Family Dentist Minneapolis, Hopkins, Eden Prairie

Cosmetic Dentistry Hopkins Makes Beautiful Smiles

Due to advances in dental technology, you no longer have to hide an unsightly smile from
the world. Twin Cities Dental Center offers a wide range of cosmetic dentistry services to improve
your teeth and give you a beautiful smile. Because our practice offers sedation dentistry
services and uses the latest dental technology, you can have a beautiful smile in less time and
with less discomfort than you would if you chose other methods of smile restoration.

Natural Fillings

If you are tired of seeing dark fillings when you smile, we can replace those fillings with natural-
looking alternatives. Another benefit of using natural-colored fillings is that they help strengthen
the teeth. Porcelain is one of the best materials to use for dental inlays or onlays, as it is more
durable than other filling materials. Porcelain inlays also preserve more of the tooth’s natural
structure and create a watertight seal when they are bonded to your teeth. It is possible to match
these inlays and onlays to your natural teeth, so no one will even know you had a filling.

Dental Bleaching

Coffee, tobacco, and other substances may create unsightly stains that make your smile less
attractive. Instead of living with the problem, consider having a Hopkins dentist bleach your
teeth. In-office bleaching usually takes just one session, making it a faster and more convenient
alternative to using over-the-counter tooth whitening kits. During a bleaching session, one of
our dentists will apply bleach to the surface of your teeth and then shine a powerful light on the
teeth. This light releases oxygen, which helps the bleach achieve outstanding results. We also
offer home bleaching, which is also more effective than over-the-counter bleaching treatments.
When you whiten your teeth at home, you use a bleaching tray to whiten your teeth while you
sleep. We fit these trays to your teeth so that the bleach reaches the entire surface of your smile.
We also provide detailed instructions about how to use the bleaching trays for best results.

If you sustained dental trauma at any point, you may have missing or damaged teeth. These flaws
affect your smile, so it’s good to know there are option out there for you to correct such problems. During a bonding treatment, a dentist in Hopkins MN applies a resin to the outer surface of the damaged
tooth. This resin is shaped to match the rest of your teeth, so it is useful for repairing chipped teeth or
changing the shape of your teeth. This procedure is less involved than some cosmetic dentistry
procedures, so it may be more compatible with your budget or your schedule.

Helping Kids Develop Good Dental Hygiene Habits: Tips From a Hopkins Dentist

When children learn about dental health at a young age, it is easier for them to develop habits that will keep the teeth and gums healthy for a lifetime. Parents and other caregivers are faced with the difficult task of getting kids excited about dental hygiene, but there are several good ways to make the process a lot easier on both kids and adults. Use these tips to make dental hygiene fun for everyone.

Buy Kid-Friendly Products

Kid-friendly products encourage children to brush their teeth regularly and may even make the process of brushing the teeth a little less scary for younger children. Toothpaste tubes with popular cartoon characters or bright colors can keep fear at bay and make it fun to brush. Colorful toothbrushes are another powerful tool for helping children overcome their anxiety about brushing. If you are not sure how to select the right toothbrush for a child, talk to a dentist in Hopkins MN about what type of brush is right for your child. Picking the right flavor toothpaste is also important. Kids might like grape or bubble gum flavors better than the standard mint and cinnamon flavors used in toothpastes made for adults.

Use Age-Appropriate Teaching Methods

A good Hopkins dentist knows that age-appropriate teaching methods are the best way to help kids learn how to take care of their teeth and gums. For young children, it may be helpful to use a timer or one of the small hourglasses that come with some board games when teaching proper brushing techniques. Set the timer or turn the hourglass over and tell your child to keep brushing until the alarm goes off or the sand runs out of the top of the hourglass. This teaching technique helps kids get used to brushing their teeth for a certain length of time. Older children can learn about tooth decay and the importance of good dental health by reading kid-friendly books or doing home experiments with apples and other foods. If you need a refresher on the right way to brush your teeth, talk to your Twin Cities dentist.

Finding a Kid-Friendly Practice

If a child is afraid to visit the dentist, it will be a lot harder to stress the importance of good dental hygiene. Finding a kid-friendly Hopkins dentist is one of the best ways to relieve some of these fears. Kid-friendly dentists like the ones at Twin Cities Dental will put children at ease by explaining what is going to happen in terms that kids can understand. Before visiting the dentist, you should let your child know what to expect. Talk to someone at your dental office to find out what will happen during your child’s first visit. This will make it easier to put your child at ease.

