General Dentistry

Your good dental health is important and something that should not be taken for granted. Your teeth serve many purposes that most of us never think about. Today, the Manhattan Beach Dentist shares 5 of the top reasons you need to maintain a healthy mouth.

1. Chewing the Foods You Love – Healthy teeth are necessary for chewing, especially hard or crunchy foods. Our teeth give us the ability to tear and break down all kinds of food, from celery sticks and crusty bread to turkey and all the trimmings.

2. Convey Friendliness and Warmth – Our smiles convey to others how we feel towards them. A warm smile and hug to a close friend is sure to brighten the day for both of you. Smiles tend to be contagious they just make you and others feel happy! Without healthy teeth, smiling becomes awkward and embarrassing.

3. Communicate Clearly – Proper speech is directly related to tongue and tooth position. Without our teeth we would have a hard time communicating correctly. Speaking with damaged or missing teeth is extremely challenging.

4. Improve Your Appearance – Your teeth give your face a fullness and symmetry that you lose when teeth are missing. When a person is missing teeth, facial support is gone, causing a sunken in appearance. Your teeth are important as support for your lips and cheeks and give your face a full, rounded, youthful, look.

5. Maintain Healthy Bones – The bones of the face are strong because they work to support our teeth. Once the teeth are gone, the bone is resorbed and re-utilized by other parts of the body. The jaw will atrophy and shrink. As the bone atrophies, there is a greater risk of jaw fracture.

Give the Manhattan Beach Dentist a call today and take the first step to improving your oral health. Whatever the current state of your oral health, we’re here to help!

It is important for you to find a dentist who offers all the treatments necessary to protect your family’s oral health. Convenience is an important factor because you don’t want to spend a lot of time running from dentist to dentist to get all your oral health care needs taken care of. At our Manhattan Beach Dentist office, you can have your family’s dental needs handled at one location.

Prevention is of primary importance when addressing the needs of your family, and we are happy to treat patients ages 8 and older. We want to make sure that you and your family receives the important preventive treatments that safeguard their oral health now and in the future. But family dentistry should also include a variety of services aside from routine exams, x-rays, and cleaning. These also include treatments like:

• Deep cleanings
• Fillings
• Root canal therapy

Regular visits to our Manhattan Beach Dentist office include a thorough oral exam so that we can detect any changes or abnormalities. Professional cleanings with our dental hygienists are an important part of prevention, and their purpose is to remove plaque buildup that causes tooth decay and gum disease. Your dentist and hygienist will determine how frequently you should have a professional cleaning.

The American Dental Association recommends visits to your family dentist at least twice a year for checkups. Monitoring the oral health of your family on with a regular schedule of visits also allows us to build a relationship with your family and establish an ongoing oral health history. This history becomes an important tool in helping us identify potential problems before they become serious and difficult to treat.

Please contact our office to arrange a convenient appointment with our family dentist.

A patient with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) stops breathing many times during sleep. For some, this can occur hundreds of times in one night. In many cases, a patient may be unaware that anything is wrong because they are asleep.

Sleep apnea is a serious health concern for millions of Americans. Often, the first indication that a problem exists is when the patient tells the Sleep Apnea Dentist Manhattan Beach that their partner complains about excessive snoring. This is one of the leading symptoms identified with sleep apnea, but episodes of not breathing and unexplained sleepiness during the day are also common symptoms.

The most common form of sleep apnea is OSA. The patient’s airway becomes blocked when soft tissue at the back of the throat collapses and closes off air flow. The traditional treatment for OSA has been the use of a CPAP (or Continuous Positive Air Pressure) device that uses pressurized air to keep the airway open.

This is very effective method for many patients, but many find it cumbersome and uncomfortable to wear. Research shows that, for this reason, less than half of patients diagnosed with OSA actually use their CPAP device on a regular basis.

The Sleep Apnea Dentist Manhattan Beach can often successfully treat eligible OSA patients with custom oral appliances that keep the airway open and are much more comfortable than the mask. This appliance is custom-made to reposition the lower jaw and tongue. It can be very effective in treating the causes and the resulting symptoms of OSA.

