The Stow Dental Group Blog | Dr. Mark Iati

Zoom!™ Teeth Whitening

2009-06-01T07:37:00.000-07:00

Are you a person with a crazy-busy schedule? If so, we have good news for you as far as tooth whitening is concerned: A Zoom! teeth whitening treatment takes only an hour or so. The “or so” part refers to preparation and follow-up done before and after the actual treatment.

When you are comfortable in our chair, we will apply a protective gel to the soft tissue in your mouth – lips, gums, some cheek tissue. Then the whitening gel is applied to your teeth and an activating light directed towards them. You can wear headphones and listen to music, or just doze off and catch up on a little sleep.

During the one hour of actual treatment time we will apply the whitening gel three times for 20 minutes each. That is because the whitening agent slows down after that amount of time. If at any point your teeth start to feel sensitive, we can stop treatment and apply a desensitizing gel. Most people do not have this problem, but we know that some teeth are extra sensitive and we do not want you to be feeling uncomfortable.

Your results will be transformative for your smile. It is quite fascinating what a large difference bright white teeth make to a person’s facial appearance. Many people immediately feel more confident about smiling, and of course, a person with a ready smile tends to elicit smiles from others. That can also boost one’s self-confidence

The Zoom! system includes a follow-up kit to take home with you. We will show you how to use it. You can use it right away if you think your teeth could become even whiter, or you can keep it for later touch-ups.

Please see our pages on Teeth Whitening and Cosmetic Dentistry for more information.

Our dentists and our supporting staff are all believers in patient education. If you would like to schedule an initial consultation at the Stow Dental Group to learn more about the best way to whiten your teeth, please call or email our cosmetic dentistry office today.

Tooth Bonding

2009-04-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

Not many people know about dental bonding. It is a quick and easy way to fix a multitude of small problems and can be an alternative to porcelain veneers.

The term “dental bonding” refers to two things:
• The white putty-like dental substance
• The procedure which uses this substance

If you have any small chips or shallow cracks in your teeth, or any stains that have not responded to tooth whitening, tooth bonding can correct those defects. Your dentist would apply small amounts of bonding incrementally to the problem areas. The bonding will fill the chip or crack and cover the staining and then your cosmetic dentist will use a curing light to harden the bonding.

Now it is permanently part of the tooth. Tooth bonding comes in an array of shades and your cosmetic dentist will choose one to most closely match your natural tooth color.

In a similar way, bonding can fill a small gap between your front teeth and correct minor crookedness or misalignment. The secret is in your dentist’s skill.

Besides all these cosmetic uses, tooth bonding is also used for white fillings, as an alternative to porcelain inlays and onlays. As a filling material it is more often called “dental composite”. Again the bonding is applied to the cleaned cavity area and then hardened with the special curing light. Your dentist will always check your bite to make sure your upper and lower teeth are coming together comfortably.

If you would like to learn more about tooth bonding and how it might help your individual smile, please contact our cosmetic dentistry office today for a personal consultation.

2009-03-31T13:27:00.000-07:00

Family Dentistry

Good dental health begins early in life and at the Stow Dental Group we will help you to teach your children good lifetime dental habits. We are also happy to help adults improve their dental care. We encourage you use our office as a comprehensive dental center for your entire family.

Stow Dental Group has a long history in the community and when a specialist is needed we can refer you to the best providers in the Stow and Akron areas. Regular check-up visits are a central part of lifetime dental health. One of our highly-trained dental hygienists can give you a professional cleaning, including a check for any early gum disease. By catching problems early we can treat them quickly and more effectively. This can save you much expense and time spent in a dental chair later on.

Daily brushing and flossing is also at the center of long-term dental health. There is good brushing technique and bad brushing technique. We use an excellent product called Cool Blue®. It is a mouth rinse which makes plaque look blue so that a child can see where it is still on the teeth after brushing. This gives feedback and helps improve brushing technique.

