Smile Makeover in Tamarac: What It Actually Takes to Rebuild a Worn Smile

September 2, 2026August 26, 2026 by Dr. Dulay

Smile makeover before and after at a Tamarac cosmetic dentist: worn upper front teeth showing only a narrow band of tooth with the lower teeth dominating, then a restored smile with full upper incisors and a corrected smile line.

Smile makeover before and after. Actual patient of Dr. Dulay & Associates in Tamarac, published with consent. Individual results vary.

Look at the upper photo and count how much upper tooth you can actually see. A narrow strip. The lower teeth are doing most of the work in that smile, and they are not supposed to be.

Most people who come to me about a smile makeover arrive with a version of that complaint. The smile looks tired. The top teeth look short and flat — shorter than they used to be, and short enough that in photographs the upper teeth barely register while the bottom ones show more than they should. The edge of the smile runs straight across instead of curving. Whitening didn’t fix it. It made the teeth brighter and just as short.

And so the question I get asked is almost always the same one: how many veneers do I need?

That is the wrong first question, and answering it directly is how cosmetic cases fail.

A smile makeover is a sequence, not a product

“Veneers” is a material. A smile makeover is a plan — a specific order of steps that ends in veneers, where each step exists because the one after it will not work without it.

The reason this matters commercially, not just clinically: veneers bonded onto teeth in the wrong position, at the wrong shade, against the wrong gum line, in a bite that is still destructive, produce exactly the result everyone is afraid of. Bulky. Too white. Too flat. Chipped within a few years. That outcome is almost never the fault of the porcelain. It is the fault of the sequence, or the absence of one.

The case above is a good illustration, because on the surface it looked like a veneer case and underneath it was not one yet.

What was actually wrong

Retracted before and after view of a smile makeover: upper and lower front teeth meeting edge to edge with flat, translucent worn incisal edges and an uneven gum line, then restored tooth length, normal overlap and an even gingival contour. — Retracted view. Flat, translucent incisal edges and an edge-to-edge relationship — the cause of the wear, photographed. Actual patient, published with consent.

That retracted photograph is the diagnosis, and it is worth reading closely. The upper and lower front teeth meet tip to tip. There is essentially no vertical overlap. The upper incisal edges are flat and straight across, and grey and glassy where the enamel has thinned enough for the dentin underneath to show through. The lower incisors are worn in exactly the same way, because wear is a two-sided event. The gum line is uneven, sitting at different heights on teeth that should be symmetrical.

Three problems, stacked:

An edge-to-edge bite. Front teeth are built to shear past each other, not to hammer into each other. Meeting edge to edge, they grind themselves flat — a little more every year, and faster as they get shorter, because a shorter tooth meets its opponent harder.

A flattened smile line. A smile that reads as young follows the curve of the lower lip: longest at the two central incisors, sweeping up toward the corners. Because the centrals take the brunt of edge-to-edge contact, they wear fastest. The curve flattens, then eventually inverts into what is often called a reverse smile line. This case had not fully inverted yet. It was flat, which is the step before.

Lost lip support. The upper front teeth hold the upper lip out. Take length and thickness off them and the lip has less to rest against — it settles in, covers more of what is left, and the amount of tooth visible in conversation shrinks further.

Placing four veneers on that, and nothing else, would have looked better for a while and then broken. The bite that flattened natural enamel finds porcelain too. Porcelain is harder than enamel; it is not smarter than it.

The sequence I used

1. Orthodontic alignment first.
Before anything cosmetic, the front teeth had to be moved into a position where the uppers could overlap the lowers again, and where I would have room to add length back without immediately crashing into the opposing teeth. This is also the step that keeps a case conservative: teeth in the right position need less reduction than teeth being disguised in the wrong one. Short-course clear aligner treatment ahead of veneers is one of the most underused moves in cosmetic dentistry, and a limited case aimed at one specific problem is a very different proposition from the full-arch orthodontics most people picture.

2. Whitening.
Always before restorative work, never after — porcelain and composite do not respond to bleach. Whitening sets the shade that everything else is then matched to, so the natural teeth and the new work stay in agreement instead of drifting apart.

3. Gum recontouring.
Wear had shortened the teeth from the bottom while the gum line stayed where it was, leaving teeth that were both short and disproportionate, with zeniths at uneven heights. Recontouring re-established those high points so that length added at the edge produced a correctly proportioned tooth instead of a long one. Skipping this is why some veneer cases look like teeth that are simply too big.

