10 Things You Can Do to Improve Your Smile, Part 1

10 Things You Can Do to Improve Your Smile, Part 1

Our smiles need plenty of care to be healthy and beautiful. In our posts for this month, we’d like to go over 10 different ways that you can improve the health and/or the appearance of your smile. Both are important and can be achieved with diligence on both your end and ours.

#1 - Follow a good oral care routine at home

Having a healthy smile begins at home with regular brushing and flossing. At our Frisco office, we recommend that patients brush at least twice a day. We also recommend flossing at least once. Following this routine can help you keep bacteria and plaque from causing major damage to your teeth and gums.

 #2 – Visit Dr. Wade twice a year

As beneficial as brushing and flossing are, enjoying a healthy smile also takes regular visits with Dr. Wade. During your six-month visits with us, we can complete a thorough oral exam that will tell us how your smile is doing. We can also give your smile a professional cleaning to get rid of deposits of plaque and bacteria. If we find any issues during your appointment, we can get to work right away on a treatment plan to help you 

reclaim your good oral health.

#3 – Indulge in a cosmetic service

A healthy smile is important, but so is a smile that makes you feel confident. At Stonebriar Smile Design we offer a comprehensive range of services, including porcelain veneers, teeth whitening, Invisalign, and more. If you’re considering a cosmetic improvement to your smile, we’d love to talk to you about how we can help.

#4 – Don’t ignore the warning signs

Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary with your smile? Instead of ignoring it, call us instead to set up a consultation appointment. What happens to your smile can have an impact on your overall health and sense of wellbeing. An untreated cavity or case of gum disease can result in the need for more advanced, more invasive care. Help us provide care early by alerting us to potential warning signs.

#5 – Ask questions

When you understand your oral health needs, you can make more informed choices about your care. At Stonebriar Smile Design, our goal is to help you understand how your smile is doing.  We don’t want any of our patients leaving with a question unanswered

For more tips on how to improve your smile, check back with our blog at the end of the month. In the meantime, call Stonebriar Smile Design if it’s time to schedule your next checkup with Dr. Wade. We serve patients from Frisco, Plano, McKinney, Allen, Dallas, and The Colony.

Predicting the Future with Oral DNA

Predicting the Future with Oral DNA

In our last post, we talked about the connection between gum disease and heart health. Today, we’d like to highlight a special tool that Dr. Wade uses at her Frisco dental office to help prevent and treat gum disease—it’s called Oral DNA.

This helpful tool uses a small sample of saliva to identify what types of bacteria are in your mouth. It can even tell us if you’re genetically predisposed to developing gum disease.

It’s often assumed that gum disease is purely the result of poor oral health. But that’s not always the case. Patients who are genetically predisposed can still develop gum disease, even if they’re excellent at brushing and flossing. The more Dr. Wade knows about your smile, the more pro-active she can be about providing care.

Early treatment is the best defense against poor health, no matter what condition you’re talking about. One way we’re doing this in regards to gum disease is with a Waterlase dental laser. With laser dentistry, we can provide comfortable, scalpel-free gum disease therapy that will help you eliminate bacteria and plaque below you gum line.

Let us help you take control of your smile’s future with Oral DNA. To find out more about how Oral DNA works, visit their patient information page or call our Frisco office. We gladly serve patients from Plano, McKinney, Allen, Dallas, and The Colony.

Heart Health Month: What’s the Connection between Gum Disease and Heart Disease?

Heart Health Month: What’s the Connection between Gum Disease and Heart Disease?

Now that it’s February, people are going to be turning their attention to matters of the heart. But we’re not just talking about Valentine’s Day. February is also Heart Health Month.

But what, you might be wondering, does the health of your heart have to do with dentistry? More than you might think.

Medical studies have shown that gum disease, a common oral health condition, shares a link with a wide range of conditions in the rest of the body, including heart disease. Heart problems arise when deposits of plaque build up inside the arteries of the heart. If enough plaque buildup forms to completely block the flow of blood, the result can be a heart attack or a stroke.

So, how does gum disease contribute?

The answer isn’t entirely clear, but gum disease does give bacteria and plaque an entry to the bloodstream, and from there to the rest of the body. We’re not saying that the plaque from your mouth is the same as the plaque that ends up in your heart, though. A number of theories on the exact nature of the relationship exist. What’s clear is that gum disease is a contributing factor.

That’s why regular checkups are so vital to enjoying good oral health and overall wellbeing. During a checkup, Dr. Wade will look for signs of gum disease, with treatment to follow if she finds anything.

One tool that she’s using every day to help is Oral DNA. In our next post, we’ll talk about Oral DNA and how it’s helping Dr. Wade provide effective care to her Frisco patients.

Call us today if you’re ready to schedule an appointment with Stonebriar Smile Design. We serve patients from Plano, McKinney, Allen, Dallas, The Colony, and beyond.

Invisalign Plans from Jill Wade

Invisalign Plans from Jill Wade

In our last post we described the benefits of Invisalign, a popular orthodontic and cosmetic dentistry solution. Today we’d like to look closer at the three Invisalign plans available at Stonebriar Smile Design. Each is designed to meet a specific need and provide stunning results.

