Dentures - Then and Now

George Washington's dentures - were not wooden but were made from gold, ivory, lead, human and animal teeth (horse and donkey teeth were common denture components). The dentures had springs to help them open and bolts to hold them together.

Humnankind has been struggling with the replacement of decaying or lost teeth for literally thousands of years. Ivory or bone replacements for lost teeth date back to 700 B.C.
While improved dental care has caused a decline in tooth loss in recent years, it is predicted that the number of patients requiring dentures will actually increase with the advancing age of the large "baby boomer" generation.
Modern dentistry and availability of vastly improved materials have made great headway in providing dentures that are more functional and better appearing.
Still, there are denture patients whose teeth are obviously dentures - unnaturally even teeth or sometimes the "Popeye" look - and who struggle with functional problems such as difficulty in chewing tough foods and speech interference.
People with dentures commonly report discomfort or even associated pain as well as dissatisfaction with their appearances.

Neuromuscular Dentistry and Dentures Today

Dr. Fallah, a Neuromuscular Dentist, precisely measures muscle and joint involvement in a bite. He then develops functional, precise customized, natural-looking and comfortable dentures (something George Washington could have used for a better-looking profile and a lot less pain in his life).

Dr. Fallah utilizes detailed computer-generated information concerning the status and function of a myriad of elements involved in your bite (occlusion) in addition to all of the traditional means of dental diagnosis.

Read more about the use of neuromuscular dentistry and dentures by your Encinitas Dentist, Dr. Fallah.

Beauty and Health

"Aesthetic Dentistry" - a combination of artistry and functionality which simultaneously produces exquisitely aesthetically pleasing results and promotes patient health via harmonization with your overall biology.
All dental restorations (such as porcelain veneers, crowns, implants or fillings) are designed by Dr. Fallah to achieve an aesthetic, natural-looking result, but equally important, each restoration is designed to withstand the forces of biting and prolonged use.
Dental work, custom designed and crafted for each patient provides the patient with not only a refined natural look, but also more comfortable feel and function to the mouth.
You are a unique individual, and in true artistic dentistry, there is no room for" one size or color fits all.” Dr. Fallah meticulously discusses your needs and desires with you. He pays careful attention to your speech patterns, the specific shapes of your existing teeth and uses the latest technology to measure how your upper and lower teeth interaction and jaw movement.
Dental translucency and reflectivity are also analyzed. Your smile
Is your own personal work of art and a trained and experienced eye and perfected
skills are critical to very fine dentistry. There are a myriad of personal and technical insights required to develop an artistic plan for smile renewal. That’s why Dr. Fallah spends a great deal of time getting to know you. He knows that the best possible outcome for your dental treatment starts with taking the time to understand your unique desires for your ideal smile.
Your treatment is completely individualized and custom-designed to complement your facial structure, skin, eyes, and functional demands.

In the end, you’ll have your the custom-designed, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing functional smile of your dreams -- which may provide some added bonuses ---
Read about Stacey's experience -- and watch her video:
"I initially came to see Dr. Fallah because my teeth were aging... yellowing... chipped. I absolutely love my new smile. What I didn't expect was to get a mini-face lift out of it. Like a total rejuvenation of my face...
Everybody that sees me thinks I've had a face lift."

TMJ Dysfunction, Neuromuscular Dentistry and Relief for San Diego Patients

Head and neck mobility and pain-free motion are considered the norm by most people.
However, thousands of people suffering from TMJ dysfunction live with daily painful head and neck movement as well as headaches, jaw pain, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), shoulder pain and clicking and popping in the jaw.
Consider the extent to which the head, neck and jaw are typically used.
Aside from basic tasks like talking and chewing, the average person simply swallows from 2,000 - 3,000 times in a day.
Each swallow causes the upper and lower teeth to meet for a fraction of a second. For the person with TMJ dysfunction, such a simple, necessary act can cause nearly continuous discomfort.
Dr. Fallah, with advanced training in Neuromuscular Dentistry, is able to utilize cutting edge technology and computer diagnostics to pinpoint the source of the pain and correct TMJ dysfunction.
Dr. Fallah uses a variety of techniques to relieve patient discomfort including:
- interruption of muscle spasm
- bite optimization
- full mouth reconstruction
- neuromuscular orthodontics
Dr. Fallah can precisely measure the patient jaw and bite registration. The registration of the ‘normal’ position of the jaw is calculated – the position of the jaw in a relaxed, non-contracted position. With the jaw in the corrected, comfortable state, spasms, neck and jaw pain are relieved. This ideal, relaxed position can be obtained and retained with a fix as simple as restructuring a broken tooth with a veneer to a total re-alignment of the bite.

Please visit Dr. Fallah's site to find out more about his specialized training and the state-of-the-art equipment and techniques he uses to help patients with San Diego TMJ dysfunction >>>

White Smile -- Naturally

The most unattractive thing about a smile is discolored teeth, according to a recent American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) consumer poll. And the numbers prove it! Whitening treatment is the number one requested cosmetic dental procedure and has increased more than 300% since 1996, according to the AACD.

“While daily home care and regular professional cleanings are essential for maintaining healthy teeth and gums, certain foods can help remove stains from your teeth,” says AACD President Dr. Marty Zase. “Foods such as apples, pears, celery, carrots, cauliflower, and cucumbers produce saliva which combines with the foods’ natural fibers to naturally clean teeth and remove bacteria.”