4. Four porcelain veneers, finished with composite veneers.
Porcelain where the demand for strength, translucency and long-term stability was highest. Direct composite on the supporting teeth, blended into the porcelain. Mixing materials is a deliberate choice, not a budget compromise: it puts the strongest material exactly where the load is and keeps the rest of the case more conservative and more repairable.

Oblique smile makeover before and after showing improved upper lip support, a fuller arch through the corner of the smile, and increased upper tooth display after porcelain veneers. — Oblique view. Restoring length changes what the upper lip rests on — which changes how much tooth shows at rest and in speech. Actual patient, published with consent.

The oblique view shows the part most before-and-afters miss. The change is not just whiter teeth. It is upper tooth display — how much smile there is when the person is simply talking — and it is the fullness through the corner of the arch, where the before photo goes dark and the after does not. That comes from restored length and corrected position, and it is the difference between a result that looks like dentistry and a result that looks like a face.

Wondering whether your case is veneers alone or something more involved? Get in touch and I’ll tell you which one I think it is, at no charge.

Why some veneers look fake — and how the sequence prevents it

Nearly every “obvious veneer” result traces back to a step that was skipped:

Skipped alignment → teeth had to be over-prepared or over-built to fake a position, so they come out bulky and flat across the front
Skipped whitening → new restorations matched to dark natural teeth, or bright restorations sitting next to dark ones
Skipped gum work → correct-length teeth that read as square and oversized because the gum line never moved
No bite analysis → a flat, uniform edge with no individual character, built to survive rather than built to look right
One shade, no translucency → the single most recognizable tell, and purely a laboratory-communication problem

None of those are porcelain’s fault. You can see more finished cases in the smile gallery, and the porcelain veneers page covers materials and longevity in more detail.

What the evaluation involves

I do not plan a smile makeover from a selfie, and neither should anyone else. A real workup means measuring how much tooth structure has been lost against what should be there, checking how the teeth meet in centric and in excursions, reading the wear facets to determine whether the pattern comes from function, from clenching and grinding, or from acid erosion, evaluating the muscles and joints, taking full photographic records, and simulating the intended result before a single tooth is touched. That simulation is what tells me whether the length I want to add will survive the bite the patient actually has — and whether alignment, or in some cases a full mouth rehabilitation, needs to come first. A case planned backwards from the finished smile is a case that gets built once.

Is a smile makeover the right conversation for you?

Read this as a prompt to be evaluated, not a diagnosis:

Your upper front teeth look shorter than they do in older photographs
The bottom edges are flat and straight rather than gently curved
The edges look grey, glassy or translucent in bright light
Your top and bottom front teeth meet tip to tip when you bite together
Very little upper tooth shows when you talk; more lower tooth shows than you would expect
The middle of your smile sits level with, or lower than, the corners
Whitening helped the color and changed nothing about the shape
You have been quoted “just veneers” somewhere and it did not sit right with you
You have chipped a front tooth on something unremarkable
You catch yourself smiling with your lips closed in photographs

Two or three together is a pattern, not a coincidence.

Honest limits

Not every worn smile is a candidate for what is described here.

Alignment first adds months to the front end of a case. Some people do not want that. The honest answer is that skipping it means accepting either a more aggressive preparation or a result more likely to fail — and I would rather say that at the consultation than after the porcelain is bonded.

Severe wear that has closed the bite significantly is a larger problem than this case. It generally means rebuilding both arches rather than veneering the front six, and it belongs in the full mouth rehabilitation conversation.

Active gum disease, untreated decay, or a tooth needing root canal or surgical care is handled before any cosmetic work. Cosmetic dentistry placed over unresolved disease is a temporary result at a permanent price. Where a case genuinely requires oral surgery, orthognathic correction, or specialist care, restorative dentistry is not a substitute and I will refer.

Grinding and clenching do not stop because the teeth were restored. Protection — usually a night guard — is part of the plan, not an upsell after it.

Individual results vary. The result shown reflects one patient’s anatomy, bite and healing. It is not a prediction of any other outcome, and not every case is a candidate.

Start with a diagnosis, not a quote

If your front teeth are getting shorter, the window for a conservative result is closing a little every year. There was enough tooth left in this case to work with. That is not true forever.

