Several years ago, a 92 year old retired Air Force colonel visited the office of Charlotte dentist Dr. Richard Van Gurp.  He had some significant dental issues and wanted his entire mouth restored.  Dr. Van Gurp couldn’t help but ask him why, at age 92, he insisted on going through the time and expense to have all of this dental work completed.  The colonel paused, smiled and told me that, at his age, there were few things in life that he could still enjoy and eating was one of them.  He wasn’t willing to give that up.  Are you willing to give that up?

A better question might be: do you plan to lose your teeth?  For most people, that may be an absurd question.  Of course, no one ever plans to lose their teeth.  Yet, according to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 25% of adults 60 years old and older no longer have any natural teeth.  In fact, it is usually because of a lack of planning that people lose their teeth. 

A key point to understand is that dental problems usually progress silently unaware to the patient until the problems are advanced.  With advanced dental problems, the cost of repair is much more than if the problems were detected early. 

Dental problems and tooth loss can quickly become a quality of life issue.  Things Dr. Van Gurp hears from patients include: “I just can’t chew my food as well.” or “I am embarrassed by my smile.”  The reality is that tooth loss affects one’s appearance, their ability to digest food, their self-esteem, confidence, comfort and more.

Dental disease is one of the most preventable of diseases.  But prevention requires a dentist and staff who are both thorough in their examination process and knowledgeable in the most current methods.  Should major dental problems already exist, it is best to seek the help of a dentist who has the advanced training to ensure an excellent result.

Don’t leave your dental future to chance.  If you want to ensure that you enjoy “life’s remaining pleasures”, give the Charlotte dental office of Dr. Richard Van Gurp a call at 704-542-2884.

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Having been a dentist for over 25 years, Dr. Richard Van Gurp is often reminded that the decisions patients make regarding dental treatment directly impacts the quality of their lives. 

Broken teeth and gum disease almost cost this patient the hopes for a natural smile.

A healthy mouth and an attractive smile can have ramifications far beyond just “saving teeth”. 

Case in point, Dr. Van Gurp helped this patient several years ago.  He came to Van Gurp Dentistry with some complicated dental problems.  Because of his bite, he had a tendency towards wearing down and breaking teeth. 

But this patient’s problems were much deeper than his dental issues.  He was having a hard time finding a job and really getting frustrated.  He had several interviews but no success in landing a job.  He felt qualified and thought he had done everything he could until one day he looked in the mirror and the true condition of his mouth dawned on him.

In the business world, appearances count.  A study conducted by a college career planning and placement center indicated that the number one reason why an applicant was rejected after the first interview was personal appearance.  Along with one’s manner of dress and posture, personal appearance especially includes the face and the smile.  It’s the area that most interviewers are going to focus on as they ask questions.

The patient's desire for a very bright smile was fulfilled by Dr. Richard Van Gurp

This was a complicated case that requires advanced training on the part of the dentist.  Fortunately for the patient, Dr. Richard Van Gurp has had such training.  If the patient had waited much longer, his treatment plan would have involved numerous extractions and likely dentures.

After listening to his concerns and what he wanted to see as an end result, the patient’s mouth was restored.  As you can see in the photos, he wanted a big and very bright smile.  It paid off.   At his next hygiene appointment, he came in beaming.  Something was up and I could tell he was anxious to fill in Dr. Van Gurp and his staff.

He had recently interviewed for and been offered what he envisioned as his ideal job.  The position included traveling around the country — something he had always wanted to do.  Would he have been offered the job if he hadn’t fixed his teeth first?  Maybe.  But one can be assured that the person who interviewed for the job was far different and more confident than the same person with worn and broken teeth.

Improving one’s appearance may not be as drastic as it was with this patient, but it can make the difference when it matters most.

If you would like to discuss your concerns and options to improve the health and appearance of your smile, please give Van Gurp Dentistry a call at 704-542-2884.

