Questions to Ask During Your Next Dentist Visit

Dentists advise most patients to schedule an oral exam and cleaning twice a year. Each visit is your chance to learn more about your oral health and the treatments available to keep your smile healthy. Write down anything you want to ask during your next dentist visit. You may choose to ask some of the questions we’ve compiled here.

• Why do my teeth hurt? If you are experiencing toothaches or sensitivity, tell your dentist right away. Potential causes include tooth decay, cracked teeth, exposed roots, whitening products, orthodontic work, and fillings. Such problems aren’t always apparent during an exam, and your dentist can only recommend treatment if you speak up.
• Is whitening treatment right for me? Tooth whitening treats surface stains caused by coffee, tea, and other dark-colored foods and drinks. It does not address intrinsic discoloration, however. Your dentist can help you determine if whitening or another procedure, such as bonding or veneers, is most appropriate.
• How can I strengthen my teeth? If you’re worried about weak enamel or cavities, your dentist may recommend fluoride treatment. You can also improve the strength, appearance, and functionality of your smile with cosmetic bridges, fillings, or implants.
• What toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss should I use? With so many dental products out there, it never hurts to ask your dentist which ones they recommend. If you have weak enamel, sensitive teeth, gum recession, or other oral health concerns, you can receive advice specific to your situation.
• Should I use mouthwash? Brushing and flossing get plenty of attention, but your dentist may also recommend a therapeutic or prescription mouthwash to treat gingivitis, tooth sensitivity, inflammation, excessive gum bleeding, chronic staining, or other oral health concerns.
• Do you recommend wearing a mouthguard? Many people grind their teeth at night without knowing it. An observant dentist should recognize the signs of tooth grinding, also known as bruxism, even if you don’t ask about it. These signs may include receding gums, damaged enamel, popping jaw, and complaints of morning headaches. Your dentist can fit you with a custom mouthguard to ease your symptoms and protect your oral health.
• Could I be at risk for oral cancer? Tobacco use, heavy drinking, excessive sun exposure to the lips, and a weak immune system all increase your oral cancer risk. Early detection is critical for successful treatment, so request screenings often, even if you don’t think you have cancer.
• Why do I need dental X-rays? Most dentists recommend bitewing X-rays once a year and a full-mouth series every four to five years. X-rays reveal what’s happening beneath the surface, which is vital for diagnosing problems and pursuing the proper treatment.

Looking for personalized answers to these and other oral health questions? Please contact Park 56 Dental at (212) 826-2322 and schedule an appointment at our NYC dentist office today! Our knowledgeable team can address all of your concerns and help you make the best choices for your oral health.

Why You Should Consider Dental Implants

Most people take their teeth for granted. However, if you lose a tooth to extensive decay or a traumatic injury, the gap in your smile may be all too apparent. Fortunately, you have options for replacing your lost tooth, including bridges, dentures, and dental implants. Here are the top reasons to restore your confident smile with fixed implants.

• Prevent your teeth from shifting: When you lose one tooth, the surrounding teeth tend to shift and fill in the space. This can throw off your bite and lead to uneven spacing or overcrowding. Having an implant placed now helps to maintain the position of your teeth so you can avoid these complications.
• Preserve your jawbone: Other tooth replacement solutions, including bridges and non-implant-supported dentures, may eventually weaken your jawbone. However, implants feature an artificial tooth root that grows into the bone, stimulating it and preventing deterioration.
• Maintain your appearance: If you’re missing multiple teeth, a significant portion of your jawbone could begin to deteriorate. Eventually, your jaw, cheeks, and lips may start to sink inward, making you look years older than you really are. The stimulation provided by dental implants keeps your jawbone healthy, so your face looks full and youthful for years to come.
• Avoid the hassle of wearing dentures: Implants are more natural-looking than dentures. As a permanent solution, implants also let you avoid the hassle and embarrassment of removing dentures to eat or sleep. You never have to worry about your implants falling out, either, which enhances your comfort and confidence. You can even brush and floss implants with the rest of your teeth, unlike dentures, which require special soaking and cleaning.
• Preserve the structural integrity of your remaining teeth: Bridges involve shaving down the teeth on either side of the gap and placing crowns to support the artificial tooth. If these teeth are healthy, you may hesitate to damage their structural integrity. Implants are self-supporting, so the surrounding teeth remain untouched.
• Enjoy a long-lasting solution: Implants are capped with custom-made porcelain crowns designed to look, feel, and function exactly like a natural tooth. These artificial crowns are known to last for decades with proper care, allowing you to smile confidently for many years to come.
• Suitable for more and more candidates: You may have heard that not everyone is a good candidate for implants. However, dental restoration technology has evolved tremendously in the past 10 years. This means, even if you didn’t qualify for implants in the past, you might want to speak with your dentist about the latest options available.

