Dental Implants vs. Bridges and Dentures

Missing teeth can be an unattractive dental problem that creates issues beyond aesthetics. Teeth on either side of the gap in your smile can twist and turn toward the empty space, causing a painfully misaligned bite. But with dental implants, Dr. Plasch can fill the spaces in your smile and help support your oral health.

Dental implants provide significant benefits over other restorations, including:

Dentures

Dentures are prosthetic devices that replace missing teeth. Traditional dentures depend on an daily apply paste to adhere to soft tissue. This bond is prone to failure and can cause painful and embarrassing dental mishaps. The tremendous force of biting and chewing wears on dentures and they'll eventually need to be refitted or replaced.

Bridges

A bridge is a unit of one or more replacement teeth affixed to adjacent teeth. Bridges can last around five years, but can create secondary health issue. Teeth around the empty space in your smile must be filed down to anchor the bridge structure. This preparation of dental enamel results diminishes surface enamel that protects teeth from infection.


Dental implants are titanium posts added to a patient's jawbone, onto which replacement teeth are screwed or cemented. Since titanium is a biocompatible metal, it bonds with bone for stability and to promote better oral health through dense bone volume. Implants are strong and can a lifetime. One of the best parts about implants is that they are comfortable, and look and feel like natural teeth.

A Lifetime Solution

While dentures and bridges are serviceable tooth replacement methods, dental implants are a longer lasting solution that feel more like your own teeth and actually promote better oral health..
Where a bridge only lasts about five years, a dental implant lasts decades. It’s also important to note that maintain implants over the years does not require costly, frequent repair. If an implant ever needs to be restored, only the upper prosthetic – not the implant base – would need to be replaced..

Cost Compared to Value

Cost is factor in a patient's choice for tooth replacement solutions. Placement of dental implants is initially a greater investment than dentures or a bridge, but in the long run they can be much less expensive. A patient is often required to pay for an entirely new restoration every time their bridge or partial dentures need restoration. In time, denture and bridge patients end up paying more than if they'd chosen dental implants in the first place.

Learn more about Implant Dentistry

Each method has its oral health benefits and drawback. Patient should consider their needs, priorities and budget before deciding on an option. For more information on whether implants are the right choice for you, contact our Hayward implant dentist, Dr. Plasch, for more information.

Sleep Apnea: How Dental Appliances Help Patients Breathe Easier

Patients with sleep apnea face a number of complications from the condition, including interfering with daily health and wellness. But sleep apnea treatment should help provide solutions, not create more problems with bulky and uncomfortable equipment.

Dr. Plasch’s dental appliances for sleep apnea help patients enjoy relief from bothersome side-effects of this health issue by accomplishing the following:

Holding the Jaw in Position – Sleep apnea dental appliances are fabricated to hold your jaw at a slightly forward angle. By doing this, the soft tissue collapse in the back of the throat that prevents successful breathing during sleep is shifted. With the jaw in position, it’s not necessary for patients with mild sleep apnea to have air pumped into passages, as is experienced with a CPAP machine.

Promoting Free Flow of Air – With soft tissues prevented from blocking airways, sleep apnea patients can breathe more easily. As disruption in air flow is what causes sleep apnea patients to awaken several times a night, facilitating free and open air passages allows patients to breathe without obstruction.

Prevention of Secondary Issues –Sleep apnea patients fight to intake air throughout the night and may therefore alternate between sleep and wakefulness hundreds of times in an evening. Patients can also grind their teeth and snore as they deal with an inability to breathe successfully while sleeping. But with a sleep apnea oral appliance from our Hayward dental office, patients enjoy more restful sleep and do not engage in frequent secondary issues that can cause problems for dental health and over all wellness.

No Facemasks, Forced Air, or Bulky Equipment

Compared to CPAP, oral appliance therapy for sleep apnea provides a more convenient, portable, and comfortable solution to those with minor and moderate disruptive sleep problems. With the oral appliance, there are no components covering your face, no straps to adjust over the top of your head, and no forced air – which can create dry mouth and is often difficult to tolerate. Dental appliances for sleep apnea can be held in the palm of your hand and are no more complicated to wear than a traditional dental retainer.
If you have questions about how oral appliance therapy can alleviate your sleep apnea symptoms, please call our office for your consultation. We are able to perform initial sleep apnea screenings in-office to help your sleep physician better diagnose and recommend treatment for your disordered sleep breathing condition.

Who Can Benefit from Sedation Dentistry?

