Daily use of an interdental cleaner (floss) is essential to maintaining healthy teeth and gums. When some questioned the value of flossing a couple of years ago, dental professionals and the U.S. Government quickly reaffirmed its importance. There are places between your teeth that toothbrushes cannot reach, and they need to be cleaned daily. Flossing helps to remove bacteria-laden plaque that can turn into tartar. When tartar builds up along your gumline, it can lead to periodontal disease. 

The staff at Farber Center are among dental and periodontal professionals who wholeheartedly recommend their patients floss daily — along with brushing at least twice a day. Together, these are the essential elements of dental hygiene that maintain your oral health and contribute significantly to better whole-body health. Among Long Island’s holistic dentists, Farber Center is a firm advocate of dental health education and advanced preventive care, including flossing.

Do I Really Need to Floss Every Day?

The answer is yes — and for many good reasons. Although twice-daily brushing is the essential activity, it can’t quite reach everywhere around your teeth and gums. That’s why floss, known formally as an interdental cleaner, is so crucial. You might feel a need to floss when a small bit of food s stuck between your teeth, but it’s what you can’t feel that is the most important reason. Brushing twice a day can only reach so far in your mouth. Accumulated plaque can contain as many as 500 types of bacteria, many of which can lead to tooth decay and gum disease. Plaque between your teeth that is not removed can harden and turn into tartar (or calculus). Once plaque turns into tartar, only a dentist or hygienist can remove it.

Daily flossing keeps the spaces between your teeth cleaner and free from plaque. When done frequently and correctly, it also can help clean along the gum line, which is so important to your gums. Periodontal disease caused by plaque and tartar is mostly preventable with good oral hygiene and regular visits to a dentist for professional dental cleanings and check-ups. Over the long term, you’ll save hundreds and thousands in dental bills when your teeth are free from decay, and your gums stay healthy. Eating well and reducing sugary foods also helps, and when combined with excellent oral hygiene practices, your chances of avoiding tooth decay and periodontal disease increase exponentially.

If I’m Not Flossing Already, How Do I Begin?

When you first introduce flossing into your daily oral hygiene routine, it may cause mild discomfort. But it should ease within a week or two. If discomfort or bleeding continues, talk to your dentist because it may be a sign of gum disease. Also, maximize the value of your daily flossing routine by using an optimal technique. All of the Farber Center dental hygienists are pleased to give you tips, pointers, and information. They have patient education materials and can direct you to video demonstrations available from professional organizations such as the American Dental Association. Make sure you floss thoroughly and reach all areas. The more plaque and trapped food particles you remove each time, the more you are helping yourself in the long run.

By flossing and brushing your teeth regularly, as recommended, as well as having regular dental and periodontal check-ups, you are doing all you can to prevent gum disease and tooth decay. Flossing takes very little time and effort and can quickly form part of your daily dental hygiene regimen. An extra couple of minutes a day will be well worth it when you don’t need to go through the discomfort, inconvenience, and expense of fillings, dental implants, periodontal treatments, or tooth extractions.

 

Dental implants are the gold standard for tooth replacement in the opinion of nearly all dental professionals. The strong advocacy for implants compared to other methods is supported by years of research and real-life experience. Well-placed implants are hard to tell from real teeth; they promote healthy bone structure and restore a bite strength comparable to natural teeth. It’s why our Farber Center locations in Medford NY and Hauppauge, NY, strive to be among the foremost providers of dental implants Long Island has available. We are holistic dentists, and above all are patient-centered in our practice. When you visit us for a consultation, we will provide thorough information about all of your options.

Even if you already have lost all of your teeth and wear dentures, we offer advanced systems like All-on-4® implant-supported dentures and bridges. They are cost-effective ways to enjoy the benefits of implants with less invasive and less costly treatment; and more importantly, can restore your smile in a day.  The point is always to give you great-looking replacement teeth that allow you to eat and enjoy all the foods you love. A beautiful smile is essential to your self-confidence and overall quality of life. If you’ve been living with dentures that slip and make you uneasy about biting into and chewing crunchy foods, Dr. Farber and our team can help. We are an all-under-one-roof practice, which means we fabricate everything onsite and have advanced capabilities such as computer-guided implant placement.