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Teeth grinding caused by an uneven bite, missing teeth or improperly aligned teeth can cause a multitude of dental problems.  Wearing down of your teeth, sensitive or sore teeth, cracks in teeth, gum recession, painful and /or clicking jaw joints and even headaches can all result from teeth grinding caused by an imbalance in your bite.  Often times, patients complain of sore jaw muscles or a headache when awakening in the morning.   One’s appearance can also be compromised as the teeth can appear flat and aged.

Dr. Richard Van Gurp is a dentist in Charlotte, NC who is highly trained and skilled in the evaluation and treatment of patients who are having issues with teeth grinding.  This can be caused by an imbalance in one’s bite.  Dr. Van Gurp often compares an imbalanced bite to a set of imbalanced tires on a car.  The tires may seem to work fine but will wear out at an accelerated rate and need replacing much quicker than a good set of balanced tires.

Recognizing an imbalanced bite as early as possible will help prevent premature aging of your teeth and costly repairs.  Dr. Richard Van Gurp always starts with a careful evaluation of your bite to determine the cause of the imbalance.  He will also provide the information you need to make sound decisions regarding treatment.  Finally, it is important for you to know what future impact your bite imbalance can have on your teeth and jaw joints.

Treating teeth grinding issues often involves synchronizing the bite with the proper and healthy position of the jaw joints.  Depending on the severity of the problem, there are a wide range of treatments to correct a bite that is not in balance.  Only through a proper examination can an experienced and knowledgeable dentist such as Dr. Richard Van Gurp make suitable treatment recommendations to correct this type of dental problem.

Dr. Richard Van Gurp has shown many times that a harmonious bite has long term benefits.  Usually the jaw muscles that are involved in grinding of the teeth tend to relax thus decreasing the likelihood of further teeth grinding.  The bite tends to feel more “comfortable”.  If you have noticed that your teeth are wearing down, breaking or if you have lost teeth, give Van Gurp Dentistry a call at 704-542-2884.  It may just be your bite!

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No one ever plans to have significant dental problems.  And while some dental problems are slow to form and chronic, others, like the case I am showing you today are sudden and unexpected.

It is one thing to break a back tooth.  It is something entirely different when a front tooth or in this case two front teeth fail.  If not panic, it gives you a sinking feeling and questions often come up, “Doc, is it hopeless?  What am I going to look like when I get this fixed?  Will it look natural?”  All perfectly good questions.

A Dental Nightmare!

Situations like this only affirm my choice many years ago to become a dentist.  Dentistry in 2012 is awesome.

There is so much we can do to restore a mouth to a naturally appearing and healthy state and many times give the appearance that there was never anything wrong to begin with.

Sure it takes a lot of additional training, a commitment to continual learning, and an investment in the right technology, but it’s a great feeling to see a situation like this that appears hopeless in the patient’s eyes and be able to tell them, “We can fix this.” 

A dental implant and porcelain crowns led to an awesome smile!

In this particular case, while we were able to rebuild the front tooth, the lateral tooth was not savable and a dental implant was placed.

To say this case was tricky is an under-statement.  But careful planning and execution resulted in a stellar outcome.  But most importantly, the patient was very, very happy.

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I enjoy seeing my patients who reside in the Charlotte area.  But I am particularly honored when patients travel from afar to seek dental care in our office.  This 22 year old patient came to see us from the North Carolina coast. 

A fine young man, he wasn’t happy with the space between his two front teeth.  Several years ago, he had fractured his left front tooth, needed a root canal and had a large composite bonded filling placed.  Over the years, the filling discolored. 

While it may seem a simple idea to “close the gap”, cases like this require careful planning and attention to detail.

Widening the teeth to close the gap without considering the length of the teeth would have resulted in the appearance of teeth that looked too wide.

When it comes to the front teeth, the attentive dentist normally considers their dimensions in terms of ratios.  For the two front teeth, we normally like for the width to be approximately 75% of the length.  If we adhere to this ratio, the teeth will look “normal” in size.