Invisalign Express 5

This option is a good fit for patients who only require minor changes to their smiles. Maybe your teeth have shifted slightly in the years since you had your braces removed. In about two-and-a-half months, the Invisalign Express 5 treatment plan can help you fix slight misalignment to achieve straight, beautiful teeth.

Invisalign Express 10

Our second Invisalign option provides up to six months of care to correct teeth with minor crowding or spacing issues. This is an ideal option for patients who are preparing for a future restorative dentistry service.

Comprehensive Invisalign

Patients who want to overcome issues with crowding, spacing, or a bite malfunction may benefit the most from comprehensive care. Treatment with our comprehensive plan takes between six and 12 months, with the option to move only the anterior teeth.

Are you ready to find out which plan is right for you? Call Stonebriar Smile Design today to reserve an appointment with Dr. Wade. We serve patients from Frisco, Plano, McKinney, Allen, Dallas, and The Colony.

Invisalign Provides Orthodontic Care without Traditional Braces

Invisalign Provides Orthodontic Care without Traditional Braces

The thought of getting braces makes some adult patients nervous. Traditional braces use metal brackets and wires, which draw attention to one’s treatment. What’s more, treatment with traditional braces can take more than a year to complete.

The good news is that traditional braces aren’t the only option for Dr. Jill Wade’s adult patients to consider. With Invisalign, Dr. Wade of Stonebriar Smile Design can help you straighten your teeth with a system that uses clear, custom-made trays instead of brackets and wires. Plus, there’s never anything to tighten. Instead, you’ll just move on to the next aligner in your carefully prepared kit after about two weeks. Each aligner is made to help you at a specific point in your treatment.

Added to this, your Invisalign aligners can be taken out daily for eating, brushing, and flossing. That makes enjoying a normal diet easier and allows you to brush and floss more thoroughly. With traditional braces, food can become trapped around brackets and wires, exposing you to a greater risk of cavities and gum disease. Invisalign helps you straighten your smile and keep it clean at the same time.

To get started on your treatment with Invisalign, call Stonebriar Smile Design today. We serve patients from Frisco, Plano, McKinney, Allen, Dallas, and The Colony. Through your consultation, Dr. Wade will help you understand what kind of care you need and will help you choose a particular plan. We offer three Invisalign treatment plans:

·         Invisalign Express 5

·         Invisalign Express 10

·         Comprehensive Invisalign

In our next post, we’ll take a closer look at these plans and look at how they can help you.

Excellent Home Care Tools for a Healthier Smile

Excellent Home Care Tools for a Healthier Smile

In our last post, we about talked the different forms of periodontal disease that exist and how Dr. Jill Wade of Stonebriar Smile Design can help her Frisco-area patients. Today we’d like to showcase a couple of tools that are helping with that.

The first is a high-powered toothbrush from Sonicare. With a Sonicare toothbrush it has never been easier to give your smile the thorough cleansing it needs at least twice day. Sonicare lets patients remove more plaque from their teeth, resulting in a cleaner, brighter smile. What’s more, Sonicare uses a timer to help you patients brush for the recommended two minutes that should be spent brushing.

The second tool is Airfloss, another product from Sonicare. As with their toothbrush, Airfloss is designed to improve on the results you can achieve with manual care. But instead of using physical dental floss to clean between teeth, Airfloss uses a powerful stream of air that cleans more thoroughly.

Both of these great tools can be purchased from Dr. Wade through her Frisco dental office. Using them every day, you can keep your smile in tip-top shape in between regular visit and cleanings.

To find out how you can purchases these great tools, call Stonebriar Smile Design. Dr. Wade and her team would be happy to help you. We proudly serve patients from Frisco, Plano, Allen, Dallas, The Colony, and surrounding areas.

Personalized Therapy for Periodontal Disease

Personalized Therapy for Periodontal Disease

Periodontal disease, also known as gum disease, is a very common oral health condition. So common, in fact, that recent medical studies have indicated that a majority of adults have some form of it, even if it’s only a mild form.

The mildest form of periodontal disease is gingivitis. Red or swollen gums and bleeding are the primary symptoms of gingivitis. When not treated, gingivitis can become periodontitis, a much more serious form of periodontal disease. Over time, patients with periodontitis may develop pockets between their teeth and gums and can even lose teeth.

Do any of these symptoms sound familiar? If you’ve noticed any changes in your gums, don’t hesitate to call Stonebriar Smile Design. Dr. Jill Wade and her friendly team would be happy to look at your gums and recommend a helpful treatment that fits your needs.

Treatment for periodontal disease is very important. Aside from the symptoms mentioned above, periodontal disease has also been connected with a range of health conditions in the rest of the body, including:

·         Heart disease

·         Diabetes

·         Pre-term birth

·         Alzheimer’s

To prevent periodontal disease from developing in your smile, follow a regular brushing and flossing routine, and be sure you see Dr. Wade twice a year at Stonebriar Smile Design for checkups and professional cleanings.

Call Stonebriar Smile Design today to reserve your appointment. Dr. Wade and her Frisco dental team are committed to helping patients from Frisco, Plano, The Colony, and surrounding cities prevent and treat periodontal disease.