The Major Advantages of Dental Implants are Significant

Assuming a replacement is necessary because a natural tooth cannot be saved or repaired, a dental implant is the most natural-looking option. Because they virtually mimic the natural tooth that was lost, no one will be able to tell you have had a replacement. The implant screw takes the place of a tooth root and fuses to the jawbone as it heals. It means you preserve the underlying bone that would be lost if the socket was left open, and enjoy a firm bite. Your facial structure also is preserved as the bone stays healthy and in its original size and shape. The tooth crown that sits on top of the implant is matched precisely to the original tooth and surrounding teeth. It becomes a permanent part of your smile and fits in naturally.

When using dental bridges or dental bonding, there is a danger of breaking down or damaging surrounding teeth. It occurs because of the force of biting and chewing that shifts to the nearby teeth. It doubles or triples the force they must support. A well-placed implant, on the other hand, absorbs biting and chewing impact in the same manner as the original tooth — meaning that it does not add stress to its neighbors. In the long-run, all of your teeth and bone are supported and preserved.  Because dental and periodontal issues often affect groups of teeth, keeping everything healthy and well-supported bodes well for your oral health overall.

A Firm Bite is Essential to Your Quality of Life

The bite strength of a dental implant is generally 80- to 90-percent the strength of a natural tooth. If you’ve lived with dentures, bridges, or weak/diseased teeth for any period, you understand the importance of a firm bite. The cliches about biting into apples and corn-on-the-cob do have meaning in everyday life. It’s embarrassing to decline these foods because you can’t eat them comfortably, not to mention the impact on your ability to eat a healthy diet. With an increasing emphasis on fresh and whole foods, vegetables, and grains that are firm and chewy is an expanding part of early everyone’s diet these days.

Implants will last much longer than any of the other dental restorative procedures. Bonding typically will last a year or two, and dentures often have a life expectancy of about five years. But implants are said to have a 98-percent initial success rate and a 95-percent success rate after ten years — for many people, they may last a lifetime. Home care is also more uncomplicated because you brush and floss around them in the same way you do for your natural teeth. They are permanent replacements that are healthy, great-looking options that nearly every patient considers a wise decision.

If you’d like a consultation or to find out more, complete the online contact form above or call our Farber Center appointment lines: 631,265.4442 for Hauppauge NY; or, 631.758.3700 for Medford NY. We’ll give you all the options, answer questions, and provide complete information to help you decide what’s right for you.

 

If you are a loyal reader of the Farber Center blog, then you’ve already read about how diabetes increases the risk of developing periodontitis (gum disease). Therefore, for people with diabetes, maintaining good oral health, including healthy teeth and gums, is even more essential. The best defense is consistent home care, including brushing at least twice a day and flossing daily. When good home care is combined with routine dental check-ups, any issues can be treated before they become significant problems. For those who already have been diagnosed with periodontitis (gum disease), deeper cleanings such as laser pocket disinfection can be essential.

In addition to being alert to possible gum disease, diabetics also can benefit from the better whole-body health holistically supported by healthy teeth and gums. When a person has periodontitis, there is a low-grade infection in the mouth that can affect the heart, circulatory system, and immune system. These are among the reasons both dental and periodontal organizations strongly advise patients to brush, floss, and have regular check-ups. If you have diabetes, all of these becomes even more essential for you and you take precautions to maintain good health.

What are Periodontitis and Diabetes and How Do They Connect?

Our bodies typically create energy by processing the foods we eat into glucose (sugar). The pancreas will then manufacture a hormone called insulin to spread the glucose to the cells within our bodies. A person with diabetes is unable to produce enough insulin, or the body does not use insulin properly. It causes sugar to pile up in excess within the body. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that, as of 2015, 30.3 million Americans have diabetes. The CDC report states that 84.1 million Americans have prediabetes, a condition that leads to type 2 diabetes within five years.

Periodontitis, periodontal disease, or gum disease is a common infection damaging the soft tissue and bone supporting your teeth. The Journal of Dental Research released a study estimating that 47.2% of Americans (64.7 million adults) have some form of periodontitis.

The two become linked because an infection such as periodontitis may cause insulin resistance, which disrupts blood sugar control. The American Academy of Periodontology states that severe periodontal disease can increase blood sugar. The increased blood sugar, along with the development of insulin resistance, makes it clear that having both at once, is problematic.

Farber Center Treats Periodontal Disease for Diabetics and Everyone

Controlling periodontal disease, for the most part, requires the same steps whether or not you have diabetes. But if you have diabetes, making sure to follow all of the necessary steps is even more essential because of the broader effect on your health. Make sure to have bi-yearly check-ups with a periodontist, as well as proper treatment for any recurring issues. You may likely be a candidate for deeper laser cleanings which eradicate bacteria below the gum line using advanced treatment methods. Also, if you at some point require surgery, we offer news less invasive laser gum surgery methods that are more comfortable and effective.