Do you have an emergency dentist in your contact list?

Do you have an emergency dentist designated for yourself? We all have lists of numbers to call in an emergency, but we often overlook the need to have access to an emergency dentist. Even if you have a regular dentist you visit, it’s important to make sure that dentist will be available to see you immediately if you’re suffering from an emergency. If not, you may want to shop around for an emergency dentist who can serve you.

Signs of a dental emergency

Twin Cities Dental  Center, as an emergency dentist, commonly sees patients with the urgent symptoms below:

* Toothaches

* Chipped or broken teeth

* Knocked-out tooth

* Missing filling

* Missing crown

* Broken braces wire

* Abscess

The list goes on and on. Whether you are simply suffering from tooth pain, or you have injured yourself, you should contact an emergency dentist for treatment right away. Twin Cities Dental Center offers emergency services to patients in Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Hopkins, Eden Prairie, Minntonka, Plymouth, Edina and other locations. Visit the office’s emergency dentist page for more information.

Don’t ignore symptoms of a dental emergency

Severe pain can be the sign of a serious underlying dental problem. It’s important to seek out the professional opinion of a dentist as soon as possible and to treat the problem before it becomes worse.

Dental emergencies should not be ignored. Suffering from a toothache for days or weeks could lead to more damage. Imagine that if you had a cavity in need of a filling but you put it off too long. The tooth then became infected, and now you have to have that tooth pulled. On top of that, you have to decide about possibly adding a dental implant.

Once problems compound, so do prices. In the end, you’ll pay a far heftier price by avoiding dental care and allowing your condition to worsen. Check out this list of some immediate steps you can take in a dental emergency before visiting with a dentist.

You don’t have to suffer in pain for days while you wait to get in to see your visit.When you add an emergency dentist to your list of numbers, you can rest assured that you can be evaluated the day you call in the emergency.

Implant dentistry Hopkins may be a good option for you

Implant dentistry Hopkins services could be a better solution for you than bridge work or partial dentures. While implants are not as often covered by your insurance and can be more expensive than a bridge, they offer some long-term benefits a bridge will not.

A dental implant is a “root” device. It appears similar to an actual tooth root and is placed within your bone. Bridges, of course, do not go inside your bone. Your dentist will mill down two healthy teeth on either side of the bridge to support the structure that extends between them. Because implants don’t rely on neighboring teeth, they are a better option for preserving your overall tooth health.

Here are some other benefits:

• You can eliminate the need for a removable partial denture, thus giving you far more comfort.
• An implant can provide support for a denture or a bridge, making it more secure and comfortable without damaging other teeth
• An implant is a better option for speech and eating. Dentures don’t always have a perfect fit and can sometimes slide around. But implants function like your own teeth.
• The result of dental implants is reliable; they are considered an excellent and safe option for tooth replacement.

Who is a candidate for implant dentistry Hopkins work?

If you are in good overall oral health, you’d most likely qualify as a candidate for implant dentistry Hopkins work. Most often, implants are recommended for someone who has lost a tooth or teeth because of periodontal disease, an injury or some other reason.

You must also have healthy enough bone and the appropriate bone depth to support the implants (although in some cases an implant can be placed on your bone, instead of inside it). Consult with your dentist to see if you would be a viable candidate. While implants tend to be more expensive than bridges or dentures, you should look at the long-term cost. If you have to replace a bridge or denture later, the overall costs could be higher than choosing implants now.

The step in bridge work that requires filing down neighboring teeth can make those teeth prone to bacterial plaque, decay, periodontal disease and can even lead you to need root canals in the future, all piling on to the initial cost of the bridge work.

The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry offers some additional comparison of implants vs bridges, as well as some visuals that illustrate the differences.

If you want the best long-term solution that will give you the most comfort and reliable results, consider implant dentistry Hopkins services.

How to choose your twin cities dentist

Choosing your twin cities dentist can be intimidating at first. There are a lot of choices, and new residents or those who need to switch providers don’t always know where to start.

Frequently, people select their twin cities dentist through referrals from family, friends or co-workers. While this is a good way to ensure you’re finding a dentist with a good reputation, you should do a little research to ensure it is the right office for you with all the services you might want in the future.

Here are some tips to help you select your twin cities dentist:

Services and specialties

When choosing a twin cities dentist, you may want to evaluate each office’s services and specialties. Not all dentists have equal offerings. Some dentists may offer cosmetic dentistry that another dentist will not. At Twin Cities Dental Center, for example, we offer cosmetic dentistry that includes Invisalign braces, bleaching, porcelain veneers and more.