If you or anyone in your family needs some dental care, please do not delay. We offer orthodontic work and the best age for this is as the child’s main growth spurt is approaching. For females that is around eleven years and for males around thirteen years. When orthodontic work is well-timed, the child’s face can mature to adulthood with the teeth well-aligned.

We also offer many procedures for adults including neuromuscular dentistry. If you have chronic headaches which seem to have no explanation, you may be suffering from misaligned jaw joints, known as Temporomandibular Joint Syndrome (TMD). Our dentists can diagnose that and develop an effective treatment plan for you.

To arrange for a consultation for yourself or anyone in your family, please call or email our family dentistry office today.

2009-02-24T12:58:00.000-08:00

BriteSmile® Tooth Whitening

If you have been wondering how to improve your smile but not wanting to go through anything long and complicated, BriteSmile could be a good solution. It is a one-hour in-office procedure. It can whiten your teeth by as much as 14 shades, with the average one-hour result being eight shades brighter. It depends on where you are starting from and how your individual teeth respond.

Anyone over the age of 14 is probably a good candidate for BriteSmile tooth whitening. If you have been wearing braces and are now finished with that and have straight, well-aligned teeth, BriteSmile is a good way of removing the stains possibly left by the metal of the braces.

BriteSmile is safe and effective and gives long-lasting results. You can maintain your dramatic results best by mostly avoiding food and drink which has strong pigmentation. Common examples are coffee, red wine, black tea, blueberries and blackberries. There are also BriteSmile maintenance products such as special toothpaste and mouthwash.

How BriteSmile Works

Once you have consulted with one of our dentists and it has been decided to go ahead with BriteSmile, you will be comfortably settled in the chair. The patented whitening gel is applied to your teeth and a blue BriteSmile light is directed to it. This activates the whitening ingredient, hydrogen peroxide.

While other whitening gels contain as much as 35% hydrogen peroxide or more, the BriteSmile gel contains just ten percent. This reduces any possible discomfort, especially for those with sensitive teeth. As your whitening proceeds, oxygen permeates the tooth enamel, loosening any stains and removing them.

There will be no damage to your tooth enamel or to existing fillings or dental reconstruction work. You will be leaving here with a dramatically brighter smile which will transform your entire face and perhaps also your self confidence.

To learn more about BriteSmile, please call or email our cosmetic dentistry office today for a personal consultation.

Overhaul Your Smile with Porcelain Veneers

2009-01-21T10:18:00.000-08:00

You would be amazed at the impact your smile makes on your life. A bright, warm, welcoming smile will boost your self-confidence and make a great impression on those around you. Many people are afraid to show off their smile due to imperfections in their teeth. But with modern cosmetic dentistry technology, you can revamp your smile in no time.

Porcelain veneers are a great way to achieve the smile you’ve always wanted. They can transform a mouth full of crooked, discolored teeth into a smile fit for the big screen.

Porcelain veneers allow your cosmetic dentist to combine technical skill and artistic flair in creating your custom smile makeover. At Stow Dental Group, our experienced dental team installs veneers regularly, and we customize each job to meet the specific goals of the patient.

Porcelain veneers are made out of a thin, ceramic material that gets bonded to the surface of your teeth. The ceramic material closely mirrors the properties of your natural tooth enamel, so you will not be able to notice the difference between your veneers and your natural teeth.

We use only the highest quality materials in our porcelain veneers. They are extremely durable and stain-resistant. Our patients have been raving about the difference their porcelain veneers have made in their lives. Why wait any longer to have a winning smile?

Please contact Stow Dental Group today to learn more about porcelain veneers in the Cleveland and Akron, Ohio areas.

A New Smile for the New Year

2009-01-14T10:16:00.000-08:00

The holiday season has just come to an end, and most of us are still slowly working off that holiday hangover. It is always difficult to resume your regular routine after weeks of feasting and revelry with family and friends.

The holidays can be a great time to enjoy good food and drink with the people you love. But after all those glasses of wine and the extra cups of coffee to ward off food coma, your teeth may be paying the price.

Many of your favorite holiday treats cause severe staining on your teeth and tarnish your normally dazzling smile. Fortunately, modern tooth whitening procedures can restore your bright smile in no time.

