As an orthodontist in Los Angeles, Dr. David Alpan specializes in correcting malocclusion (crooked teeth) to improve patients’ smiles and increase their confidence. Straightening crooked teeth can also help improve other aspects of your oral health, including excessive tooth wear from habitually grinding your teeth. Known as bruxism, habitual teeth grinding is often a sign of an imbalanced bite, which can occur when your teeth aren’t perfectly aligned. In some instances, the condition may require extensive measures to correct a congenitally uneven jawbone. Often, correcting the alignment of a patient’s teeth can help create a more comfortable resting position for the jaw, eliminating the disturbance that often leads to grinding teeth. Continue reading Los Angeles Orthodontist: Bruxism’s Relationship with Malocclusion
How to Diagnose and Treat TMJ Disorder (TMD)
Your temporomandibular joints, or TMJs, are the small joints that connect the mandible (lower jaw) to the temporal bones in your skull, located just in front of each ear. The two joints work together to move the lower jaw as you bite, chew, yawn, speak, and swallow. When these joints are exposed to excessive pressure, they can become damaged, leading to a wide range of pains and sometimes difficulty moving the jaw. The jaw dysfunction encompasses a wide range of aches and pains, and diagnosis may be difficult because of the diversity of TMJ disorder’s symptoms. Luckily, your Beverly Hills orthodontist, Dr. David Alpan, is highly-skilled and specially-trained to diagnosis and treat TMJ disorder, and has helped many patients find relief from the condition. Continue reading How to Diagnose and Treat TMJ Disorder (TMD)
Los Angeles Orthodontist Answers Questions About TMJs
What to Know About TMJ Disorder
Most crooked teeth are inherently visible when patients smile, their unevenness disturbing what should be a perfectly balanced arrangement of teeth. However, not all of the effects of malocclusion (crooked teeth) involve visual appearance. When left untreated, a disproportionate bite can prove devastating by forcing the components of a patient’s mouth to absorb more pressure than they were designed to withstand. Often, it can lead to debilitating discomfort in the form of TMJ disorder, which describes damaged, inflamed, and/or misaligned jaw joints. As a dedicated orthodontist in Los Angeles, Dr. David Alpan has helped many patients find TMJ relief by correcting malocclusion, and by educating patients about the jaw dysfunction.
What does TMJ stand for?
TMJs are the temporomandibular joints that connect the lower jaw, or mandible, to the temporal bones in the skull. Located in front of each ear, TMJs move in tandem as the jaw opens and closes, and rely on proper balance to repeatedly absorb bite pressure without sustaining damage. Continue reading Los Angeles Orthodontist Answers Questions About TMJs
Beverly Hills Orthodontist Helps You Assess the Cost of Braces
One of the most common questions concerning braces is how much the treatment will cost. As a dedicated orthodontist in Beverly Hills, Dr. David Alpan provides a variety of high quality affordable orthodontic treatments to all of our patients. Correcting your bite’s alignment (occlusion) is an ongoing process, and our mission is to help ensure that you receive the treatment you need while keeping your overall cost manageable.
Determining Immediate & Long-Term Costs
At Alpan Orthodontics, the first cost associated with orthodontic treatment is free. During your free orthodontic consultation, Dr. Alpan will thoroughly inspect your face and the alignment of your teeth and jaw, including your jaw’s joints. Continue reading Beverly Hills Orthodontist Helps You Assess the Cost of Braces
Beverly Hills Orthodontist Discuss Prevention with Children’s Braces
The purpose of orthodontic treatment is to address the misalignment of your teeth and bite, which can seriously inhibit your mouth’s proper function and, in severe cases, negatively affect the symmetry of your facial features. When occlusal problems are detected early, while your child’s oral structures are still growing, early orthodontic treatment may lessen or prevent the need for treatment at an older age. Malocclusion, or bite misalignment, can occur in various ways and for a number of different reasons, and your Beverly Hills orthodontist, Dr. David Alpan, is specially trained to diagnose and treat occlusal complications at any age. Today, we explain how early orthodontic issues can blossom into bigger trouble if not treated, and how children’s braces are designed to prevent that from happening.
The Importance of Symmetry
Prevention, early detection, and early treatment are dominant factors in all areas of good dental health. For instance, preventing tooth decay and gum disease can help you avoid the need to restore dental damage caused by the infections. Likewise, correcting a child’s incorrectly-growing bite at an early age can help place that child’s smile on the path to permanent proper alignment. Continue reading Beverly Hills Orthodontist Discuss Prevention with Children’s Braces
L.A. Orthodontist: Two of Oral Health’s Biggest Enemies
Protecting your oral health requires a good general understanding of what could trouble it, and how to prevent or defeat these issues before they significantly damage your oral tissues. As an orthodontist in Los Angeles, Dr. David Alpan takes time to properly educate patients about specific oral health issues, as well as discussing their viable treatment options to determine the best course of action. Today, we examine two of the most notorious threats to your smile’s wellbeing, which can be found among the plethora of oral bacteria that consistently inhabit your mouth.
