How Does Orthodontics Work? Orthodontics has been around longer than you might think; the first use of ortho was in the early 1800s! While the materials and patient comforts have improved, the strategy is the same. Orthodontics treatment places pressure on your teeth to force your jawbone to reshape around the tooth root’s new position. This works well because the jawbone is fluid as far as bones go. The fact that this orthodontic theory has been around for so long should tell you that the theory is solid and that it has worked on thousands of teeth before yours. Traditional braces use wires and brackets to reshape your teeth. Brackets are temporarily glued to the front of your teeth which hold a bent wire. The wire places constant pressure on your teeth, causing them to move. You’ll come to the office every few weeks so we can adjust the wire. Imperfections Braces Can Fix Crooked Teeth: Crooked teeth are those that aren’t perfectly in line.Gapped Teeth: Gapped teeth are when you have space between some of your teeth.Rotated Teeth: Rotated teeth are when the side of your tooth faces forward instead of the front.Crowded Teeth: Crowded teeth overlap each other.Bite Issues: Many bite issues cause problems with tooth function and the appearance of your profile.Overbite: An overbite is when your top teeth protrude over your bottom teeth.Underbite: An underbite is when your bottom teeth protrude over your top teeth. The opposite of an overbite.Crossbite: A crossbite is when your teeth don’t line up properly when your mouth is closed.Open Bite: An open bite is when your front teeth don’t meet when your mouth is closed.Canted midline: A canted midline is when the middle of your front teeth doesn’t align with the middle of your face.Protrusion: A protrusion is when your top front teeth are angled out over your bottom teeth instead of straight down. CALL US BOOK APPOINTMENT

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Explore Our Dental Services

Cosmetic Dentistry

Your smile’s aesthetic is just as important as your smile’s health. And anyway, a healthy smile is an attractive one! At Luxe Smiles, we place high importance on the appearance of your smile. Cosmetic dentistry can help you achieve the smile you’ve dreamed of through our various dental treatments.

Cosmetic dentistry is a dental focus that places emphasis on the appearance of your teeth, gums, and jaw. When your teeth are crooked, your gums are too receded, or your bite is off, it can be a detriment to your appearance. With cosmetic dentistry, you can change the following things about your smile:

Crooked teeth
Crowded teeth
Gapped teeth
Bite issues (overbite, underbite, etc.)
Small teeth
Oversized teeth
Chipped teeth
Receding gums
Missing teeth
Worn teeth
Discolored teeth

Cosmetic Dentistry Treatments to Enhance Your Smile

Porcelain Veneers & Lumineers

What are Porcelain Veneers?

Porcelain veneers are thin sheets of advanced ceramic that our Palmetto Bay cosmetic dentists bond to the front of your natural teeth. They’re called “porcelain” because their color and luster resemble porcelain; this is good news because porcelain resembles the color and luster of natural teeth! Unlike porcelain, the advanced ceramic they’re made of is very strong and durable. Porcelain veneers can last over 10 years if you care for them properly. Caring for them is easy, too! Just brush and floss as usual.

What are Lumineers?

Lumineers are similar, just like porcelain veneers, but they are thinner and don’t require any removal of your natural tooth enamel. This makes Lumineers a temporary treatment that we can remove if you no longer want them in the future.

Lumineers are made from advanced ceramics that can last around ten years since they are much thinner than porcelain veneers. Palmetto Bay residents looking for a quick temporary treatment or nervous about deciding on porcelain veneers are great candidates for Lumineers. The process for getting Lumineers is similar to porcelain dental veneers, but no enamel is removed, so there is no need for a set of temporary veneers. You’ll have a brand new smile within a few weeks of deciding on Lumineers in Palmetto Bay.

Orthodontics

How Does Orthodontics Work?

