I am a 21 year old office manager for a great office named LA Dental Clinic. Growing up I never really paid much attention to my teeth since I’ve never had any serious issues. I’ve always wanted my smile to be a perfect 10, healthy straight and white teeth. At my age, already out of high school, I didn’t want to wear traditional braces but now I am in the stage of my life where I can afford to fix my teeth. The treatment for traditional braces would take 2 ½ years but luckily I was introduced to Invisalign which I was really thrilled, since my case would only take about 6 months to complete. The cost of Invisalign was less than the cost of traditional braces and also seemed to be the most comfortable option for me.

If I was to rate my smile in a scale of 1 to 10, I would give my smile a 9. My teeth were pretty straight and white before the treatment; it was just this one tooth on my top arch that was kind of rotated and it really bothered me. I was assigned 10 trays for both top and bottom. My dentist explained to me the designated wear time which was 22 hours a day. I was given 3 trays at a time, so I would see my dentist every 6 weeks.

For me, there are many advantages of using Invisalign rather traditional braces. People wouldn’t notice I was in orthodontic treatment unless I chose to tell them. I was able to brush and floss as usual and I was able to eat anything I want, and not worry about food being stuck on my braces. I could smile and laugh out loud all I want without someone staring at my teeth and metal braces. The disadvantage of Invisalign is not being able to have fillings or dental work done during treatment because the trays are precisely made. The trays were a bit uncomfortable on the first few days since I could feel the pressure of movement on my teeth.  I also missed having snacks all the time, I wouldn’t say that was a big sacrifice at all, it actually helped me get back into shape.

I would definitely recommended Invisalign, I had a fantastic experience. A piece of advice that I would share with someone is get ALL your dental work done before starting your treatment since it would be impossible to do once you get your impressions taken. Invisalign is 90% less visible then traditional braces. You WILL feel the movement of your teeth, especially in the first few days of wearing your new set of trays. I would highly recommend for you to wear your new set right before you go to sleep since it will make it easier to remove. It is very important to wear your trays 22 hours a day like you are told by your dentist/orthodontics because you will find difficulty during your treatment if you don’t, for example your trays will become tighter or sometimes won’t fit, and so on. Do not settle for a cheap dentist if you don’t get the care that you deserve. A good dentist will listen to you, give you great advice and won’t try to lie to you. I’d rather pay $500 dollars more and have a great Invisalign dental experience than pay less and have a disappointing experience with a careless dentist.

immediately after whitening

Are you dreaming of a white christmas?

Here are some tips on how to keep your teeth as white as possible during the holidays and on.

1. get a professonal whitening – At my office we offer Zoom! whitening for $300 (in 2011).  It takes about an hour and the results are immediate and dramatic.  This may be a great gift you can give yourself or to someone else this year.

2. Whitening trays – these are custom -made trays you use a few hours/day to keep your teeth at their whitest.  We offer “whitening for life” and you get new trays made every time you come in plus we give you free whitening gel.

3.  avoid colored foods – Seriously, it comes down to this.  If you can avoid smoking, coffee, red wine etc…  No matter how much and how many times you whiten your teeth, smoking and coffee will take you right back to your old shade.

So please call us at 213-385-9710, email us at nasiry.officemanager@gmail.com, or just  click here to make your own appointment online.

Happy Holidays.

When someone comes to me complaining of tooth “sensitivity”, I usually run down the following list of possible causes

1. gum recession – As we get older or as a result of plaqe buildup, crooked teeth or an accident. Recession can expose the area of the tooth not covered by enamel, the root. This means that whenever you drink something cold, you get sensitivitiy in those areas. There are many solutions to this, but one of the most simple and quick ways is to cover those sensitive spots with bonding that matches your tooth. Other solutions can include gum surgery, cleaning of the gums and sometimes moving the teeth into the proper position.

