What is Fluoride, and Why do We Need It?

Fluoride is a mineral substance that occurs naturally in water and soil. Since the early twentieth century, fluoride has been added to community water supplies to help protect people's teeth from dental cavities.
How does Fluoride Work to Prevent Cavities?

Teeth consist of a matrix of minerals, and the minerals in healthy teeth are constantly being depleted and restored. Depletion is caused by oral bacteria that feed on carbohydrates and produce acids that break down tooth enamel. Enamel is constantly being restored as the teeth are exposed to saliva, which is rich in dissolved minerals.

Mineral depletion is minimized with a good diet and oral hygiene routine, and this helps to keep cavities at bay. However, the combined effects of a high-sugar diet and a poor oral hygiene routine promotes cavities, because the rate of mineral depletion becomes much faster. The result of this is cavity formation.

Fluoride protects against cavities because it helps promote mineral restoration, and also because the chemical properties of fluoride mean it can also make tooth enamel more resistant to acid.
Fluoride Dental Products

At Love Family Dental, we recommend that people with certain kinds of oral health problems take extra fluoride to help protect their teeth. People with gum disease, or who have a history of having frequent cavities, and people who have crowns, bridges, or braces, can fall into this category. As well as this, people who have conditions that cause them to produce less saliva may also benefit from fluoride supplementation, because saliva contains substances that help prevent cavities.

As well as being present in toothpaste and community water supplies, fluoride is added to certain kinds of oral health products, for people who need that extra protection.

· Fluoride gels, foams, and varnishes, which are applied to the teeth for several minutes and then rinsed off. These products contain much higher levels of fluoride than toothpastes and mouth washes, so they're only available in your dentist's office.

· High-strength mouth washes that contain more fluoride than over-the-counter mouth washes, can be prescribed by your dentist or doctor.

· Tablet or liquid fluoride supplements can be prescribed by your doctor or dentist.
Using Fluoride Products Safely

When used properly fluoride products are absolutely safe. However, concentrated fluoride products can have toxic effects when taken in very high doses, just as many health products are unsafe when they're overused. Because of this, parents should supervise young children when they brush their teeth, to make sure they're not eating the toothpaste. Products that contain fluoride should be stored out of reach of young hands, too.





In terms of fluoride in water, the level in the public drinking supply is so low that you'd need to consistently drink about ten liters of water a day to see any adverse effects.





To get a fluoride treatment in Astoria or to ask Drs. Howard and Michael Love about other ways to take care of your oral health, call Love Family Dental today.

The History of Veneers

Long-lasting and versatile, porcelain veneers are a highly popular cosmetic dental procedure, but they weren't always as widely available as they are now. When first invented, veneers were available only to elite movie stars—and in fact, they were invented to meet Hollywood's demand for picture-perfect smiles.
Hollywood Origins

Veneers were invented in 1928 at the request of Hollywood makeup artists the Westmores, an influential and innovative family who worked with some of the movie industry's brightest stars, including Bette Davis, Vivienne Leigh, Rudolph Valentino, and Lauren Bacall.

The Westmore brothers were dissatisfied at the time with their limited range of options for altering the appearance of an actor's teeth. They wanted to be able to improve the way an actor's teeth looked for aesthetic purposes, and they also wanted more options in terms of innovating new shapes for special roles. A third reason for the request was related to the growing popularity of the “talkies”, thanks to 1927 film The Jazz Singer, the very first feature-length talking movie: the current options available to the Westmore brothers could modify the way the teeth looked, but impaired an actor's ability to speak clearly.

The brothers turned to Californian dentist Charles Pincus, who developed a device that was known first as the “false front” and later as “Hollywood facings”. Charles Pincus' original invention was a series of thin slices of porcelain, contoured and baked to provide stability. Unlike today's veneers, however, the false front was fitted temporarily for filming and personal appearances, and then removed, as the adhesives that were then available were not strong enough to allow permanent placement.
Modern-Day Porcelain Veneers

For several decades, veneers were available only to film and TV stars, and it wasn't until quite recently—in the 1970s and 1980s—that dental technology advanced to the point where porcelain veneers were inexpensive and practical enough for them to become a more mainstream cosmetic treatment.

Innovations such as stronger adhesives, and new methods of porcelain treatment, have created the veneers that we know today, which adhere strongly to teeth and can last for several decades with good care.
A Simple, Versatile Procedure

These days, veneers are a common cosmetic dental procedure we do at Love Family Dental. Present day veneers are so effective at improving the appearance of the teeth that they've come to be known as “instant orthodontics.” As well as improving teeth that are uneven in size or shape, veneers can cover up chipped cracked, and worn teeth, and correct the color of teeth that are resistant to whitening treatments.

And while that Hollywood-perfect smile was once only available to movie stars, now anyone can have a set of porcelain veneers, in just one or two dental visits. Call Drs. Howard and Michael Love at our Astoria dental practice today to learn more about how veneers can give you a picture perfect, Hollywood smile.

The Role of Specialists when Placing Implants

Dental implants are an innovative advancement in dentistry. Acting as a prosthetic root, an implant secures new teeth (crowns) in place, producing a natural looking and functional tooth.

Dental implant placement, however, requires specialized knowledge and training. Though many general dentists offer to place implants surgically, we feel that implant placement is more successful when conducted by a specially trained oral surgeon.

How do Implants Work?

The implant placement procedure, while relatively straight forward, requires tremendous expertise. Small titanium posts are surgically put into the jaw bone and serve as the tooth’s natural root. The surgical procedure itself takes very little time, depending primarily on the number of implants the patient is receiving.

Oral surgeons are uniquely skilled to not only place the implant, but they can also perform any required preparation needed to ensure a successful implant. For some patients, the preparation and placement can be conducted all in one appointment. For example, a tooth can be extracted and a dental implant can be placed in a single visit lasting about an hour and typically requires only local anesthesia. After a period of healing and bone integration which usually lasts about three months, patients visit their general dentist and the implants are fitted with a new crown.
Why Insist on a Dental Specialist?

Dental implants usually require multiple dental professionals including a Periodontist or an Oral Surgeon to surgically place the implant, a dental lab tech to create the restoration, and a general dentist to cap the implant with the implant restoration. Although many dentists are able to surgically place the dental implant, we refer to a specialist as they have an additional three years of specialized dental training beyond dental school and they usually have high performance technology that is not often found in a typical dental office. This technology often includes 3D CAD/CAM imaging and computerized surgical guides. At Love Family Dentistry, we believe that using an oral surgeon for implant placement delivers the most successful restorations and best patient experience.

Our preferred Oral Surgeons work closely with Drs. Michael and Howard Love, ensuring patients receive lasting restorations and consistent care. Following the dental implant placement procedure and implant integration we focus on restoring the tooth with a crown or stabilized denture, and customizing the patient’s new functioning teeth to produce a beautiful, healthy and natural-looking smile. For more information about the dental implant process, contact Love Family Dentistry today to schedule your consultation.