Here’s how it works:

• Jaw and Muscle Balance: The goal is to align your jaw in a way that allows your muscles to relax and work properly. This can help relieve discomfort like jaw pain, headaches, and even neck pain, which often come from muscle strain or jaw misalignment.
• TMJ (Jaw Joint) Health: We also focus on improving the function of your TMJ, the joint that connects your jaw to your skull. If this joint is misaligned, it can lead to issues like clicking, pain, or difficulty opening your mouth.
• Jaw Position: We use advanced tools to measure how your jaw and muscles are functioning and work to find the best position for your jaw that will reduce stress on your muscles and joints. This position can help improve your bite, making it easier to chew and speak comfortably.

Benefits:

• Pain Relief: Many patients find relief from jaw pain, headaches, and neck tension once their jaw and muscles are properly aligned.
• Improved Function: Aligning your jaw and teeth not only improves your smile but also makes chewing, speaking, and breathing more efficient.
• Better Bite: A more balanced jaw position helps to correct bite issues like overbites, underbites, or crossbites.

Who Can Benefit:

• People who have jaw pain, headaches, or TMJ issues.
• Those with bite problems (such as overbites or underbites) that don’t get fully corrected with traditional braces.
• Patients who have had previous orthodontic treatment but still feel discomfort in their jaw or teeth.

In short, neuromuscular orthodontics helps us treat not just your teeth but the whole system of muscles and joints, ensuring that everything works together smoothly and comfortably. It’s a great option if you’re dealing with pain or discomfort related to your bite or jaw. Let us solve your problems in Northern NJ’s Morris County.

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Focus on Calcium for Strong Enamel

Calcium is essential for strong tooth enamel, which acts as a protective barrier against decay. A diet rich in calcium helps to maintain the strength and structure of your teeth over time. Dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt are excellent sources of calcium, as are leafy greens such as kale and spinach. If you’re plant-based, many fortified foods like almond milk and cereals can provide the calcium you need to support strong teeth.

Get Enough Vitamin D

Vitamin D is key to helping your body absorb calcium. Without it, the calcium you consume can’t be used effectively, and your bones and teeth may not be as strong as they should be. Sunlight is the best source of vitamin D, but it’s also found in fatty fish like salmon and mackerel, as well as in eggs and fortified foods like milk and orange juice. Ensuring you get enough vitamin D will help your body make the most of the calcium in your diet.

Include Phosphorus-Rich Foods for Tooth Health

Phosphorus works in harmony with calcium to help build strong teeth. It also plays a role in balancing the pH levels in your mouth, reducing the risk of tooth decay. Foods like lean meats, fish, and poultry provide ample phosphorus, as do nuts, seeds, and legumes like beans and lentils. Adding these to your diet ensures that your teeth are getting the nutrients they need to stay healthy and strong.

Choose Crunchy, Fiber-Rich Foods

Fruits and vegetables with high fiber content are not only good for your overall health but also help keep your teeth clean. Crunchy foods like apples, carrots, and celery scrub your teeth naturally as you chew, removing food particles and plaque. Additionally, fiber-rich foods stimulate saliva production, which helps protect your enamel by neutralizing acids in the mouth. Including these foods in your daily routine provides a simple, natural way to maintain your oral health.

Stay Hydrated for Healthy Teeth

Water is essential for your overall health—and it’s just as important for your teeth. Drinking plenty of water throughout the day helps wash away food particles and neutralize acids that can damage enamel. Hydrating also supports saliva production, which is critical for neutralizing bacteria and keeping your mouth clean. Drinking water after meals is a great way to rinse away lingering food and help maintain a healthy mouth.

Limit Sugary and Acidic Foods

Sugar feeds harmful bacteria in your mouth, which can lead to plaque buildup, cavities, and other dental problems. Acidic foods, such as citrus fruits and soda, can erode tooth enamel if consumed in excess. While it’s okay to enjoy these foods occasionally, it’s important to limit their intake and drink plenty of water afterward to help neutralize acids and rinse away any sugar. Reducing sugary snacks and acidic drinks will go a long way in protecting your teeth from decay.

Drink Green Tea for Its Antioxidant Benefits

Green tea is a powerhouse for oral health. Packed with antioxidants, it can help reduce harmful bacteria in your mouth and lower the risk of gum disease. Additionally, green tea contains fluoride, which helps strengthen tooth enamel. Drinking a cup or two of unsweetened green tea each day can be a simple and effective way to support your teeth and gums.