Find out which category you are in — cosmetic or structural — before you spend money on the wrong one. I am a fee-for-service cosmetic dentistry practice in Tamarac and I have been doing this work in Broward County since 2004. The first conversation costs nothing.

Why Your Teeth Keep Wearing Down — Even With a Night Guard

July 25, 2026 by Dr. Dulay

Full mouth rehabilitation by Dr. Rajvinder Dulay in Tamarac , FL showing a corrected crossbite and restored tooth wear with porcelain crowns.

Before: an anterior crossbite concentrated bite forces unevenly, producing progressive wear and failing restorations. After: full mouth rehabilitation redistributed those forces and protected the remaining tooth structure.

You did what you were told to do.

You got the night guard. You wear it. And at your last visit, someone still pointed at your front teeth and used the word “wear” again — a little shorter than last time, a little thinner at the edges. Maybe a filling chipped. Maybe a crown came loose. And the plan, as far as you understand it, is to keep fixing them as they break.

If that’s where you are, there’s something worth understanding: a night guard and the way your teeth fit together are two different things, and one does not solve the other.

What a night guard actually does

A night guard is a barrier. It puts a layer of acrylic between your upper and lower teeth so that when you clench or grind at night, the guard absorbs the damage instead of your enamel. For patients whose wear is driven by nighttime grinding, it works well, and it’s the right first step.

But a night guard doesn’t change anything about your bite. It doesn’t change where your teeth sit, how they meet, or where the pressure lands when you chew. It’s protection during the hours you wear it — not a correction.

A night guard protects your teeth while you’re wearing it. It does not change the way your teeth bite together.

That distinction matters, because not all tooth wear comes from grinding.

When the wear is coming from the bite itself

Every time you close, chew, or swallow, force travels through your teeth. In a well-aligned bite, that force is shared broadly across many teeth, and each one carries a manageable amount.

When teeth are out of position — a crossbite, an edge-to-edge relationship, teeth that have drifted after a loss, an uneven arch — that force stops being shared. A few teeth take a disproportionate load, over and over, thousands of times a day. Enamel is extraordinarily hard, but it is not infinitely hard, and it does not grow back.

So the pattern looks like this:

Certain teeth wear noticeably faster than the ones around them
Fillings and crowns on those same teeth fail repeatedly
Front teeth thin out at the edges or begin to chip
You may notice jaw soreness, or sensitivity that comes and goes
The wear continues even though you are wearing your guard and caring for your teeth well

If that’s the pattern, the guard was never going to stop it. The forces are landing in the wrong places during the day, when the guard isn’t in. Restoring an individual tooth doesn’t stop it either — the new restoration goes right back into the same forces that destroyed the last one. That’s the treadmill: fix one, wait for the next.

A case from our practice

A patient came to us with exactly this concern. He’d had a crossbite for his entire life. His teeth were visibly worn, and the older dental work in his mouth was beginning to fail one piece at a time.

He wasn’t asking about appearance. His question was about longevity: was there anything that could be done to keep his teeth healthy for the long term, or was he going to be restoring one tooth at a time indefinitely?

It was a fair question, and it deserved a real answer rather than a guess. I told him honestly that I didn’t yet know whether his case could be solved that way — but that I could find out.

Why the workup comes before the promise

So I took the case to the bench and completed the diagnostic workup myself.

A workup is where a complex case is actually solved. Before any tooth is touched, the corrected bite is planned and built out — so you can see whether the relationship can genuinely be improved, whether the forces can be distributed evenly across the arch, whether the restorations will be stable, and whether the result will hold over years rather than months.

That process is what told me exactly what this case required and what it could achieve. Once I knew the answer, I could present the plan to him with confidence instead of optimism. He decided to move forward, and we completed a full mouth rehabilitation: his bite corrected, the forces redistributed, and his remaining tooth structure protected going forward. The improvement in his smile came along with it, but it was never the reason for the treatment.

That’s the honest sequence for a case like this. You don’t start with a promise. You start by finding out.

How to tell which situation you’re in

You can’t diagnose this from an article, but a few things are worth paying attention to:

Is the wear even, or concentrated? Generalized, gradual wear across all teeth reads differently than a few teeth wearing dramatically faster than their neighbors.
Does the same tooth keep needing work? Repeated failure in one area is a force problem until proven otherwise.
Has anyone measured your bite, or only looked at your teeth? These are not the same exam.
Has the wear continued despite the guard? If yes, something is happening outside the hours you’re wearing it.