The dentists at Park 56 Dental can help you compare all your tooth-restoration options, including dental implants in NYC. If you have a gap in your smile or are otherwise dissatisfied with the condition of your teeth, give us a call at (212) 826-2322 or contact us online to schedule a consultation. We would be happy to answer any questions you have about cosmetic, restorative, and general dentistry.

How Restoring Your Smile Can Help with Your Mental Health

Good oral health affects your overall wellness in many ways. Straight teeth ensure a comfortable bite and help you chew thoroughly. Then, healthy gums can help stave off other complications, including stroke, diabetes, and heart disease. But have you ever considered how restoring your smile can improve your mental health? The psychological impacts of a beautiful smile can’t be ignored.

Greater Self-Confidence

If you feel self-conscious about crooked, chipped, or stained teeth, you may often cover your mouth with your hand or maintain a tight-lipped smile. Correcting any problems with your teeth and gums generates a wave of self-confidence. This encourages you to smile, laugh, and communicate without underlying anxiety about people looking at your teeth.

Decreased Risk of Depression

Researchers from Deakin University found a connection between depression and oral health. In short, if you’re experiencing problems with your teeth and gums, your chances of feeling depressed increase. As an inflammatory disorder, depression can be triggered by inflammation in the gums (or elsewhere in the body). This means, if you’re feeling down, you should take a closer look at your oral care routine. Enhancing your dental hygiene could improve your mental health.

Boosted Mood & Physical Health

Scientists and therapists agree—the simple act of smiling has undeniable emotional advantages. It has been demonstrated that flashing a smile releases dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin into the brain, which helps fight off stress and promote feelings of joy. These feel-good neurotransmitters even help lower your heart rate and blood pressure for improved physical health as well.

Better Appearance

A 2011 study found that both men and women are perceived as more attractive when they smile and make eye contact. You are more likely to interact in a friendly manner with those around you if you are confident with the appearance of your smile.

Longer Lifespan

Emotions affect your personality and life outcome by influencing the way you think, behave, and interact with others. People with more positive emotions are happier, have more stable relationships, and are more likely to live longer than people with overwhelmingly negative emotions. It stands to reason that happier people smile more and, as already stated, smiling makes you feel happier. A Wayne State University study from 2009 brings the point home by suggesting that people who smile more intensely tend to have longer lifespans.

Enhanced Ability to Spread Joy

If you have straight, white teeth that you want to show off to the world, you’ll be encouraged to smile more often. As they say, “Smile and the world smiles back.” This phrase comes from the notion that smiling is contagious. When you walk around with a smile on your face, it lifts not only your own mood but also the moods of those around you. This isn’t just common sense—it’s backed up by current research.

Ready to improve your mental health? Start by restoring your smile at Park 56 Dental! Call our NYC dentist at (212) 826-2322 or schedule your appointment online today.

9 Dental Procedures that Will Help Restore Your Smile

When cavities, stains, or traumatic injuries damage your teeth, you may find yourself covering your mouth every time you smile. To help you regain your confidence, you need restorative dentistry from an experienced dentist in NYC. Take a look at nine dental procedures we offer that can restore your smile.

1. Crowns: A dental crown is an effective way to restore a discolored or oddly shaped tooth. This solution can even protect a weak tooth from breaking or repair one that’s already broken.
2. Tooth-colored fillings: Many people assume that fillings are always metallic, but new materials and techniques mean you have the option of getting more natural-looking, tooth-colored fillings. Talk to your dentist about what option is best for you. Factors such as the size of the filling, location of the tooth, price, and personal preference must all be considered.
3. Veneers: This cosmetic solution covers the front side of chipped, stained, or misshapen teeth with a natural-looking porcelain veneer. The finished product looks great and functions flawlessly. Your dentist may recommend avoiding coffee, tea, wine, and tobacco to maintain your beautiful new smile.
4. Bonding: Similar to veneers, bonding is a cosmetic treatment that involves attaching tooth-colored resins to your teeth to improve their shape and color. The results are strong, long-lasting, and natural-looking.
5. Contouring and reshaping: Dental contouring and tooth reshaping may be all that’s required to fix elongated or roughly shaped teeth. This process involves removing a small amount of tooth enamel to alter the surface or shape of the tooth. This technique is often combined with bonding to create the most attractive smile possible.
6. Implants: Dental implants consist of a titanium body, which takes the place of the missing root, and a crown, which fills the gap and replaces the function of your missing tooth. Implants can last a lifetime if properly maintained.
7. Bridges: The purpose of a dental bridge is to replace one or more missing teeth. It involves installing crowns on the adjacent teeth and “bridging” the gap with an artificial tooth called a pontic. Unlike implants, no titanium root is inserted into the gums.
8. Whitening: Years of drinking coffee, sipping on wine, and enjoying brightly colored berries can take a toll on your pearly whites. Luckily, you can turn back the clock with Zoom in-office whitening. Our dental professionals can brighten your smile by an average of eight shades in just one hour. Plus, the process is safe, simple, and pain-free!
9. Smile makeovers: If several different problems exist in your mouth, you can combine two or more of the above dental procedures for a complete smile makeover. Your self-esteem will soar like never before once you feel confident enough to smile naturally around your friends, family, and new acquaintances.

