The Center for Advanced Dentistry's Blog

Dr. Hornstein Helps Patients Relieve Painful TMJ Dysfunction Symptoms with an Orthotic Appliance

December 12, 2011

Do you ever think about how the muscles in your neck, shoulders, and back are connected to how your teeth fit together? Many don’t. But if you suffer from frequent neck, shoulder, or back pain, your smile may explain why.

If you have a misaligned bite, the joints that connect your jaw to your skull—known as your temporomandibular joints (TMJ)—might be overworked and stressed, resulting in other symptoms like:

Headaches
Earaches
Teeth grinding
Dizziness or ringing in your ear

The good news is that Dr. Hornstein can help patients treat TMJ dysfunction non-surgically with an orthotic appliance. An orthotic appliance is similar to a mouthguard in that it’s custom made for each patient by our lab and designed to correct the misalignment at the heart of your symptoms.

An orthotic appliance isn’t the only treatment option that Dr. Hornstein can recommend, though. To find out about all your options for treating TMJ dysfunction, call our Beachwood dental office today to schedule a consultation appointment. We serve patients from Cleveland, Solon, Shaker Heights, Pepper Pike, and surrounding areas.

Keep Your Smile in Mind As You Celebrate This Holiday Season

November 29, 2011

It’s been almost a full week since Thanksgiving, but as you know, the holiday season is far from over. With Christmas and New Year’s just around the corner, we’re entering a time of almost nonstop holiday goodies and parties. And while we don’t want to spoil anyone’s fun, we also don’t want you to forget about your smile.

Treats like candy canes, cookies, and pie are all filled with sugar, which fuels the transformation of bacteria in plaque. So, while we want you to enjoy everything the season has to offer, consider these two suggestions.

First, keep on brushing and flossing like you normally would. By brushing twice a day for at least two minutes, flossing thoroughly, and spending a few minutes gargling a quality mouthwash, you’re doing your part to keep bacteria and plaque from building up on your teeth and gums.

Second, follow up your meals with gum or mints sweetened with xylitol. Even though it’s a natural sugar, xylitol can help you fight cavities by improving your mouth’s pH level and making it harder for bacteria and plaque to stick to your teeth.

Want to learn more about how xylitol can benefit your smile? Click here.

And if you’d like to know what else you can do this holiday season to protect your smile, give our Beachwood office a call. Dr. Hornstein can make a few helpful suggestions, in addition to checking your smile for signs of tooth decay and gum disease—common problems that can be easily treated when found early.

Give us a call today. We serve patients from Cleveland, Solon, Shaker Heights, Pepper Pike, and surrounding areas.

Smile Makeover, Part 3: Put Your Best Smile Forward with Porcelain Veneers or Lumineers

November 10, 2011

In our post from October 14^th, we talked briefly about Invisalign clear braces and how they can help patients in search of a smile makeover find exactly what they’re looking for—a straight, confident smile.

But not every patient wants, or needs, to commit to an orthodontic solution like Invisalign. That’s why Dr. Hornstein’s Beachwood office also offers porcelain veneers and Lumineers. Both are popular cosmetic solutions that can help patients hide cracked, chipped, or slightly misaligned teeth, in addition to stains teeth whitening hasn’t been able to erase.

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Cover the Basics of Brushing and Flossing with Your Little One This Halloween

October 28, 2011

Halloween and all the candy that comes with it is right around the corner. That’s why Dr. Hornstein and the entire team at The Center for Advanced Dentistry would like to take a break from our Smile Makeover series (part 1 and part 2) to wish all our patients a happy, safe, and (most importantly) fun Halloween.

But we’d also like to encourage you to use this year’s holiday to teach your little one about the basics of brushing and flossing.

You’ve been taught all your life that candy causes cavities—and it’s true—but a little splurging from time to time never hurt anyone, as long as any splurging that’s done is followed up with a little extra time at the sink. So why not use this Halloween to help your son or daughter learn exactly what a smile needs to be healthy. Teaching a child how to brush and floss at a young age can help them develop habits that will stay with them as they grow and become adults.

Have any questions about how you can teach your little one? Give our Beachwood office a call today. Dr. Hornstein and the rest of our team would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Smile Makeover, Part 2: How Can I Have Straighter Teeth?

October 14, 2011

Our last post introduced what we call “smile makeovers.” Today, we’ll spend a little time talking about one service that’s making smile makeovers easier and more convenient.

The Differences Between Braces and Invisalign Clear Braces

While traditional braces and braces from Invisalign can help you achieve the same results, they do so in very different ways. Traditional braces use brackets and wires to gradually shift your teeth into place. Invisalign, on the other hand, uses clear, custom-made acrylic trays.

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Smile Makeover, Part 1: What Is a Smile Makeover?

September 26, 2011

Back in July, we talked about how patients of Dr. Hornstein’s Beachwood office can have a whiter smile in just one hour with professional teeth whitening.

As great as our teeth whitening services are, though, we’re using more than one cosmetic service to improve smiles and boost confidence. With Invisalign clear braces and porcelain veneers/Lumineers, we can help you achieve exactly the look you’ve been dreaming of.

