Westside Dental Associates

Substitute Sugar for Xylitol This Holiday Season

October 18, 2013

As Halloween and the rest of this year’s holidays get closer, the temptation to indulge in a variety of treats will grow. But sugar, as you know, can negatively affect your oral health.

In today’s post, we want to explain how sugar can cause cavities and let you know about an alternative to sugar that will let you enjoy all of your favorite holiday goodies.

How Sugar Damages Your Smile?

For as long as you’ve been going to the dentist, you’ve been told that sugar is bad for your teeth. But why is that? It’s because of how sugar interacts with your teeth.

When certain bacteria in the mouth come into contact with sugar, a feeding frenzy ensues, leading to the creation of acid. This acid makes it easier for bacteria to cling to teeth and it also weakens tooth enamel, creating cavities.

Xylitol—A Natural Substitute to Sugar

Thankfully, you don’t have to give up on your favorite treats this holiday season. With xylitol, a natural sweetener, you can still enjoy your favorite goodies. That’s because xylitol doesn’t interact with your teeth the way sugar does.

Instead of sparking the production of acid, xylitol creates a neutral environment, in which bacteria have a hard time sticking to teeth. With fewer bacteria in your mouth, you have a decreased chance of developing cavities.

Candy sweetened with xylitol can be found online and in natural food stores. Xylitol can also be used for baking, with a substitution ratio of 1:1.

Do you want to learn more about xylitol and how it can benefit your smile? Call Westside Dental Associates today for an appointment. Dr. Les Latner serves patients from Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West LA and Mar Vista.

Tackle Stains and Misalignment with Porcelain Veneers

September 30, 2013

Are you so embarrassed of your smile that you hide it when you talk or laugh? Do the beautiful smiles you see on TV, at the movies, or in your favorite magazines just seem to make your feelings even worse? At Westside Dental Associates, a unique cosmetic solution can help you overcome these feelings to enjoy a better sense of self-confidence. It’s called porcelain veneers.

With porcelain veneers, Dr. Latner can help you tackle two common cosmetic issues: staining and flaws like misalignment or cracks and chips. What’s more, you can see fully customized results in just two appointments.

Here’s how the process looks.

First, Dr. Latner will talk to you about the changes you want to make during a special consultation appointment. Your porcelain veneers will be designed to reflect your goals and the shade and shape of surrounding teeth. Then, before you go, Dr. Latner will prep your teeth for your final veneers.

When those final porcelain veneers are ready, you’ll come back to our Los Angeles office to have them attached. Afterwards, you can go back to your normal schedule with your beautiful new smile completed and ready to show the world.

Are you curious about what porcelain veneers might do to your smile and your confidence? Let Dr. Latner answer your questions and recommend a treatment plan. Call us today. You want a beautiful smile and we can help. We offer porcelain veneers to patients from Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West LA, and Mar Vista.

Correcting Overbites, Underbites, and Crossbites with Invisalign

September 27, 2013

How confident are you about the appearance of your smile? If you’re answer to that is, “Not very,” Dr. Latner of Westside Dental Associates offers Invisalign, an excellent cosmetic solution for treating overbites, underbites, and crossbites.

Invisalign isn’t the only cosmetic braces option available today, but it’s among the most popular and effective. And for adults who want to project a professional, mature appearance, the major benefit of Invisalign is that it doesn’t rely on brackets or wires to move teeth. Instead, Invisalign uses a series of clear trays to gradually move teeth into their ideal position.

Why should you straighten your smile? Because outside of making you feel less confident, teeth that are misaligned, crowded, or unevenly spaced can also make you more vulnerable to decay and gum disease, whereas straight teeth can significantly lower your risk of these.

How can you tell if Invisalign is right for you? Dr. Latner will complete a special oral assessment at his Los Angeles dental office. If it is right for you, we’ll work alongside the Invisalign lab to design your entire treatment.

Once you have your completed treatment kit, you’ll just need to wear each set of aligners for about two weeks before moving on to the next set.

Treatment with Invisalign is:

Comfortable
Clear
Quick

As you work on creating your straighter, more attractive smile, you can look forward to enjoying discreet care. What’s more, Invisalign’s trays can be taken out to eat, brush, and floss, letting you enjoy a normal diet and oral health regimen.

Do you have questions about Invisalign? Call Westside Dental Associates today to schedule you consultation with Dr. Latner. We offer care with Invisalign to patients from Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West LA, Mar Vista, and beyond.

