-rays. Extraoral x-rays, on the other hand, are your panoramic and cephalometric x-rays.

As mentioned in the previous article (A Patient’s Guide to Dental X-rays), different conditions and procedures require different types of dental x-ray’s. Each type provides different views of the teeth and associated structures.

Periapical:

 Normally it uses a small film that fits inside the patient’s mouth. It is the most detailed of all the dental x-rays (intraoral or extraoral) and thus most often required in determining the extent of tooth decay.

It is also the one used in procedures such as extraction and more importantly, in root canal treatment.

Bitewing:

A bitewing x-ray produces an image of both the upper and lower back teeth when in full contact with each, a.k.a. bite – hence the name.

It shows the crown of these teeth only and not the roots and supporting bone.

It is used to assess the extent of decay in-between teeth. The small film used for periapical x-ray is also the one used in this type of dental x-ray.

When taking bitewing x-ray, a small tab is used to position the film besides the involved teeth.

Occlusal:

An occlusal x-ray shows the whole dental arch viewed from the biting (occlusal) surface of the teeth.

It is done to see how the upper and lower teeth line up when in contact with each other.

It may also show abnormalities in the palate or roof of the mouth. The film used is slightly bigger than the ones used in periapical and bitewing x-rays.

Panoramic:

A panoramic x-ray captures the upper and lower teeth – all 32 of them, including the wisdom teeth – in one film.

It shows the jaws (both upper and lower) and other surrounding structures as well.

This type of x-ray is shot by a machine that revolves around the head. This type of dental x-ray is used to identify the presence of impacted wisdom teeth or to plan an orthodontic treatment.

It may also be a useful aid in diagnosing advanced cases of periodontal disease, investigating jaw problems, or determining the feasibility of an implant surgery.

A panoramic x-ray is otherwise known as orthopantomogram.

Cephalometric

It is taken from the side of the head, and thus enables the orthodontist to evaluate the patient’s profile and predict how the treatment may affect the teeth and the surrounding bone.

It helps determine what course of treatment is most applicable to the patient’s case. This type of x-ray is sometimes ordered by an otorhinolaryngologist as well because it can show a good view of the airways. An otorhinolaryngologist is a medical doctor who specializes in the conditions of the ears, nose, and throat.

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Dental x-rays, which dentists call radiographs, pertain to the images of the dentists used to assess the health of teeth and associated structures.

It utilizes low levels of radiation that penetrate the tissues to form a radiographic image on an x-ray film.

It produces images of the interior or internal part of the teeth, as well the bone that supports it.

Dental x-rays are very important tools your dentist needs to come up with a correct diagnosis.

Why are dental x-rays taken?

Dental x-rays are taken to help dentist detect problems (i.e. deep and recurrent tooth decay, impacted teeth, etc.) that are not readily identified through visual examination.

They may also be performed on a regular basis to track or monitor response to treatment.

How often dental x-rays are needed depends on the patient’s age, history of oral diseases. The risk for oral disease, and current oral health status.

Children may require dental x-rays more frequently than adults do because their teeth and jaw are still in the process of growth which dentists need to monitor on a regular basis.

This monitoring is necessary because it helps determine if there are baby teeth that have to be pulled. Out to allow the adult teeth to erupt into their proper alignment.

To determine if you need dental x-rays. Your dentist will first review your medical and dental history and perform a comprehensive oral examination.

If you are a new patient, x-rays are most likely needed to enable your dentist to assess your current oral health status and get a baseline upon which changes (that will occur later) can be compared to.

If you have any radiographs from your previous dentist and you switch to another dentist, the later may ask for these radiographs.

What procedures require dental x-rays?

Almost every dental procedure require x-rays first, but the ones where they are an absolute requirement include periodontal therapy, root canal treatment, orthodontic treatment, extraction (both simple and complicated), and implant placement.

Different conditions and procedures require different types of dental x-ray.

These types will be discussed in a separate article.

Are dental x-rays safe?

While dental x-rays require exposure to radiation like. Your chest x-rays (and any other type of x-rays for that matter), the dose is so low and thus deemed safe even for children.

If digital x-rays are used, the dose is even lower and therefore much safer.

But even though radiation exposure is very low, it should still be limited as much as possible.

No one – dentist and patient alike – should receive more radiation than necessary.

This can be prevented by placing a lead apron over the chest, pelvis, and abdominal regions when taking x-rays.

A lead apron with collar is indicated for patients with thyroid problems. But it can be used in all patients whenever possible.

Although dental x-rays are generally safe. Women who are pregnant or suspect they could be pregnant must x-rays, unless absolutely necessary.

It is dangerous for the developing baby to be exposed to any kind of radiation.

Be sure to tell your dentist if you think you may be pregnant.

If dental x-rays are part of the treatment plan. A collared lead apron should be enough to protect your developing baby from radiation exposure.

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A lifetime of happy smiles begins by knowing what’s true and what’s not when it comes to orthodontic dental services. Along with these questions are misconceptions about the treatment.

1. Orthodontic treatment can be done by any dentist.

Orthodontists are dentists, but not all dentists are orthodontists. An orthodontist is a certified specialist who had years of additional specialty training in orthodontics. Which include both theoretical and clinical training.

Orthodontic treatment is a very particular dental service that must be done only by specialists.

General dentists have no specialty, they might have taken a few hours of orthodontic courses, but that doesn’t mean that they are already as qualified to do orthodontic treatment as orthodontists are – unless, it is a very simple case.

Orthodontists, on the other hand, are allowed to do everything that a general dentist can.

2. Orthodontic treatment is only for kids and teens.

Orthodontic treatment is for everyone – no one is too old for it. While it is true that you see a lot of young kids when you visit an orthodontic clinic, you’ll also see teenagers, college students, and adults.

In fact, according to the American Association of Orthodontists, one in every five orthodontic patients is adult. Most of them avail of the Invisalign, or the invisible braces.

As long as your bite problem is indicated for the orthodontic treatment and getting such treatment can make you feel better about yourself, then your orthodontist can render it no matter what your age is.

There are a lot of factors that can cause teeth alignment problems, so the need for orthodontic treatment at any age is entirely possible.

3. Orthodontic treatment takes many years.

Orthodontic treatment, in general, takes about two to three years only. This can vary depending on the dental problem that needs to be corrected.

But with the major developments in the field of orthodontics, there are devices and appliances with allow for a much shorter treatment duration.

4. Orthodontic treatment may be continued by other orthodontists.

Each orthodontist handles their orthodontic cases somewhat differently, so it would be best for you and your smile to commit to just one and stick with them.

5. Orthodontic Dental Services treatment is a permanent solution.

Unfortunately, orthodontic treatments are not a 100% permanent solution. Teeth alignment is constantly influenced by natural forces that are ever-present throughout a patient’s life.

That’s why once the orthodontic treatment is completed, the orthodontist asks the patient to wear a retainer to keep the teeth in their corrected alignment.

The type of retainer can be fixed or removable, depending on the case. But regardless of the type, it is important that you wear your retainer exactly as instructed by your orthodontist.

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