How dental veneers from your dentist in Gaithersburg, Maryland can give you a perfect smile

There is a lot of information out there about dental veneers, but nothing can quite prepare you for how spectacular that they will look on you! Veneers can make an ordinary smile extraordinary by perfecting any present flaws. Dr. Ali Fatemi at Fatemi Family Dentistry offers veneers that will transform your smile into a work of art. With two convenient office locations in Gaithersburg and Lexington Park, MD, we can help your smile look its very best.

More about Veneers

It’s easy to think that your smile is past its prime. The truth is, no matter how old, stained, or imperfect your smile is, veneers can help. Dental veneers offer you the benefit of changing the size, color, and shape of your teeth. Dental veneers are the perfect choice to cover up aesthetic issues such as:

• Chipped, eroded teeth due to aging
• Worn-down teeth from bad habits
• Fracture lines and cracks from trauma
• Discolorations and blotches from medications

Dental veneers can even make gaps between your teeth less noticeable by filling in the empty space. They may also be able to hide tooth overlap so that your teeth can appear straighter. Dr. Fatemi will evaluate your smile in order to give you an idea of how your dental veneers will look after placement and what you can expect during treatment.

People choose dental veneers for many reasons. Consider that dental veneers offer:

• Naturally beautiful results, because veneer materials like porcelain reflect light, just like tooth enamel
• Quick treatment, because you can have a dramatically beautiful smile in just 2 to 3 appointments
• Long-lasting beauty, because porcelain resists staining, meaning that your veneers will stay dazzling
• Conservation of tooth structure, because little to no tooth structure is removed; just enough to accommodate the thickness of the veneers

You deserve a perfect smile that stands out, a smile people will remember. Remember, your smile is your trademark—make it great with dental veneers! To learn more about dental veneers and other cosmetic, restorative, and preventive dental services, call Dr. Ali Fatemi at Fatemi Family Dentistry. For our Gaithersburg office, call (301) 740-2686, and for the Lexington Park location, call (301) 737-4747.

I am often faced with many health issues during the day to day practice, but when I graduated from dental school, I never imagined treating people for headaches.  You see, I graduated 26 years ago from dental school and back then, they did not talk to us about the relationship of grinding, Temporomandibular joint and muscle spasms, clicking, locking of the jaw and headaches.  I remember lengthy lectures about the anatomy of the joint and muscles and their insertions, but I do not recall any body talking about headaches. As I started my practice and started taking continuing education courses, I mean a lot of courses in Temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD), Muscle spasms, and occlusal disharmony, I realized how I can help.  I learned more about the bite and its relationship to all the above topics I just mentioned.

I started fabricating Occlusal Guards and Orthotics for patients who suffered from headaches and TMD issues.  The result was phenomenal. I was excited. I was helping a group of patient I never knew I had. I was treating patient with a simple device and detailed adjustments each visit.  This was exciting to me. So, I began to read more and take more courses on the subject. I noticed that headache sufferers are often people who grind their teeth or have clicking of their jaw joint  or deviation upon closing and or opening of the jaw. All these factors would have to be examined to determine which muscles are involved. We have to determine if the joint is undergoing changes.

Today, I am confident that I can help people who suffer from facial pain.  We can certainly eliminate or greatly diminish the symptoms for this class of patients. If you are experiencing headaches or clicking of the jaw, just call our office at 301-740-2686 or 301-737-4747 and arrange a consultation with me.  I will be glad to examine the issues and recommend appropriate treatment.

I am often asked this question by my patient, "Do Root Canals really work, my friend had a root canal and she ended up losing her tooth anyway".  

It is possible that you can still loose your tooth after our best efforts to save the tooth through root canal therapy, but it is not likely.

There are some requirements before I would recommend to my patients to have save their teeth through a major procedure such as root canal.  Several factors have to be met. The tooth in questions has to have these qualities:

a. A favorable prognosis after root canal therapy is performed

b. The tooth should be healthy and should not have advanced gum disease.  

c. There has to be enough tooth structure for the tooth to be able to support the final crown.