Sedation dentistry has created a buzz in dental marketing, as it is an easy way for patients to experience a more enjoyable trip to the dentist. But sedation isn’t necessary for everyone, and there are multiple sedation therapies available –picking the right sedation for your needs is essential.
Our sedation dental treatments work best for patients in the following circumstances:

Patients Who Need Extensive Care - When full-mouth restoration is necessary, sedation can help patients complete their transformation in fewer appointments, by making longer visits more comfortable. Sedation is especially beneficial when full-mouth reconstruction includes surgical procedures, like the placement of dental implants. With sedation dentistry, you can enjoy a deep feeling or rest, while Dr. Plasch works to improve your smile.

The Mildly to Severely Anxious – Feelings of dental anxiety vary, depending on previous experiences and your level of comfort with certain procedures. For patients with mild sensitivity or apprehension that may involve fear of triggering a gag reflex or being intimidated by the sounds of dental equipment, nitrous oxide and oral conscious sedatives help induce feelings of relaxation. Our third option for sedation, NuCalm, helps promote comfortable care for the most nervous. With this sedation therapy, the more nervous you are, the better the system will work for you.

Those Wish to Avoid Sedative Medication –Sedation dentistry can still help you experience successful dental visits in the event that you wish to avoid taking medication to feel relaxed. Our Hayward dental office uses an innovative system called NuCalm that uses natural supplements and suppresses sensory stimulation to help you feel as relaxed as you would feel right before you fall asleep. NuCalm is gentle, effective, and does not produce after-effects like grogginess and sleepiness.

Dr. Plasch and his team offer a variety of dental sedation therapies to meet your needs, including nitrous oxide, oral conscious sedation, and medication-free sedation with NuCalm. Regardless of your level of anxiety or how complex your treatment plan may be, we can find a treatment that will work for you. For more information on how sedation can help you, please contact our office for your consultation.

Is it ADHD, or does your child have Sleep Apnea?

The Stanford School of Medicine states that about 10% of children 10 years of age and younger snore and, of those children who snore, about 20% will have obstructive sleep apnea.  Snoring can be a sign that your child has sleep apnea as it indicates, at the very least, that their airway is partially obstructed during sleep.  Sleep apnea is a serious medical condition that can interrupt or stop your child's breathing, prevent a normal night's sleep, impair growth, and lead to lower quality of life.  It also can cause serious fatigue during the day which is why it is so often confused with ADHD.  Sleep-disordered breathing, such as snoring and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), has long been associated with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).  You should know that not every child diagnosed with sleep  apnea has ADHD, just as not every child diagnosed with ADHD has sleep apnea.  However, many studies have been performed indicating a significant correlation between OSA and behavioral issues.

Children with obstructive sleep apnea do not get restful sleep, and as a result may complain of morning headaches, be irritable, and have difficulty concentrating.  Children with sleep apnea may complain of being tired during the day and, at the same time, exhibit hyperactive behavior or act impulsively. Also, sleep apnea cay cause malocclusion. Herein lies the confusion of separating sleep apnea from ADHD because many of the classic symptoms of ADHD are often exhibited in children with OSA.  So, as a parent of child diagnosed with ADHD, what do you do?"

It will be in your child's best interest if you dig a little deeper into the root of what may be causing these behaviors.  Watch your child sleep at night-and even record it if you can.  Check for restlessness, mouth breathing, snoring, or breathing pauses.  If they occur, have your child evaluated for possible sleep apnea to ensure the proper diagnoses and treatment.  Figuring out if your child has sleep apnea or ADHD may seem quite complex but it doesn't have to be. Consult with  a sleep apnea doctor if you can answer "yes" to any or some of the following questions:-Does your child snore?-Does your child stop breathing for a few seconds at night?-Does your child frequently mouth breath?-Does your child grind his or her teeth?-Does your child sleep through the night or is it a restless sleep?-Is there frequent bedwetting?-Does your child seem irritable during the day?-Is there difficulty focusing? -Are there periods of  hyperactivity?

The good news is that sleep apnea is treatable.  Enlarged tonsils and adenoids are the most common causes of sleep apnea in children.  An ear, Nose, and Throat specialist can determine if your child's tonsils and adenoids are enlarge and possible blocking the airway at night.  A tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy can successfully treat sleep apnea by removing the obstruction in the airway resulting in a complete elimination of symptoms in 80-90% of children.

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Here's to your best oral health ever!