Dr. West's Boulder Dental Blog

The world of dentistry continues to advance at a rapid pace. If you have visited a Lafayette dentist in the past few years, you have probably noticed the things that make your visit more comfortable, such as the ability to watch TV or listen to music while receiving treatment. Many Boulder dentistry patients welcome oral conscious sedation to reduce or eliminate pain.

What may not be as obvious are the advances in techniques, tools and materials. Top dentists now use digital computer imaging which is safer than traditional x-rays. Dental technicians can store, retrieve and transmit digital images much easier than was possible with traditional x-ray film.

The use of lasers has also changed the face of dentistry. Laser surgery requires less anesthesia, minimizes swelling, and protects surrounding tissue. Boulder family dentists use lasers for detecting and treating cavities and dental technicians use them for the curing of restorative materials.

Another exciting development in cosmetic dentistry is the CAD-CAM technology that allows cosmetic dentists to perform restorations in a single visit. The types of procedures that can be completed in one visit include crowns, fillings, inlays, onlays and veneers.

If you need a thorough exam or want to improve your smile with cosmetic dentistry, call Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry at 303-665-5335 to schedule a consultation. During your consultation, you can see before and after photos of some of our smile makeover clients. We would love to help you achieve the smile you have always wanted, and we have the tools, experience and technology to make that happen.

Dr. Gordon West

Hello,

My name is Dr. Gordon West, and I am a dentist in the Lafayette, Colorado community.

My practice is called ‘Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry‘, and together we provide dentistry services including porcelain veneers.

If you are looking for an Lafayette Dentist, I invite you to give Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry a try. We are state-of-the-art dental care in a comfortable environment, and caring. Give us a call at 303-665-5335, or visit us on our website at http://www.BoulderCountySmiles.com.

By the way: I am a member of the The Crown Council. You can learn more about The Crown Council at their website located at http://www.CrownCouncil.com.

Top Ten Reasons To Visit Your Local Lafayette Dentist:

1. Check Up; it’s time, and this is the best way to avoid dental problems.
2. Clean Up; our dental hygienist is ready to give you a super clean smile.
3. Brush Up; if it has been a while since your last dental visit, it’s probably time to come in to learn about the new options we have for dental care.
4. Avoid pain; if you have dental pain and have been putting off a trip to the dentist, come in now. We specialize in relieving dental pain.
5. Fillings; we can find and fill all your dental cavities in almost no time at all. This will help you avoid more painful problems down the road, and helps ease some of those sensitivities to hot and cold.
6. Avoid gum disease; we can assess the health of your gums and suggest treatments or practices that are available to help you improve the health of your gums.
7. Ready for a whiter smile? We can help. We have tooth whitening options available that will brighten your smile and make your teeth whiter.
8. Tooth replacement; If you are missing a tooth, we can help restore your smile with the latest in tooth replacement technology.
9. Cosmetic dentistry is something everyone is considering to make improvements to their smile. We can help you assess the options and learn more about the possibilities of cosmetic dentistry.
10. Confidence: Nothing brings you more confidence than when you know you have a bright and beautifully healthy smile.

I’m Dr. Gordon West, and I am a dentist in the Lafayette, Colorado community. If you are ready for professional dentistry, please give our office a call.

Give us a call at 303-665-5335, or visit us on our website at http://www.BoulderCountySmiles.com.

I am a member of the The Crown Council. http://www.CrownCouncil.com

Have you ever heard the phrase ‘I’d rather have a root canal’ to describe something painful or unpleasant? At Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry, we perform root canal (endodontic) therapy routinely for our Lafayette dentistry patients and many report minimal discomfort. Root canal procedures have advanced significantly in recent years. For many root canal patients, the procedure is no worse than getting a filling from your dental professional.

At Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry, our goal is to help our Longmont, Louisville, and Broomfield root canal patients avoid the necessity of  endodontic treatment by providing skilled dental care. However, if root canal therapy is necessary to preserve a tooth for one of our root canal patients, we provide the most advanced dental care.

How do you know if you need a root canal? See Dr. Gordon West immediately if you experience tenderness or pain, hot or cold sensitivity, tooth discoloration, tooth injury, gum swelling, gum pain, or lymph node tenderness or drainage. However, for some patients, there are no symptoms. That is why it is crucial to visit your local dentist regularly for a thorough dental examination.

Call Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry, at 303-665-5335 to schedule an appointment.