Why Is Flossing Important?

September 20, 2013

You’ve probably heard throughout your life that flossing is important, but do you understand why? In today’s post, we’d like to look at how flossing can help and what can happen if you don’t floss on a regular basis.

First, why should you floss?

Flossing is important because of how it can help your oral health. When food is allowed to build up around teeth, the amount of harmful bacteria in the mouth will go up as well. Those harmful bacteria increase one’s vulnerability to decay and gum disease. If left untreated, they can lead to serious oral health problems, including advanced gum disease and tooth loss.

Serious oral health problems are most commonly treated with fillings, dental crowns, root canal therapy, and gum disease therapy. Failure to floss on a regular basis may lead to you needing one or more of these services to help you reclaim good oral health.

So, how can flossing help?

Flossing will help you support your oral health by getting leftover pieces of food away from teeth. As a result, one’s chance of developing cavities or gum disease is significantly lower.

At Westside Dental Associates, we recommend that patients floss at least once a day to keep teeth at their cleanest. Floss is inexpensive and comes in a wide variety of types: waxed, unwaxed, and flavored. Patients should also brush at least twice a day, if not three times.

Do you have questions about flossing, or do you want to schedule an appointment? Call Dr. Latner’s Los Angeles dental office. We offer care to patients from Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West LA, Mar Vista, and surrounding areas.

Transform Your Smile Ahead of the Holiday Season with Cosmetic Dental Care

September 13, 2013

Do you want a whiter, straighter-looking smile before the holiday season arrives? Dr. Latner and his dental team at Westside Dental Associates offer three of today’s most popular and effective cosmetic dentistry services, all to help you achieve beautiful, customized results. Those services include:

With these services, patients can get amazing results in just one to two visits. But which cosmetic dentistry service will do the best job of helping you achieve your goals?

During a consultation visit at our Los Angeles dental office, Dr. Latner will complete a thorough oral exam and an evaluation of your medical history. He’ll also talk to you about your own goals, to gain a clearer picture of how we can help.

It may be that you need at least two cosmetic dentistry services to help you get what you’re looking for. That’s what we call a smile makeover. A smile makeover is designed to give the patient more comprehensive results, and may include a general or restorative service as well.

Do you want to go into the upcoming holiday season with a greater sense of confidence than you ever have before? Dr. Latner wants to help. Call us today to set up your consultation appointment. During your appointment, we can talk about your goals and your options.

We serve patient from Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West LA, Mar Vista, and surrounding areas.

Teeth Whitening with Zoom!

August 22, 2013

Few people have a naturally bright smile. That’s because so many things we run into on a daily basis can cause stains—things like coffee, tea, red wine, juice, and soda, for instance. Tobacco use also contributes, as does aging. All of which explains why teeth whitening is among the most popular cosmetic dentistry services offered by Westside Dental Associates.

Teeth whitening with Zoom! is easy and yields amazing results. With just one appointment, you can expect to see your smile brightened by anywhere between 6 to 10 shades.

How does Zoom! work?

It starts with us making sure you’re comfortably seated. We’ll put a protective cover over your lips and gums, and then apply the special Zoom! Whitening gel to your teeth. A low-heat lamp will activate the gel, which, over the course of an hour, will penetrate the enamel and dentin in your teeth to remove stains and discoloration. When we’re all done, we’ll finish your visit by applying a fluoride treatment to your teeth to give them special protection.

That’s all there is to it!

Call Westside Dental Associates to find out more about teeth whitening and our other cosmetic and restorative solutions. Dr. Latner whitens smiles from Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West LA, Mar Vista, and beyond.

Is It Time for Your Home-Stretch Checkup?

August 15, 2013

If you had a checkup with Dr. Latner earlier this year, it may already be time for your second annual visit with Westside Dental Associates. That’s because we’re past the half-way point in 2013 and are entering the home-stretch. Over the next few months, you can only expect life to get busier as the kids return to school, and major holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the hustle and bustle of December gets underway.

Right now, with summer vacation slowly winding down, is the perfect time for you to see our Los Angeles team for regular care. During your appointment, Dr. Latner will take a close look at your smile and assess your current health. If we see any signs of tooth decay or gum disease, we can put a treatment plan together right away to help you address whatever your needs are.

