Our Blog

As you age, it becomes even more important to take good care of your teeth and dental health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one-fourth of adults age 65 and older have no remaining teeth. What's more, nearly one-third of older adults have untreated tooth decay.

Oral health, regardless of age, is crucial to overall good health. Ideally, we all want to keep your natural teeth, but whether you're caring for natural teeth or dentures, advancing age may put older adults at risk for a number of oral health problems, including:

• Dry mouth
• Diminished sense of taste
• Root decay
• Gum disease
• Uneven jawbone caused by tooth loss
• Denture-induced tissue inflammation
• Overgrowth of fungus in the mouth
• Attrition (loss of teeth structure by mechanical forces)
• Oral cancer

These conditions may not be diagnosed until it is too late. If you want to feel good, stay healthy, and look great throughout life, you might be surprised what a difference a healthy mouth makes.

Here are some tips for maintaining and improving your oral health as you become older:

• Brush twice a day with a toothbrush with soft bristles. You may also benefit from using an electric toothbrush.
• Clean between your teeth once a day with floss or another interdental cleaner.
• If you wear full or partial dentures, remember to clean them on a daily basis. Take your dentures out of your mouth for at least four hours every day. It’s best to remove them at night.
• Drink tap water. Since most contains fluoride, it helps prevent tooth decay no matter how old you are.
• Quit smoking. Besides putting you at greater risk for lung and other cancers, smoking increases problems with gum disease, tooth decay, and tooth loss.
• Visit Central Park West Dental regularly for a complete dental checkup.

If you have any questions about keeping up with your oral hygiene at home, please give us a call!

These days it's becoming more and more common to see adults at our New York, NY office getting their teeth straightened with Invisalign clear aligners — that is, if you can see them! Treatment with Invisalign is effective and aesthetically pleasing for all ages, but adults have certainly taken to them.

For some it may be to overcome the stigma that "braces are just for kids," but for others it may be the displeasing appearance and discomfort of traditional braces. According to the American Association of Orthodontics, from 1994 to 2010 the number of adults 18 and older getting braces increased by 58 percent, from 680,000 to 1.1 million annually. Many of these adults opt for Invisalign because of how discreet they are and since they don't need to avoid any foods or make dietary changes like you do with traditional braces.

The benefits of getting your teeth into proper alignment are many, and so are the advantages of Invisalign. By following your individual course of Invisalign treatment, you can expect to enjoy the following benefits over traditional braces:

• The total treatment time is more precise with Invisalign since your treatment is modeled by a computer, as compared to traditional braces where it is really just an estimate.
• You'll need to make fewer trips to our New York, NY office since you can change your trays on your own every few weeks or as prescribed.
• There's less risk to the health of your tooth enamel since there is no need to place brackets on your teeth.
• Invisalign aligners are clear and practically invisible, so most people won't even know you're wearing them!

If you're interested in Invisalign treatment, please let Dr. David Shipper and Dr. Howard Vogel know. We'd be happy to help you on your journey to a straighter, healthier smile!

Dental sealants are an excellent way to protect children’s teeth from tooth decay by coating them with a thin plastic material. Their teeth look and feel like normal, but they are protected from plaque build-up and decay early on. Dr. David Shipper and Dr. Howard Vogel and our staff recommend sealants as a preventive measure for children before any decay appears on their teeth.

Who should get dental sealants?

Dental sealants are intended for young children as soon as their first teeth come in. Decay is most common in the molars, so taking your child to Central Park West Dental for sealants right when you see the molars grow in gives your child the best chance to fight tooth decay.

A child’s first set of permanent molars grow in between ages five and seven, while the second permanent molars come in between 11 and 14 years of age. Some teens and adults who don’t have tooth decay may get sealants as well, but it is less common.

How long do dental sealants last?

Once the sealant has been placed on the teeth, it lasts up to ten years. Expect to have Dr. David Shipper and Dr. Howard Vogel check the sealant at every visit to our New York, NY office, which should be twice a year. We will look at the sealant and determine if it needs to be replaced.

What is the process of getting sealants?

Applying sealants is a simple, pain-free procedure that is done quickly at Central Park West Dental. There is absolutely no effect on the tooth structure from sealants.

For starters, the teeth are cleaned carefully, then dried with an absorbent material. A mild acid solution is applied to them to roughen them slightly. This is done so the sealant can bond properly to the teeth. Then the teeth are rinsed and dried, and the sealant material is painted on and dried with a special light.

Molars are susceptible to decay early on, which is why sealants are an important treatment to get for your children’s first set of teeth.

We are happy to announce that we've had an article featured in Dental Town Magazine! Give it a read and let us know what you think.

Sealing the Gaps: How Prevention Makes Profit by Mary Jane Livingston

Tooth decay is the largest chronic disease in the United States for children ages 6–11, beating out asthma and hay fever, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Forty percent of decay occurs in the pit and fissure areas, and dental sealants can play a large role in prevention. This statistic begs the question: Are we doing enough for our pediatric patients?

Why does tooth decay remain the highest chronic disease among children if tooth decay is—as we know—a preventable disease? This is a public health concern. As practitioners, we can help our patients and our community by using dental sealants to increase caries prevention.

Protocols in the office
Establishing protocols and having all team members on the same page is key for the office. It’s essential to have the dental assistants, dental hygienists and front-office staff properly trained in educating patients and parents about the benefits of sealants.

Morning huddles are the best time to review your daily schedule. At this time, the team can discuss who is a good candidate or who has pending treatment for sealants. This works great, both for offices that practice same-day dentistry and for those that have time-constrained patients.

Rather than leave it to the doctor to educate and make treatment recommendations, having the team introduce sealants to patients shows consistency throughout the office. Ultimately, it is the patient’s choice, but this allows patients to be part of the decision-making process.

Most patients agree that they would much rather have a sealant applied than have a cavity fixed, especially since a sealant application is a fraction of the price. While pit-and-fissure sealant is a method of preventive dentistry, it could also become lucrative for the office.