Have you wished you could fix your crooked teeth, but worried about what people would think if you showed up at work with a mouthful of metal?  Did you spend your time and money on braces for your children, but thought adult braces were out of the question?   Why worry about wearing metal braces and feeling like an uncomfortable teenager? Cosmetic dentists at Ballantyne Center for Dentistry in Charlotte have tooth colored braces for you, and can give you a smile makeover in approximately six months. 

What is Six Month Smiles?

This innovative procedure is called Six Month Smiles because the average treatment time takes just about six months. Six Months Smiles are adult, short-term braces that are comfortable, quick, and  barely noticeable.  This system uses a similar approach to regular braces, but more efficiently.  Unlike traditional metal braces, Six Month clear braces, made of special nickel titanium tooth colored wire and tooth colored brackets, gently straighten your teeth over a span of about six months.  No more tinsel teeth or metal mouth, because this proven and effective system will have you smiling with confidence all around Charlotte in no time!

How do Six Months Smiles straighten my teeth?

By focusing on your crooked teeth rather than on your bite, the Six Month Smiles procedure corrects crowding and spacing issues with only the teeth that are visible when you smile.  Because it is that simple, many people find they are perfect candidates for Six Month Smiles. Thousands have found it to be a great way to straighten their teeth quickly, and with confidence.

This cosmetic dentistry procedure uses less force than regular braces, because the special nickel titanium tooth-colored wires apply a gentle and steady pressure to efficiently move your crooked teeth, and with less pain, over a shorter period of time.  Traditional braces can take up to two and a half years, and can become quite painful with all the tightening of wires set to reposition your bite instead of your teeth.

Aftercare and maintenance

After your teeth have been successfully repositioned, you will need to wear a retainer in order to keep your smile straight, which is normal with any repositioning system.  Your doctor can give you options for a removable retainer, or a permanently non-visible retainer, to help keep your smile straight.

If your bite is not your problem and you would just like to fix your crooked teeth, then Six Month Smiles can be a perfect solution for you.  Give your smile the makeover it deserves and contact Ballantyne Center for Dentistry in Charlotte today. Dr.  Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda will be happy to schedule a free smile consultation and discuss options for your new smile makeover.  It is time to say good-bye to crooked teeth, and say hello to a straight smile!

Dental implants have become a common procedure, and many dentists offer this service. But not all dentists are able to complete all the steps in a dental implant, in one office. Some Charlotte dentists can do the restoration or crown, but have other dentists do the surgical part. Other Charlotte dentists can remove the damaged tooth, and then refer to specialists for the teeth implants. Yet most people are unaware of this dental procedure and its benefits. This includes people who are told they need new dentures, when their problems can be easily and permanently fixed by good implant dentists, Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda. 

While any dentist can offer implants, the results could be less-than-perfect. Implant dentistry is a complex discipline that requires years of experience and expertise in areas such as cosmetic dentistry and sedation dentistry. Only a few facilities in Charlotte, Ballantyne Center for Dentistry being one of them, offer complete support in using dental implants as denture alternatives.    

What are dental implants?

In simple terms, dental implants are artificial substitutes for a damaged tooth root. As the name implies, they are planted directly into the bone of the jaw. Within days, the bone fuses with the implant, creating a rock solid foundation for other dental work. Modern implants support very realistic artificial teeth, making them great denture alternatives.

Once fixed, dental implants do not require any special care. You can use them to eat a completely unrestricted diet and brush them just like your natural teeth. Most people even forget they actually have implants! This is a refreshing change from dentures, which can be unsteady, messy to eat with, and are a potential choking risk.

Who can benefit from dental implants?

Many folks can benefit from dental implants. Implant dentistry deals with any major tooth problem that affects the root. Implants are used to provide an anchor for existing crowns or bridges, preventing further damage. Charlotte implant dentists, Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda, can also replace one or more missing teeth to provide solid support to the surrounding teeth. This is a great alternative for people who are told they need new dentures. The size, location, and quality of even one dental implant can improve your smile or totally ruin it. This makes it important to have some experience in cosmetic dentistry for most implant procedures. 

Can dental implants ever be painless?

It depends on the Charlotte dentist. Sedation dentists, Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda, can make your dental implants a completely painless process. In most cases, sedation dentistry uses oral sedatives to induce a completely relaxed and numbed state. You may even experience a sleep-like meditative state, completely at ease both physically and mentally.  Good Charlotte sedation dentists, Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda will give you options on conscious sedation and help you choose the option that’s best for you and your dental procedure.

If you need new dentures, consider opting for dental implants. Ballantyne Center for Dentistry offer implants by cosmetic dentists, Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda, using sedation dentistry. Contact them for a consultation to discover permanent, low maintenance implants as denture alternatives.

Just like millions of people around the world, I have always wanted to have someone straighten my teeth with clear braces.  Unfortunately, my discomfiture of having someone see and fix my crooked teeth always get the better of me, and just like you, I end up doing nothing about getting a cosmetic dentist in Charlotte to fix my teeth.  However, I have always wanted the chance to finally straighten my teeth and be able to smile without worry.  So I did some researching in the Internet, and guess what I have found?  Clear braces!  There is such a thing as a Six Month Smiles at Ballantyne Center for Dentistry, and I can have the smile I always wanted in about six months!

Straighten my teeth with clear braces, is it possible?