Natural White Smile Foods and Tips include:

* Strawberries - naturally whiten your teeth.
* Avoid drinking coffee, dark syrup sodas, red wine and blueberries. All stain teeth quickly.
* Drink from a straw whenever possible…allows food dyes to bypass teeth altogether.
* Baking soda helps remove stains and build up. Brush it on your teeth twice a month, just as you would toothpaste, and rinse.
* Raw veggies are not only healthy to eat, but they will clean your teeth and remove surface stains.
* The mechanical action of chewing sugarless gum can also stimulate saliva and clean teeth surfaces, though not recommended for patients with TMJ.


Dr. Fallah provides Teeth Whitening and for yellowed, chipped, cracked and discolored teeth, Porcelain Veneers -- all in his comfortable, friendly San Diego Dental offices.

Benefits of Cosmetic Dentistry

Dr. Anne Beall, a social psychologist and market research professional carried out an independent study on behalf of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD). Pictures of eight individuals were shown to 528 Americans, a statistically valid cross section of the population. The respondents were asked to quickly judge the eight people as to how attractive, intelligent, happy, successful in their career, friendly, interesting, kind, wealthy, popular with the opposite sex, and sensitive to other people they were.
Two sets of photos were created, with each set showing four individuals before undergoing cosmetic dentistry, and four after treatment. Half the respondents viewed set A, the other half set B. The eight subjects viewed by respondents were evenly divided by gender. Two had mild improvements through cosmetic dentistry, two had moderate improvements, and four had major improvements to their smiles, to give a wide range for respondents to view. None, however, had visibly rotten teeth, missing teeth or catastrophically bad dental health in the before shots. Respondents were not told that they were looking at dentistry, but were asked to make snap judgments rating each person for the ten characteristics, on a scale of one to ten, with “one” being “not at all,” and “ten” being “extremely.”

The results indicated that an attractive smile does have broad ranging benefits:

Characteristic Average	“Before” rating	“After” rating	Increase
Attractive	4.6	5.9	1.3
Intelligent	5.9	6.5	.6
Happy	6.2	6.8	.4
Successful in their career	5.8	6.7	.9
Friendly	6.3	6.8	.5
Interesting	5.4	6.1	.7
Kind	6.0	6.4	.4
Wealthy	4.9	5.9	1.0
Popular with the opposite sex	5.0	6.2	1.2
Sensitive to other people	5.6	6.1	.5

“Based on a lot of interaction with happy patients, we were expecting this type of difference in attractiveness and popularity with the opposite sex,” said Dr. Marty Zase, President of AACD, “but to have large gains in how successful, intelligent, interesting and wealthy patients appeared after cosmetic dentistry caught even us by surprise. We’ve been telling people that a beautiful smile was a great investment in their futures. Now we have independent evidence.”

While the change was most dramatic for Attractive, Popular with the opposite sex, Wealthy and Successful in their career, the change was statically significant in all areas.

Contact Dr. Fallah, your San Diego Cosmetic Dentist, for a Beautiful New Year!

TENS

TENS is the abbreviation for Transcutaneous Electrical Neural Stimulation. It is a description covering a wide range of devices used in medicine and dentistry for a variety of purposes.

High frequency TENS delivers an electrical stimulus of 80 - 100Hz. Commonly referred to as 'pain blockers' TENS - as they are used to relieve pain by inhibiting the transmission of pain signals through neural pathways.
Low frequency TENS units deliver an electrical stimulus of 0.5 to 4 Hz and are considered ultra-low frequency stimulators. Gentle, repetitive electrical muscle stimulation below 1 Hz allow muscle tissue to restore itself.

In TMJ, facial, neck, shoulder and body chronic muscle spasms impair circulation and result in an accumulation of waster products of metabolism. The gentle repetitive electrical stimulation (pulsing) of the muscle creates a pumping action.
This is the type of healing available with the Myotronics unit. The TENS unit and Dr. Fallah's work with it for TMJ patients is described in detail on Dr. Fallah's site.

Read more about the San Diego TMJ dentist and Carlsbad Cosmetic Dentist >>>

TMJ

The term "TMJ" is the acronym for "TemperoMandibular Joint." The TMJ is a ball and socket joint that allows you to open your lower jaw, close the jaw and move it sideways when chewing and speaking.
Everyone has two TMJ joints, each located about one centimeter in front of the ear. These are the only joints in the head and if one or both joints develop problems or become off balance, you may develop TMJ problems -- sometimes called TMD (as an acronym for TemperoMandibular Dysfunction).

There are a wide variety of symptoms associated with TMJ / TMD such as:

- Tinnitus (ringing ears)
- Jaw popping / crackling sounds
- Neck pain or stiff neck
- Ear Ache
- Shoulder pain
- Headaches
- Facial pains
- Jaw pain
- Painful chewing
- Inability to fully open jaw
- Tendency to dislocate jaw

TMJ can result from injuries to the face or jaw possibly caused by sport accidents, accidental blows to face, falls or auto accidents. Jaw and jaw joint injuries can lead to swelling, tearing of jaw or facial ligaments and cartilege which usually heal but can lead to long-term issues that are classified as TMD / TMJ problems.

People without injuries can also suffer TMJ symptoms. Bruxing (tooth grinding), tooth clenching and even misalignment of teeth after dental work can cause issues. Even problems with teeth that change in position or dimension, can cause symptoms to occur. Misaligned postures of the body, holding the jaw in an unnatural position or anything that causes undue or uneven pressures on the jaw can lead to TMJ.

Dr. Fallah has extensive training and experience in dealing with TMJ and using the latest techniques and equipment to provide relief from TMJ. The Myo-monitor used by Dr. Fallah, releases facial, neck and back tension and often relieves patient symptoms significantly on the first visit.

To find out more about Dr. Fallah's TMJ treatment >>>