If you would have gum disease leading to tooth loss, we offer a full range of replacement solutions. They include holistic dental implants made from a ceramic material known as zirconia. For patients who have lost many teeth, All-on-4 dental implants can replace an entire row with only four implants.  For people with diabetes who have had gum disease and tooth loss, treating and controlling oral infections and replacing teeth with dental implants can be essential steps to maintaining overall health. Eating well depends on being able to bite and chew healthy fruits and vegetables, and a well functioning set of new teeth can make it all possible.

If you’ve had tooth loss or gun problems, Dr. Farber and everyone at our Medford and Hauppauge dentist offices wants you to know that with the help of Farber Center,  your future will be better. Recent advances in treatments and methods have made nearly everything more comfortable and effective. Because we strive to be among the best Long island Periodontists, we have the latest equipment on-site and provide a thorough level of care that is unmatched by others in the area. Our patient-centered approach is all about you and your needs, meaning that when you visit us, you’ll receive outstanding care every time.

Do you have chipped teeth? Although our teeth are naturally strong, specific stresses can cause chips, cracks, and breaks. While this may appear to be merely a cosmetic issue, a chipped tooth can indicate oral health issues. As part of its commitment to provide helpful information to its patients and the public at large, Farber Center reminds you to visit a dental care provider for routine check-ups and cleanings. During your check-ups, dentists, and hygienists will give you a thorough oral exam and discuss with you areas of concern such as chipped teeth — and what can be done to treat them. If you live on Long Island and don’t currently have a dentist, or it’s been a long time since you’ve had a check-up, contact us today to schedule an appointment.

When it comes to chipped teeth or any other holistic dental or periodontal concern, it’s essential to keep in mind the connection between oral and whole-body health. Many studies continue to explore links between healthy teeth and gums and other critical organs in the body. These include your heart, circulatory, and immune systems. Low-grade infections in the mouth can affect these vital systems, and if you have a chronic condition such as diabetes, it also can be affected. Also, for nearly all of us, a beautiful smile is essential to self-esteem and self-confidence. A chipped tooth or teeth diminishes your smile and when resolved, will make you feel better about yourself.

What Causes Chipped Teeth in Most Cases?

Common causes of chipped or cracked teeth include:

• Biting or chewing hard candies, ice cubes, or a meat bone
• Trauma to the face such as a punch or accidentally being hit playing sports
• Cavities and decay that weaken the teeth
• Poor oral hygiene, which can leave you vulnerable due to thinning tooth enamel and other issues
• Bruxism or excessive teeth grinding

How Do Dentists Treat and Repair Chipped Teeth?

Treatment of chipped teeth depends on the size and location of the chip, and the condition of the tooth in general. Even if your chip is tiny and painless, you should visit a dental professional for an exam and treatment. Catching and addressing chips and cracks early on is essential to preventing further damage. If left untreated, some may worsen over time. In more severe cases, an untreated chip might increase in size, resulting in exposed nerves. When nerves are near the surface, you’ll experience tooth sensitivity and feel pain.

In the case of a larger chip or crack, treatment might include a crown or even complete replacement of the tooth with a dental implant. Much again depends on the condition of the tooth before it was damaged. If you’ve been ignoring a cracked or chipped tooth for some time and the situation has become worse, it’s more likely you’ll need more extensive treatment. Farber Center is devoted to saving teeth and can offer you a complete range of treatment options. One of the most important reasons to keep or replace a tooth with an implant is to preserve the nearby teeth and underlying jaw bone.

A Few Simple Steps Can Help You Avoid Chipped Teeth

• Watch What You’re Eating: Biting into hard candy such as a lollipop and sucking candies are a sure way to chip a tooth. Additionally, the sugar in candy can cause tooth decay.
• Invest in a Dental Night-Guard: If you tend to grind your teeth, you may be doing it in your sleep as well. Buying in a dental night-guard can prevent damage from unconscious grinding.
• Maintain a Consistent and Effective Oral Health Care Regimen: Brush your teeth at least twice a day and floss daily for the best results.