Because of the amount of damage to the patient’s left front tooth, we needed to re-build it and do a porcelain crown.  But the other front tooth was essentially whole so we were able to be more conservative by placing a porcelain veneer.

While a veneer is more conservative, it makes it more difficult to match the colors with the crown because of different thicknesses of porcelain.

In this patient’s case, we slightly increased the length of the two teeth but it made a big difference. 

As is usual in a case like this and particularly since the patient was traveling from the coast, we used our CEREC computer technology to make the crowns in one visit.

We also customized the color of the crowns using additional colorants to match to the adjacent natural teeth.

The patient loved the final result.  The colors blended beautifully and the shapes of the teeth were very natural.  Last, the patient was thankful that we were able to minimize his trips to and from the coast.

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I am so blessed.  I’ve got the best patients, my staff is awesome and I am fortunate to work with some talented laboratories and specialists.

The case I am showing you today exemplifies the importance of the teamwork that is necessary for a stellar treatment result.

Congenitally missing front tooth

This teen patient initially presented with mal-aligned teeth and a missing lateral incisor tooth (the tooth next to the two front teeth).  The tooth was congenitally missing, which means it never formed in the jaw.  For this case, a dental implant was a great option to replace the missing tooth but long before the crown was placed, it was up to the specialists to “set the stage”.

A beautiful and natural looking implant crown

We consider this area of the mouth to be in the “esthetic zone” where appearance is very important.  Thus, we wanted to do everything we could to make sure the replacement tooth would appear natural in position, shape and color. 

As I have come to expect with the specialists I work with, the stage was set as perfectly as the clinical situation would allow.

Now it was up to us to bring it all home by creating a natural looking crown.  For this case we used our CEREC CAD/CAM one-visit crown technology to make the crown.  In the right hands, this technology can shine when esthetics is important because I can use various colorants and stain to customize the crown to match the adjacent teeth – and we do this right in our office.  While matching a single front tooth to the adjacent natural teeth is one of the more difficult things to do in dentistry, I have come to enjoy the process. 

As a team, we wound up hitting a home run with this case.  The crown looks like a natural tooth and not like – well, a crown!  The patient was very happy and can now smile with confidence.

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I’ve had interesting conversations with some of my patients lately regarding the topic of headaches and teeth grinding.  We all get headaches, some more frequently than others and some more intense than others.  

While there are numerous causes of headaches, few people make the connection that teeth grinding can cause headaches, specifically muscle tension headaches.  

Many times, it comes down to an unbalanced bite or one that is not in harmony with the proper position of the jaw joints (TMJ).  This misalignment causes the jaw muscles to become hyperactive and just like any other muscle that is overworked, they eventually become fatigued and sore.  The result is that we complain of a headache. 

It takes a trained dentist to determine if in fact the bite is in harmony with the jaw joints or it is not. 

It may have everything or nothing to do with how your teeth look.  I’ve seen what appeared to be a rather nice smile but the bite was off by a mile… without the patient even realizing it. 

Interestingly enough, headaches are just one of many signs and symptoms of a bad bite.  Other signs include worn teeth, loose teeth, chipped teeth or even teeth that have moved over time.  I have even seen patients with sensitive teeth who thought they needed a root canal, only to find that their bite was the culprit.  The bite was adjusted and the pain went away. 

For many patients the key is in balancing the bite with the proper position of the jaw joints.  There are several ways to do this depending on the severity of the bite discrepancy.  Only a comprehensive bite analysis will reveal the best route to take. 

Patients can typically find some relief with custom made bite guards.  However, it is important to note that these bite guards must be fitted properly or they can cause more harm than good.  And regardless, even a custom-made bite guard won’t correct the underlying problem.  In fact problems can still worsen. 

The first step in correcting the problem is a comprehensive examination and bite analysis by a dentist trained in this discipline to determine if indeed an unbalanced bite may be causing headaches.

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