If several of those apply to you, it’s worth having someone evaluate the bite specifically — not just the tooth that’s bothering you this month.

What treatment involves, honestly

Not every case needs comprehensive treatment, and not every case can be solved this way. Many patients need something far more limited, and finding that out is a good outcome.

When a case does require full mouth rehabilitation, it’s a significant undertaking — in time and in cost. It’s planned deliberately, often in phases, and financing options are available. Anyone who quotes you comprehensive treatment before completing a proper workup is quoting you a guess.

What you should expect from a first conversation is clarity: what’s driving the wear, whether it can be corrected, and what the realistic options are — including the option of doing nothing yet.

If you’ve been wearing a night guard and watching your teeth continue to wear, or you’ve been told the plan is to replace things as they fail, it’s worth a second look before more tooth structure is lost. Enamel doesn’t come back, and the cases that are simplest to treat are the ones caught earliest.

The goal isn’t simply to repair the next tooth that breaks. It’s to understand why it’s breaking in the first place.

How Cancer Affects Oral Health

July 25, 2026February 10, 2020 by Dr. Dulay

Routine dental checkup important to screen for oral cancers

There are some medical treatments that have side effects on other parts of the body, such as the mouth. As dentists, we want to tell you how cancer affects oral health and how you can treat the problems that you may face.

Medical conditions that affect the health of your mouth

Many of the medications and methods used to treat various diseases affect your oral health. Some of these treatments are:

Diabetes medications
Drugs to treat heart problems
Chemotherapy
Radiotherapy
Treatments for endocrine disorders
Medications for kidney conditions
Treatments against immune system disorders

How cancer affects oral health

A large number of cancer treatments can seriously affect the health of your gums, teeth and your mouth in general. These conditions can cause a lot of discomfort when chewing, talking or swallowing if they are not treated properly.

Side effects of cancer on oral health

Some of the side effects of cancer that can affect your mouth are the following:

Saliva thicker than usual
Dry mouth
Mouth sores
Increases the likelihood of tooth decay
Changes in the sense of taste
Infections in the gums and other areas of the mouth
Bone diseases that affect the teeth and jaw
Inflammation, redness and even pain in the tongue and lining of the mouth

Usually these effects appear when you are in an advanced stage of cancer treatment. Some are temporary and disappear after the treatment is completed. While others can be much more durable and even permanent.

Causes

Although not all cancer treatments affect the health of your mouth, a large percentage of them do. Studies have shown that the process of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and some surgeries alter the balance of bacteria in the mouth. This can damage and even begin to break down oral tissue, salivary glands and bone. What causes tooth decay, mouth ulcers, sores and infections.

The processes that carry the most side effects are:

Radiation therapy in the head and neck
Chemotherapy
Bone marrow and stem cell transplant
Pharmacological therapy

How to prevent the effects of treatments

If before starting any cancer treatment you have good oral health, the risks of suffering any condition in your mouth decreases. We recommend you go to the dentist a few weeks before starting your treatment. During your visit to the specialist, be sure to ask him to carry out the following work depending on your case:

Treat and repair all fractured teeth, with cavities or suffering from any infection.
If you have dental implants or dentures, check if it fits well and does not cause any discomfort.
If you have fixed orthodontics it is best to have them removed. Rubbing these with the mouth can cause discomfort and irritation.

You should also consider:

Provide all possible information about your dental treatments to the oncologist and cancer treatments to a specialist in general dentistry. In this way they can work together to contribute to your oral health.
If you underwent dental surgery you must wait two weeks or until the wounds of your mouth heal completely to start an oncological treatment.
If you did not visit your dentist before starting your cancer treatments, go as soon as possible.
Maintain good communication with your dentist throughout dental treatment in patients with chemotherapy.

Four Signs That Indicate Tooth Cavity

July 25, 2026January 18, 2020 by Dr. Dulay

The health of one’s teeth is key to their overall health. Preventing cavities and tooth decay is one of the essential ways to keep the teeth healthy as well as the condition and to avoid other complications. According to the statistic of the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), 30% of American adults have untreated tooth cavities. Untreated cavities can damage the teeth and probably create more serious dental issues.

