Blog – Page 11 – Charlotte Dentist | Cosmetic, Laser, Family Dentistry

Porcelain Veneers to Close Space Between Teeth

Most of the time, when adults are looking for a Charlotte dentist to close gaps between their teeth, the best and most affordable way is our Six-Month Braces. However, sometimes circumstances get in the way, and porcelain veneers become a better and faster option. Porcelain Veneers by a Charlotte Cosmetic Dentist Tishka came to us in the late spring with an urgent mission - to brighten her whole smile and close the gap between her front teeth; the important event? Graduating from her MBA program! As a professional woman, heading out for interviews in the financial world, she knew that a great smile is super important when it comes to the all-important first impression. Even though braces would have been more conservative, there wasn't enough time. Tishka wanted a dazzlingly bright smile, so she chose the Evolve Deep BleachingTM method for teeth whitening. After that, we shaped the 2 front teeth for porcelain veneers, impressed them with our CEREC digital impression technique, and 2 weeks later, Tishka had her Smile Makeover complete. If you're looking for a Charlotte dentist who offers a complete range of options in cosmetic dentistry, make sure you take the time to truly investigate the RIGHT option for you. You can see more of our patients who have had Porcelain Veneers in our Before-and-After Photo Gallery. We aren't just a cosmetic dental office, though, so if you're in need of a good family dentist to take care of the kids, or in need of dental braces, or want an alternative to conventional gum surgery with a dental laser, we can take care of you! To make an appointment for a Complimentary Consultation: Request an Appointment Online or call us at [...]

By Charles Payet| 2017-06-09T20:35:16-04:00 September 1st, 2011|Cosmetic dentistry, Porcelain Veneers|0 Comments

10 Ways to Ruin a Smile Makeover

Don't Destroy Your Porcelain Veneers! With more than 12 years of doing cosmetic dentistry under my belt, including veneers, crowns, bridges, implants, and various combinations thereof, it is still surprising sometimes to hear a new way that a patient has chipped, cracked, or broken one of the beautiful restorations in their smile. Obviously, this is upsetting for the patient, because it means additional time and money to get it fixed, and no one wants that. No - not even I want that, because I take pride in the quality of work that I do and want it to last as long as possible so I can brag about it. Seriously! "Lisa's" Story of Broken Cosmetic Dentistry Recently, a long-time patient (name changed for privacy) came in with broken porcelain on her dental bridge - the THIRD one we've done for her! Needless to say, both the patient and I have been very frustrated, as we've worked hard to create a strong, long-lasting and beautiful smile, but somehow, she has kept breaking the porcelain off, and this time the bridge had loosened on one side, too. This time, though, Lisa brought in a newsletter she'd received from another dentist, which highlighted some of the things to avoid or be careful of if you've had cosmetic dentistry done. It turns out, Lisa had been doing several of them, but never realized they might be a problem, so she never mentioned any of them to me. Here are the "No-No's" that she either was recently doing, or was doing previously: Chewing popcorn daily - if you bite into an unpopped kernel, you can easily break porcelain Chewing hard candy - same thing. Anything hard enough to break a [...]

By Charles Payet| 2017-06-09T20:35:18-04:00 August 6th, 2011|Cosmetic dentistry, Porcelain Veneers, Taking Care of Your Teeth|0 Comments

A Toothache Can Kill You

But the good news is, a visit to your dentist could literally save your life. :-D BTW - as much as I like using photos to illustrate a point, no worries here, this post is safe to view at work, at home, around the kids, and will NOT upset your stomach at all. No gory photos! A Tooth Infection is REALLY Close to Your Brain & Throat As I mentioned on our Facebook Fan Page earlier this week, it isn't often that a general "family" dentist gets the opportunity to save a person's life, but this week that happened here at our south Charlotte family dental office. A young man came to us through 1-800-DENTIST, and he'd been absolutely miserable for almost a month. The right side of his face was severely swollen, to the point he couldn't open his right eye, and he had difficulty opening his mouth enough for us even to take a look and identify the problem tooth. He could barely even talk, and was clearly exhausted from not being able to sleep well for a long time. With a good x-ray and brief exam, the problem tooth was identified as an upper right molar (top right back jaw tooth) with a major cavity. On the x-ray, it looked like the roots were close to the sinus, which explained why he had some really bad sinus pressure on that side, too. Literally, the tooth abscess had penetrated his sinus. And if the infection was into his sinus, that meant it was not all that far from his brain. As most anyone knows, pretty much ANY infection that reaches the brain will put you in the hospital, and even if you survive, [...]