Farber Center Can Help with Chipped Teeth and Any Dental Need

Farber Center for Periodontics and Dental Implants is a one-of-a-kind holistic dental practice serving Long Island. Our dentist offices in Medford NY and Hauppauge, NY, are convenient to many locations in Suffolk and Nassau Counties. We’re a broad-ranging team of professionals with the latest treatment programs for any tooth or gum issue. If you have a chipped or cracked tooth, make an appointment to visit us as soon as possible. We’ll give you a thorough oral exam and present a range of options to repair the chip or crack — or replace the entire tooth if it is weak or decayed. Our capabilities are extensive, and with us, you’ll find everything under one roof. We’re patient-centered in our approach, and if you’re apprehensive about dental exams, we’ll be gentle and put your mind at ease.

 

 

Strong, metal-free ceramic dental implants from NobelPearl™ are among the newer and more advanced tooth replacement options available from Farber Center. If you thought implants were only made from titanium, there now are more choices. NobelPearl™ is 100-percent metal-free and derives its strength from zirconia. They are soft tissue friendly, which means easily accepted by the body for most people, and even can have long-term benefits different from metal implants. The advantages include being unfriendly to plaque and generating a low inflammatory response, which means easier healing for many people.

In the Long Island area, holistic dentists like Farber Center are leading providers of more holistic dental implants that do not contain metal. With NobelPearl™, you’ll have a firm bite, eat the foods you enjoy and have great looking replacement teeth. Also, there’s no cement (adhesive) in the internal connections to avoid introducing any additional substances to the body. You’ll enjoy all the benefits of implants with a metal-free ceramic composition that helps preserve bone and helps maintain your oral health. If you’re someone who has thinner soft tissue in the mouth, these implants can be better tolerated than other options. The metal-free carbon-reinforced polymer material is a genuine advance over different implants.

Ceramic Dental Implants Look Great and There are Other Important Benefits

Excellent osseointegration and soft-tissue attachment might not sound essential to you right off the bat, but they are vital qualities of the best dental implants, ceramic included. Osseointegration has to do with how well the implant fuses to the bone as it heals. The firmness and permanence of implants depend on fusion with the jawbone. Their presence also helps to prevent bone resorption (bone loss) than can occur when a tooth is extracted and the socket left empty. A firm and healthy jawbone helps not only implants but your natural teeth as well, so it is crucial. Soft-tissue attachment is key as well because it means your gums, which need to attach to the replacement tooth just as they do to natural teeth.

NobelPearl™ ceramic implants also are soft-tissue friendly. For some patients who naturally have thinner tissue inside the mouth, they can perform better than titanium products. Also, after healing, the volume of tiny blood vessels surrounding the zirconia implants is shown to be higher — generally indicating good acceptance by the body. The NobelPearl™ implant screws are made from Vicarbo® carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer and the implant itself made from ATZ zirconia featuring a high bending strength.  The carefully selected and higher quality elements combine for a product with many superior performance attributes.

Have You Explored all Tooth Replacement Options? Be Informed Before Your Decide

Many dental and periodontal professionals recommend implants as a good option when teeth need to be replaced. Preservation of jawbone as mentioned earlier is a significant benefit — and also helps to support nearby natural teeth that remain in the mouth. Maintaining a strong and firm bite also is essential. Quality of life and healthy eating can depend on one’s ability to bite and chew foods naturally. Unlike a denture which may slip, implants hold in place permanently and with strength. Lastly, and most importantly to many people, they look virtually like natural teeth. Giving you back your smile can be a great self-confidence builder and naturally helps you maintain a more youthful appearance.

Because patient education and information are important priorities are valued greatly at Farber Center, come armed with any questions. We’ll happily help with your information requests and help you become well informed about all of your options. Because there are a growing number of patients who request metal-free dental implants, we’re proud to provide the ceramic option with The NobelPearl™. It’s a product that is growing in acceptance and popularity each year. In addition to offering holistic dental alternatives, Dr. Farber is committed to offering advanced options and newer treatments so that our patients can benefit from everything that is new.

Also, if you have a diseased tooth, we’re pleased to give you a complete exam and explain all of the options. If it can be saved with dental or gum disease treatment, we can help. Or if needs to be pulled, we offer oral surgery services including tooth extractions. Our practice is an all-under-one-roof format providing dental, periodontal, and dental implant services. It means efficient treatment and faster results because we handle more of your needs on-site. When you contact and visit us, you’ll be in the care of a compassionate and highly skilled group of professionals dedicated to helping you with any oral care need.