Even more important, however, may be what kind of philosophy your dentist has about medications. For example, Twin Cities Dental in Hopkins provides sedation dentistry, which is a medication that can relax a patient. But not all dentists have this available. If you or a child is especially anxious about dental visits or you have a child with disabilities who could benefit from sedation, make sure the dentist you choose is open to using those methods.

Consider your own convenience

Convenience can also be a factor in choosing a dentist. Look for a twin cities dentist who has office hours that will fit within your schedule, a location that is near your home or place of business so that attending your appointments will not be a huge hindrance (unless you have special needs that make it worth traveling further), and payment options that will work for you.

Other things to consider:

• Learn their policies on missed appointments;
• Make sure they participate in your insurance plan;
• Learn what you can about their fees and charges in advance;
• Find out how they handle dental emergencies outside of office hours;
• If you want to compare costs, ask for estimates on procedures such as exams, cavity fillings, cleanings and so forth.

The American Dental Association also has some suggestions for how to choose a dentist. If you take a just a few steps to learn more about your options, selecting the best twin cities dentist for your needs will become much easier.

Minneapolis dentist offers tips for a healthy smile

Our Minneapolis dentist has a few reminders about the basics of oral health in honor of National Dental Hygiene month this October.

Most of you have been brushing your teeth since you were children, but how many of you were taught the best technique for brushing or how to select the right toothbrush? Often, parents are just happy to get their kids to brush at all, and so bad habits hang on well past childhood.

Here are some questions you should consider.

Do you have the right toothbrush?

Dental professionals most often recommend a soft-bristled toothbrush as the best choice to remove plaque from your teeth.

The size of your toothbrush is also important. Does it fit all areas of your mouth comfortably? Toothbrushes with a smaller head are considered preferable, because they can reach more areas of your mouth, like those hard-to-reach back teeth.

When it comes to the question of electric vs. manual toothbrush, our Minneapolis dentist would say that it does not matter, if the proper brushing is done. However, an electric toothbrush can sometimes seem more fun for children, encouraging them to cooperate during brushing – and that’s always a win.

How much brushing is enough?

Brushing twice a day is recommended, though three times a day is even better. Most people meet the twice daily recommendation, but they don’t always brush long enough.

You should brush your teeth for a full two to three minutes. Do you meet that goal? Many people find, once they time themselves, that they fall short.

It’s not so much that the time period is important; the recommendation is really based on how long it should take you to adequately brush all surfaces of your mouth. Try dividing your mouth into quadrants, then spend 30 seconds on each quadrant.

If it’s helpful to you, some electric toothbrushes include built-in timers.

Are you using good technique?

Keep in mind that you should brush gently, not with force. If you brush too vigorously, you can erode your tooth enamel.

Follow these basic steps for the best brushing results:

• Clean the outer surfaces of your upper teeth, then your lower teeth
• Clean the inner surfaces of your upper teeth, then your lower teeth
• Clean the chewing surfaces
• Brush your tongue (for fresher breath)

The American Dental Hygienists Association offers a more detailed guide to brushing, with visuals. Most toothpastes websites, such as Colgate, will also offer additional tips on brushing and selecting the proper toothbrush.

Supplementary may also help protect your teeth from decay. Consult your Minneapolis dentist about whether fluoride is a good choice for you, but remember – nothing replaces proper brushing!

Ask your Minneapolis dentist about whitening teeth

Your Minneapolis dentist has no doubt heard plenty of requests for teeth whitening treatments, and fielded many questions about over-the-counter products, as well. With whitening toothpastes, rinses, strips and gels flooding the market, it’s pretty clear whitening has become a topic of interest.

According to an ABC report, bleaching is the most requested procedure at the dentist office for patients between 40 and 60 years old. That number is based on a 2003 American Dental Association survey. And since then, we’ve seen even more products coming onto the market. So, what do these products do and are they effective?

Before rushing into the use of any of these products, please consult with your Minneapolis dentist to minimize your risks.

In-office bleaching

A procedure by your Minneapolis dentist will be the quickest, most effective teeth whitening method you can pursue. It’s typically a 30- to 60-minute treatment, and for full effect, more than one appointment is necessary. However, you’ll usually see a significant difference after the first treatment.

This is the most expensive method of whitening your teeth, and it’s also possible that an over-the-counter option may work for you depending on the staining level on your teeth. So consult with your Minneapolis dentist and carefully consider what options first your situation best.

