Wayland Dental Blog

Did you know that your smile is one of the first features that people first notice about you? Having a beautiful smile gives you confidence and can sometimes take you to the next level in your career. Are you satisfied with the appearance of your smile? Or are there aspects of it you’d like to change? Your premiere team at Wayland Dental has the skills, knowledge, and experience to create the smile you’ve always dreamed of. Here’s some more information about what your cosmetic dentist in Wayland can do for you.

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My last blog discussed how spring is finally here (despite the recent snow) and I’m seeing a lot more smiles. We all feel better when the icy grip of winter has subsided and we are now faced with beautiful warmer days.
Wayland Dental specializes in helping you to achieve the smile of your dreams. Over the next few blogs I’ll be talking about specific ways in which we do this for our patients.
Today I’d like to give you some more information about what dental veneers are and how they can make your smile more beautiful. It is not uncommon for patients to relate to us that they are not satisfied with the color, shape, or position of their teeth. Some people did not have orthodontics when they were younger, they were given tetracycline antibiotics as a children which discolored their teeth, or they have many large discolored old fillings. Others have worn their teeth down through years of grinding at night. Dental veneers are exactly as they are described, thin veneers of porcelain that are bonded to the front surface of the teeth, much like press on nails for fingernails. The thin porcelain structures are bonded using a dental cement to your teeth and are very durable. By using this technique we are able to alter the appearance of your teeth to create the smile that you have always wanted in just a few visits! Of course dental veneers do have limitations for esthetic corrections, so if tooth position is a problem, orthodontics may be needed to align the teeth more properly to create that WOW smile. In my next blog, I will discuss orthodontic correction for dental cosmetic purposes. Visit our website Wayland Dental if you would like more information about dental veneers.

In case the recent weather wasn’t enough of a clue, spring is most certainly around the corner. After a long dreary New England winter, that tends to make people smile. And we at Wayland Dental want you to love your smile! After all, that is what we do best. We create smiles that people love to show off!

An interesting fact about smiling is that it will actually make you feel better. That is right. Just the act of smiling alone is enough to make you feel happier. So if you just haven’t been feeling quite right lately, maybe all you need is to simply smile more. Give it a try and see how the positive juices start flowing! Here’s an article that talks about this phenomenon. I think you will find it interesting. Smile!

Over the course of these next few blogs, I will be telling you how Wayland Dental can transform an unattractive or damaged smile into a thing of beauty. Some of our customers are looking for small changes that make big differences while others are looking for more radical changes to supercharge their pearly whites. No matter how minor or how significant a change you are looking to achieve, Wayland Dental are the experts in helping you to get the results you want. Don’t forget our motto, “Your smile is our business!” We would be happy to help you be proud of your smile. Spring is coming, it’s time to make sure your smile is ready for it!

Without question, our patient family has helped us to grow as an office and allowed us to help serve their friends and family to achieve optimal dental health. I have always  said that there is no greater statement of confidence made by a patient than allowing us to help their close acquaintences. You have consistently given us positive feedback and appreciated the hard work we dedicate to making our office the best in Wayland. In fact, you have graciously provided us that title by voting Wayland Dental the best dental office in Wayland in 2015. It is rare that we at Wayland Dental ask much from our patients except to brush and floss regularly, but I now make this small request from you. Once again the time has come to vote in the Readers Choice awards for the service providers and businesses that we love to patronize. In addition to asking you to brush and floss each day, I am now asking that you vote for us in the Readers Choice poll. You can click this link http://ballot.wickedlocalfavorites.com/ and please write in Wayland Dental as your dental provider. Winning this award in 2015 was affirmation that all of the hard work and dedication that each team member exhibits each day was recognized by our customers. We are here to serve your dental needs and help you to achieve optimal dental health for a lifetime. Thanks in advance for your support and we look forward to seeing you at your next visit.

Every year I take great enjoyment out of the summer season. There is nothing better than taking in a Red Sox game with the family, travelling to the Cape to catch some sun, or heading out west to Tanglewood. But, with all things in life, such good things must come to an end in New England, and now we start to face the reality of the Fall season approaching. As a parent, my focus is typically on the fact that school will be in session soon. This also means that the football, basketball, and hockey players in the house will be back on their respective fields of play.

At Wayland Dental, we can play a part in the safety of the resident athlete by providing them with a custom athletic mouthguard that will help to protect their teeth and jaw from the inevitable bump on the playing field. Store bought mouthguards can be  uncomfortable which leads to a lack of compliance by the athlete in wearing them. A mouthguard that is in the gym bag on the sidelines is not nearly as effective as one which is being worn during play! We can fabricate a custom fit appliance that wont leave the user with the desire to toss it out after the first use. The process is easy and quick and will go a long way to preventing sports related trauma. As you make your school shopping list of pencils, notepads, and backpacks, put a sports mouthguard on the list and give us a call at 508 651-0500 to discuss further how we can help to keep those pearly whites from damage. Happy end of summer!