When food and bacteria build up in the teeth, it can develop plaque. The plaque bacteria produce acids that can wear away the enamel on the surface of the teeth. With a regular flossing and brushing routine, you can get rid of the tooth cavity and sticky plaque. If the plaque enabled to build up, it would continue to eat away at the teeth and create a cavity or other dental problems. Here are a couple of the most common signs that a person may have a tooth cavity.

Signs of a Tooth Cavity

There are many possible signs that may indicate the beginning of the cavity. There are also numerous red alerts that are signs of an existing cavity is getting larger.

Cold and Hot Sensitivity

A sensitivity that lingers after ingesting cold or hot food and beverages can be a sign that a person has a cavity. When the enamel of the tooth begins to erode, it can affect the dentin, which is the tough tissue layer under the enamel. When there is not enough enamel to secure the dentin, beverages, or foods that are sticky, cold, hot, and acidic can stimulate the cells as well as nerve inside the tooth. It creates sensitivity.

Toothache

Ongoing pain in one or more of the teeth can also a sign of a cavity. In short, the ache is one of the most common symptoms of a tooth cavity. Sometimes this pain can come on suddenly, and it can occur as an outcome of something you ingest. It includes discomfort and pain in or around the mouth or feels ache and pressure while biting down on food.

Staining on Tooth

Stains on the tooth may initially appear as white spots. The stains can become darker, or tooth decay becomes more advanced. Staining caused by a cavity can be black, white, or brown, and typically seems on the surface of the tooth.

A Pit or Hole in the Mouth

If the white spots are seen on the teeth, it’s a red alert and end up with a pit or hole in the tooth that you can see while looking in the mirror or feel while you run your tongue over the surface of the teeth. A couple of holes, especially amid the teeth or in gaps, can’t felt or seen. But then again, you might feel sensitivity or pain in the area of the cavity. In order to protect your teeth from such serious dental issues, you need to make an appointment to visit your dentist as soon as possible.

How Many Implants Are Necessary For A Full Mouth Prosthesis?

March 14, 2023December 20, 2019 by Dr. Dulay

To rehabilitate an edentulous jaw with implants, we must take into account the different functional and aesthetic aspects of the restoration that can affect the treatment. Before placing dental implants, a good diagnosis has to be made to decide the type of restoration to be performed and the number of implants to be placed during surgery. The main factors that must be taken into account when deciding the number of dental implants are maxillary morphology and bone resorption in relation to the opposing teeth, the amount of bone remaining,

the skeletal class of each patient, the presence of parafunctions or powerful muscles of the individual and the type of dentition in the jaw. Prosthetic treatments on implants to place fixed maxillary teeth (ceramic zirconium restorations or hybrid prostheses) will be performed with the support of 4 to 8 implants, while removable treatments (overdentures) will be performed, in most cases, with a number of 4 to 6 implants.On the other hand, the complete rehabilitation of the mouth is performed when all the teeth of an arch have been lost, for example, if there is not a single tooth in the upper arch, this way we will avoid having to place an implant for each tooth lost. In these cases, several implants are placed; 6 in the upper arch and between 5-4 in the lower arch in the case of fixed, and on the dental implants a structure with 12 crowns per arch will be placed to complete the entire denture.

There are other techniques such as the implant technique with immediate loading in which it is possible to place the dental implants and a temporary fixed prosthesis on the same day, this implies that the patient does not have to go without teeth and have his prosthesis on the same day of the placement of dental implants, which means a great advance and a better quality of life for the patient.

THE PHASES OF IMPATIENT PLACEMENT

Case study and taking measures: where the doctor studies each case and it is determined if the placement of dental implants is possible, using photos of the mouth, x-rays and CT) and a treatment plan is made. The molds are taken from the patient’s mouth so that the prosthetic can develop the custom prosthesis.
Intervention and placement of dental implants: this intervention is a simple and painless process under local anesthesia. If necessary, it can be performed under conscious sedation, so the patient remains in a state of deep relaxation.
Final prosthesis and follow-up: for about 3 months the bone and the implant will be osseointegrated, that is, they will be fused and then the final prosthesis can be placed.