At Stow Dental Group, we only use the most advanced tooth whitening technology to provide you with maximum results and comfort for minimum cost.

Our highly-trained cosmetic dentists use the Opalescence Xtra Boost tooth whitening system. Opalescence provides our patients with superior tooth whitening that doesn’t require the use of a laser or light to activate the whitening gel. This reduces the sensitivity commonly associated with other professional-strength tooth whitening systems.

The entire process can be completed in one short visit, and it will whiten your teeth by as many as 7 or 8 shades.

We can also send you home with the Opalescence at-home touch-up kit. Use it for a few days following your in-office treatment to ensure maximum results.

Please contact Stow Dental Group today to schedule your tooth whitening session. We serve patients in the Cleveland and Akron, Ohio areas.

2008-06-13T09:37:00.001-07:00

Lumineers, the good, the bad and the ugly

2007-03-30T12:41:00.000-07:00

Over the past several years the general public has been bombarded with ads and infomercials regrading dental products. Never before has the public had such a wide aray of materials to choose from in search of the perfect smile. Some of these ads however can be VERY misleading. Lets take one example. Lumineers. These are a type of porcelian veneer that has been around for a very long time. This is not a new invention just a remarketing of the same product. The idea behind Lumineers is that they are very thin and therefore can be placed over the top or fronts of your existing teeth without drilling or reducing any tooth structure. They state that there is no grinding, no shot and therefore no pain involved. Now initally that may make sense, however in 95% of the cases that is not true. The creation of truely well done cosmetic dentistry requires dealing with many inherent dental problems such as rotations of teeth, malalignments and inadequate length and poor color. If your teeth were nice and straight in the first place why would you need veneers? Good question. We don't think it should be your first choice. If your teeth are truely in need of veneers then you may have issues that will require some removal of tooth structure and addition of tooth structure in other areas. The addition of porcelain over non prepared tooth structure can lead to bulky, lifeless and poorly contoured teeth, this is not healthy for the surrounding gum tissue.Do not be fooled by something that sounds to good to be true. Look at the picture of a Lumineer case at the end of this blog ( not done by us) and then look at some of our before and after pictures and they will speak for themselves. Please research, ask questions and seek second opinions if you do not feel comfortable. Check the qualifications of your dentist, make sure they are members of the AACD or like organization which focuses on continuing eduction in esthetics. Remember it is your body, treat it right.

Medical misson

2007-03-06T15:49:00.000-08:00

Fot the past 3 years in janurary I have traveled to Honduras as part of a medical mission from Holy Family Church. The 8 day trip included dentists, physicians, nurses and interperters to help with the flow of information. Becuase we were working in the jungle without electricity and running water I was limited to removing decayed and painful teeth. With only a light on my forehead and my trusted assistant, Fr. Mike Ausperk, my partner and I were able to remove over 250 teeth.

The poverty in Honduras in imense and the need to help these people is great. Words can't really explain what it is like there so the following pictures may help explain the situation. Enjoy.

posted by Dr. Iati

Cold and Flu season

2007-03-06T15:40:00.000-08:00

Did you know that it is possible to reinfect yourself or OTHERS with the Rhino virus that is responsible for causing the common cold from your TOOTHBRUSH. If you are recently getting over a cold the doctors of Stow Dental Group recommend that you either throw your toothbrush away and get a new one or STERILE your current brush.

How do we recommend you sterile it? Use your dishwasher. Studies have shown that running your toothbrush in the dishwasher can reduce bacteria by 90% and still not harm your brush. Just as we are taught to wash our hands often during the cold and flu season, it is also wise to wash your toothbrush. Hope this helps.

posted by Dr. Iati

Welcome to our Blog!

2007-01-26T10:16:00.000-08:00

Please check back frequently for the latest updates regarding Cosmetic Dentistry, Porcelain Veneers, Teeth Whitening, and other aspects of our dental practice.

Welcome

2007-01-17T13:39:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Stow Dental Group blog.