The Cavity Germ
One of the most infamous mouth microbes is the bacterium Streptococcus mutans, which significantly contributes to dental plaque formation. Though sticky dental plaque can feel annoying, S. mutans real danger to your oral health lies in its ability to convert sugar and other carbs into acid, which weakens your enamel and depletes your teeth of minerals. After a while, this acid can irreversibly damage your enamel and allow bacteria to infect your tooth, causing tooth decay and small holes (cavities) to form. Continue reading L.A. Orthodontist: Two of Oral Health’s Biggest Enemies
Los Angeles Orthodontist Introduces Accelerated Orthodontics
In our efforts to provide our patients with comfortable and effective orthodontic treatment, Dr. David Alpan offers a wide range of options designed to address your personal needs and goals. For instance, tooth-colored brackets and wires, lingual braces, and Invisalign clear braces offer discrete alternatives to traditional orthodontics. Now, we’re also proud to introduce new options for accelerated orthodontics, available from your Los Angeles orthodontist.
SoftPulse™ Technology with AcceleDent
AcceleDent is a small, easy-to-use device that utilizes SoftPulse™ technology to move your teeth faster through the guidance of your orthodontic treatment. AcceleDent applies precisely calibrated micropulses that allow for faster bone remodeling, and has been proven to accelerate conventional orthodontic treatment and make it more comfortable. The mouthpiece fits around existing orthodontics, and by wearing the activator for only 20 minutes a day, AcceleDent can move your teeth up to 30-40% faster. Continue reading Los Angeles Orthodontist Introduces Accelerated Orthodontics
Los Angeles Orthodontist Explains the Nature of Dental Plaque
Dental plaque is always a threat, but when you wear braces, controlling the nuisance takes on a new importance. As the source of most dental health issues, plaque is created by masses of bacteria that, while native to your oral cavity, can pose a serious threat when allowed to grow out of control. Typically, a few moments spent brushing and flossing your teeth at least twice a day is your main defense against plaque. However, if you’re undergoing orthodontic treatment, then you must take special care to clean bacterial plaque from between the brackets, wires, and your teeth. Today, your Los Angeles orthodontist, Dr. David Alpan, takes a close look at why plaque is dangerous, and offers advice for maintaining effective dental hygiene while wearing braces.
Big Problems in Small Packages
Tooth decay, gum disease, chronic bad breath, and other oral health complications often result from oral bacteria’s biological processes. For instance, some mouth germs turn sugar into acid through metabolization, and the acid depletes the enamel around your teeth, leaving them vulnerable to tooth decay-causing bacteria. Other germs can incite inflammation in your gums and cause them to pull away from your teeth, leading to gum disease and possible tooth loss. When allowed to gather in force, these microbes form plaque to protect them from your mouth’s natural defenses, like saliva. Continue reading Los Angeles Orthodontist Explains the Nature of Dental Plaque
L.A. Orthodontist—What You Probably Don’t Know About Your Teeth
As a dedicated orthodontist in Los Angeles, Dr. David Alpan specializes in an interesting aspect of your teeth—their orientation, position, and contribution to your bite’s balance. Aside from remaining clean and disease-free, healthy teeth also have to be aligned properly to displace your bite’s pressure. However, maintaining your smile’s harmony is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to your teeth’s abilities. Today, we explore a few interesting facts that you may not know about your teeth, and what makes them such a formidable part of your anatomy.
Did You Know?
- Your tooth is comprised of three layers; enamel (on the outside), dentin (the main structure), and pulp (inner chamber that houses the nerves and blood vessels). The enamel that protects your teeth is the strongest substance that your body produces. Continue reading L.A. Orthodontist—What You Probably Don’t Know About Your Teeth
When Tooth Extraction Can Save Your Smile, with Your L.A. Orthodontist
While losing a healthy tooth is typically a disastrous experience for your oral health, sometimes a tooth must go for the greater good of your smile. As Dr. David Alpan explains, most preferable dental treatments should focus on preserving as much healthy tooth tissue as possible; however, if a crooked, damaged, or severely diseased tooth interferes with your good dental health, then extraction may be the only solution. Today, your Los Angeles orthodontist describes when tooth extraction is the only viable option, and how it can serve your smile’s best interests.
Only When it’s Necessary
Wisdom teeth—the last four molars to erupt in a healthy adult mouth—are usually the only teeth that can be extracted without negatively affecting your oral health and function. In fact, impacted wisdom teeth often cause crowding, push existing teeth out of alignment, and disturb your smile’s delicate symmetry. Similarly, a severely crooked, diseased, or damaged tooth may interfere with your orthodontic treatment and require removal to make room for other teeth. Continue reading When Tooth Extraction Can Save Your Smile, with Your L.A. Orthodontist