Center for Advanced Dental Care

Maintaining healthy teeth is an important concern for our local Boulder residents. As your dentist, it’s my job to help you understand how to care for your teeth and to keep them healthy.

Everyone in the Boulder knows that maintaining healthy teeth requires regular daily brushing and flossing. Regular visits to your local Boulder dental practice is also necessary to keep watch for cavities and to help you maintain proper dental hygiene. We often forget that maintaining a healthy diet can also be beneficial for the health of your teeth.

A diet that includes foods that help your muscles and bones will also help you develop healthy gums and healthy teeth. Examples of local foods to include in your diet include foods rich in vitamin B such as breads and cereals. Foods rich in vitamin C, usually fruits and vegetables, help improve the health of your gums. Zinc and magnesium are also good for the health of your teeth and are found in foods like lean beef, fish, and poultry.

All foods increase the production of saliva. Saliva is important to healthy teeth because it helps to maintain the pH balance in your mouth. Maintaining this balance helps keep your teeth and gums healthy. Foods high in fiber also encourage saliva production as does the chewing of sugar-free gum. Gum, however, can damage unhealthy teeth or pull out dental fillings, so always use caution when deciding whether to chew gum and which brand to chew.

Just as certain diet choices can be beneficial to the health of your teeth, others can be detrimental. Foods and drinks that are high in sugars are more likely to form the acids that attack your teeth and result in decay. And while table sugar is often associated with the formation of cavities, other sugars such as glucose, fructose, and maltose are also causes, and are often found in juices and sodas. Limiting the consumption of sugars to mealtimes lessens the amount of time your healthy teeth are exposed.

Making good diet choices and limiting between meal sugar consumption can improve the health of your teeth and gums.

If you would like to learn how to better care for your healthy teeth in the Boulder area, contact Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry at 303-665-5335. We would love to hear from you.

-Dr. Gordon West

Colorado is known for its beautiful smiles, and our local Lafayette community is no exception. Keeping your teeth clean is an important factor in maintaining your beautiful Lafayette smile. One of the benefits of regularly visiting your local Lafayette Colorado dentist is a thorough teeth cleaning and a review of your brushing habits.

Our Lafayette dental hygienist helps you keep your teeth clean by assessing the condition of your teeth, and recommending improvements to your daily teeth cleaning habits. Our Lafayette oral hygienist can also professionally clean and polish your teeth at your regular Lafayette dental check up. You should schedule a regular dental check up every six months.

I am Dr. Gordon West DDS, and I work at Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry located in the state of Colorado. We specialize in cosmetic dentistry in the Lafayette Colorado community, including the surrounding areas of Longmont and Louisville.

Cleaning your teeth in Colorado is the simple task of removing plaque (a sticky deposit that gets left on teeth in which bacteria thrives) and tartar (a calcium deposit that forms on teeth and aids in tooth decay). This is done by brushing regularly with a toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste, and flossing. Brushing and flossing at least twice each day can keep plaque and tartar from building up on your teeth and results in cleaner, healthier teeth. A regular visit to your local Lafayette dental hygienist will help you stay on top of problems that can go unseen.

The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends visiting your local Lafayette, Colorado dentist at least once every 6 months for a regular dental check up and teeth cleaning. These regular visits to your Colorado dentist potentially prevent the undetected development of problems that can occur from neglecting to clean your teeth.

To keep that beautiful Lafayette Colorado smile in good shape, come in for a dental check up and teeth cleaning.

Call Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry in Lafayette Colorado to make an appointment. You can reach us right now at 303-665-5335.

Dr. Gordon West

Are you one of the many Lafayette TMJ sufferers? If you are affected by Temporomandibular joint or TMJ disorder, you know how the pain and discomfort can impact your life. Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry TMJ treatment in the Boulder area has helped countless grateful Lafayette TMJ patients manage their TMJ disorder.

The Temporomandibular or jaw joint connects the lower jaw bone to the skull. Symptoms of TMJ disorder include jaw and facial pain, headaches, earaches, neck pain and chewing difficulty. TMJ disease is often associated with jaw clicking, locking or clenching, and can cause tooth damage and bone loss.

Many Longmont, Louisville and Broomfield TMJ patients first sought a possible TMJ diagnosis after trying unsuccessfully to relieve their frequent headaches. Since opening Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry in 1998, we have discovered that many people do not realize they have TMJ disorder because it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly what is causing the pain. A Colorado TMJ specialist can properly diagnose your specific TMJ issues and recommend an effective course of action.

