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Tori Removal

What is Tori Removal?

Dental tori are bony growths in the mouth that can cause irritation or discomfort. Sometimes it’s necessary to have tori removed.  

If you feel a bump in your mouth around your teeth, you may have a mandibular torus—a growth of excess bone around your jaw. Tori can be caused by:

  • Genetic factors
  • Teeth grinding (known as bruxism)
  • Stress on the jaw

Often, tori are harmless, but they can cause irritation and make some dental procedures difficult. For example, you may need to have a mandibular torus removed to get fitted for dentures, or if the tori are preventing you from being able to properly clean the inside of your teeth and causing periodontal disease.

Tori dental removal is a process that we perform in our Clearwater, FL office.

Soft Tissue Conditions: Before and After Treatment

Soft Tissue Conditions: Before and After Treatment

A periodontist is mainly concerned with diagnosing and treating soft tissue problems. Some soft tissue conditions include Lichen Planus, Benign Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid, Geographic Tongue, Burning Mouth Syndrome, Aphthous Ulcers and Oral Mucositis from Chemotherapy.

Soft tissue disorders of the mouth are seen in patients of all ages, races and health statuses.

Oral Lichen Planus (or OLP) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease which most commonly affects the skin and the mucous membrane lining or “skin” inside of the mouth, including cheeks and lips. OLP often looks like white lines crossing in a web-like patter on a red background, but can have a few different appearances, and some patients even develop a painful condition where ulcers are present (Ulcerative Lichen Planus).

OLP is caused by an inappropriate production of antibodies against a person’s own oral tissues. OLP affects 0.5-4% of the population globally, affecting women 2:1, often appearing in 50 and 60 year old post-menopausal women. It can affect quality of life, sleep, cause stress to those who have it, and usually persists for life. The lesions of Lichen Planus also have the potential to become malignant.

Oral Lichen Planus can be diagnosed in our practice with examination, and often requires a soft tissue biopsy. Other soft tissue conditions in the mouth can present with similar symptoms, so proper diagnosis is key, If confirmed to be Oral Lichen Planus, his patients are then treated accordingly, often with prescription gels or creams to be used in the mouth.

Pemphigoid is another soft tissue condition we see in our patients. Mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) is a rare chronic autoimmune disorders that can be characterized by blistering lesions that primarily affect the various mucous membranes of the body. The mucous membranes of the mouth and eyes are most often affected.

We often recommend specialty oral rinses, toothpaste and dietary changes to successfully treat soft tissue conditions.

Laser Periodontal Surgery: Before and After

Laser Periodontal Surgery: Before and After

Dr. Todd Britten offers his patients at Britten Periodontics & Implant Dentistry in Clearwater, Florida, the PerioLase and LANAP® protocol for treatment of periodontal disease. LANAP, or the Laser Assisted New Attachment Procedure, is an alternative to traditional periodontal surgery for the treatment of gum disease. Dr. Britten also offers LAPIP®, the Laser Assisted Peri-Implantitis Procedure, to treat infected and/or save failing dental implants.

Dr. Todd Britten cites that the benefits of laser periodontal dentistry include:

  • Precision

The precise dental laser used in our practice can accurately target and remove harmful bacteria without causing damage to healthy gum tissue.

  • Fast Recovery

Laser surgery involves no incisions and little to no post-operative inflammation. Therefore, patients experience a much faster healing period and often do not need pain medication.

  • Minimal Gum Recession

In traditional gum surgery, gum recession is commonly unavoidable. Laser gum surgery never harms healthy gum tissue, which means there is little to no gum recession.

  • Stronger Support

Laser gum surgery is scientifically proven to generate new bone growth in the jaw, leading to added support for existing teeth.

Using the PerioLase MVP-7 dental laser in both the LANAP and LAPIP protocols, we can effectively target and kills harmful bacteria that causes inflammation around natural teeth or dental implants. Killing the bacteria helps to treat the cause of the disease, not just the symptoms.

Soda Destruction in Kids & Teens

Soda Destruction in Kids & Teens

From ADA:  “It’s not just soda that’s contributing to an increase in tooth decay. Nationwide, students are drinking more sports drinks and fruit juices, which also contain high concentrations of sugar. The problem is with the frequency that a child’s teeth are exposed to sugar throughout the day. Nursing soft drinks significantly contributes to the development of tooth decay.

