When detected early, most dental health issues can be treated with noninvasive procedures and improved oral hygiene.  Unfortunately, dental diseases aren’t always detected early, and by the time you seek treatment, the damage may be severe enough to require oral surgery. Your dedicated Park Ridge dentists offer a variety of surgical procedures in their very own office, eliminating the need for you to visit a specialist in addition to your regular dentist. Below, we explain some of the more common situations that call for oral surgery, and how we can treat severe issues in-office.

Necessary Extractions

If you’ve ever had one or more troublesome wisdom teeth, then hopefully you’ve had them removed to avoid or alleviate compounding dental issues. Other reasons for tooth extraction can include infection so invasive that tooth extraction is the only way to protect the rest of your oral health. Also, if a tooth sustains damage (i.e., crack or fracture) that extends to its root, then the tooth may no longer be useful and can require a tooth extraction. Unlike your wisdom teeth, however, if a permanent tooth is extracted because of extensive damage or disease, it must be replaced to preserve the integrity of your oral health. (more…)

With the long-term popularity that dentures have enjoyed, much of the attention on tooth loss has focused on missing much or all of your teeth on one or both dental ridges. However, the loss of a single tooth can be equally devastating to your oral health, and replacing a single lost tooth should be as much a priority as replacing a bare dental ridge. Your Park Ridge implant dentists, Dr. Maria and Dr. Thanasi Loukas, explain why every tooth is important to your smile, and how an implant-supported dental crown can effectively restore your entire lost tooth to preserve your smile’s longevity.

The Loss of a Single Tooth

Even if your teeth were once perfectly aligned, they won’t remain so for long if their ranks are broken by a missing tooth. Aside from making your smile pretty, tooth alignment is important to the distribution of your bite’s pressure. When left untreated, tooth loss can cause the remaining teeth to shift, throwing your bite further off-balance and subjecting those teeth to an increased risk of accumulating plaque and subsequent dental diseases. (more…)

Replacing your lost teeth with one or more dental implants is the most effective way to preserve your oral health while restoring your smile after tooth loss. However, the preservation of your smile doesn’t end at your dental implant and restoration placement. Luckily, among the many benefits of dental implant-supported teeth replacements is their mimicry of your natural teeth, including the manner in which you care for them. As dedicated Park Ridge implant dentists, Dr. Maria and Dr. Thanasi Loukas explain the simplicity of dental implants, and how to help ensure their continued success with proper dental hygiene.

The Beauty of Simplicity

Traditional tooth replacements, like bridges and dentures, utilize clasps and adhesives to stay securely in place and withstand the forces of biting and chewing. By contrast, dental implants are surgically inserted into your jawbone and serve as prosthetic tooth roots, anchoring your replacement teeth in the same sturdy and inconspicuous manner as your natural tooth roots and crowns. (more…)

In our last article, we discussed the importance of your jawbone’s integrity to your continued good oral health, and how tooth loss can threaten this integrity if not treated fully and promptly. Today, your Park Ridge implant dentists, Dr. Maria and Dr. Thanasi Loukas, discuss how to protect your jawbone from destruction and how to reinforce it to receive dental implants, if necessary.

Recapping Tooth Loss & Jawbone Deterioration

To refresh your memory, unresolved tooth loss is one of the most devastating influences against your oral health. Healthy tooth roots, which are embedded in your jawbone, facilitate a healthy supply of nutrients to your jaw, and losing tooth roots can result in a nutrient deficiency and eventual jawbone deterioration. In a sense, your jawbone atrophies from the loss of root stimulation, which can affect its ability to retain the rest of your teeth. (more…)

Dental implants are a marvel of modern dental technology, and are the only option available for replacing the roots of your lost teeth. As such, dental implants hold numerous benefits to your smile’s longevity, integrity, and continued good health after suffering tooth loss. However, if you’re looking to replace one or more missing teeth, then your smile’s appearance may be your most immediate concern. Luckily, dental implants can also greatly improve the cosmetic aspect of your smile, as well. Your Park Ridge implant dentists, Dr. Maria and Dr. Thanasi Loukas, explore the cosmetic benefits of dental implants, and how they can be your smile’s best friend on its road to recovering from tooth loss.