By Charles Payet| 2017-06-09T20:35:21-04:00 July 22nd, 2011|Emergency dental visit|0 Comments

Our Convenient Dental Office

Have you ever gone to the dentist for a problem, only to learn that you were going to have to see 1 or even several specialists to get all your treatment done? It's a bit irritating and inconvenient, isn't it? Even having to make appointments at the dentist and the orthodontist to get a cleaning and then braces means multiple trips, the doctors are (hopefully) communicating to make sure your treatment runs smoothly, etc. Certainly, this can be done very successfully, and I'm fortunate to work with some great specialists myself, but it's still a bit inconvenient, don't you think? Specialist-Level Dentistry in Charlotte NC Dental Office Just to be perfectly clear (gotta comply with state regulations, of course): I am a "General" dentist. What does that mean, really? Well, it means that I am allowed to perform pretty much every dental procedure of which I'm capable, unlike a dental specialist, at least in North Carolina, where regulations limit them to the area of their specialty. The catch is this: if I offer a procedure usually done by a specialist, i.e. an orthodontist, endodontist, periodontist, etc., I have to make sure I can do it as well as that specialist can do it. Of course, that requires that I really know my stuff! Now, given that I am a serious dental geek, there are several reasons I offer and perform a wide variety of procedures: I absolutely love learning and getting better at what I do; I like having total control over the outcome; Patients appreciate convenience and getting everything done in 1 place. How Many Services Do We Offer? Now, if you browse our website, you can read all this, but let me summarize [...]

By Charles Payet| 2017-12-17T15:46:34-05:00 June 29th, 2011|Cosmetic dentistry, Dental Braces, Laser Dentistry, Migraine headaches|0 Comments

What Causes “Soft Teeth?”

Does it seem like you get a lot of cavities, even though you try to take really good care of your teeth with regular brushing and flossing, and visit your dentist regularly? If so, you've probably started thinking that you just have "soft teeth" and there's nothing you can do about it. But keep reading to find out what REALLY might be happening! I remember one lady in her mid-30's who came to my Charlotteoffice years ago. Her story was sad - perfect teeth until she started having children, when she suddenly started getting cavities. After her 3rd child, it got worse........a LOT worse! She was desperate - she had spent so much time and money at the dentist, but the cavities kept coming back. :cry: We ended up doing a bunch of veneers and gave her a beautiful new smile back.........but I kid you not, within 2 years there were cavities around those veneers! And trust me......she worked SO HARD at keeping her teeth clean and healthy! She was fanatical about brushing and flossing. We tried everything I knew at the time; sadly, I eventually referred her to a specialist who did dental implants that couldn't get cavities. There is NO SUCH THING as "Soft Teeth" OK, now you want to know why - after experiences like that, I say there's no such thing as "soft teeth," right? Well, since then, I've learned a lot more, and I'm confident in saying that NOT ONLY is there no such thing, but there ARE things we can do now to prevent that sad cycle. Heartburn, Acid Reflux & Tooth Decay Previously, I discussed one of the most unknown reasons for tooth cavities in my post Why Moms Get [...]

By Charles Payet| 2017-06-09T20:35:26-04:00 June 23rd, 2011|Cavities|0 Comments

Teeth Whitening for Brown or White Spots

Have you tried teeth whitening many times without success? Do you have brownish or whitish patches on your teeth that just don't change, no matter what you've tried? Have you tried the In-Office "Laser" Whitening, the super-high concentration gels, the Crest White Strips......EVERYTHING.....only to see your teeth the same after 2 weeks? If you're looking for a Charlotte dentist who can help, read on. One of the most common frustrations experienced when people want to whiten their teeth, occurs when there are whitish and/or brown spots, because it can be very difficult to get the spots "evened out," and with brown spots, it seems they just don't whiten at all! Or do they............? ;-) What Causes Brown and White Spots on Teeth? Besides the usual causes of tooth stains (coffee, dark sodas and juices, tea, etc), there are several causes of really hard-to-get-out tooth discoloration: Excess fluoride intake as a child Rheumatic fever as a child Tetracycline antibiotics taken when young Conventional whitening has difficulty with these stains, because they are deep inside the teeth. But can it be done, and how? Teeth Whitening for Resistant Stains First of all, it can be done, but only by a dentist, because a strong acid must be used to open the enamel "pores," so to speak, which will remove the dark mineral stains. The key, though, is that the right minerals must immediately be applied to replace what is taken out. We use a remineralizing paste called MI Paste Plus, which contains calcium, phosphates, and fluoride in just the right concentrations to remineralize teeth. We do this literally moments after the acid etch is washed off, so you don't walk around with weakened teeth. Additional applications of the [...]