Perioscopy® is highly effective non-surgical gum disease treatment that helps save teeth. It’s a less invasive, more comfortable procedure that is available to nearly all patients with periodontitis. The therapy can even work for people who for various reasons, cannot undergo traditional gum surgery. It’s all made possible by the perioscope, which is a dental endoscope that goes below the gumline to pinpoint areas of infection. Because Perioscopy® offers magnification of 20-40x, it allows dentists, periodontists, and hygienists to work with a higher degree of accuracy than ever before. It means they find and treat more problem spots, even those in the early stages that might not have been detected previously.

As a holistic dentist, Farber Center for Periodontics & Dental Implants is proud to provide the most effective Perioscopy® Long Island has available. We offer the latest treatment options for periodontics and dental implants as part of our commitment to being patient-centered in all that we do. If you know or suspect you might have infected gums but have put off treatment, here’s a reason to set aside your reluctance. Unlike earlier methods requiring more invasive and uncomfortably surgery, Perioscopy® helps your clinician treat only problem areas. It allows infected root surfaces and periodontal pockets to be cleaned and cleared of infection. Your oral health and whole-body health will improve instantly.

With Perioscopy©, What are the Most Important Benefits?

The benefits of Perioscopy® are many but helping to save your teeth and prevent deterioration of the underlying jaw bone are among the most essential. Periodontal pockets are places in the gum where infections begin and progress. Bacteria cause inflammation and the eventual deterioration of all nearby tissue, bone, and teeth. For anyone with periodontitis, effective treatment like Perioscopy® has immediate benefits. When your dentist can view below the gumline in real-time with magnification, accuracy, and results improve. In earlier methods, larger areas of the gum would be opened, and while magnified views were available, they were not to the level of accuracy achieved with this newer procedure.

With a less invasive, non-surgical gum disease treatment like Perioscopy®, you can expect less discomfort and faster healing times. Appointments for this procedure do take a bit longer than ordinary periodontal cleanings, but the significant potential benefits far outweigh the investment of time. Costs can be lower than with traditional gum surgery, and when that advantage is combined with the others, it makes a strong case for choosing this procedure. Farber Center also prides itself on patient education. When you visit us, you’ll give be given a range of options and information about each one. The goal is helping you be better informed so that you can make the choice that is right for you.

Perioscopy® Works with a Specialized Dental Endoscope

A dental endoscope makes possible the non-surgical Perioscopy® procedure. It is a mini camera on the end of a fiber-optic probe that is capable of going below the gum line. It provides immediate unobstructed views with 20-40x magnification giving clinicians a powerful diagnostic tool. Thanks to the advanced digital imaging, your dentist, periodontist, or hygienist can perform a targeted treatment in a less invasive manner. The highly magnified images also allow earlier detection of smaller problem spots before they become more significant areas of infection. Advanced video and lighting make these close-up views possible.

There is no substitute for early detection and treatment of serious underlying problems that can lead to advanced gum disease. The treatment guidance provided by Perioscopy® is superior to earlier methods that required a more invasive approach and had a lesser ability to produce an unobstructed under-the-gum line view. These images speed the process of finding and eradicating bacteria and infection that threaten your gums, jawbone, and teeth. You’ll be in the examination chair as the images come on screen, so the results are immediate. Because there are connections between oral infections and whole-body health, it’s essential to treat and resolve periodontitis promptly.

Costs and Discomfort Can be Less than Conventional Gum Surgery

Many patients needing gum disease treatment understandably feel some anxiety. We’re pleased to explain that procedures with non-surgical Perioscopy® are more comfortable than earlier methods. Because of the images, any treatment that is needed is more targeted and goes right to the trouble spots. Areas not requiring work can be identified quickly and left alone. You’ll spend a bit more time in the examination chair because Perioscopy® is precise and thorough. Exam length also is affected by the area of the mouth and infection level of the teeth and gums being treated. In general, you can expect an appointment time rage of 1-2 hours.

Perioscopy® typically costs less than traditional gum surgery and produces infection-clearing results that can help save and preserve your teeth. Previous patients give it favorable reviews, and it is gaining in popularity compared to other methods. Also, for people previously unable to undergo periodontal surgery for other health reasons, Perioscopy® can help. Among Long Island periodontists, we at Farber Center strive to leaders in offering our patients more advanced treatment options. Dr. Farber founded the practice to save teeth. Newer procedures such as this one help us uphold our commitment to outstanding holistic dental care for residents in Suffolk and Nassau Counties in New York.