2. A cracked toot or filling – If a piece of your tooth or filling is missing, the sensitive dentin layer of the tooth will be exposed and will be sensitive to biting, cold and hot. If the crack extends to the roots of the tooth it can even cause extreme pain and headaches. Cracked tooth can be very difficult to diagnose as we can’t see it on x-rays and the cracks are so small that we can’t even see them in your mouth sometiems. Solutions to cracked teeth can be as simple as a filling or even the loss of the tooth if the crack is deep enough.

3. Grinding of teeth – Many people can grind their teeth in their sleep or even when driving, in front of the computer etc… Grinding teeth can wear down the enamel and cause sensitivity. You can also cause damage to the temporo-mandibular joint and even cause muscel soreness. The simplest way to deal with this is to start with a nightguard which can protect your teeth and your joints. From there, you can restore severly wrn down teeth with fillings or crowns to help protect them.

4. Enamel Erosion – Erosion is the result of acid on the enamel. There are two ways acid can get on your teeth. The first is by eating acidic foods or sucking on lemons and oranges regularly. The second is the acid from your stomach that can come into the oral cavity if you have untreated acid reflux disease. Both of these can cause severe damage to the teeth over time. Solutions are to prevent the acid from hitting the teeth in the first place by controlling reflux or by avoiding acidic foods. If the erosion is sever, you may need root canals and crowns to repair the damage.

Hope this helps you narrow down why your teeth are sensitive.  As usual, please call us at 213-385-9710, email us at nasiry.officemanager@gmail.com, or just  click here to make your own appointment online.

It is necessary to lubricate your mouth and to prevent you from having that dry feeling in your throat and mouth.  Also, did you know that there are enzymes in saliva that actually start the digestion process?  Your mouth is actually the first part of the digestive tract and your teeth and saliva start to break down the food that will later be attacked by the strong stomach acids.

Another role of saliva is that it acts as a protective film on teeth and it neutralizes the acids in foods and drinks.  It helps to prevent cavities by neutralizing those acids that could erode enamel.  People who have lower salivary flow tend to get a LOT more cavities and also they tend not to taste their food as much.

So what can decrease salivary flow??  The main culprits are medications, alcohol, smoking and excessive caffeine intake.

Almost all medications can have an effect on your salivary glands.  If you notice that you have a drier mouth or your food tastes different after starting a medication, it is most likely because you have less salivary flow. This is common with cancer patients who are on chemotherapy or radiation therapy and have had a sudden decrease in their salivary flow.  In these cases, you want to be extra vigilant about cavities.  We routinely prescribe fluoride treatment and more regular checkups.

Other symptoms of dry mouth are:

• A sticky, dry feeling in the mouth, including a dry, red, raw

• Sores in the mouth; sores or split skin at the corners of the mouth; cracked lips.

• Frequent thirst, bad breath, problems speaking, difficulty tasting, chewing and swallowing.

Please call us at 213-385-9710, or click here to make an appointment.  We can help you keep your teeth healthy for a lifetime.

I want to start reviewing some tooth brushes.  People always ask me what they should use.  I’ll start with the one I’m using now.  It’s from Oral – B.  I like it because the bristles are soft and the vibration is not soooo strong.  The good thing about the vibrating-type tooth brushes is that you don’t have to “scrub” your teeth so much since the vibration does that for you.  You just have to hold the tooth brush next to your teeth and move it along the gumline slowly.

this is the tooth brush I have now

There is also a timer which will tell you when to move to the next section of your mouth.  It is 30 seconds per each quarter of your mouth or 2 minutes total.  Doing it this way takes the guesswork out of it and you know you got  a good cleaning.

I have been very happy using this tooth brush for a while and the smaller head size is easy to get waaaay in the back where bigger toothbrushes can’t reach.

Of course, don’t forget to floss!!

