Dr. Reza Rahgozar, owner of Ace Dental Centers in Coquitlam and Vancouver, wants to help you extend the results of your important dental treatments from cosmetic dentistry to crowns, bridges, dental implants and more
Whether you’re fixing your smile with porcelain veneers, restoring your tooth with crowns, or simply repairing tooth decay with composite, you want your dental procedures to last you for a while, if not a lifetime.
In a case of cosmetics, without prioritizing all the right things, you could say goodbye to your results much sooner than you or your wallet might expect, says Dr. Reza Rahgozar, owner Ace Dental Centers in Coquitlam and Vancouver.
“When it comes to a long-lasting smile, there are so many articles and studies that have been done and it’s so widely discussed. It is known that the health of the teeth (without cavities) is extremely important, as well as the health of the gums and the tissues surrounding the teeth,” he explains.
“But there’s something else that’s also very important – something that I’d say is the secret to a long-lasting smile and is often overlooked.”
That “secret,” says the over-25-year-old pro, is all in the bite.
What is a bite?
A person’s bite can be described as how their upper and lower teeth fit together when they touch. Ideally, the upper and lower teeth should be fully aligned, allowing the teeth to touch each other, bite and chew things comfortably and efficiently.
In these cases, the chewing forces hammered on the teeth are distributed evenly and in the right direction.
“However, if a tooth is not in the right position and the patient bites, over the years, it can cause other problems such as cracks and fractures in the tooth structure, problems with gum recession and bone loss. And that’s because the chewing forces are in the wrong direction,” Rahgozar describes.
In addition to damaging the teeth, gums, and bones that support the teeth, a misaligned bite in severe cases can also make it difficult for people to eat, as well as causing jaw pain and, in some cases, even headaches and shoulder and neck pain.
Why is bite important to ensure long-lasting cosmetic results?
Because a person’s bite can significantly affect the long-term health of their teeth and gums, it is important that dentists not only consider it, but prioritize it when planning major dental treatments, from crowns and bridges to cosmetic dentistry and dental implants .
Doing so involves more comprehensive treatment planning than prioritizing beauty alone, says Rahgozar. However, it also means that patients can walk away from the dentist’s office knowing that their procedures will last longer and, more importantly, won’t cause them problems down the road.
“For example, if someone continues to have advanced bone loss due to chronic gingivitis caused by a misaligned bite, there is not a good basis for creating or maintaining viable esthetic dentistry,” he says, continuing that an unhealthy gum and bone, like a poor foundation for a house, they cannot support or retain treatments such as crowns, bridges, implants or veneers.
“If you’ve lost the bone support for the teeth due to untreated malformed teeth, you’re essentially building a house on a muddy spot, so it will collapse over the years. Sometimes, new patients come to me, saying that they put a veneer on a few months ago and now it is showing. It’s just that this happens because the forces on that tooth are not in the right direction and the other teeth are hitting it.”
How can you correct your bite?
A misaligned bite is often completely treatable with orthodontic treatments, such as Invisalign, where the teeth are pulled into the correct position.
At Ace Dental Centres, this process includes a comprehensive treatment plan, which begins with taking a digital scan of the jaw to assess what forces are currently acting on the misaligned teeth and how they should be corrected.
It also includes a detailed explanation so patients can understand what needs to happen to have a healthy and long-lasting result.
“We use the latest digital technology, and that’s key to helping our patients visually see what the underlying problem is and how we can help them achieve their goals, which is a healthy, long-lasting smile,” says Rahgozar .
If you are interested in booking with Ace Dental Centres, please visit www.acedental.ca.