Need help deciding which dental procedure is right for you? Ready to get the process started? Contact Park 56 Dental at (212) 826-2322 to ask questions or request a consultation at our New York dentist office.

Dental Veneers FAQs

Are you self-conscious about a chipped tooth or that gap in your smile? Stop hiding your mouth behind your hands, and restore your confidence with dental veneers! Here are the most frequently asked questions we hear about this type of cosmetic dentistry.

What are dental veneers?

Veneers are thin, strong pieces of tooth-colored porcelain that resemble an artificial fingernail. They are custom-made to fit your teeth using an impression or digital scan of your mouth. Veneers are bonded to the front of your teeth to improve their color, shape, size, and function.

How much do veneers cost?

The cost range depends on the dentist’s experience, the quality of the material used in making your veneers, and how many veneers you receive. Sometimes, insurance will cover the cost of one or two veneers when a fracture or decay is present.

How long do veneers last?

Thanks to the durability of porcelain and the strength of the bonding agent used to attach each veneer, you can expect the results to last decades. As long as the work is done right, the only time a patient should have problems with a veneer is after a traumatic event. Porcelain can crack, just like real teeth, but it takes a hard hit to the face or biting down on a bone to make it happen.

Are there any dietary restrictions?

It’s always wise to treat your teeth gently, whether you have veneers or not. This means avoiding using your teeth as tools and biting tough foods (like taffy, beef jerky, or French bread) with caution. Also, while veneers are stain-resistant, your dentist may recommend avoiding coffee, tea, red wine, and tobacco to help your beautiful new smile last.

What happens to the tooth under a veneer?

To ensure a natural appearance, about 0.5mm of your existing tooth must be shaved down in preparation for placing the veneer. There’s no need to damage the tooth structure aggressively to achieve authentic-looking results.

Will my teeth be immune to cavities?

Veneers can’t decay, but the natural tooth underneath can still get cavities. The most vulnerable spot is the junction between the veneer and your natural tooth. Sealing this area while placing the veneer closes it off to help prevent decay. Continue to brush and floss as usual to keep your teeth and gums healthy.

How many veneers should I get?

Eight is the most common number of veneers patients receive. With veneers on the four upper and lower teeth, a bright, white shade can be selected to make your smile look its best. If you get fewer veneers than this, the color must match your existing teeth to avoid standing out.

At Park 56 Dental, we help our patients look their best with dental veneers and other cosmetic dentistry. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact us at (212) 826-2322 to schedule a complimentary consultation. We serve Midtown, Central Park, Upper East Side, Park Avenue, and the surrounding Manhattan and NYC areas.

Considering Cosmetic Dentistry? Here Are the Facts You Need to Know

There are different types of services your dentist may provide. General dentistry refers to any care that is primarily intended to improve or maintain the health of your teeth and gums. Cosmetic dentistry is primarily intended to improve the appearance of your smile. These two approaches go hand-in-hand, since having a smile that’s both healthy and beautiful is important for one’s self-confidence. 

Cosmetic dentistry can help support your oral health.  

Although cosmetic dentistry emphasizes the aesthetics of your smile, some of these treatments can also improve your oral health. Take the example of Invisalign aligners. These enable patients to straighten their crooked teeth without having to resort to aesthetically displeasing metal braces. A crooked smile isn’t only a cosmetic concern, however. Crooked teeth can also be more difficult to keep clean, even if you diligently brush twice daily and floss once daily. By straightening your teeth with Invisalign, it’ll be easier for you to get rid of food particles and plaque. Another example is dental implants. Tooth implants replace missing teeth, which is definitely cosmetically preferable to an incomplete smile. However, they can also help you maintain the health of your jawbone by preventing the loss of bone density. 

Cosmetic dentistry treatment plans are individually tailored. 

No two patients are alike. When you visit a dentist to talk about cosmetic options, he or she will take the time to listen carefully to your concerns and goals. Then, the dentist will develop an individual treatment plan based on your preferences. Your treatment plan may include any of the following: 

• Teeth whitening 
• Invisalign 
• Veneers 
• Dental implants 
• Bonding 

Some cosmetic dentistry treatments provide rapid results. 

Patients often want rapid results from cosmetic dentistry treatments. Some of them do take a while to produce results, such as Invisalign, while others take effect right away. If you have an important event coming up, for example, you might ask your dentist about teeth whitening. Your teeth will be several shades lighter by the time you leave the office! 

You’ll find a complete suite of general and cosmetic dentistry services at Park 56 Dental. Our dental office in NYC is known for providing friendly patient care within a welcoming setting. New and current patients can get in touch at (646) 783-3529 to request a dentist appointment. 

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