By Charles Payet| 2017-06-09T20:35:29-04:00 May 1st, 2011|Cosmetic dentistry|0 Comments

Dr. Oz Gives Bad Dental Advice

Yet again, Dr. Oz is providing bad advice on dental care, and the dental profession is beginning to speak more loudly in protest. As a profession, we are asking Dr. Oz to give air time on his show to any of a number of well-respected dentists to offer better options and to refute the bad information he is disseminating. It is unfortunate that a man as well-respected as he is, is using his prominence with such little disregard for the truth, and it makes me question how much other bad advice he is providing. Buyer beware! Please Dr. Oz - Stop Talking About Dentistry

By Charles Payet| 2017-06-09T20:35:32-04:00 March 18th, 2011|ANNOUNCEMENTS|0 Comments

Can a “Regular” Dentist Do Braces? YES!

Rather recently, there have been some efforts by the American Association of Orthodontists to promote the specialty of orthodontics by - unfortunately IMO - "putting down" the ability of general dentists to straighten teeth, whether with InvisalignTM, conventional braces, or any other means. In fact, on their website, they imply that it is a "myth" that general dentists can straighten teeth as well as an orthodontist. Experience & Training Are Important Is it true that orthodontists have 2-3 years of additional training after dental school, whereas we general or "family" dentists don't? Yup! Definitely true. Another important question to ask, however, is this," Just how hard is it really to make teeth straight with braces?" Well, in my not-so-humble-opinion, with some good training, it's not all that hard compared to many of the other things we general dentists do! And when you add to that the fact that I've been doing braces for about 7 years, along with the training in comprehensive reconstructive dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, and a few other things, I think I can safely say I have both the experience and training necessary to give YOU a great result. Six Month Braces Patient of Dr. Payet I present to you the Before-and-After photos of a young lady, 17 years old to be exact, who recently completed her orthodontic treatment in our office. Yes - my patient, my pictures. :-D You can click on the image to see it enlarged. This young lady was referred to me by a current patient, and she is embarking on career in modeling and acting. We had discussed that ideal orthodontic treatment for her would last 18 months or so, but that would have majorly interfered with some [...]

By Charles Payet| 2017-06-09T20:35:34-04:00 March 14th, 2011|Dental Braces, Invisalign, Six-Month Braces|0 Comments

Can A Toothache be Cured by Adjusting Your Bite?

Absolutely! As an example of how, let me tell you Michael's story: "Ever since I had that crown done, it hurts to bite down!" Michael first came to see me not because of a dental problem, but because he was taking over our office computer network in the fall of 2010. However, as he was resolving some network issues, we got to talking about the office, the kinds of things we do, just general stuff. And at one point, he mentioned that he hadn't been to a dentist in about 3 years, because the last time he went, the doctor cemented in a crown, and it had been hurting him ever since every time he bit into food. No sensitivity to cold or heat, just biting down, especially into chewy foods. CALL Your Dentist if it Hurts to Bite Down After a Filling or Crown Naturally, I told him the first thing he needed to do was to call the dentist and have them check it out, but he refused, saying that he just didn't like their office. So naturally, I suggested he let me take a look. Finally, he agreed. On exam, the crown looked perfectly good! The edges (we call it a "margin") were well-sealed to the tooth with no gaps, the shape was good, color was a pretty good match. THEN I used the piece of blue marking paper (yes, it is kind of like carbon paper, if you're curious) to have him bite down, which made a mark on the crown where the teeth came together. The mark was broad and dark, right in the middle of the crown, and all the marks on the teeth in front and behind were [...]

By Charles Payet| 2011-11-20T16:55:45-05:00 March 1st, 2011|Uncategorized|0 Comments

My Baby Stole the Calcium from my Teeth!

While not exactly common, it is also not unusual for us to hear a woman say, "Doc, I never had any cavities until after my baby; I heard that the baby steals the calcium from teeth before they're born. What do I do?" Can Your Baby "Steal" Calcium from Your Teeth to Cause Cavities? The simple answer to the question is good news: "NO!" :-D The more complicated answer is, "Well, kind of." :-? How? First of all, if you think about it, there is no way for a baby to "steal" the calcium or phosphates or fluoride from your teeth. I mean, how could that happen? The minerals somehow get sucked through the nerve chambers in your teeth, into the blood stream, and to the baby in the womb or to breast milk? Not likely! OK, so how about the minerals somehow get sucked out of the teeth into your saliva, down into your stomach, get absorbed, and then to the baby? Again, not gonna happen! So Why Do New Mothers Get More Cavities? The answer is remarkably simple, but so often overlooked: stomach acid via acid reflux! Doesn't that just make sense really? Just consider these items and check out the graph to see where stomach acid falls on the scale: Most women experience significant nausea during pregnancy - daily exposure of the teeth to stomach acid when you throw up will cause serious problems if it is for months on end. All that pressure on your insides pushes the acid into the esophagus, especially as the baby grows and starts kicking; especially if this happens at night, that acidity will just sit in your mouth for hours at a time, far worse [...]

By Charles Payet| 2017-06-09T20:35:36-04:00 February 24th, 2011|Cavities, Taking Care of Your Teeth|0 Comments