Dental Health's Blog

Teeth whitening is a cosmetic dental procedure used to lighten the colour of your teeth and make them appear whiter. The procedure involves techniques and products, such as whitening toothpaste, whitening strips, bleaching agents, and laser technology. Here are the basic steps involved in a typical teeth whitening procedure: Assessment:  Our dentist will first examine your teeth and assess the level of discoloration. This will help determine the best course of action for your individual needs. Cleaning: Before the whitening process, our dentist will clean your teeth to remove any plaque, tartar, or debris. Protecting gums:  Our dentist will then protect your gums and lips with a rubber shield or gel to prevent irritation from the whitening products. Application of the whitening product:  Our dentist will apply the whitening product to your teeth, including a bleaching agent or a special light-activated gel. They may also use a custom-fitted tray to hold the product again...

The best thing you can do when your dental implant or crown becomes loose is to visit a dentist near you . Preferably, it should be the dentist who fitted the crown or implant for you. Remember to keep the crown in a safe place and store any parts or the screw used in a container before heading off to your nearest dentist. Stress, poor oral health, or even an unexpected injury can be the reason for your implant falling out. There is no reason to panic overly much. Harmony Dental deals with all kinds of emergencies already and will be happy to offer professional assistance and guidelines in case of a dental implant or crown loosening or breaking off. Why Do Dental Implants Fall Out? Crowns and dental implants near you are made from the most durable materials that usually consist of titanium fused to your jawbone. Even though both parts are strong enough to withstand the test of time, crowns are exposed to a lot more stress. Normal talking and eating will not cause any damage, but grindi...

Kids’ oral health statistics cratered in the early 1970s. At that point, nearly 97% of Canadian children and adolescents had at least one decayed tooth and an average of six missing, decaying or filled teeth. Thankfully, things have gotten better. As of 2010, the Canadian Dental Association reports that the average Canadian child or adolescent has 2.5 decayed, missing or filled teeth. How’d that average get so much lower in three decades or so? And what can parents and a dentist near you who treats kids do to reduce the number of cavities in your child’s mouth? What do pediatric dentists do to protect kids’ oral health? Regular checkups At every dental twice-yearly checkup, a pediatric dentist in Waterloo will look closely at your child’s teeth and gums. What are they looking for? Any signs of tooth decay or gum disease as early as possible so that they can intervene to prevent its progression as quickly as possible. Pediatric dentists also take regular dental images to find any...

  Let’s face it, there’s clean and then there’s clean. With your best effort, you’ll be able to get most plaque off most of the surfaces of your teeth and gums that you can see and reach. That’s why brushing twice a day and flossing daily is such an important part of your oral hygiene routine. But the surfaces you can’t see and reach — and those little bits of plaque and collections of harmful bacteria that you miss — will eventually produce tartar (sometimes called calculus) that you can’t remove on your own and that will fuel tooth decay — an infection that will gradually destroy your teeth. Every day that you eat and drink and repeat the bacterial activity in your mouth between dental appointments is a day when those processes continue. Professional dental exams and teeth cleaning near you reset your teeth to their ideal stage and give you the best chance to achieve and maintain perfect dental and oral health. Why are dental exams and cleanings so important? Plaque is a l...

  Thanks to modern dentistry, there are many options to restore a severely damaged tooth. Unlike what many people think, dental fillings do not fix everything. They are excellent for restoring small to moderate cavities, but if you lost too much dental structure, the tooth is brittle and requires a more resistant material. If you are looking for a dentist near you that places them, keep on reading! What are Dental Crowns? Dental crowns are caps that cover a tooth when it is too harmed to strengthen it and extend its life. Our doctors use the best materials for our dental crowns in Waterloo , and they last up two twenty years. Dental crowns are also for patients that lose a tooth and undergo dental implants surgery.    What are Dental Implants? A dental implant is a small metal post that a doctor places inside your jawbone to replace the root of a missing tooth.  The procedure requires a single appointment. In it, your dentist will administer a local ane...

  Too many people have too many missing teeth for too long. There are myriad ways in which teeth can be lost: accidents, assaults, infections, tooth decay, and more. Some people who only lose one or a few teeth choose to live without replacing those teeth. That decision may be the result of dental anxiety, concerns about the cost of replacing teeth, or even uncertainty about the best way to replace a couple teeth when you still have most of your teeth.   Common as the choice to live with a couple or few missing teeth may be, it’s a choice that comes at significant costs: your remaining teeth will gradually shift and twist out of position and alignment to fill the gaps left behind; many of your favourite foods and meals may eventually be out of reach such that your diet and health may change; and you’ll be forever conscious of and anxious about the gaps in your smile.   For people for whom partial dentures and individual implants are not attractive options — but who un...