When I finally had the courage to see someone to straighten my teeth with clear braces, I got in touch with trusted cosmetic dentists, Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda in Charlotte.  From them, I learned that clear braces work much like metal braces to fix my crooked teeth, but only better.  There are so many adult braces to choose from, but I wanted faster results that can provide the best comfort, so I chose the Six Month Smiles procedure to straighten my teeth.

If you are going to choose the Six Month Smiles to fix your teeth, then read more about how it’s done:

The first consultation with your south Charlotte cosmetic dentists, Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda, is an assessment of the dental problem.  After this, you  will get an x-ray of your teeth and gums to better assess your dental issues.  Once done, an impression of your teeth is made and an individualized treatment plan is put in place.

After the consultation, your cosmetic dentists, Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda will then send the impressions off to a special lab that will create the Six Month Smiles set of clear braces for you.  You will be pleasantly surprised to see that the Six Month Smiles adult braces are almost invisible.  It makes use of thin wires the color of teeth and very clear brackets.  I was very happy to see that my smile makeover to fix my teeth need not be that embarrassing.  No more of those metal braces, and no more bulky brackets to fix my crooked teeth.

But is it comfortable? Even though you fix my teeth in just six months?

Yes, it is very comfortable to wear actually.  It only exerts low force to set your teeth into the desired position.  As stated above, it functions much like metal braces in that it also makes use of standard methods in positioning your teeth into a good alignment, albeit gentler.  Plus, Six Month Smiles adult braces are also much lighter than the traditional metal braces, and it provides a much more comfortable fit.

What are the risks if I straighten my teeth with clear braces?

Your south Charlotte cosmetic dentists, Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda use the latest technology as well as the most advanced dental techniques during the procedure, so you really can rest assured that you are in good hands.  In fact, this type of adult braces poses the least risk, as it will not damage the roots. Of course, there is the biggest advantage of all – almost invisible braces to fix my teeth!

So call your south Charlotte cosmetic dentists, Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda at Ballantyne Center for Dentistry, and get ready to have a fantastic smile in about six months!

Recently, dentists around the United States have noticed a dramatic increase in teeth grinding. The New York Times released an article verifying what we as dentists already know. The article entitled, "When Stress takes a Toll on Your Teeth", describes how stress revolving around the economy is playing a part in people's teeth grinding habits.

Teeth grinding is also known as bruxism and is responsible for a number of problems including TMD, commonly referred to as TMJ, muscle soreness, headaches, ear aches, neck pain, as well as cracked, fractured and worn teeth. Numbers vary from dentist to dentist, but the overall percentage of cases being diagnosed in dental offices is 25-50% higher than in times past. That is an incredible amount of people creating all kinds of havoc on their teeth and the surrounding areas of the joints and muscles.

Although genetics can play a part in bruxism, stress has been known for years to set off clenching and grinding in people. Stress causes a fight-or-flight response which releases hormones that mobilize energy and causes isometric activity or muscle movement. The amount of pressure exerted by an individual during teeth grinding or clenching can go from a normal 20-30 lbs of pressure per square inch, to as high as 200 lbs of pressure per square inch. Many people will grind up to 40 minutes during every hour of sleep causing significant damage.

Most of our patients don't even realize that they are grinding or clenching their teeth and deny that they have any pain in their muscles or joints. How can this be, you ask? It is kind of like a body builder who has been working out for years. As time goes on the muscles get stronger allowing for heavier weights. Workouts don't cause as much pain because the muscles are used to it. Someone with large masseter muscles, the muscles responsible for much of the pressure placed on your teeth during chewing, grinding, and clenching, often doesn't realize how much stress they can actually put on their teeth. 

For a dentist, such as us here at Ballantyne Center for Dentistry,  there are a few key give-aways to a grinder or clincher. Often teeth grinding causes obvious wear patterns that are easily recognized under close examination of a patients bite. People that clench their teeth will show signs of small "craze lines" or fractures in the outer layer of the teeth called the enamel. These craze lines may be difficult to see under normal light, but show up easily under trans illumination.

So what does all of this mean to you and how can you protect your natural teeth and any investment you have made in your dental restorations like fillings, crowns, bridges, veneers, etc? If you have not worn your teeth down beyond a certain point, many times the most appropriate treatment is a simple night guard or bruxing device. These vary in price from $350-$1000. They are custom fitted to your mouth and designed to spread the force of the bite over the entire range of teeth and not just a few back or front teeth. Beware of dental appliances sold over the counter in drug stores, supermarkets, online, and even on TV. These appliances may provide a form of protection for a limited time, but have been shown to increase the activity that leads to clenching and grinding. It is in your best interest to have an appliance custom made by a dentist and not something like a "boil and bite".

Frequently patients who wear a night guard for a few weeks’ notice not only a decrease in muscle soreness if they have it, but that they are sleeping better. There is also the added benefit of knowing that you are not destroying your dental work or your teeth.

If your teeth have worn down significantly or the fractures in your teeth are great, then having porcelain crowns or porcelain veneers fitted will be not only beneficial to protecting the underlying structure of your teeth, but also improve and open the bite back to where it was originally. This is often referred to as full mouth, or partial mouth reconstruction. The cost of this can be high and for many people dentistry financing works the best. Consulting with a dentist who is an expert in this area is essential to a positive outcome.

There are a few other treatments that are being tried by some dentists around the country including Botox injections, acupuncture, hypnosis, and medical massage.

Call Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda, at Ballantyne Dentistry, your Charlotte cosmetic dentists,  for the best solution for you.