Whitening gels

These products are clear, peroide-based gels that are applied with a brush to the surface of your teeth. Usually, you’ll apply the gel twice a day for a set period, such as two weeks.

Whitening strips

These are thin, nearly invisible stripst hat are coated with the peroxide-based whitening gel. They are also applied twice daily, for about 14 days.

Tray-based whiteners

These systems, which be bought over the counter or from a dentist, involve filling a tray with the gel solution — which contains peroxide-bleaching agent. The tray is worn in your mouth. Length of time and frequency usually depends on the level of whitening you desire.

Whitening toothepastes

These are not worth your time if you’re serious about whitening your teeth. While they may work slightly better than a regular toothepaste, they generally will not remove any significant staining.

Talk to your Minneapolis dentist

At-home whitening products are not as strong as those at the dentist’s office, for obvious safety reasons. Even so, over-the-counter kits may still make you teeth or gums sensitive with use.  Good Housekeeping Research Institute ranked the top four over-the-counter whitening kits — all of which were strips and trays, no toothepastes — but for best results, consult your Minneapolis dentist for recommendations.

Minneapolis dentist may advise braces, but that doesn’t mean a mouth of metal

When preparing to visit a Minneapolis dentist, is your adolescent ‘bracing’ for the worst – like a mouth full of a metal braces? Unfortunately, preventing a need for braces can be difficult. Regular dental hygiene helps, of course, but sometimes genetics are not in your favor as teeth come in crooked.

The silver lining (or rather, the not-so-silver lining) is that there have been a number of advances in the dental field that provide more options for braces. You no longer have to highly noticeable metal tracks across your teeth.

Here are a few of your options.

Clear braces

Clear braces work in the same way metal braces do. The key difference is that clear brackets are used instead of metal ones. These braces will blend in with the natural color of your teeth. There are braces made of plychrystaline alumina, a crystal-clear material, or braces made of ceramic that will accomplish this look.

Lingual Care braces

Lingual Care braces are the best if you absolutely do not want your braces to be seen. However, you can expect a price hike to make that happen.

The braces are actually placed on the inside of your teeth, instead of outside, to keep them hidden from view. They do offer more than aesthetics though – each set is customized specifically for the patient’s teeth, ensuring an effective and more comfortable fit.

Invisalign Teen braces

Chances are, you’ve heard of Invisalign. The regular Invisalign aligners were not available for use with adolescents. Now, they have a teen line. But whether your child will be an eligible candidate must be determined by a professional.

The Invisalign Teen aligners – which are nearly invisible – are custom designed based on a treatment plan to fit the patient’s teeth. They must be worn every day for 20 to 22 hours, except when eating, brushing or flossing teeth and during sports activities. You switch out your aligners set every two weeks.

Gold braces

It’s a fact that braces, in their early days, were made of a variety of materials, including gold and silver. That practice halted when less expensive stainless steel alloys became available.

Gold is making a comeback, however, because it adds a little flair to your dental work. The told color tends to blend better than the steel and gives a warmer appearance. Gold braces are most similar to the traditional metal braces, so if your Minneapolis dentist recommends a more traditional brace for you, this is still a possibility.

If you must get a more traditional set of metal braces, either because of cost or your particular dental condition, don’t fret. Even these are being improved all the time, and they’ve already become smaller and more comfortable than in decades past.

Your options in braces are increasing all the time, even to include “speed braces,” or Six Month Braces (see our article to learn more).

If you think you or your child may need braces in the future, discuss your options with your Minneapolis dentist – and remember that this temporary treatment will lead to a permanently great smile!

Need a Minneapolis dentist who can be sensitive to special needs?

Choosing a Minneapolis dentist can be difficult when your child has disabilities. Parents naturally want someone who will be sensitive to their child’s needs – whether those needs are physical, psychological or emotional. The average child tends to have some dental anxiety the first time he or she visits a dental office; that can be far more extreme in a child who does not like someone touching their face or their mouth, which is common among children with autism, for example.

Other disabilities might hinder children’s dental care because they take medications that are harmful to their teeth, they have limited diets that affect their dental health or they have physical limitations that make regular dental hygiene more difficult to achieve.

At Twin Cities Dental Center, we will always be sensitive to your challenges. We will take steps to address your fears or concerns, and help your child adjust to dental cleaning and exams as best we can. Here are a few ways we can help you.