If you are thinking about having a dental implant treatment in your entire mouth, you can request a consultation at Estudi Dental Barcelona , with our implantologist and periodontist, to perform a diagnosis and a treatment plan for your case, with this we will make a personalized budget and Without any commitment .

What Is Gingival? How To Treat Gingival Disease

December 2, 2025November 22, 2019 by Dr. Dulay

The plaque can cause gum disease. It is a film of bacteria that continuously accumulates around, throughout the tooth and between one tooth and another. If these bacteria are not removed by regular brushing and flossing can irritate the gums, causing redness, inflammation and bleeding; all of them early symptoms of the first phase of gingival disease known as gingivitis. If these signs of gingival disease are not treated, spaces between the teeth and gums can form. If these spaces become deeper, they can generate periodontitis: one of the most serious forms of gingival disease.

Once that stage of gingival disease is reached, it is possible that damage has already been generated which, if left untreated, can cause the loss of dental pieces. That is why it is important to stop the progression of the disease in its early stages (gingivitis) through an effective treatment for gingival disease and keep your gums healthy.

THREE-STEP TREATMENT TO TREAT GINGIVAL DISEASE

A healthy gums are vital for healthy teeth and the best way to ensure they remain healthy is through a good oral care routine. It is only necessary to follow three simple steps to keep the gums and teeth clean and prevent gingival disease.

STEP 1 – BRUSH YOUR TEETH TWICE A DAY WITH DAILY TOOTHPASTE WITH FLUORIDE

Brush your teeth twice a day for at least two minutes with a manual or electric brush with a small head and rounded and soft bristles. Use daily toothpaste with fluoride , which physically eliminates the accumulation of bacterial plaque in the line where the gums and teeth join, which helps maintain a good seal. If used twice a day, it is x4 times more effective than a regular toothpaste, eliminating the accumulation of bacteria, one of the causes of bleeding gums *.

STEP 2 – FLOSS TO REMOVE PLAQUE BETWEEN TEETH

Use dental floss or interdental brushes to remove plaque from hard-to-reach areas, such as between teeth. Remember to floss carefully as you could damage your gums.

STEP 3 – VISIT A DENTIST REGULARLY TO ELIMINATE PLAQUE BUILDUP AND HELP PREVENT GINGIVAL DISEASE

Visit the dentist regularly for check-ups. As a professional, they can detect your gum problems before you notice the symptoms. Dental hygienists at the dentist’s office can also perform dental cleanings to eliminate the accumulation of bacterial plaque and stains that is more difficult to remove with brushing alone and thus preventing gingival disease. Follow these three steps to avoid gingival disease and keep healthy gums and strong teeth.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I ALREADY HAVE GINGIVAL DISEASE?

If you suffer from any of the symptoms of gingival disease or you already have gingivitis, the above steps can help prevent it from progressing to periodontitis which is irreversible. Periodontal disease, if left untreated, can cause the loss of teeth. If you have a gingival disease you should visit your dentist to prevent it from getting worse.

When is sedation dentistry the right choice?

March 14, 2023August 15, 2019 by Dr. Dulay

Professional Teeth Cleaning by a Dentist

Many people suffer from anxiety or get nervous when they
walk into a dental office. Dulay Dental strives to help each patient and give
them an exceptional experience during any cleaning or procedure at our office.
We want our patients to feel relaxed and at ease knowing they are in good
hands.

There are options that we offer in our office when patients
have anxiety, or have had a bad experience in the past with a dental procedure.
Our staff will work with each patient to come up with a customized treatment
plan, and will discuss all our options available.

In some cases we may recommend sedation dentistry as the
right choice for patients that suffer from dental anxiety. Sedation dentistry
is a way to keep patients relaxed and calm during their procedure or
appointment.

Patients may choose
sedation dentistry if they have one of the following:

Strong gag reflex
Patients that may be recommended for a long
dental procedure, or multiple procedures.
Patients that have a low tolerance for pain.

Types of sedation
available:

Nitrous
Oxide: This is known as “laughing gas” and is given through a mask placed
on the mouth combined with oxygen. This gas helps a patient to relax, and the
patient is awake during the procedure. Once the procedure is complete, the gas
wears off quickly.

Oral
Sedation: This can be given orally before a procedure to help patents
relax. Depending on the dose given, oral sedation can either keep the patient
pain free but awake, or may make the patient fall completely asleep.

