Dr. Ryan Paulson DDS and the team at Grand Traverse Smile Center are pleased to provide professional and caring dental services to their patients from Traverse City MI and the surrounding communities. Our dental services include: children's, cosmetic, family, implant, orthodontic, preventive, restorative and sedation dentistry.
In one visit we can help you regain the stunning white of your smile. Our in-office power whitening treatment makes it possible to remove years of staining and discoloration caused by food and beverages, tobacco use, or medication side effects. The results of our professional bleaching process can last for years! If you prefer, we also offer custom whitening trays made in our own lab. You receive supplies and instructions, allowing you to safely and effectively complete the procedure at home. Results occur within 1 - 14 days. Grand Traverse Smile Center Ryan Paulson, DDS 928 S. Garfield Avenue Traverse City, MI 49686 (231) 935-4872 GTSmileCenter.com
With age comes wisdom. Specifically, wisdom teeth.
Your mouth goes through many changes in your lifetime. One major dental milestone that usually takes place between the ages of 17 and 21 is the appearance of your third molars. Historically, these teeth have been called wisdom teeth because they come through at a more mature age.
When they come through correctly, healthy wisdom teeth can help you chew. Itís normal to feel a little discomfort when your wisdom teeth appear, but if you have pain, see your dentist immediately.
Room to Grow? Wisdom teeth can lead to problems if there isnít enough space for them to surface or they come through in the wrong position. If your dentist says your wisdom teeth are impacted, he or she means they are trapped in your jaw or under your gums.
As your wisdom teeth make their way through your gums, your dentist will be monitoring your mouth for signs of the following:
Wisdom teeth that arenít in the right position can allow food to become trapped. That gives cavity-causing bacteria a place to grow.
Wisdom teeth that havenít come in properly, which can make it difficult to floss between the wisdom teeth and the molars next to them.
Wisdom teeth that have partially come through can give bacteria a place to enter the gums and create a place for infection to occur. This may also lead to pain, swelling and stiffness in your jaw.
Wisdom teeth that donít have room to come through are thought by some to crowd or damage neighboring teeth.
A wisdom tooth that is impacted can form a cyst on or near the impacted tooth. This could damage the roots of nearby teeth or destroy the bone that supports your teeth.
A cracked or broken tooth can happen for a variety of reasons- brittle teeth, teeth grinding, injury. The crack may be invisible to the naked eye and even X-ray, but they can be incredibly painful and create bigger problems if left untreated. If you experience pain when chewing see your dentist. They can diagnose the cause and develop a plan for treatment.
Root canal treatment is necessary when the pulp (soft tissue inside your teeth containing blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue) becomes inflamed or diseased. During root canal treatment, your dentist or endodontist (a dentist who specializes in treating the insides of teeth) removes the diseased pulp. The pulp chamber and root canal(s) of the tooth are then cleaned and sealed. If the infected pulp is not removed, pain and swelling can result, and your tooth may have to be removed.
Causes of an infected pulp could include:
a deep cavity
repeated dental procedures
a cracked or broken tooth
injury to the tooth (even if thereís not a visible crack or chip)
If you continue to care for your teeth and gums your restored tooth could last a lifetime. However, regular checkups are necessary; a tooth without its nerve can still develop cavities or gum disease. Most of the time, a root canal is a relatively simple procedure with little or no discomfort involving one to three visits. Best of all, it can save your tooth and your smile.
The American Dental Association has created informative videos called Ask the Dentist. Here is their video on: 'Baby Teeth Are Going to Fall Out, So Why Take Care of Them?'
Wine tasters may be at high risk for enamel stain and erosion. Why? Sipping wine many times a day -- and swishing it in the mouth -- increases the enamel's exposure to damaging acids. That is why it's better to drink a glass of wine, soda, or sweet tea with a meal instead of sipping it over several hours.
TMJ/TMD – Proper Bite Alignment Treatment Helps You Say 'Goodbye' to Headaches and Jaw Pain!
The proper natural alignment of your jaw is critical to your overall health! Do you know that dental occlusion (i.e. your bite) is sometimes the cause of frequent headaches, aching or popping jaws, shoulder pain, and neck pain? Natural alignment can be altered in several ways – missing or worn teeth, grinding of teeth, muscle tension, and many others. Don't continue living with the pain. By restoring your dental occlusion, the jaw can be returned to the position that nature intended. Ask us about appropriate treatment options.
Dentures are removable appliances that can replace missing teeth and help restore your smile. If youíve lost all of your natural teeth, whether from gum disease, tooth decay or injury, replacing missing teeth will benefit your appearance and your health. Thatís because dentures make it easier to eat and speak better than you could without teethóthings that people often take for granted.
When you lose all of your teeth, facial muscles can sag, making you look older. Dentures can help fill out the appearance of your face and profile. They can be made to closely resemble your natural teeth so that your appearance does not change much. Dentures may even improve the look of your smile.
Types of dentures:
Conventional. This full removable denture is made and placed in your mouth after the remaining teeth are removed and tissues have healed, which may take several months.
Immediate. This removable denture is inserted on the same day that the remaining teeth are removed. Your dentist will take measurements and make models of your jaw during a preliminary visit. You donít have to be without teeth during the healing period, but may need to have the denture relined or remade after your jaw has healed.
Overdenture. Sometimes some of your teeth can be saved to preserve your jawbone and provide stability and support for the denture. An overdenture fits over a small number of remaining natural teeth after they have been prepared by your dentist. Implants can serve the same function, too.
The American Dental Association has created informative videos called Ask the Dentist. Here is their video on: 'When Should I Start Brushing My Childís Teeth?'
Losing even a single tooth can cause the other teeth to shift and move around, which can affect your ability to absorb nutrients from your food if you can’t chew properly. Other bad things include: your face changing shape, often looking “sunken” and making you look older; affected speech; and favoring softer foods and more carbohydrates, causing weight gain. The best way to treat a missing tooth (or missing teeth) is with dental implants. An implant can replace one tooth or many. They can be made to look so natural that even a dentist has to look hard to tell the difference. Grand Traverse Smile Center Ryan Paulson, DDS 928 S. Garfield Avenue Traverse City, MI 49686 (231) 935-4872 GTSmileCenter.com
In one visit we can help you regain the stunning white of your smile. Our in-office power whitening treatment makes it possible to remove years of staining and discoloration caused by food and beverages, tobacco use, or medication side effects. The results of our professional bleaching process can last for years! If you prefer, we also offer custom whitening trays made in our own lab. You receive supplies and instructions, allowing you to safely and effectively complete the procedure at home. Results occur within 1 - 14 days.