Advise you in dental care at home

If your child is highly resistant to oral hygiene, don’t give up. Even if it seems hopeless , you should work to establish a routine that includes tooth brushing. Even children with severe autism have become regular brushers with the right tools (such as a visual schedule) and routine.

If your child has physical difficulties hindering brushing – such as the inability to spit – we can offer other options. For example, you might try using a fluoride rinse or fluoridated water instead of toothpaste. Though it’s not quite as effective, it will still help prevent tooth decay.

Talk to your Minneapolis dentist about whatever challenge may be holding you back in oral hygiene, so we can recommend steps that may help you at home.

Take your concerns seriously

If you have concerns about your child’s experience at the dental office, call and talk with your Minneapolis dentist about it. We will always take your worries seriously, and will do our best to discuss it with you and look for solutions.

For example: If your child does not respond well to new settings, perhaps a tour of the office could be arranged, so your child can become more familiar with the surroundings before his or her first official visit.

We will do everything we can to make your child as comfortable as possible with our dental care, but there are some limitations to what we can do. So, before you schedule an appointment, we encourage you to visit with us about our policies and expectations, so you and your child have the best experience possible.

If necessary, we can medicate

If your child is extremely sensitive to dental care or unable to sit still for a hygiene visit, we may want to consider sedation dentistry. We are qualified to administer sedation, which should greatly calm your child’s anxieties and facilitate the dental care needed. Read more about our sedation dentistry.

We know that caring for a child with disabilities – and overcoming myriad challenges every day – isn’t easy. You won’t find a lecture waiting for you at Twin Cities Dental Center about how well you’ve dealt with the oral hygiene challenge, but maintaining dental health for your child is imperative – so we encourage you to find a Minneapolis dentist who can be sensitive to your needs and give your child care he or she needs.

Minneapolis dentist can help you cope with anxiety

Does visiting a Minneapolis dentist feel your or your child with anxiety? Some degree of dental fear in children is common as they enter a new environment and are confronted with new routines and equipment. However, it’s estimated that as many as 75 percent of US adults also experience some degree of dental fear, from mild to severe, as reported in scientific surveys over the years.

Often this anxiety comes from a fear of pain, a bad experience with dental care in the past or even just the stories you hear someone else tell about a bad experience. If dental fear develops in a child, it will be more likely to persist in adulthood, so it’s important to address it early, rather than later.

Our Minneapolis dentist office had a number of suggestions about coping with anxiety:

Make it fun for kids before their first visit

If you have a child who will be going to the dentist for the first time, try reading a book to them about the dentist or finding a video they can watch. Presenting a dental visit as a positive experience, not something to fear, is important. Parents, children will sense your own feelings, so try not to let yourself stress too much about your children’s trips, either.

Communicate with your Minneapolis dentist

If you feel some anxiety about dental care, be forthcoming with your dentist. Often, people resist opening up about their concerns, and this only heightens the anxiety. When you communicate with your dentist, he or she can be more sensitive to your needs and go the extra mile to make you comfortable.

Most importantly, don’t hold one bad experience, or even a story you heard about a bad experience, against every dentist. Give your dentist a chance to show you they can be a caring, professional who will ensure you leave the office feeling better about your teeth and your stress levels.

Learn the truth about dental pain

Much dental anxiety comes from the myth that going to the dentist will cause you pain. With today’s technology and medication, dental treatments are becoming far less invasive all the time. At one time, all cleanings hand to be done by hand with a number of handheld instruments that may have intimidated some patients. Now, we have machines that can do the work more quickly and just as effectively.

Similarly, technology has helped us address other common phobias, like fear of a needle. If you are terrified of needles, there are alternatives available, so once again, it’s important to communicate with your dentist about these anxieties.

In extreme cases, try sedation

Above all else, it’s important that you receive regular oral care. Dental anxiety sometimes has been known to cause some people to avoid routine care that can be essential in preventing serious dental problems.

If your anxiety is too difficult to manage on your own, you should consider sedation dentistry. Twin Cities Dental Center does offer sedation to help patients who experience anxiety. A trained dental professional will administer a sedative to relax you (Read more in our article Sedation Dentistry MN Benefits).

Sedation can also be helpful in pediatric patients who have some fear in their first visits to a Minneapolis dentist. If a dentist can perform procedures while the child is in a relaxed state, it will greatly reduce the chance that child will develop an anxiety about the dentist’s office.

If you or your children have experienced dental anxiety, we want you to know there is a Minneapolis dentist who can help you cope and overcome your fear for the best experience possible.