 

In reply to questions from prospective patients, the dental professionals from Farber Center for Periodontics & Dental Implants discuss temporary restorations. Temporaries are necessary after individual implant treatments and All-on-4 oral surgery that replaces entire rows of teeth. They are the first step toward tooth replacement that gives you back your smile and a firm bite.

What are Temporary Restorations?

They are temporary crowns placed on top of implant screws that are prepared teeth used until the permanent restoration is carried out. Temporaries enhance your appearance, allow you to chew some foods and help you speak and pronounce words just as natural teeth do. Also, if you’re having All-on-4 dental implants to replace an entire row of teeth, they give you an instant smile.

How Do Temporaries Help the Final Replacement Tooth?

During the process of creating and attaching a final permanent crown (replacement tooth) to your implants, the temporaries play several vital roles.

1. Give you the first idea about how the final restoration will look and feel
2. Support the surrounding tissue and help it heal in the area of the 
3. Help ensure the final restoration will be aligned with your other teeth to form a tight bite
4. Provide an opportunity for you to see and feel an approximate replica of the permanent restoration before it is completed — allows you to request changes in fit or appearance

What are the Differences if I am Having All-on-4 Implants?

Rather than a temporary crown on a single implant, you’ll have a complete row of teeth in a temporary form. At Farber Center for Periodontics & Dental Implants, we are among the leading providers of All-on-4 Long Island has available. Both of our offices see many patients for this permanently fixed denture option. It firmly mounts a full row of upper or lower teeth on four implants. Some people refer to it as 1-Day-Smile because on the day your four implants are placed, you’ll leave with a temporary that includes all upper or lower teeth. When healed and the final plate is attached to implants, you’ll have a beautiful smile and a firmer both similar to natural teeth.

If You Have a Temporary in Place, Don’t Delay Getting Your Permanent Teeth

Because temporary restorations look so good, patients sometimes delay getting a final crown on their implants. The problem with that scenario is that bacteria can enter under the temporary restoration, and it may negatively affect the health of the implant in the long run. A temporary restoration won’t last forever, so patients should plan on completing their full treatment in a specific time frame.  Typically, six months is the most extended amount of time we can ever recommend that a patient keep a temporary restoration. The best plan is to return to the office promptly for your new, permanent teeth. Also, for the appearance and lifestyles of people in Long Island, All-on-4 is a recommended alternative if you’re struggling with traditional dentures.

 

 

Promoting better oral health is among the chief goals at Farber Center for Periodontics and Dental Implants. It’s why we would like to take this opportunity to remind you about the importance of Vitamin D. It contributes to healthier teeth and bones and also has anti-inflammatory properties. They are increasingly believed to play a beneficial role against gingivitis (gum disease). Vitamin D is found in many of your favorite foods, so it’s only a matter of remembering to eat enough of them and to do it routinely.

As one of the best-known holistic dentists Long Island has available, Farber Center is dedicated to preserving healthy teeth. It means we are strong prevention advocates and encourage our patients and the public at large to maintain their oral health. In addition to avoiding sugary foods and brushing and flossing, you need to eat the right foods to help your teeth, bones, and body stay healthy. Vitamin D rich foods need to be high on your list and among the things you eat often. Later in this article, we will list helpful foods to eat, but first, let’s reexamine the benefits of this essential vitamin.

How Does Vitamin D Help Teeth and Improve Oral Health?

Your teeth and jawbone, along with all of the bones in your body, need Vitamin D to mineralize. When your teeth are not sufficiently mineralized because of inadequate Vitamin D, dental caries, or cavities, can form. You also may suffer a loss of tooth enamel. Therefore, the presence of Vitamin D can reduce the risk of cavities. Also, more recent studies have indicated that Vitamin D may help in controlling periodontal disease. It is because it contains anti-inflammatory properties that can calm gingivitis (gum disease).

Vitamin D is most commonly absorbed when ultraviolet B light from the sun shines directly on your skin. When combined with calcium in your body, this vitamin works its magic. When your body takes it in, it becomes the catalyst for calcium to be absorbed into your bones and teeth. Without a catalyst, calcium is not easily absorbed into the body. It is essential to increase the absorption of calcium and phosphate from the foods you eat. Therefore, don’t hesitate to step outdoors on sunny days to take in more Vitamin D. But, make sure to apply sunscreen to protect your skin from the sun’s other harmful rays.