The last criteria is very important and is often missed.  When root canals are performed properly, they have over a 95% or higher success rate, but if they are not restored properly, the process will not succeed. What do I mean by this?

When a tooth is treated for root canal therapy, it should be treated with a crown almost immediately or very quickly.  I often perform the crown procedure at the same session I perform Root Canal Therapy. This will help prevent the tooth from fractures. If a tooth fractures, it might then have to be extracted. This is one of the most common causes that a tooth might have to be extracted after root canal therapy. Patients often are treated with Root Canal therapy and their pain is under control. But later, they might not be able to visit the dentist in time to complete the treatment for variety of reasons.

So my answer to my patients are often that if the selection of the tooth to be treated is correct, and the patient follows the treatment to the end by restoring the tooth with a crown, Root canal therapy works every time.  I should know, I have had root canal and I then placed a crown of my tooth. I still enjoy using that very tooth. So, you can say, I practice what I preach.

by Dr. A. Fatemi

11/30/2018

Dental Emergency: what should I do in a dental emergency  

Basically, any dental problem that requires immediate treatment in order to save a tooth, stop ongoing tissue bleeding or alleviate severe pain is considered a dental emergency. A severe infection or abscess in the mouth can be life-threatening and should be dealt with immediately.  A dental emergency can cause you to have a swollen face, being sensitive to hot and cold fluids and many other symptoms.  

When you have a dental emergency pain can be unbearable. You resort to all sorts of remedies. You may put over the counter gels on the area, but in 99% of the time, this will not help.  You see, the dental infection is inside the tooth and any gel you put on it, will not reach the infection. You may experience throbbing pain where there can severe inflammation inside the tooth.  Does antibiotics work? not always.  Again, the problem is inside the tooth and if the nerve has died inside, there is no more blood flow to the tooth.  No blood flow, no antibiotic effect.  You need  antibiotics to reach the site of infection and if there is not enough blood flow, there will not be any effect. That is the reason only a dentist can help in this situation.

Dental Emergency patients require special attention. At our office, once we receive the emergency call, we will accommodate the patient and will see them the same day.  We examine the patient, determine the cause and will arrive at a diagnosis. Once we know the reason, we can offer the patient different options of treatment. These can range from extraction, root canal, filling, crowns, denture repair or other issues.

If you think you have a dental emergency, you can visit us at either one of our locations in Gaithersburg, MD at 301-740-2686 or Lexington Park MD at 301-737-4747.

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Porcelain dental crowns can renew your smile’s appearance and functionality to give you the teeth you want and the confidence you deserve. Find out just what porcelain dental crowns can do for you with Dr. Ali Fatemi at Fatemi Family Dentistry with locations in Lexington Park and Gaithersburg, MD.

What can a porcelain dental crown do for me?
Dental crowns cover a tooth to provide it with protection and stability. Crowns are most often used after a dental procedure like a root canal. However, dentists can use a dental crown for a variety of other reasons, including:

• to stabilize a damaged tooth
• to improve the appearance of a tooth
• to cover a dental implant to replace a missing tooth
• to anchor a dental bridge into place
• to protect a compromised tooth

The Porcelain Dental Crown Process in Lexington Park, MD, and Gaithersburg, MD

Your crowning process will usually take at least two dental appointments. At your first appointment, your dentist will prepare your tooth to receive the crown then take an impression of your mouth. A dental laboratory will create the crown based on the impression, a process which lasts about two weeks. After the crown is complete, you will have a second appointment with your dentist to fit and permanently place the crown.

For more information on porcelain dental crowns, please contact Dr. Ali Fatemi at Fatemi Family Dentistry with locations in Lexington Park and Gaithersburg, MD. Call (301) 737-4747 to schedule your appointment at the Lexington Park office or (301) 740-2686 to schedule your appointment at the Gaithersburg office today!