Dr. Latner can also talk to you about the cosmetic and restorative services he offers. With cosmetic and restorative care, you can enjoy better oral health and better confidence—and sometimes in as few as one or two visits. We’ll develop a personalized plan to help you with your specific needs.

Is it already time for your second checkup? Call Westside Dental Associates today to schedule your appointment. Dr. Latner provides excellent general, cosmetic, and restorative care to patients from all around the Los Angeles area, including Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West LA, and Mar Vista.

Diabetes and Gum Disease

August 8, 2013

We’ve said it before—gum disease doesn’t just affect your oral health, it has an impact on your overall wellbeing. That even goes for patients with diabetes.

What’s the connection? Though it’s not entirely understood, it would appear that the relationship between gum disease occurs two ways.

Here’s what we know:

Gum disease forms when bacteria and plaque accumulate around the gum line. This causes the tissue to become irritated, resulting in an infection. The body responds to this infection by raising blood sugar levels, in turn raising a patient’s risk of experiencing diabetic complications.

Now, consider the other side. Patients who are diabetic are already more susceptible to developing an infection, because of the differences with their blood sugar—and that includes a greater susceptibility to gum disease.

All of which means that diabetic patients should make regular dental care a priority—in fact, all patients should make regular care a priority. With checkups and cleanings twice a year, Dr. Latner will have a chance to watch your smile for changes, even very small ones. If we find anything that requires extra care, we can put together a treatment plan immediately.

Call us today if you’re ready to schedule an appointment. Dr. Latner serves patients from Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West LA, and Mar Vista. Helping you enjoy good oral and overall health throughout your life is our highest goal.

Risk Factors for Cavities

August 1, 2013

You’ve heard all your life that keeping your teeth healthy means avoiding sugary foods and brushing twice a day. But in fact, when it comes to cavities, there are other risk factors besides sugary foods and not brushing that you should be aware of. In today’s post, we’d like to go over some of those. We hope you find them informative, and if you have any questions about what you see, don’t hesitate to give our Los Angeles dental office a call.

Already having cavities

All patients face a risk of developing cavities, but patients who have had cavities in the past are more likely to develop new ones in the future. That’s because cavities weaken the protective outer layer of teeth, known as enamel. If you’ve had cavities in the past, make good oral habits a priority to protect your smile going forward.

Lack of fluoride

Why is fluoride added to toothpaste and community water supplies? Because it supports oral health. Specifically, it attracts important minerals, ensuring that the enamel stays strong in the face of bacteria and acid. Not getting enough fluoride means your enamel will be weaker and more vulnerable to decay. Brushing with fluoride toothpaste, drinking tap water, and including a fluoride mouthwash into your daily routine will all help you prevent cavities.

Family history

Not every family makes brushing and flossing a priority, but that’s not the only way family history can contribute to cavities. For some patients, an increased risk of cavities comes down to genetics. If the members of your family seem to be naturally susceptible, make regular home care and checkups a priority.

Dry mouth

Saliva has at least two important functions: it helps us flush bacteria out of our mouths, and it neutralizes acid to protect teeth from decay. If you struggle with dry mouth, it’s important that you stay hydrated by drinking water throughout the day, or you may want something like xylitol mints or gum, which promotes a neutral pH.

These are just a few of the possible risk factors associated with cavities. To learn more, or to come in for a consultation, call Westside Dental Associates to reserve an appointment. Dr. Les Latner provides comprehensive dental care to patients from Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West LA, and Mar Vista.

How Saliva Protects Your Smile

July 30, 2013

As we indicated in our last post, saliva can play an important role in protecting teeth from decay. Specifically, saliva helps neutralize the acid created by bacteria in the mouth. But that’s not all it does.

Saliva is 99% water, and water—as we said last time—helps keep teeth clean. The other 1% of saliva is made up of electrolytes, mucus, glycoproteins, enzymes, and antibacterial compounds. As you eat, saliva breaks down food particles around teeth and offers your enamel special protection. What’s more, because saliva contains calcium and phosphates, it helps with the re-mineralization process, too.

It’s because of saliva’s benefits to oral health that dentist will recommend chewing gum after a meal. Not only will it help you clean your teeth, but it will prevent bacteria from getting out of control and creating destructive acid.

Want to know more about how saliva can help you support your oral health? Call Westside Dental Associates today for an appointment with Dr. Latner. We provide great general, cosmetic, and restorative care from patients in and around Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West LA, and Mar Vista.