Orthodontics has been around longer than you might think; the first use of ortho was in the early 1800s! While the materials and patient comforts have improved, the strategy is the same. Orthodontics treatment places pressure on your teeth to force your jawbone to reshape around the tooth root’s new position. This works well because the jawbone is fluid as far as bones go. The fact that this orthodontic theory has been around for so long should tell you that the theory is solid and that it has worked on thousands of teeth before yours.

Traditional braces use wires and brackets to reshape your teeth. Brackets are temporarily glued to the front of your teeth which hold a bent wire. The wire places constant pressure on your teeth, causing them to move. You’ll come to the office every few weeks so we can adjust the wire.

Imperfections Braces Can Fix

Crooked Teeth: Crooked teeth are those that aren’t perfectly in line.
Gapped Teeth: Gapped teeth are when you have space between some of your teeth.
Rotated Teeth: Rotated teeth are when the side of your tooth faces forward instead of the front.
Crowded Teeth: Crowded teeth overlap each other.
Bite Issues: Many bite issues cause problems with tooth function and the appearance of your profile.
Overbite: An overbite is when your top teeth protrude over your bottom teeth.
Underbite: An underbite is when your bottom teeth protrude over your top teeth. The opposite of an overbite.
Crossbite: A crossbite is when your teeth don’t line up properly when your mouth is closed.
Open Bite: An open bite is when your front teeth don’t meet when your mouth is closed.
Canted midline: A canted midline is when the middle of your front teeth doesn’t align with the middle of your face.
Protrusion: A protrusion is when your top front teeth are angled out over your bottom teeth instead of straight down.

Smile Makeover

Your Customized Solution to a Beautiful Smile

Every person’s face shape is different. Every person has different teeth, gums, lips, and jawlines. Because your face and smile are unique to you, we offer customized treatment that is hand-tailored to fit you. Each smile we create uses a series of different cosmetic techniques that might hold the same name, but how each treatment is used and the final outcome is different for everyone. But one thing is for sure; after your smile makeover, you won’t be able to stop smiling.

Common Smile Complaints Our Palmetto Bay Dental Office Can Improve

Orthodontic issues such as crookedness, gapping, and bite problems.
Yellowing or discolored teeth
Missing teeth
Broken, worn, chipped, or cracked teeth
Restore decayed teeth
Lengthen short teeth
Reshape misshapen teeth

Dental Crowns

Dental crowns can fix any smile issue that porcelain veneers and Lumineers can, but they also do the job of protecting your natural teeth from further damage. Sometimes dental crowns are the best option to repair the function of your teeth as well as their appearance.

Teeth Whitening

We offer teeth whitening to anyone who feels their natural teeth could benefit from being whiter and brighter. Professional teeth whitening protects your tooth enamel and gums so you won’t have sensitivity.

Smile Design

Are your teeth chipped, gapped, discolored, or small? We can perform a smile design (often called dental bonding) to completely transform your smile. This procedure is quick and painless, so you could have a new smile in no time at all.

Tooth Replacement

Family Dentistry

General and preventative dentistry are focused on diagnosing, treating, and managing your overall oral health. General dentists perform preventative services such as cleanings and fluoride treatments, diagnosis services such as oral exams, and treatments such as gum disease treatment, oral surgery, dentures, and more.

At Luxe Smiles, we do everything we can to keep your natural smile beautiful and healthy before we would recommend any type of restorative or cosmetic service. We are dedicated to keeping you and your family’s smiles beautiful, healthy, and functional.

Family Dentistry Services

Cleanings and Exams
Dentures
Gum Disease Treatment
Oral Surgery
Dental Crowns and Fillings
Dental Sealants
Flouride Treatments
Nightguards

Family Dentistry Services for you

Dental Implants

What are Dental Implants?

A dental implant is made out of titanium that your dentist surgically insert into your jawbone. After the surgery site heals, we’ll place a dental crown on top. The implant replaces the root of your tooth, which is more important than many realize. The root of your tooth does more than simply keep your tooth in place; it focuses the biting pressure of chewing into your jaw instead of on your gums and stimulates cell regeneration in your jawbone.