13 years ago we suffered through a horrific attack on this country unlike anything we have ever seen before. As time goes by, we are constantly reminded that we are at war by news reports of extremist groups and suffering that takes place overseas. But lets not forget that there are many that are suffering right at home. The survivors and first responders of the 9/11 attacks will always carry the pain from that terrible day. The military who were sent overseas to defend our nation also suffer from mental and physical wounds. As we go about our normal lives, lets not forget that 13 years ago, our country and our world changed forever and hopefully some day we will see a return to life as it was before 9/11/01. 

My last post referenced the exciting technology that we have here at Wayland Dental. No longer is it necessary to wait 2-3 weeks for your porcelain crown or filling to be made by a laboratory. With the most recent advancements available in the office, we take a time consuming and annoying procedure and turn it into an efficient and awe inspiring appointment.

First, let me refresh your memory to describe the “old” method of making a crown. The area is numbed with novocaine and the tooth is drilled into the proper shape.  A goopy impression tray is inserted into your mouth to take the mold of the tooth. As long as the impression comes out properly, a plastic temporary can be made to cover the tooth until the next visit. If not, more goop for another impression. The temporary crown is designed to protect the tooth until the laboratory can create the new crown which typically takes about 2 weeks. They tend to be sensitive at times, and can come off, requiring an emergency visit to have it recemented. After 2 weeks, you return to the dentist, have more Novocaine, take off the temporary, clean the cement off of it and cement the permanent crown. That is , if it fits properly.

My CEREC technology cuts out a bunch of that annoying stuff. Yes we still need to numb the tooth, and drill it to the proper shape. The difference is that the permanent crown is made in the office during your visit so there is no need for a temporary, return visit or even that goopy impression. The crowns are made from a variety of very strong dental ceramics and are very esthetic. We love to see the surprise on the faces of our patients who have had crown work the old-fashioned way when we tell them how we can simplify their experience in our office!

So for those that have had multiple visit crown appointments in the past and are hesitant to go through it again due to the time and aggravation, fear not! At Wayland Dental we can help you to get the restoration that you need to protect your tooth but minus a lot of the downside that goes with it.

With the recent death of baseball legend Tony Gwynn due to oral cancer brought on by chewing tobacco, we are reminded that this is certainly not a safe alternative to smoking. The tissues of the mouth are very sensitive and respond to chemicals and injury by changing their structure. In severe instances the tissues can become cancerous. Smokers and users of smokeless tobacco are many times more likely to develop oral cancer than non users. Add alcohol to the mix and the likelihood of developing cancer is even greater. At Wayland Dental we check for oral cancer at each hygiene visit by inspecting the tissues under your tongue, sides of the tongue, back of the throat, palate, and lips. These are the most common areas where oral cancer can occur. Any ulceration that does not heal by itself within a week or any discoloration that concerns you should be checked by our professional staff. If you would like to read an article regarding oral cancer, click on this link: http://www.masslive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/07/viewpoint_the_time_to_change_t.html#incart_river

Do you frequently wake up at night due to a sharp elbow to the ribs? Do your neighbors complain of the sound of sawing coming from your house late at night? Does your significant other refuse to sleep on the same floor of the house as you? If the answer to these questions is yes, you likely have a problem with snoring. Snoring is caused when the soft tissues of the back of the throat collapse upon the airway and then vibrate to produce that distinctive noise during breathing. This condition is not always just a nuisance for your family, but can be a very serious medical condition called sleep apnea. With apnea, the occlusion of the airway actually prevents air from reaching the lungs, which then stimulates the brain to wake the person up. This is characterized by a gasping or wheezing to force air into the lungs. If this occurs frequently over the course of an evening, you will feel very tired the next morning as if you got no sleep the night before; because you didn’t! Your body was waking you up constantly allowing you to breathe. There are direct links with sleep apnea and hypertension, stroke, and heart attack. The good news is that today there are multiple methods to prevent apnea from ruining your life. A Continuous Positive Air Pressure device is the gold standard to alleviate your issues, but for some they have difficulty using it. For those patients, a dental mouthpiece that gently positions the jaw forward, opening the airway, may be the answer. A sleep study is always advised to determine your condition and working in conjunction with that physician, we can tailor a solution to help you get a good nights sleep again.

A trip to the dentist is not always felt by most to be the highlight of their day. After all, the dental profession operates in a very sensitive and difficult area, and for most people this can be uncomfortable despite the modern anesthetics, equipemnt and comforts to make the experience more pleasant. We are cognizant of this at Wayland Dental and are always trying to make your visits with us as easy as possible. One of the nuisances related to dental visits is when our team decides that you need to be seen by a specialist for a certain procedure. This could occur if you need a root canal, implant surgery, braces, or extractions for your wisdom teeth.  There are other reasons to see a specialist, but they all have one thing in common: the need to go to a different office, meet a new staff and establish yourself as a new patient there.  Most people have the preference to stay in the office where they are happy and have their treatment done there. At Wayland Dental, we have now made that a reality for many procedures. Now, when you have the need to have a root canal, implant surgery, wisdom teeth removal, gum grafts, or deep cleanings, you can stay right in our office to have these procedures performed. We have board certified specialists in endodontics and periodontics who are ready to take care of you in the comfort of your familiar dental setting. Although there will always be the occasional need for us to seek the help of those outside of our office, we are very proud to offer you the expert care you deserve right here!