Healthy Smiles Family Dental

Shining teeth can do wonders for your self-confidence. But if your teeth are discolored due to internal factors, getting them examined may also be crucial to your health. We provide a wide range of dental services at Healthy Smiles Family Dental in Salem, so no matter what is causing your tooth discoloration, we can help. Extrinsic stains are those caused by something such as smoke or dark liquid affecting the outer layer of your teeth. Intrinsic stains are those affecting the pulp or dentin. Some intrinsic stains are benign. Teeth may look brown if a person was exposed to large amounts of fluoride in their youth, or they may look black if they were exposed to certain antibiotics. But if an intrinsic stain develops later in life, it almost certainly means the patient has a pulp infection. Inflammation in the pulp chamber will cause a tooth to look black, purple, or red. It will often be accompanied by sensitivity and a bad taste. If a pulp infection is not treated, it may develop into ...

Cracking a tooth is a dental emergency. If this happens to one of our patients, they should call us at Healthy Smiles Family Dental in Salem unless they also have series facial lacerations, in which case they should go to an emergency room. The good news is that we can usually save cracked teeth, but we thought our patients would be calmer if they knew ahead of time what usually happens. Our molars distribute bite force over their wide surfaces. Other teeth are likelier to crack or be pushed outward if used for chewing, while molars can withstand incredible force. But they are also the likeliest teeth to crack or chip a cuspid. A patient should swish salt water in their mouth if they have a dental emergency and should cover a broken tooth with orthodontic wax if they have any available. If not, sugar-free gum will do. The smallest cracks, called craze lines, can be fixed with bonding or covered with a veneer. When a larger part of a tooth chips off, it may be fixable with a partial cro...

If you had an early-stage dental infection, would you be able to recognize it? We’re committed to preventive care at Healthy Smiles Family Dental in Salem. As part of our effort, we want each of our patients to understand what a white spot lesion signifies and what they need to do if they develop one. As the first sign of tooth decay, white spot lesions are also known as “incipient lesions.” They are spots on the surfaces of teeth that appear unnaturally white and chalky and are usually found near the gum line or the sides of teeth. White spots are caused by enamel having lost minerals, but not enough to form a cavity. The teeth naturally produce a film which sugar and the bacteria that feed on it get trapped in. As bacteria eat, they excrete acid, which erodes the enamel. The more food is available, the more bacteria multiply, and the more acid is produced. It only takes about a month for white spots to develop. Patients should take them as a sign they need to improve their brushing, ...

At Healthy Smiles Family Dental, our doctors and staff are always being asked by patients about the latest cosmetic solutions available.  There are several methods for whitening or straightening teeth, but our porcelain veneers are the best way to give your smile a complete cosmetic makeover without undergoing a single procedure. Veneers are thin shells made of high quality porcelain that bond directly to the surface of your teeth and look like your natural smile.  To outfit a patient with a full set of veneers, we begin with taking an impression.  This impression will be used to ensure a perfect fit for your new smile.  Some patients won’t require preparation of the teeth, but depending on your individual case your dentist may want to contour or shave teeth in select places.  This is only done when your dentist sees an area they determine could be a problem to fit the shells on.   A new set of veneers is fabricated outside the office, and on a final visit they are bonded directly to t...