Dentures that Don’t Move

Dentures are perhaps one of the oldest forms of tooth replacement, dating back as early as the Etruscans that populated central hills of ancient Italy. If you or someone you know has worn dentures for a while, however, then you’re probably aware that, even with today’s advanced materials and adhesives, dentures have a tendency to lose the grip that they were designed for. (more…)

Recently, we discussed the leading cause of adult tooth loss—gum disease. Though many people may not consider it a big deal, gum disease can ravish the gums and jawbone that form your smile’s foundation, leading to the loss of one or more teeth if not treated in time. Luckily, gum disease is preventable with the proper care and maintenance, and your Park Ridge dentists, Dr. Maria and Dr. Thanasi Loukas, can help you protect your smile from the progressive disease.

The Importance of Good Dental Hygiene

Although it may sound clichéd, the simple truth is that brushing and flossing your teeth every day is your best bet at preventing most dental diseases, including gum disease. The dental plaque that can form on your teeth and gums now and then is comprised of about 600 different kinds of bacteria. As living organisms, these germs undergo metabolic processes, such as releasing toxins that can erode your gums’ connection to your teeth and lead to gum recession, which causes pockets to form where more germs can gather and initiate gum disease. To control bacterial population and the harm they can cause, the American Dental Association advises brushing your teeth at least twice a day and flossing at least once, especially before going to bed. (more…)

You’ve probably heard of dental implants before and they’re ability to do what no other dental restoration can do—replace a missing tooth’s roots. However, if you’ve lost one or more teeth and are contemplating your replacement options, you may wonder why dental implants are so popular, and how they live up to the claim of preserving your oral health in a manner that dental bridges and dentures are unable to achieve. To help you understand the necessity of dental implants following tooth loss, your Park Ridge implant dentists, Dr. Maria and Dr. Thanasi Loukas, explain the mechanics behind dental implants and the vital functions they restore.

A Different Kind of Tooth Replacement

The purpose of a traditional bridge or partial denture is to fill the gaps in your smile after one or more teeth disturb the ranks. In the case of full dentures, the purpose is to restore all of your teeth on a single dental ridge to restore your mouth’s ability to bite, chew, and speak. The visible parts of your teeth, called the crowns, are the functional tooth sections that perform the main duties of processing your food and forming the proper sounds to affect speech. However, a healthy tooth is comprised of more than a crown. (more…)

Looking for dental implants in Park Ridge? Our main dental implants in Park Ridge, IL page covers single implants, All on 4, implant dentures, cost, and what to expect, all completed in our own office.

With today’s advanced dentistry, more people are able to enjoy their full, healthy, natural smiles for much longer than generations before us. Your teeth can now be saved and restored even when ravished by advanced decay, and gum disease (the leading cause of adult tooth loss) can be successfully managed and controlled without the need for surgery. Nevertheless, sometimes a tooth must go, whether it’s lost to trauma or excessive disease that renders it useless. When the need arises to replace one or more lost teeth, your best solution lies in securing your dental prosthetic to one or more dental implants, provided by your Park Ridge implant dentist, Dr. Loukas.

Completely Restore Your Smile

The space(s) left by missing teeth can cause your remaining teeth to shift as they try to take up the slack in your bite. While missing teeth are a problem, shifting teeth can lead to a host of subsequent dental issues that can wreck your smile further. Dental bridges, partials, and full dentures can be custom-crafted to match any pattern of tooth loss, filling the gaps and helping to preserve the health of your remaining teeth. What they cannot do by themselves, however, is replace the roots of your lost teeth, and as only partial tooth replacements, they require the addition of dental implants to completely restore your smile. (more…)