Dr. Jesse Aron Grimm, DDS

That question has a somewhat ambiguous answer. Fillings can be done as long as there is enough tooth structure support a filling to be done on it. When you get to a certain amount of tooth structure missing from a tooth, it becomes a high risk of catastrophic failure-fracture. Before that happens, it is wise to place a crown restoration instead of a filling to prevent fracture and potential need of subsequent root canal therapy and/or crown lengthening or removal.

It would kind of seem like root planing causes root recession because once you have your root planing performed, the gums typically recede. The recession is actually caused by your gum tissues' reaction to the bacterial endotoxins released into the tissue. The body (gum tissue) tries to move away from the invading bacteria and endo toxins by your immune system release of cells and there are histamines that cause inflammation and breakdown and recession of body tissues from the area. Once the root planing is completed, the tissue inflammation resolves and the recession is now fully visible.

It does sound as you are describing black tarter. A professional dental exam and debridement//cleaning is the best way to deal with that issue.

The amount of tooth removed to fabricate a veneer depends on the type of veneer planned and what needs to be accomplished with each tooth. There are no prep veneers, "no prep veneers"(where some teeth need some removal in certain crowding or rotation cases), minimal prep veneers(0.3-0>8mm), more aggressive prep veneers(0.5-1mm). So 0mm-1mm tooth structure removal for many cases. Rarely more than 1mm of tooth structure needs to be removed for veneers.

From what you have stated in your cursory physical health history, nothing would disqualify you as a candidate for implant consideration. Much more specific information on the site for implant therapy is needed. This would be gathered at a comprehensive dental evaluation by the potential treating clinician. The next step for you would be to talk to your dentist and/or hygienist to get the ball rolling.
I wish you all the best in your treatment. If we could help in the future, we are happy to help.

Yes, you can, however, the tooth around the restoration can lighten up. The restoration bonded to the tooth will not. If you are trying to lighten a tooth to match a lighter restoration, that may be possible. If you want to lighten the teeth, then redo previous restorations that can be an option as well.

The answer to that ids not just a straight forward yes or no. Teeth with fillings are weaker than healthy non decayed teeth. What made that tooth weaker the filling? The answer to that is actually the decay. So the filling did not make the tooth weaker it was the decay that made the tooth weaker. Teeth with newer composite restorations are not generally as weak as teeth with older silver type restorations.

With oral surgical procedures like wisdom tooth extractions with sutures you will want to wait a minimum of two weeks before attempts to eat potentially damaging hard foods. The most common sutures will dissolve within 3-7 days, which is way too early for hard foods. Remember, your epithelium (skin) needs time to heal, but also the connective tissue under that which takes a minimum of two weeks to get to a decent state to withstand those forces. Another thing to remember is that even intact nonhealing tissue can take a beating from some of the hard foods we try to eat like chips popcorn and some hard vegetables.

The best pain relief for dental pain is going to be some form of ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil). 600mg every 6 hours or 400mg every 4 hours. If you cannot take ibuprofen or it is not enough by itself, then acetaminophen (Tylenol) is the next medication, dosage according to instructions on the bottle.

The answer to this depends on what is being done. Your best source of information would/should be your treating surgeon. most oral procedures are pretty good for patient comfort and function with in three days. The benefit of laser is that it is supposed to be quicker patient comfort sooner. That may be the case for some procedures depending the surgeons involved. Total healing of "laser gum surgery" actually improves over an extended time around 1 yr. Patient function - total normal eating any food couple weeks and comfort usually with in 1-3 days.

Zirconia is a great, very strong option with a fracture risk of only around 2% and can be very estheticly pleasing. So you should have a long life from that option. The reference to porcelain fracturing off the previous restoration leads me to conclude it was a porcelain fused to metal restoration. These can be a very esthetic restorations and generally have more than enough strength to manage normal functional forces especially in the front. This leads me to believe there still may be some undiscovered bruxism or grinding habit in your case which can be damaging to the implants themselves if untreated. Further investigation to absolutely rule out this possibility might be warranted. As far as teeth not being long enough, some times it is not a matter of tooth length but of lost bone and gingiva that needs to be and can be replaced prosthetically as well. A thorough esthetic evaluation by a qualified dental professional can identify or rule out this option or necessity.

Need braces is still a debated question in respect to many factors. If you have a crooked tooth that you want to be straight ,then braces of some form is the best answer. That could be clear aligners. The best treatment choice for your case would need to be evaluated by a dental professional which may include a orthodontist, a dentist that has specialty training in braces.

With out some surgical intervention and sometimes even with surgery, gums can be hard or near impossible to get to grow back. Many factors are involved. A big component is presence or absence of adjacent teeth and their respective gum level. So it can, but can be very difficult in many cases.

If you do not have anesthesia or numbing for the restoration (filling), it will not be an issue. If it is on an upper arch (jaw) back tooth, it should not be an issue even with anesthesia. If it is on an upper arch front tooth or a lower arch tooth with anesthesia, it may be an issue as far as speech ability for about 3 hours, depending patient ability to speak clearly with a numb tongue and lower lip.

No. Just bonding itself does not. If there is a need to reduce tooth structure to mask a dark or opaque white area or to accomplish desired contours for the tooth then you might need to remove enamel. Removing enamel is the outer hard surface of the tooth and some would attribute to weakening the tooth, but if it needs to be done to accomplish the desired goal then we reduce as little as neded.

Yes, front teeth can and routinely are bonded in my and many other offices. 

Your question elicits a deeper question of how fast does decay proceed in development on and into tooth structure. There is some variance between patients and between teeth in the same patient. Caries or decay or cavities develop over a process in your mouth. Bacteria create acid by breaking down foods (carbohydrates) you eat and releasing acid, which in turn dissolves tooth structure. At the same time, your saliva is attempting to remineralize the tooth structure. The ability of the saliva to remineralize teeth can vary depending on Home care maintenance, diet and salivary gland function. So, factors such as how often through the day bacteria have carbohydrates to use, how much actual acid is present from acidic drinks and fruits, how long those acids are allowed to attack the tooth throughout the day all have an effect. You can have an area that has been under attack from those forces and we can many times see signs of this on smooth surfaces of teeth. In pits and grooves, it can be more difficult to identify. Even in the worst possible application of these variables, it is not likely that a cavity would develop from not brushing one night.

A cavity can Absolutely lead to tooth loss. That is one of the major causes of tooth loss.

That is a great question. It turns out the answer is both yes and no. It depends on the specific clinical situation the patient presents with. The answer for you is going to need to come from your surgeon. Your surgeon is the one with all the information he or she needs to make that choice with you.

We dentists have a couple different options depending on patient goals. All start, and this is paramount, with a good oral exam to identify or rule out presence of disease (tooth decay, gum disease). Both are important to identify and treat prior to any bleaching plan. A thorough "cleaning is the next step to remove any external stains and be able to get a good evaluation of needs. Now you can start either with an in-office high strength bleach 1-hour session with or without a high intensity light. Second choice would be to start professional-strength home sessions after taking impressions and fabricating custom bleach trays. The in-office technique is usually followed with custom tray home sessions as well. Both are followed with in-office post-op checks for progress.