Help Your Teeth and Bones by Eating These Foods Rich in Vitamin D

Eating a healthy diet is essential to your whole-body health, and it is not difficult to go one step farther to make sure you’re eating a diet of foods rich in Vitamin D. For example if you’re a seafood lover, make sure to eat tuna and salmon. At breakfast time, you’ll be getting your Vitamin D from both milk and egg yolks — and also from soy milk if you’re a non-dairy eater. At lunch and dinner, good sources are cheese, sardines, beef liver, and mushrooms. With such a long list of favorite foods, it’s easy to find ones you enjoy and be on your list. Because we practice holistic dentistry at Farber Center, we are strong advocates of our patients eating healthy diets for many good-health reasons.

As studies continue, the connection of good oral health to other major systems of the body becomes increasingly evident. These connections include the circulatory and immune systems as well as the heart and other vital organs. Also, chronic conditions, such as diabetes are helped by healthy teeth and gums. The bacteria from low-grade infections present in a diseased tooth or inflamed gums can be found in other areas of the body. Therefore, it’s clear how much infections in your mouth can impact your overall health. Once treated, it is vital to continue good care at home — which means brushing at least twice a day and flossing once a day.

Visit Your Dentist or Periodontists for Regular Cleanings and Check-Ups

It’s important to routinely visit your dentist or periodontist for cleanings and check-ups in addition to brushing, flossing and eating a diet rich in Vitamin D. At Farber Center, we work hard to offer advanced treatments and to be among the most helpful Long Island, holistic dentists. Your comfort and convenience are important to us, and we maintain dentist offices in both Medford and Hauppauge, NY. Our oral and periodontal surgeries use modern, less invasive methods, and we have the PerioLase MVP-7 dental laser. It provides for advanced cleaning and less invasive gum surgery should you ever need it. If you’d like to have a check-up or discuss anything with us, please schedule an appointment today.

 

 

New Laser Dental Cleaning Disinfects the Pockets Between Your Teeth and Gums

Have you heard about Laser Pocket Disinfection (LPD)? It is a laser dental cleaning that can kill millions of harmful bacteria living in the pockets between your teeth and gums. It takes only 10 to 15 minutes and is painless. If you’ve ever been diagnosed with gingivitis or more advanced periodontitis, LPD can be an essential addition to periodic dental cleanings. At Farber Center’s Long Island locations in Medford and Hauppauge, NY, we offer LPD as an advanced treatment option. It can benefit patients who need more than the standard cleaning to maintain their oral health. Long term, it can help preserve healthy gums and save teeth that might be lost eventually. 

Your dentist or hygienist might recommend a laser dental cleaning if they notice inflamed gums during a routine visit. Also, if you’ve seen any gum disease symptoms on your own — redness, swelling, sensitivity or bleeding — be sure to report them during your appointment. We can offer laser pocket disinfection at Farber Center thanks to our PerioLase MVP-7 from Millennium Dental Technologies. It is the same advanced piece of equipment our periodontists use for other gum disease treatment, including the FDA-cleared LAR procedure, which can help resolve more severe gum disease. Taking advantage of its cleaning abilities to prevent gum disease or its reoccurrence can help maintain your oral health.

How Does Laser Pocket Disinfection Work?

Laser Pocket Disinfection treatment is painless. During your cleaning visit, a specially trained hygienist uses a dental laser beam that passes through healthy tissue while targeting and destroying millions of bacteria and related toxins. These bacteria, living in periodontal pockets between teeth and gums, are the cause of inflammation and gum disease. Your treatment takes only 10-15 minutes, and you’ll leave with healthier gums instantly. This laser procedure is noninvasive and faster than other methods. Because it is quick and pain-free, our patients give it high marks and the long-term benefit to oral health can be substantial. Better still, there is no healing nor downtime afterward. 

Effective LPD is possible thanks to the PerioLase MVP-7 dental laser, which was developed by dental professionals for specific treatments related to gum disease. It has received FDA clearance for its ability to regenerate tissue and bone in cases of more advanced periodontitis. In those cases, bacteria in the pockets between teeth and gums has caused the gums to separate from teeth. The PerioLase MVP-7 can clear bacteria and stimulate the body’s healing processes to reattach gums to teeth in a process that save teeth that otherwise might be lost. All of the laser treatments are less invasive and more comfortable than other methods — and faster.

What are the Major Benefits of Laser Dental Cleaning?