We use titanium for dental implants because it integrates well with your body. When you get a dental implant in Palmetto Bay, you can be sure that it’ll last for years as long as you practice good oral hygiene.

Dental Implant Procedure

The procedure is relatively short, but you’ll still need someone to drive you to and from the office on the day of surgery. The first step in getting Palmetto Bay dental implants is to set up an appointment. Our implant dentists will consult with you and examine your mouth. We’ll discuss any necessary pre-treatments (bone graft or gum disease) and create a treatment plan. Next, if you still have the tooth or teeth in question, we’ll extract them. You’ll heal your jawbone for several weeks before we continue.

On the day of your surgery, we’ll sedate you and numb your mouth, so you don’t feel a thing. For you, the surgery will go by very quickly. We’ll place the implant, a healing cap, abutment, and a temporary dental crown. After a few months of healing, you’ll return to the office again for the placement of your final crown.

All-On-4 Dental Implants

What are All-On-4 Dental Implants?

All-On-4 dental implants are a tooth replacement option that allows patients to replace all the teeth on the top arch, all the teeth on the bottom arch, or all the teeth in their mouth on only four dental implants. That’s right, instead of getting one dental implant per tooth (crown), each dental implant will support many crowns.

On top of your dental implants, we’ll place a permanent, high-quality denture made of advanced ceramics. You’ll never have to worry about taking this denture out as it is permanently attached to your dental implants. Your prosthesis or denture is stain resistant and looks just like natural teeth.

Benefits of All-On-4 Dental Implants

Permanent
Replace All Your Teeth
Help Retain Jawbone Density
Make You Look Younger
Function Just Like Natural Teeth
Eat All Your Favorite Foods
Long-Lasting
Easy to Care For
Affordable

Dental Bridge

The Ins and Outs of a Dental Bridge in Palmetto Bay

A dental bridge is a structure that replaces one or up to four missing teeth. It consists of two parts; crowns and pontics. The pontics are the missing teeth you are replacing, and the crowns hold those replacement teeth (pontics) in place. The crowns connect to healthy teeth or dental implants on either side of the pontics. Essentially, your dental bridge “bridges the gap” between healthy teeth.

Benefits of a Dental Bridge

Look like natural teeth
Feel like natural teeth
Help you look younger
Long-lasting; made of a durable advanced ceramic material
Permanently in your mouth
Doesn’t require surgery
Almost anyone can get a dental bridge
Available for those who can’t get dental implants

How to Get a Dental Bridge in Palmetto Bay

The process of getting a dental bridge will take only two to four weeks. Your restorative dentist, Dr. Naranjo or Dr. Testar, will perform an examination of your mouth, teeth, gums, and jaw. If they find any evidence of gum disease or other damage, they’ll treat that first before proceeding with your dental bridge. If they need to do any extractions, they’ll do it at this time.

We may make other recommendations if we feel that other tooth replacement options are best for your situation. However, the choice is always yours.

Your Palmetto Bay dentists will take impressions of your teeth and send the impressions to the lab where your bridge is made. While you wait for your permanent bridge, we’ll fit you with a temporary one so you can have a beautiful smile while you wait.

Dental Crowns & Fillings

What are Dental Implants?

A dental crown is sometimes called a “cap.” It goes over your natural tooth to provide protection. Dental crowns allow you to drink beverages and eat food items of any temperature without feeling any sensitivity.

Dental crowns are made of advanced ceramics that many people call “porcelain” because of their porcelain-like luster, which happens to be the same luster as natural teeth! But don’t worry, dental crowns are very sturdy and long-lasting. The average life of a dental crown is about 15 years, but with proper care, they could last much longer, even 20-25 years.

Dental crowns can also be used as a cosmetic dentistry treatment in place of porcelain veneers. While porcelain veneers only cover the front of your tooth, dental crowns cover your entire tooth and can make for a more protective and full cosmetic dentistry treatment.