Eat you cake, but remember your teeth

Sugars are what feed the bacteria in the plaque that forms on your teeth. The bacteria then produce acid which eats away at your teeth causing cavities. That’s why the less time the acid is attacking your teeth, the less likely you are to get a cavity on those teeth. If you do eat sweets, try to eat them in one sitting rather than nibbling on candy or sipping on soda or juice all day. This minimizes the time the acid is active in your mouth. Also, just rinsing with water can dilute a lot of the sugars and wash it away.

So go ahead, enjoy your holidays and your sugary treats. Just remember to take care of your teeth also.

Please leave me comments or “like” us on facebook and say hi. If you want to make an appointment click here or you can call us at 213-385-9710.

You can also reach us by e-mail at nasiry.officemanager@gmail.com.

 Happy eating and happy holidays.

cost of dental health

How much are your teeth worth anyways? This is a question we struggle with everyday in our dental office. To some people, having healthy, beautiful teeth is worth tens of thousands of dollars. To others, getting out of pain and even getting rid of infection in their mouth is not worth even a few hundred dollars.

So how do we evaluate the price of dental health as a society? there have been a few studies on this topic. One by the Journal of Periodontology found that people with gum disease have 21% higher health care costs than people with healthy gums. The logical conclusion would be that it is attributed to the higher amount of dental care needed, but actually, dental disease and infections in the mouth can travel into the body.

These infections can cause many other, seemingly unrelated, issues in the rest of the body. For example there have been studies linking gum disease and diabetes, gum disease and heart disease even stroke and preterm births for pregnant women. That is crazy considering that going to the dentist regularly can cost less than $1000/year whereas treatment of diabetes, stroke and heart disease can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Another cost is the indirect cost of taking time off work and school. Statistics released by the Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Resource Center show that over $164 million hours of work were lost in a single year by employed people in the United States to deal with dental problems. This is costing us millions of dollars per year.

Of course, we all know the social cost of poor oral health.  For example, people with missing teeth are less likely to be hired as employers consider them less intellignet and trustworthy than candidates with good oral health.

So PLEASE, don’t just think about the bill at the dentist.  When you consider the REAL costs of poor oral health, going to the dentist is a real bargain!!

You can make an appointment by clicking here or you can call us at 213-385-9710.

You can also reach us by e-mail at nasiry.officemanager@gmail.com or just “like” us on facebook and say hi.

I am a dentist, but I TOTALLY understand that most people HATE going to the dentist.  It’s a very uncomfortable situation, painful, time-consuming and expensive.  I Really understand that it takes a huge leap of faith to let a total stranger put their hands in your mouth and poke you with sharp objects not to mention drill on your teeth while you’re totally awake.

In this world  of fast online services and instant gratification, dentistry is still one of those areas where you actually have to physically go there, sit down, talk to someone face to face and let them touch you in a very personal way.  It can be overwhelming.

I just want to let you know if you’re reading this that I appreciate the trust people put in me and I feel lucky to be in this profession.  I don’t feel entitled  and I don’t think you should listen to everything I say.  I know that you come to the dentist to resolve a problem and I want to help you get to your goal, whatever that may be.

So thanks for reading this.  I’m working on adding more pictures, videos, etc.. to make this blog more exciting.  Please let me know your feedback.

Dr. Arezoo Nasiry

1.  Did you know that each can of soda contains 9 teaspoons of sugar?  yes you read right.  That’s NINE.  A typical cup of coffee contains one or maybe two.

2.  Those sugars equal about 150 calories. To burn those calories you would need to run on the treadmill for about 30-40 minutes.

3.  By drinking just one can of soda per day, you can add about 15 pounds per year.  Over the years, this can add up fast.

4. The phosporic acid in sodas can lead to erosion and tooth decay which can then lead to fillings, crowns and even root canals.  One study found it to be as harmful as battery acid!

5. Soda is the main source of refined sugars in children’s diets.  One study has even linked it to aggressive behaviours in children.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love soda and it’s OK to get some sugar in your diet.  But if you can just replace one can of soda per day with a glass of water, you will see huge long term benefits.  It’s a small change that can greatly improve you dental and your overall health.