Many of our patients who formerly used a CPAP mask but qualify for the use of this simple oral appliance are amazed that a simple treatment provided by their dentist can effectively address OSA. One reason for its effectiveness is the fact that patients tend to actually use the appliance, unlike CPAP masks that frequently go unused because of associated discomfort. Our objective is to provide treatment is as effective as CPAP only much more comfortable.

Please contact our office to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how we can work with you and your specific situation to drastically reduce or even eliminate sleep apnea symptoms.

The Manhattan Beach Family Dentist believes that it is important to educate our patients to helping them maintain healthy teeth and gums. You already know that your daily oral hygiene routine is essential to minimizing plaque and preventing dental infections. But many patients are not taking advantage of the full benefits of brushing and flossing twice a day.

The technique you use when brushing has a great impact on the effectiveness of your daily oral hygiene routine. So let’s review the proper technique for brushing teeth.

How to Brush Properly

1. Wet your toothbrush and apply a peanut-sized strip of toothpaste (pea-sized for children). Using too much toothpaste can be harmful for children because they are more likely to swallow it and ingest fluoride. Too much fluoride in the system can cause problems. Your dentist can discuss this with you.
2. Begin with your upper left molars (in the back) by placing the toothbrush on the outer surface of the tooth.  Tilt your brush at a 45 degree angle towards your gums and press lightly to bend the bristles a bit. Do not press too hard or you may damage the enamel on the surface of your tooth, resulting in sensitivity and/or discoloration.  Your brush head should cover approximately 2-3 teeth at a time.
3. Move your brush across your teeth in a slightly circular motion. Your strokes should be about the length of one tooth and you should spend about 10-15 seconds in one spot.
4. Gradually work your way around to the front teeth and continue on to the other side of your mouth.  Then switch to the bottom teeth and do the same thing.
5. Once you have finished cleaning the front surfaces of your teeth, move on to the inside surfaces of the upper and lower molars and premolars.
6. To clean the inside surface of your front teeth, hold the brush perpendicular to the gum line and use a flicking motion to wipe away plaque.
7. Don’t forget to brush the biting surface of your molars. This will prevent plaque and bacteria from causing cavities by growing inside the crevices in your teeth.
8. Finally, brush your tongue and the inside of your cheeks, and then rinse with water.

Following these simple steps will help you to maintain healthy, clean teeth between professional cleanings. Remember to schedule regular professional cleanings with the Manhattan Beach Family Dentist to really optimize your oral health.

It is very common to experience stress and anxiety at the thought of having a root canal. Unfortunately, this makes it tempting to put off treatment until it becomes problem that has to be fixed immediately.

But fear and anxiety can quickly become a thing of the past when you understand that today’s dentistry sedation options can make the entire process of root canal therapy pain and stress-free.

Why is a Root Canal Necessary?

Root canal therapy is needed when the nerve of a tooth is affected by decay or infection. In order to save the tooth, the pulp, nerves, bacteria, and any decay are removed and the space is filled with special, medicated, dental materials, restoring the tooth to its full function. Root canal treatment performed at our Manhattan Beach Painless Root Canal Dentistry office is highly successful and usually lasts a lifetime.

Why Not Just Pull the Tooth?

Many patients believe that removing the tooth is the solution due to their fear of root canal therapy, but you must realize that tooth extraction is ultimately more costly, causing significant problems for adjacent teeth.

How Do I Know if I Need a Root Canal?

The only person who can determine if you need a root canal is your dentist, but some warning signs are:

• An abscess (or pimple) on the gums
• Sensitivity to hot and cold
• Severe toothache pain
• Swelling and/or tenderness

Once you experience any of the above symptoms, you must get to your dentist immediately. Procrastinating often creates a more painful situation than is necessary. Often there are no outward symptoms, so regular checkups and examinations will ensure that root canal therapy, if needed, is done promptly.

The more quickly the root canal is addressed, the more options you have for sedation and an anxiety and pain-free procedure. The will be happy to consult with you about the details of the procedure, and the team at our Manhattan Beach Painless Root Canal Dentistry office is committed to providing a stress-free environment so that you will feel completely comfortable throughout treatment.

Thousands of people in the US are diagnosed with oral cancer every year, but only a quarter of these have a known risk factor (such as smoking) the disease. As an important part of your routine oral health care, an oral cancer screening by your dentist can help detect the disease at its early stages, possibly saving a life. Early screening and detection of oral cancer may increase the survivability rate by as much as 90 percent.

