The way you feel about your appearance reflects the way you smile and greet those you meet every day.
Porcelain veneers are a minimally invasive and painless way to transform your teeth from discoloration, misshapen, and malalignment to a beautiful, bright and friendly smile. For over 20 years, Dr. A. J. Boyajian has been creating cosmetic masterpieces for his patients in Los Angeles, CA.

CEREC Inlays and CEREC Partial Crowns

The CEREC process for designing inlays and onlays is similar to the designing of a crown, only the function is different.

CEREC inlays are the superior versions of composite plastic cavity fillings; superior due to the strength and aesthetics that the ceramic brings. Inlays milled from this ceramic material last far longer than any other cavity solution. They also behave most similarly to natural tooth enamel, in both appearance and feel.

Onlays (a.k.a. partial crowns) are the remedy to extensive cavity damage, covering a larger area of the tooth. In past cases, the weaker disposition of composite — or the porcelain restorations that contained metal — would require a full crown to be designed in order to maintain the tooth’s strength. Because CEREC onlays are so strong, one that is well-built will do everything it needs to do, causing minimal extra tooth damage and eliminating the need for a full crown.

Best of all, CEREC high quality porcelain inlays and onlays can be done in one visit, just like their plastic counterfeits… I mean counterparts.

Dr. Boyajian, Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com

CEREC Dentistry: Crowns

Using the CEREC unit, a crown is first made by the CAD/CAM (computer-assisted design/computer-assisted manufacture) digitally recording an image of the tooth. Calculations are processed, and the computer designs, then mills a crown perfectly suited to the shape of the tooth. The crown is then bonded on, and, voila! The patient’s visit is complete.

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com

CEREC Inlays + CEREC Partial Crowns

One of the greatest perks that comes with CEREC technology is the speed at which we can formulate restorations. In comparison to barely twenty years ago, forming a crown or veneer required a painful series of several dental visits. There were molds to be made, pictures to be photographed, temporary crowns to be endured, a perfectly fitted restoration to be slowly developed in a lab, and bonding to be done. CEREC accomplishes all of this in a single visit, in just a few hours!

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com

Ozone: A Solution for Cavities

Prevention is definitely your best bet for avoiding cavities… but what if it’s too late for you? What if the cavities have already formed, or you thought your mouth’s health was top-notch and sneaky cavities still wormed their way through your teeth? We’ve already discussed a little bit about fillings, but if the damage requires more than a small composite filling, a larger, stronger restoration is needed.

This is where the CEREC system comes in handy. A crown, inlay, or onlay will be formed for the damaged area out of a strong ceramic material. This ceramic behaves similarly to natural tooth enamel, therefore maintaining (or, in this case, restoring) a tooth’s natural strength and durability. It is also minimally invasive, meaning far less of the healthy tooth is “shaved down” to fit something such as a toxic and malleable amalgam restoration. Results are both functional and beautiful.

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com

Cavities Prevention

So what is the best “remedy” for these little monsters in your mouth? You guessed it — prevention! Taking precautions seriously is always the best way to avoid any kind of disease or infection.

Keep your teeth clean! Brush at least twice daily and be sure to floss thoroughly. Brush every single surface of your teeth that you can possibly reach. Flossing cleans out the old food particles and plaque from the places a toothbrush can’t reach.

Eat well! Nutrition largely impacts the overall health of your mouth and determines which bacteria dominate the environment in your mouth: the health-promoting, good bacteria, or the acid-producing, bad bacteria. Avoid refined sugars, refined flours, and heavily processed foods.

Visit the dentist regularly! Be sure to have regular cleanings and thorough inspections of what’s going on with your teeth. Be open to new suggestions and forming better habits. Take care of yourself.