Who does not want to show white teeth? Dark teeth are a sign of aging, among other things. Nowadays, people value aesthetics incredibly, which is why we offer teeth whitening near you. Before getting into the procedure, we will discuss why teeth get dark. Reasons Why Teeth Get Stained Diet – What you eat and drink impacts the color of your dentition. If you consume many pigmented drinks and foods, over time, your teeth will look darker. Medication – Some antibiotics, such as Tetracyclines, stain your teeth if you overuse them. Trauma – Dental trauma can cause pulp necrosis and make your teeth look dark.  Age – Over time, your enamel wears away, and the underlying (yellow) dentin exposes more. Your teeth look yellower, and you may need to look for a cosmetic dentist in Waterloo to bleach them. Tobacco – Smoking and using any tobacco products stain your dentition. Our dental professional will evaluate the cause of your discoloration. They will determine if our teeth whitening in...

  Like so many methods, resources and products involved in dentistry, dentures in Waterloo have come a long way in recent years. (Somewhere way back in the corner of our mind, we’re hearing an old car commercial jingle that went something like: “ Not your grandfather’s Oldsmobile.”) If your grandparents wore dentures, you might have heard a lot about the problems they had with them. But your grandparents would be surprised and impressfed by denture options available to solve tooth loss today. New materials, technologies and treatment methods mean that dentures from a clinic near you are highly effective solutions for tooth loss. Dentures don’t offer the stability and lifespan of dental implants, but they can replace the function and appearance of your missing natural teeth for up to a decade. That’s an important point because, unlike implants, dentures will not last forever. Over time, the way that your dentures fit and perform will change as your gums and jaw change. Denture...

Millions of people lose one or many teeth every year. Missing a tooth can lead to a decrease in your self-esteem. Studies show that edentulous people have a hard time eating, speaking, and interacting with others. Dental implants in Waterloo are an excellent option to replace your lost teeth and improve your quality of life. You may keep reading to find out more about them. What are Dental Implants? Dental implants near you are oral devices that replace the root of a missing tooth. They are basically artificial roots. What are the Causes of Tooth Loss? A person can lose a tooth due to the following reasons: - Tooth decay – It is the most common reason for tooth loss. When you eat, bits of food debris is in your mouth, and if you don’t brush them away, bacteria thrive with them, producing acids that decay your dentition. If untreated, the infection may lead to tooth loss. - Trauma – An accident can lead to a knocked-out tooth. You cannot predict an accident; however, we strongly reco...

Understanding a brief history of teeth whitening In the late 1960s, Dr. John Munro noticed a product that he was using to treat gums also whiten stained teeth. Thus, the idea of teeth whitening, or bleaching was invented. The product in question contained carbamide peroxide which had a lightning effect on teeth when it came in contact with the gel. In 1986, Dr. Munro presented his observations to Omni International and introduced the first bleaching agent called White and Brite in 1989.  The process of teeth whitening, and the techniques used to whiten teeth have changed over the last 30 years. During the initial days that it was discovered, a patient was advised to sleep with the whitening tray on and do only the upper row of teeth or lower row of teeth at a time. The time taken to whiten either row of teeth was approximately 3 weeks. All in all, it would take approximately 6 weeks to whiten teeth. Individuals would also be exposed to over sensitivity after wearing the tree for so...

One of the biggest contributors to natural nervousness and anxiety about dental procedures such as root canal in Waterloo is uncertainty. It’s normal to be nervous and anxious about the mysterious and known. One of the best ways to reduce nervousness and anxiety, is to resolve some of the mysteries and make sure you know all the relevant information about what you’ll experience. That’s the goal of this article — to help you understand what is involved in a root canal near you. Why is root canal therapy necessary?  Root canal therapy is necessary when a bacterial infection is affecting the pulp and nerves inside your tooth or teeth. Unless such serious infection is eliminated through a root canal, those bacteria will eventually kill the tissues inside your tooth and the infection will spread within your jaw, to other teeth, and even into your bloodstream. Serious infections affecting the inside of your teeth can cause a range of symptoms, but is usually confirmed by dental x-rays o...

It’s tempting when discussing the benefits of dentures to downplay the transition that people have to go through while getting used to living with dentures in Waterloo . At Harmony Dental, we take a different approach. We want to be completely transparent and honest about every stage of providing you with dentures to solve your tooth loss. But we promise we won’t stop there. We’ll also provide you with proactive information, support, and treatment to speed and ease that transition. The combination of information, patience and diligence will hold you in good stead for decades of comfortable living and eating with dentures.   Here are five tips to getting used to living with dentures from a dental clinic in Waterloo . These tips will acknowledge some of the areas of life with dentures that will take a little getting used to and will provide you with some insight to help make that process easier.  Don’t neglect your gums  Food particles, plaque and even bacteria have na...

When most parents think of orthodontic treatment, they tend to imagine something that’s only necessary for teenagers. And if you’re the parent of young children, a trip to the orthodontist may seem like something far off in the future. But as it turns out, the practice isn’t just for teens and adults.  Here’s everything you need to know about early orthodontic treatment for kids, and how to tell if your child needs it. Why Early Orthodontic Treatment May Be Necessary For most patients, issues involving teeth alignment and irregularities tend to surface after the primary teeth fallout and the permanent teeth come in (a process that usually finishes around the ages of 12-13). However, it’s important to understand that irregularities can crop up in baby teeth as well.  And, contrary to what most people think, these issues sometimes don’t just “go away” once these teeth fall out. In fact, addressing issues in your child’s baby teeth may very well have an impact on how ...