IV
Sedation: IV Sedation is given intravenously. This type of sedation can be
controlled by the dentist, and can produce moderate sedation or deep sedation
depending on the patient’s needs and treatment.

Our goal at Dulay Dental is to make sure our patients are
comfortable and relaxed during any procedure. If sedation is the right option,
we will work with each patient to choose the best type of sedation, and make
sure they know what to expect every step of the way.

If you are interested in finding out more about sedation
dentistry, please contact Dulay Dental to schedule your appointment.

What age groups seek orthodontic care?

March 14, 2023August 5, 2019 by Dr. Dulay

There are many advancements in orthodontic care that have made it a lot easier to get that beautiful smile. Orthodontic care is not only for children, but for anyone that is unhappy with their teeth, and want a smile they can be proud of.

On average, children usually get braces between 10-14 years of age, and it is recommended that a child can see an orthodontist starting at age 7 when their permanent teeth begin to erupt. Braces are most common in teenagers, because when teeth first erupt they begin to notice crooked teeth. Visiting an orthodontist early on can allow them to evaluate any issues, and develop a customized plan for the future.

Orthodontic care can be done at any age, and we encourage all patients to meet with our team to discuss your concerns and goals. Our team will take x-rays and develop a plan that is customized to each patient’s needs.

You may be a good candidate for braces if:

You are unhappy with the way your smile looks or feels.
You have an under bite or an overbite.
Your teeth are crooked or misaligned.
Speech is affected by your teeth.
You had braces in the past but did not get the results you desired.

Contact Dulay Dental today to schedule your consultation, and we will discuss all the options available for braces and what can work for you.

How often should I get my teeth cleaned?

March 14, 2023July 25, 2019 by Dr. Dulay

Regular dental cleanings are important to keep up with our oral health, and keep our teeth and gums looking and feeling great. Cleanings help to remove that sticky layer of bacteria and plaque that builds up on our teeth and under our gums. This layer cannot be removed with normal brushing or flossing at home.

At Dulay Dental we recommend our patients have their teeth cleaned twice a year. This helps to keep the plaque layer down, and prevents issues such as gum disease.

Plaque begins to return on our teeth after a cleaning within 24-48 hours. If you visit our office twice a year, patients are less likely to have a thick layer of plaque and tarter. Visiting our office regularly helps to spot any signs of early problems such as cavities, receding gums, or oral cancer.

Our skilled staff will use special tools to clean your teeth and gums, as well as take any x-rays needed. Our dentist will meet with each patient to discuss the health of your teeth and gums, and recommend any further treatment that may be needed.

Our oral health is extremely important, and keeping up with regularly scheduled dental cleanings keeps teeth and gums free of harmful bacteria and plaque.

Most insurance companies will cover dental cleanings twice a year, and it is always smart to check with your insurance company to understand what your coverage includes.

If you are interested in scheduling a dental cleaning, contact Dulay Dental to schedule your appointment.

How long is a dentist appointment?

March 14, 2023July 15, 2019 by Dr. Dulay

Many of us go for our regular dental visits twice a year to get our teeth cleaned and evaluated to make sure our dental health is kept on top of. Maintaining oral health is extremely important to keep our teeth and gums free of bacteria and plaque. Keeping up with our oral health helps to ensure we avoid serious issues such as gum disease in the future.

Typically, if you are visiting our office for your regularly scheduled visit, our cleaning process takes around 30-45 minutes. Our highly skilled staff will clean your teeth and take any x-rays if needed.

Over time, bacteria and plaque create a sticky layer on our teeth. This layer can harden and can cause inflammation in and around the gums. This can lead to gum disease if it is not treated or removed. Brushing regularly is a great way to remove the bacteria, but brushing cannot remove all of the tarter left on our teeth.

Our skilled team of hygienists use special tools to remove the plaque from a patient’s teeth, and ensure your mouth is clean and free of any bacteria or plaque. Your x-rays are carefully reviewed to help us customize your cleaning depending on each patient’s needs.

Our goal is to make each patient comfortable, and to give our patients an exceptional experience when you visit our office. We know your time is valuable, and our team works to give you quality service in a reasonable amount of time.

Regular visits are so important for our oral health, and our team at Dulay Dental will go above and beyond to ensure our patients have the best experience.

If you are interested in finding out more about our dental cleaning services, contact Dulay Dental to schedule your appointment.