Dental Crowns Can Repair:

Repair cracks
Repair chips
Whiten your teeth
Change the shape of your teeth
Change the size of your teeth
Straighten a crooked smile
Repair tooth wear
Alleviate tooth pain
Decrease sensitivity to cold and hot
Cover thinning enamel to lessen general sensitivity

What is a Dental Filling?

A dental filling is another type of tooth repair, but it’s for less severe damage than a dental crown. You have likely heard of dental fillings in the context of repairing cavities. Luxe Smiles Palmetto Bay dental fillings are made of a tooth-colored composite material or tooth-colored ceramic. Depending on the level of damage, our Palmetto Bay dentists will do an inlay (less damage) or an onlay filling (more damage).

Dental Fillings Can Repair:

Cavities
Minor cracks
Minor chips
Minor wear

Restorative Dentistry

It can be distressing to experience tooth loss or damage, especially when dental services can appear intimidating. Fortunately, Luxe Smiles offers a more approachable solution. With our restorative dental services, we can effectively repair your teeth, gums, and smile to their former glory, all while ensuring a comfortable and stress-free experience for you. Discover how we can help you regain your smile today!

Situations Restorative Dentistry Can Improve

Missing teeth

Missing teeth are a common problem that restorative dentistry can fix. Nearly 120 million Americans are missing one tooth, and 36 million do not have any teeth. Replacing your missing teeth will restore the look of your smile and the function of your mouth.

You’ll be able to eat healthier because you have teeth to chew your food, improved confidence, and are less likely to experience jawbone loss that changes the shape of your face.

Damaged teeth

Damaged teeth are hard to live with! Often, they are very painful, and people come to their Palmetto Bay dentist right away. Sometimes damaged teeth aren’t painful, but you should still get them replaced! Your teeth protect each other by being lined up straight and without chips.

If there are chips, the adjacent teeth are more likely to chip too. Your teeth could be cracked, chipped, worn down, or have thin enamel. Usually, cracked and worn-down teeth with thin enamel are very painful, but chips aren’t always.

Cavities and tooth decay

Tooth decay, such as cavities are larger amounts of decay, is another common problem restorative dentistry can fix. Tooth decay happens when bacteria infect your tooth and cause a hole leading to the inside, sensitive part of your tooth. If you have a cavity or a lot of tooth decay, you will likely feel it before you see it. Your tooth will have permanent damage that we can fix with restorative dentistry in Palmetto Bay.

If you have a cavity or a lot of tooth decay, you will likely feel it before you see it. Your tooth will have permanent damage that we can fix with restorative dentistry in Palmetto Bay.

Bite problems

One thing many people don’t think of when they have many missing teeth is the impact on their bite. Your jaw joint is dynamic. It can move up, down, and side to side. The only thing keeping your jaw joint in place is your teeth. When you are missing teeth, your joint can become lopsided and begin to hurt. We can restore your missing teeth, so you have a balanced and harmonious bite.

The only thing keeping your jaw joint in place is your teeth. When you are missing teeth, your joint can become lopsided and begin to hurt. We can restore your missing teeth, so you have a balanced and harmonious bite.

Restorative Dentistry Treatments For You

Restorative dentistry treatments repair the function of your teeth and mouth. Here are some services that fall under the category of “restorative dentistry.”

Dentures

Partial vs. Full Dentures

Dentures are available in two types: partial and full. We utilize partial to replace one or more teeth but less than a complete arch of teeth (all teeth on the top or bottom). Full replace an entire arch of teeth.

Benefits of Dentures

If you are considering your tooth replacement options in Palmetto Bay, FL, you need to factor in the benefits and limitations of each option. While these offer some benefits, they might have more limitations.