For example, if a student takes one small sip of soda, and then a minute later, takes another small sip, and then another sip—and this goes on during the course of one day—teeth are exposed over and over again to high concentrations of sugar and acid without any kind of break.

Even sugar-free soda is harmful to teeth because it contains high amounts of acid, leading to a breakdown in dental enamel. Because students typically do not brush their teeth during school hours, their risk of getting cavities increases dramatically.”

Benefits of Drinking Water:

“There are many benefits to drinking water:

  • Reduces muscle cramping and fatigue when consumed before, during, and after exercise.
  • Regulates body temperature. To sweat, you need plenty of water.
  • Helps you get well when you’re sick by controlling fever and replacing lost fluid.
  • Keeps you hydrated, alert, and energized. Even minor dehydration can cause a loss of concentration, fatigue, and irritability.
  • Prevents you from confusing hunger with thirst, which can help you control your weight.”

In the above picutre, we have both photos and x-ray images of a healthy mouth vs. a mouth that has had major decay caused by a soda drinking habit. Soda: It’s not hip to sip!

Broken Crown: Before and After

Broken Crown – Before and After

Your dentist can either repair or replace a broken crown

For a broken crown, your dentist will assess the issue and correct it right away. If the crown is still repairable, the dentist will use techniques like dental bonding to revitalize it. Yet, if the broken crown is beyond repair, replacing it will be the only option. Seeing your dentist for an evaluation will help determine which suits your case.

You can see in this picture the tooth in the middle was repaired with a beautiful new crown by one of our talented referring dentists! Materials in dentistry continue to improve function, esthetics and strength of crowns!

Normal Teeth Vs. Acid Attack

Normal Teeth Vs. Acid Attack

Not only is enamel the most highly mineralized substance in the body, but it also acts as defensive “shell” that protects your teeth from the damaging effects of acid and plaque. However, unlike your immune system that can bounce back after a crippling blow, enamel doesn’t regenerate. Once it’s lost, it’s gone forever.
 
Typically, a healthy mouth is sitting somewhere between 6 and 8 on the pH scale, with 7 being considered neutral. As you start to move lower on the scale and things become more acidic, you’re at a higher risk of causing damage to your teeth. To put things into perspective, enamel erosion begins at a pH level of 4. Common household items such as orange juice and soda come in around 3, while some “sour” candy can get as low as 2 – almost the equivalent of battery acid!
 
Whenever you consume something acidic, you expose your teeth to what’s commonly known as an “acid attack”. Lasting about 20
minutes with each exposure, acid attacks work to slowly demineralize your enamel. What ends up happening is the bacteria in your mouth
reacts with food to produce lactic acid and other harmful byproducts begin to eat away at your teeth.
 
Over time, if you don’t take proper care of your dental health, enamel will completely erode and leave your teeth exposed. 

What is Clinical Crown Lengthening?

Case Study: Clinical Crown Lengthening

Clinical Crown Lengthening is designed to expose more tooth structure prior to restorative and cosmetic dentistry and/or to improve the esthetics of your gum line. A frequently asked question is whether we can change the esthetics of a gummy smile because the teeth appear somewhat short. Your teeth can actually be of proper length and just covered with excessive gum tissue. In such circumstances, a crown lengthening procedure will correct this by exposing the shape of your natural teeth.

Crown lengthening can also be done to single teeth to “even out” your gum line and create a more symmetrical smile.

If your teeth are decayed, fractured at or below the gum line or have insufficient tooth structure for new crown retention, a “Clinical crown lengthening” procedure may be recommended by Dr. Britten to enable your general dentist to perform a restorative and/or cosmetic dental procedure.

What Are Your Implant Options?