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com

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Dangers of Leaving Cavities Too Long

So what happens to cavities if you just leave them there? Well, cavities in their early stages cannot be felt by the person, but they can be spotted visually by the dentist. It’s a fairly uncomplicated fix at this point — a filling and regular cleanings to prevent further damage. But if the cavity has worn its way through to the dentin, the tooth is noticeably sensitive to heat, cold, or touch. At this point, a barrier must be laid over the damaged dentin, and then filling material to cover and seal the opening. If a cavity is yet still left untreated, the tooth’s nerve and pulp become infected and immense pain is experienced. A full root canal is required to clean out and seal off the tooth, along with reconstruction and reinforcement to rebuild the tooth’s strength, and a crown to replace the tooth loss.

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com

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CEREC One-Visit Holistic Dentistry

CEREC is a state-of-the-art system that allows full restorations of one or more teeth to be made in a single visit to the dentist’s office. Whether it is a crown, inlay, onlay, filling, or veneer, the CAD/CAM technology the CEREC unit uses will design and produce a perfect restoration of the damaged tooth. The replacement material looks like, feels like, and is strong as a real tooth; biocompatibility and aesthetics are well-maintained; and further damage to the tooth is eliminated.

Do you have a need for a crown, or have large cavities? Have you had trouble with previous “restorations”? Do they look awful or keep on falling apart? Look into CEREC dentistry. There’s no better option!

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com

Surfing Adventures

In Hawaii, our vacation home host works at a surfboard manufacturing shop. I was curious about the trade, so I took my son and daughter-in-law inside the shop to see if we could get a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes (rather, behind the rows and rows of colorful boards found in shops on every corner on the North Shore!) process of surfboard making. May as well since we were already there! Though many people surf in Los Angeles, I think it would be harder to just walk in the back door of a random surfboard place and “demand” a tour.

The white (often colored) boards we usually see are made out of polyurethane or polystyrene foam. Balsa and other light woods are also commonly used, only they are much more expensive than the foam boards. The shape and size of the board is sanded down to resemble what looks exactly like a surfboard carved out of fancy styrofoam or wood. Much care is taken in measuring the shapes, sizes, and weights of the boards. Then layers of fiberglass, cloth, paint (for designs), and resins are applied to form the complete product. We saw some beautiful boards, including a custom-made decorative one made out of several different hardwoods.

Being a dentist, I couldn’t help but compare the similarities in this process, and the restoration process used in CEREC system, which I have and definitely use. When a tooth needs restoration, the CEREC system records a digital image of the tooth’s structure, and within a matter of hours, carves out a perfect crown/filling out of a small block of ceramic inside a special machine (many demonstrations of this were held at the ADA Session). The faulty tooth is sanded down ever so slightly, and then, after some refining, fitting, and adjusting of the occlusion, the crown/filling is bonded or cemented right where it needs to be, fitting perfectly with the other teeth. It’s quite amazing.

Aloha!

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com

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Changes Are Coming!

This last weekend, I attended the IAOMT Silver Jubilee Annual Meeting seminars in Las Vegas, NV. I was overwhelmed with the amazing discoveries made lately about mercury-safe dentistry, and some pretty nifty gadgets were introduced. I was like a child in a giant toy store. There was so much to see and learn, and I was able to make some great connections that are going to bring even healthier, more efficient changes into my office. Keep your eyes peeled!

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com

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TMJ and Cosmetic Dentistry

Are these two related at all? They are in some ways!

The biggest correlation between the two that comes to mind is TMJ ruining teeth or the alignment of teeth, therefore creating unsightly gaps, crookedness, chips, scratches, wearing, or even tooth loss. Cosmetic dentistry is to the rescue; but if these issues were caused by TMJ, they will continue as they have been and cosmetic repairs, such as implants or veneers, will be at risk for damage. TMJ may take a long time to treat, and it might be more practical to wait to “pretty up” until the root problems are solved.

However, if you have or think you have TMJ, always, always, always consult your dentist or a TMJ specialist before doing ANYTHING. It will save you great amounts of time, money, and hassle. Who knows? Maybe your case isn’t terribly severe and you can get that crooked tooth fixed faster than you anticipated! Yet if cosmetics are on hold because of undergoing surgery, the rewards of a beautiful, functionable smile are wonderful, even if you must wait a bit for the healing process to run its course.

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com