Dentures can:

Replace any number of missing teeth
Make your smile look whole
Brace remaining natural teeth
Restore some chewing force

With partial or full dentures, you can replace any number of missing teeth. These replacement teeth will make your smile look whole again. If you have remaining teeth, a partial denture will keep them from drifting out of place. Dentures can also restore some of your lost bite force.

Limitations

However, dentures also come with limitations, such as:

Limited bite force
Often come out of place
Painful gums
Jawbone shrinks
Additional care is required to avoid smells and stains

Implant Dentures

Implant dentures use dental implants to secure these restorations to your jaw. Instead of using suction to hold these in place, they secure to implants using either screws, cement, or special attachments. This makes them very secure.

With implant dentures, you can chew almost as well as with natural teeth. The implants direct bite force into the bone, as with natural teeth. This not only makes your bite stronger but also helps preserve your jawbone.

Gum Disease Treatment

What is Periodontal Disease?

Periodontal disease is the technical name for what most people call gum disease. It’s a disease caused by bacteria buildup on and around your teeth and gums. The bacteria eats away at your tooth enamel and infiltrates your gums to cause an infection. People will experience sensitivity, pain, and, often, tooth decay.

When you forget to brush your teeth, a sticky substance called plaque starts to build up. Plaque houses bacteria and eventually turns into tartar. Over time this irritates your gums, and the bacteria enter your bloodstream. The bacteria erode your gums and teeth. Eventually, your teeth will become loose and fall out completely.

Symptoms

Gum disease symptoms are many;

Bleeding gums during or after brushing your teeth
Red, swollen gums
Constant bad breath
A poor taste in your mouth that nothing seems to fix
Receding gums
Loose or shifting teeth
Pain and sensitivity
Tooth decay

Gum Disease Treatment

The frontline treatment is a thorough cleaning that goes below the gumline. This is called scaling and root planing. Dr. Naranjo and Dr. Testar will remove tartar from below the gum line and then smooth out the tooth root so it can easily reattach to your gums.

This type of treatment might sound daunting, but it’s one of the best ways to remove gum disease and save your natural teeth. We take extra care to provide comfort for our patients undergoing root scaling and planing. You’ll be relaxed and sedated during the treatment. We recommend over-the-counter pain medication to deal with any residual discomfort after the procedure.

Oral Surgery

Oral Surgery Procedure We Offer

At Luxe Smiles in Palmetto Bay, FL, we offer a wide range of oral surgery procedures, including:

Tooth extraction
Wisdom tooth extraction
Dental implant placement
Bone graft
Sinus lift

This helps us provide our patients with comprehensive care that preserves and promotes good oral and overall health.

Tooth Extraction

Dr. Naranjo and Dr. Testar work hard to preserve all your teeth. However, there are some situations where it’s best to extract a tooth. We will normally recommend tooth extraction when a tooth:

Can’t be saved
Threatens other teeth
Threatens your overall health
Doesn’t fit in your mouth

Wisdom Tooth Extraction

Wisdom teeth, also known as third molars, are located at the back of your mouth. They generally emerge later than other teeth, usually during young adulthood, typically between the ages of 17 and 25.

Not everyone needs their wisdom teeth out. However, for many people, there’s not enough room for wisdom teeth. In that case, wisdom tooth extraction can prevent:

Impacted teeth
Damage to neighboring teeth
Abscesses and other sores
Stuck food and other hygiene problems
Crooked and/or crowded teeth

Dental Implant Placement

We also use oral surgery to replace missing teeth. Dental implants are the best tooth replacement because they:

Look natural
Feel natural
Work just like natural teeth
Require no special maintenance
Can last a lifetime

Bone Grafts

Dental implants depend on your bone for support. If there’s not enough bone to support your implants, we will recommend a bone graft. A bone graft uses bone from your body, from a donor body, or from an artificial source to build up the bone where we want the implant.

In some cases, we might perform the graft and implant procedures at the same time. In other cases, we might perform the bone graft first, letting it heal before we place the implant.