Single Dental Implant

  • Superior To A Traditional Bridge
  • Natural Look And Feel
  • Ability To Last A Lifetime

Multiple Dental Implants

  • Bridge Attached To Implants
  • Natural Look And Feel
  • 98% Chewing Ability Restored

Implant-Supported Denture

  • High Quality Custom Denture
  • Secured By 2-4 Implants
  • Snaps In & Out

Traditional Acrylic Denture

  • Natural Look & Feel
  • Lower Cost Fixed Option
  • Leave with Teeth Same Day Of Surgery

Hybrid Teeth

  • Strong, Rigid Metal Bonded To Resilient Hybrid
  • Highly Polishable, Beautiful Aesthetic
  • Very Durable, Lightweight

Zirconia

  • The Greatest Combination Of Strength And Cosmetics
  • Closest To The Feel Of Your Natural Teeth
  • Most Durable & Long-Lasting

What Does Implant Recovery Look Like?

After a dental implant surgery patients should stick to the following diet recommendations for a good recovery. It’s important to avoid any foods that may physically disrupt the implant or cause discomfort.

  1. The first thing to take under consideration is the importance of not skipping meals, getting the nutrition your body needs is key to gaining strength, feeling better and faster. If you have a special diet requirement related to a medical condition, like for example being a diabetic, you should keep those eating habits or follow instructions that your specialist prescribe.
  2. It is best to start from soft and liquid food to then progress into solids over a few days. Keeping hydrated is key. While some doctors advise to stick only with liquids or pureed foods like ice cream, soups, puddings, yogurt, milk shakes, for the first few days, that it’s not a requirement.
  3. On the day of the surgery drinking plenty of fluids  (up to 2 quarts of liquid per day)  and avoiding hot liquids or hot food because they will promote bleeding and swelling.
  4. Extremely hot food is also something to stay away from and patients shouldn’t use a straw for the first few days after surgery.
  5. Avoiding drinking any alcoholic beverages
  6. Avoid smoking

Comfort is very important at this point, eating should not be a painful experience for the patient, so choosing the right food can vary from one person to the other but general rules still apply. Recovering patients should avoid chewing food until tongue sensation has returned and also stay away from food that may get lodged in the surgical areas like popcorn, rice, sunflower seeds, nuts etc.

Here is a list with a few examples that can help you

  • Softer fruits, such as bananas, peaches, nectarines, melons, and all berries are usually good choices
  • Avoid hard food: Go for oatmeal and soft cereals, soft bread, rice, grits, or mashed potatoes.
  • More water: Staying hydrated is vital to your immune system and overall health, and nothing will keep you hydrated more efficiently than water.
  • Fruits and vegetables: Remember to cut them into small pieces first.
  • When it comes to vegetables, cooked or steamed vegetables are better like broccoli, carrots, and squash.
  • Sauces and soups are the best way to go. Softer fruits like bananas, peaches, nectarines, melons, and all berries are good as well.
  • Protein: eggs, fish and seafood, and beans are safe, and also dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and cheese. Other alternatives include couscous and quinoa, while being a wheat and grain.

More ideas for a speedy recovery:

  • Macaroni and cheese, soft bread, baked or mashed potatoes.
  • Scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, applesauce.
  • Ground beef, baked or broiled fish, broiled or stewed chicken (finely chopped).
  • Cooked cereals, such as oatmeal or cream of wheat, yogurt.
  • Juice, water, milk, coffee, tea.
  • Puddings, pound cake, milkshakes, ice cream.
  • Home cooked broth, bouillon, soups.

Gum Grafting: What You Should Know

Gum grafting is a common periodontal procedure.  This common procedure is performed with excellent results. Some of the major benefits associated with gum grafting include:

  • Reduced sensitivity – When a tooth root becomes exposed, eating or drinking hot or cold foods can cause extreme sensitivity to the teeth.  Gum grafting surgery can permanently cover the exposed root, help reduce discomfort, and restore the good health of the gums.
  • Improved appearance – Periodontal disease is characterized by gum recession and inflammation.  Gum recession and root exposure can make the teeth look longer than normal and the smile to appear “toothy.”  Gum grafting can make the teeth look shorter, more symmetrical and generally more pleasing to look at.  In addition, adjacent tissue can be enhanced and augmented during the procedure for aesthetic purposes.
  • Improved gum and tooth health – Periodontal disease can progress and destroy gum tissue very rapidly. Gum grafting can help halt tissue and bone loss; preventing further problems and protecting exposed roots from decay.

Dr. Britten has trained in the latest minimally invasive techniques of gum grafting and can often perform the entire procedure through a pinhole incision.

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