I scan digital impressions of teeth, computer design the crowns, create an STL file, and 3D print out porcelain/zirconia crowns with a CAD-CAM milling machine, that fit perfectly and look beautiful.
Digital Dentistry
Bridge case of the day
This patient presented with a broken 25 year old bridge replacing a missing front tooth. I re-prepped the teeth, digitally scanned the impression, computer designed a new bridge, 3D printed it out and cemented it in. Totally awesome!!!
Shark Week-Shark’s Teeth!!!
In honor of Shark Week, I wrote an article on shark’s teeth :-)))
Sharks are born with a full set of teeth.
Our baby teeth form during the 6th-8th week of prenatal development and begin erupting at about 6 months of age. Unlike humans, shark pups enter the world with a full set of teeth and can fend for themselves.
Sharks have lots of teeth.
Our 20 primary, or baby teeth, fully erupt by 2-3 years old. The adult permanent molars begin to show in the mouth at 6-7 years old, and by age 13, we have 28 permanent teeth. The 4 wisdom teeth start to push out at 17-21 years old. That’s a total of 20 baby teeth and 32 adult permanent teeth. Most sharks have 5-15 rows of teeth. The bull shark has 50 rows of teeth, and up to 350 teeth erupted in their mouth at one time!
Shark’s continuously lose and replace their teeth.
A lost permanent tooth is unable to replace itself naturally. Sharks typically break off and lose at least 1 tooth a week. When a shark’s tooth falls out, another spins forward like a conveyor belt from their rows of backup teeth. The dull, broken or worn teeth are quickly replaced by a sharp new tooth. A shark may grow and use over 50,000 teeth in it’s lifetime!
Both the sharks upper and lower jaws move and it swallows it’s food whole.
We use our teeth to bite and chew food. Sharks have the strongest jaws on the planet and unlike most animals sharks can move both their lower and upper jaws! Sharks use their teeth to grab, hold and rip prey and swallows its food whole.
If there was a Shark Tooth Fairy, they would be rich fish.
According to the 2017 Delta Dental Tooth Fairy Poll of parents of kids 6-12 years old, the average pay out per lost tooth is $4.13. Kids have 20 baby teeth, for a total of $82.60. For an average shark who loses 20,000 teeth, that would be $82,600!
Shark teeth have cavity protection.
Sharks don’t get cavities; their teeth surface naturally contains fluoride! Fluoride makes teeth stronger and more resistant to bacteria that cause tooth decay. The teeth of humans and other mammals contain the mineral, hydroxyapatite, which is also found in bone. Fluoride in toothpastes, drinking water and applied by dentists, makes our teeth stronger by interacting with the hydroxyapatite to form the stronger fluorapatite.
Dr. Philip A. Gentry, DDS
Fellow, Academy of General Dentistry
Dean’s Faculty, Clinical Assist. Professor,
Advanced Education in General Dentistry,
Department of General Dentistry,
University of Maryland School of Dentistry
Dental implant case of the day
This patient presented with a broken off upper right canine tooth. We extracted the remaining tooth root, placed an immediate titanium implant and restored with a zirconium abutment and porcelain crown. Very nice lady, fun case with beautiful results :-)))
Treating snoring and sleep apnea
Dental implant case of the day.
This patient presented with severe pain to biting and cold on his upper right first premolar tooth. CT scan confirmed fracture and angular bone loss. Tooth non-restorable-extracted and implant placed. New computer designed 3D printed tooth looks great and he can eat again on the right side.
Missing tooth fix
This patient was missing her upper left canine tooth, and wanted me to give her a tooth so she could smile again. I restored her smile with a fixed porcelain bridge. Here’s the before and after photos:
Fun 8am Friday Morning Teeth Whitening Appointments :-)))
Teeth whitening is very popular. I whitened these patient’s teeth this morning and wanted to share these photos. It’s always a lot of fun :-))) I have embeded a video below explaining the procedure. Please feel free to call or email me if you have any questions. We need to clean your teeth and check for any cavities before doing the whitening.
For a brighter, whiter smile I use Opalescence Boost, an in-office, chemically activated whitening treatment that offers results in about an hour. It’s ideal for people who want instant whitening gratification or those who have that special event coming up that requires a bright, white smile.
- Opalescence tooth whitening gel contains PF (potassium nitrate and fluoride)
- Chemically activated, so no hot, uncomfortable light is needed
- Dentist-applied treatment
- Provides dramatic results in one hour
Fun crown case of the day
This patient wasn’t happy with her upper 2 front teeth, and asked me to make her smile pretty. I made her beautiful zirconia crowns for her upper central incisors. Here’s the case photos:
Friday afternoon front teeth fix
Although this patient has other dental problems, I wanted to fix his smile first so he can smile and enjoy the weekend. Here are the before and after pictures.