These individual services make up what we call a smile makeover, and over the next few posts we’ll go into more detail about exactly what these services are, how they can help you, and what kinds of benefits they bring to the table. But for now, we’ll just tell you that with these services, patients can dramatically change the way their smile looks. Each one comes with different benefits, and one may be more right for you than the other, but both can yield dramatically surprising results.

To find out which service will give your smile and your confidence the biggest boost possible, contact our Beachwood office to schedule a consultation appointment with Dr. Hornstein. His passion for his patients, mixed with his eye for detail and expertise will help him create a makeover plan that you can count on.

Call us today, and let us get your smile makeover started.

A Natural-Looking Smile with Dental Implants from Dr. Hornstein

September 16, 2011

It can be hard to feel confident when your smile’s missing one or more teeth. But missing teeth can affect more than your confidence—they can also have a serious impact on your oral health.

Patients with missing teeth will eventually experience bone loss in their jawbone, because where there used to be a root to anchor your tooth and stimulate the growth of new bone tissue, now there’s nothing at all. That means part of your jaw doesn’t have a purpose anymore. What’s more, as your jawbone grows increasingly weaker, it’s likely that you could lose more teeth over time.

Traditional dentures can help restore your smile’s appearance, but they can’t do much to restore the root you’ve lost. That’s why, at Dr. Hornstein’s Beachwood office, we offer dental implants.

How Dental Implants Work

Unlike traditional dentures and other restorative options, dental implants restore your missing tooth and your missing root. That means having a dental implant placed is almost like getting your old tooth back. And, as an added benefit, dental implants look completely natural. No one but you and Dr. Hornstein will ever need to know you have implants.

If you’d like to find out if you’re a candidate for dental implants, call our Beachwood office today to schedule a consultation appointment. In just a single visit, Dr. Hornstein can determine if dental implants are right for you and begin a treatment plan that will restore your smile.

Give Your Smile an Extra Level of Protection with Dental Sealants

August 26, 2011

When food particles and bacteria find their way into the pits and grooves in your teeth, tooth decay is the result. That’s why brushing and flossing are so important. By maintaining a regular brushing and flossing routine, you’re giving your smile the protection it needs to stay strong and healthy.

But even the best brushers need a little help sometimes. That’s why, at Dr. Hornstein’s Beachwood office, we offer dental sealants. Dental sealants let us give your smile that extra little bit of protection it needs in areas that may be harder to protect.

What are Dental Sealants and How Do They Work?

Dental sealants are applied directly to your teeth after they’ve been cleaned and dried. Then, they’re hardened with a curing light, turning them from a liquid into a thin plastic film. This thin film acts like a barrier for food particles, keeping them away from vulnerable parts of your smile and helping you maintain your optimal oral health.

What’s more, dental sealants can be applied in very little time—anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes, depending on how many teeth Dr. Hornstein will be sealing.

If you’d like to know more about dental sealants, contact our Beachwood dental office to schedule an appointment with Dr. Hornstein. We serve patients from Cleveland, Solon, Shaker Heights, Pepper Pike, and surrounding areas.

Restore Your Smile with Porcelain Crowns from Dr. Hornstein

August 12, 2011

There could be any number of reasons for why you’ve lost confidence in your smile. You could have a tooth that’s been chipped for as long as you can remember. Or maybe one that cracked suddenly during a meal. It’s even possible t you have old metal fillings that are starting to deteriorate.

But all this can change. With porcelain crowns from Dr. Hornstein’s Beachwood office, you can restore confidence in your smile by restoring function and structure to a tooth that needs help.

By restoring your smile with porcelain crowns, you’re ensuring that your smile stays strong and healthy for years to come. Crowns can even help you preserve your jaw’s correct natural alignment, which is as important for the health of surrounding teeth as it is for the health of your entire jaw.

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A Whiter Smile in Just One Hour

July 28, 2011

Teeth can become stained for several reasons. One of the biggest is age, but certain beverages (like tea or coffee) can have a major effect, too, as can smoking and even certain medications. But with professional teeth whitening from Dr. Hornstein’s Beachwood dental office, a vibrant smile can be yours again, and in about just one hour.

Using Brite Smile’s professional whitening treatment, we can safely and effectively return your teeth to their optimal brightness.

Professional Whitening in the Comfort of Your Own Home

But in-office teeth whitening isn’t the only way you can revitalize your smile. With at-home teeth whitening, you can achieve professional results in the comfort of your own home. Results aren’t as immediate—best results take between one and two weeks—but you can still look forward to enjoying a brighter, more confident smile.

You can even use at-home teeth whitening in between in-office treatments. We call this our “Whitening for Life” program, and you can find out more about his it works by clicking here.

The Confident Smile of Your Dreams

If you have questions about our teeth whitening services or just want to schedule your next visit with Dr. Hornstein, give our Beachwood dental office a call today. Dr. Hornstein’s practice serves patients from Cleveland, Solon, Shaker Heights, Pepper Pike, and surrounding cities.