Because a comprehensive treatment plan is most successful, we work hand-in-hand with a network of Boulder TMJ specialists including ENT doctors, neurologists and physical therapists. There are many facets to this often misunderstood disorder. If you are suffering from jaw pain, we recommend a consultation with Dr. Gordon West at Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry in Lafayette.

Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry

1140 West S. Boulder Rd, Suite 201

Lafayette, Colorado 80026

303-665-5335

At Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry, we take jaw pain seriously.

Hi, I’m dentist Dr. Gordon West, DDS. Most every day, I can be found at my Lafayette area dental office treating dental patients with tooth and gum problems or helping patients prevent them. There are many common medical conditions that pose a risk to oral health.

1) Lafayette diabetes patients with high blood glucose often have a higher risk of dental issues. If you have diabetes, let’s talk. My number is 303-665-5335.

2) A persistent dry mouth due to an inadequate amount of saliva can accelerate tooth decay, cause or contribute to gum disease, and trigger chronic bad breath. Many medications used by thousands of Longmont and Louisville folks, including those for high-blood pressure and depression, cause dry mouth. This side effect is not only unpleasant, it is dangerous. Anti-depressants (especially SSRI’s) and anti-psychotic drugs can also trigger tooth-grinding (bruxism).

3) Acid reflux in children and adults is associated with a host of dental problems such as decay and periodontal disease.

I help many Colorado dental patients prevent problems associated with medical conditions that sometimes seem unrelated to dental health. Regular professional dental care is essential for oral health, and an important part of your overall physical health.

http://www.BoulderCountySmiles.com

For years, the American Academy of Pediatrics advised Boulder parents to begin children’s dentist visits before the third birthday. The AAP now advises parents to take their toddler to a Colorado dentist before their first birthday, or about six months after their first tooth appears.

Why? Prevention, prevention, prevention! Sadly, Longmont dentists find advanced tooth decay in very young children.

High-risk children should be seen as early as possible. Following are some of the risk factors:

• Sleeping with a bottle
• Drinking juice continually during the day
• Abnormal tooth development
• Thumb sucking
• Tooth grinding
• A mother with significant tooth decay
• Other health problems

To talk to us about pediatric dentistry, call 303-665-5335. Dr. Gordon West at Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry can advise you on your next steps for your pediatric dentistry. We also pamper busy Lafayette parents who come to Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry for general and cosmetic dentistry. If you are between the ages of 25 and 75, we would love to provide you with the most advanced dental care in Lafayette.

Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry
1140 West S. Boulder Rd, Suite 201
Lafayette , Colorado 80026

http://www.BoulderCountySmiles.com

303-665-5335

Our most popular procedure is porcelain veneers, and many of our patient may not know that we offer dental implants.

When a tooth is threatened by severe decay, periodontal disease, or damage from an injury, a skilled Lafayette dentist or endodontist must make a judgment call concerning the course of treatment. If the pulp of the tooth is infected or inflamed, a root canal is often the only way to save the tooth.

Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry: 303-665-5335

During a root canal procedure (or endodontic treatment) the soft tissue in the root of the tooth is removed. This tissue contains veins, arteries and lymph vessels. Once the roots are cleaned out and widened, they are filled with a special rubber material. The root canal is only the first step in the complete tooth restoration. After the root canal, without a crown, the tooth will become dry and brittle. The final steps are the core build up and crown.

At Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry, we fabricate strong, natural-looking crowns that blend perfectly with the surrounding teeth. With proper oral hygiene and regular visits to a Boulder dentist, a tooth with a filled root can often function problem-free for the rest of a patient’s life.

I am dentist Dr. Gordon West. I have been practicing dentistry since 1998. During that time I have seen hundreds of teeth saved by this effective dental procedure. Root canal therapy at Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry in Lafayette has a very high success rate.

Because teeth with infected pulp tissue often cause no symptoms, it is important to have regular dental examinations. I can determine which (if any) teeth have infected roots. If the infection in the soft pulp tissue is left untreated, it can progress to a point where the tooth cannot be saved. Is it time for a thorough dental exam? Call our office at 303-665-5335.

Call Gordon West DDS, Cosmetic & General Dentistry immediately if one of your teeth is screaming for attention!