Your oral health and whole-body health are linked, and there is an increasing amount of research exploring the many connections. If you already have periodontal (gum) disease, laser dental cleaning is an instant benefit to kill bacteria, rid your mouth of toxins and control or prevent the recurrence of the disease. — and it’s likely this is beneficial to your health overall. Recent studies have explored the possible links between gum disease and diseases of the circulatory system, the immune system, and the potential to aggravate diabetes. It’s also helpful for gingivitis and periodontitis, which can lead to tooth loss and deterioration of the underlying jaw bone. Healthy gums and teeth go hand in hand for excellent oral health, which benefits you in many ways.

At Farber Center for Periodontics & Dental Implants, we strive to offer the most effective laser pocket disinfection Long Island has available, serving both Suffolk and Nassau Counties. We were early to acquire the needed PerioLase MVP-7 dental laser to treat and clear gum disease more quickly and comfortably. We are dedicated to saving teeth and when that is not possible to replace them with the best options, including dental implants. If you’ve noticed redness, irritation, or swelling in your gums, come in today for an exam. If you have gingivitis or periodontitis, we’ll treat you right away and may well add LPD to the list of periodontal treatments to restore your oral health. Your teeth and gums will benefit, your smile will be preserved, you’ll have fresher breath and so many other benefits. Our mission is to help you have excellent oral health.

 

 

A Strong Bite is Essential to Good Health and Quality of Life

You might not stop to think about it often, but the human jaw is very powerful. Its design and muscle arrangement create a considerable force that is needed for biting and chewing. Thanks to its unique capabilities, you eat and enjoy a range of foods that are healthy and help you enjoy a good quality of life. In addition to jaw strength, healthy teeth and gums are essential to maintaining a firm bite. Brushing twice a day and flossing once a day is the essential elements of at-home care that are needed to maintain your oral health. Regular dental check-ups and cleanings also play an important role.

At Farber Center, we are dedicated to helping you maintain healthy teeth and gums, and offer a range of treatment options should you need them. Our dentists, periodontists, and hygienists practice with state-of-the-art methods and equipment and we’ll help you maintain healthy teeth and a firm bite. If you’ve lost teeth, we can offer newer replacement options that are far superior to earlier techniques. For example, dental implants as a replacement for dentures can be very helpful in restoring a firm bite if you’ve lost yours earlier in life. You should be able to bite into apples and enjoy corn on the cob without worries of embarrassment.

How are Dental Implants Different from Dentures?

Dental implants are titanium screws attached to the jawbone. The screw acts in place of the root of a natural tooth and provides similar biting strength. Implants also help preserve the bone that can recede when teeth are missing. Dentures, on the other hand, are attached to the gums only temporarily with adhesive. No matter how well they are fitted to your mouth, they seldom would be able to achieve the biting strength provided by implants — which generally is comparable to natural teeth. When you’re a patient at Farber Center, we’ll present every tooth replacement option so that you can make an informed decision about what is best for you.

Also, you can’t put a price tag on your confidence and self-esteem, and dental implants have the look and feel of natural teeth. You’ll have your smile restored and feel like yourself again. No more embarrassing moments when you need to decline certain foods because you don’t have the firm bite required to eat them.  We practice holistic dentistry and want to help you improve and maintain your oral health in support of better whole-body health. When a tooth or row of teeth cannot be saved, it’s important to explore all of your options and understand the differences between implants and dentures as well as the advantages offered by each.

Eating All the Foods You Love Requires Healthy Teeth and Gums

When you think of a firm bite, the images that come to mind are biting into an apple or eating corn-on-the-cob — and those are valid to be sure. But the ability to bite firmly and chew comfortably extends much farther. Many other fruits and vegetables are firm foods and require healthy teeth to enjoy them. Good oral health becomes even more essential as we place more emphasis on eating healthier diets. Carrots and celery are examples of other crunchy vegetables you want to be able to eat. Chewing many types of meat requires biting strength as do bagels and rustic bread. With implants, you’ll enjoy all of the things you enjoyed with natural teeth. If you’ve had dentures for a while, a switch to implants could be life-changing in many ways.

The full name of our practice is Farber Center for Periodontics & Dental Implants and we have dentist offices in both Medford and Hauppauge, NY. We serve Long Island including Suffolk and Nassau Counties. Holistic dentistry, promotion of effective brushing and flossing, patient education, and providing state-of-the-art dental and periodontal treatments are all priorities for us. We will help you maintain or restore a firm bite, help your smile look better, and make sure your teeth and gums are healthy. Our dentists and periodontists are gentle and caring for those who may feel anxious about dental visits. We hope you’ll browse our website to find out more and schedule an appointment today.