Every routine check-up at our Manhattan Beach, CA Dentist office includes an oral cancer screening and visual inspection of the tissues of your mouth. The purpose of this screening for oral cancer is to visually inspect the tissues of your mouth to look for abnormalities and potentially cancerous or pre-cancerous tissues.

It is important to keep a regular schedule of checkups and cleanings with your dentist because abnormal tissue that may be cancerous may appear to be completely normal to the untrained eye. For instance, what appears to be a normal white spot may be identified by your dental health team as pre-cancerous. There are other early signs of oral cancer that your dentist will look for including red spots, sores, a change in your bite, or a change in the color of the oral tissues.

Oral cancer rates are, unfortunately, increasing among patients with no known risk factors such as heavy drinking, smoking, or family history. This fact makes it more critical than ever to have a screening for oral cancer at least once a year. Contact the Manhattan Beach, CA Dentist today to schedule your next dental exam and oral cancer screening.

Rest assured that your Manhattan Beach Dentist considers you an equal partner in the effort to combat oral health dilemmas. We are able to offer the best in preventative and restorative dental care, and we value our each patient’s commitment to maintaining consistent dental habits between professional visits. Practicing good dental habits can go a long way to preventing tooth decay and other related problems.

Patients can employ several strategies to help prevent the build-up of harmful bacterial plaque in their mouths. We have all heard that we should brush our teeth twice a day, but you can do more to decrease the chances of plaque build-up.

· Brush your teeth regularly! Brush a minimum of twice a day, but we recommend brushing at midday or after meals when you can. Make brushing a priority; it’s the first defense against the ever present plaque that continues to accumulate throughout the day.

· Do not underestimate the benefits of flossing. Flossing is critical to removing plaque from those areas that are not easily reached by your toothbrush. Many patients don’t realize that flossing will help prevent more serious dental problems, such as cavities and gum disease, down the line.

· Lastly, refrain from using toothpicks or other pointy metal objects to remove debris from your teeth. Generally speaking, floss and antibacterial rinses will take care of any such problems and are a much better choice for your teeth.

Working cooperatively with your Manhattan Beach Gentle Dentist is the best way to maintain a healthy, beautiful smile. Follow the tips mentioned here for establishing an effective oral hygiene routine that will keep your smile clean and fresh between your regularly scheduled office appointments. We are always available to answer any questions and offer helpful advice.

The Six Month Smile is a modern cosmetic treatment used by the Manhattan Beach, CA Cosmetic Dentist that is tailored to adults who have put off treatment because they don’t want unsightly metal braces. The Six Month Smile uses tooth-colored (white) brackets and wires and they’re barely visible.

The Six Month Smile also allows your dentist to provide teeth straightening without the usual treatment period required with traditional braces. The Six Month Smile treatment emphasizes straightening teeth that are visible when you smile. For this reason, it is considered more of a cosmetic dentistry treatment than a procedure that seeks to correct bite. Some of the advantages of choosing The Six Month Smile are:

• Fast treatment times
• Nearly invisible treatment
• Minimal pain and discomfort during treatment
• A cost-effective solution
• A great final result

How Does Six Month Smiles Work?

Many patients believe that the Six Month Smile system is a six-month orthodontic treatment. However, the system does not employ aggressive tightening to shift the location of your teeth. The primary focus of the system is to shift teeth that are visible when you smile. The braces use gentle force to move your teeth comfortably, using standard orthodontic mechanics. But the emphasis is on the cosmetic appearance of your teeth rather than the position of your bite. Dr. Firshein is trained in using the Six Month Smiles system and can help patients wishing to correct:

• Crooked teeth
• Unevenly spaced teeth
• Asymmetrical smiles (left and right sides not identical)
• Uneven gum lines

Is Six Month Smiles for me?

Do you long for a healthy, beautiful smile? Do you have a wedding, vacation, or some other event coming up, and you wish you could make your smile just a little more appealing? The only way to be sure if the Six Month Smile system is correct for you is by consulting with your Manhattan Beach Cosmetic Dentist, a Six Month Smile dentist. Generally, most adults are candidates for this procedure and benefit from the aesthetic correction the braces provide.