Hydrate for Healthy Saliva Flow

Saliva is essential for keeping your mouth healthy. It helps wash away food particles, neutralize acids, and protect your teeth from harmful bacteria. Staying hydrated ensures that your body produces enough saliva to keep your mouth clean and your teeth safe from decay. Make it a habit to drink water throughout the day to support healthy saliva production and overall oral health.

At Aesthetic Family Dentistry in Denville, New Jersey, we’re dedicated to helping you achieve optimal oral health through healthy habits. By nourishing your teeth with the right foods and avoiding those that can harm them, you’re setting yourself up for a lifetime of strong, beautiful smiles. If you have any questions about how diet impacts your dental health, or if you’d like to schedule a checkup, don’t hesitate to contact us!

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1. Isolating the Treatment Area: Using rubber dams to prevent mercury particles from entering the mouth.
2. High-Volume Suction: Capturing mercury vapor and particles during the removal process.
3. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Ensuring both patient and dental team wear masks, gloves, and eye protection.
4. Air Filtration: Using air filters to reduce mercury vapor in the office.
5. Minimizing Heat: Cooling amalgam to limit mercury vapor release.

These practices protect both patients and dental professionals from mercury exposure.

Why Replacing Amalgam Fillings is Important

There are several reasons why replacing amalgam fillings is considered beneficial:

1. Mercury Exposure: Although generally safe, some people prefer to avoid any mercury exposure, especially those with sensitivities or existing health conditions.
2. Aesthetic Concerns: Amalgam fillings are noticeable, especially in visible areas. Tooth-colored alternatives offer a more natural appearance.
3. Tooth Integrity: Over time, amalgam fillings can weaken the tooth, causing cracks or further decay.
4. Environmental Concerns: Mercury is toxic to the environment, and replacing amalgam helps reduce waste.
5. Biological Dentistry: Biological dentists prioritize materials that are non-toxic and biocompatible, such as composite resins, porcelain, or biocompatible glass ionomers. These alternatives not only enhance aesthetics but also support overall health by minimizing the risk of adverse reactions.

In summary, replacing amalgam fillings with safer, more aesthetically pleasing, and biocompatible materials offers both health and environmental benefits, with SMART certification ensuring a safe removal process.

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New Doctor welcomed to the AFDPA team…

The staff at AFDPA would like to introduce Dr. Joelle Hirschfeld to our practice. She started with us in July and we are more than excited for the skills and knowledge she will be bringing to our practice. We would like to take this opportunity to provide some background on Dr. Joelle Hirschfeld as the newest addition to AFDPA.

Dr. Hirschfeld was raised in Randolph, NJ. She attended The Pennsylvania State University where she graduated with honors and a Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience. She continued on to Tufts University School of Dental Medicine where she earned her Doctorate of Dental Medicine. While at Tufts, she served as a tutor and TA for many courses, traveled to the Dominican Republic for a dental service trip, and started the Tufts Chapter of Children’s Miracle Network Dance Marathon. Dr. Hirschfeld also received awards in operative dentistry and special needs dentistry.

Following dental school, Dr. Hirschfeld completed a General Practice Residency at Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, NJ. During her very busy hospital-based residency program, she treated hundreds of patients for their general dentistry needs as well as dental implants, oral surgical procedures, pediatric dentistry, root canals, esthetic procedures, and oral pathology needs. She had extensive training in management and treatment of patients with severe dental and facial trauma in the emergency room as well as clearance for medical and surgical procedures. She also spent a lot of time in the operating room treating patients with special needs as well as facial trauma surgeries. Dr. Hirschfeld loves to learn and is committed to continue advancing her training through continued education each year in order to provide her patients with the best possible care.

Dr. Hirschfeld is an active member of the American Dental Association, American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, Academy of General Dentistry, and New Jersey Dental Association. She also plans to join staff at Morristown Medical Center. 

In her free time, Dr. Hirschfeld enjoys working out, checking out the best places to eat, snowboarding, and spending time with her friends and family. Dr. Hirschfeld loves what she does and looks forward to taking care of your dental and overall health!

Graduate of Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, DMD, 2018

Memberships: American Dental Association, American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, Academy of General Dentistry, New Jersey Dental Association

Post Graduate Training: 

Continuing education on dental photography, laser training, esthetic dentistry

Past Experience:

Completed General Practice Residency at Morristown Medical Center, NJ.

Community Service:

Give Kids a Smile, Community Health Day, Global Service trip to Dominican Republic

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Apparently, one in five American adults will suffer mild sleep apnea at some point in their lives. It affects men more than women and heavier people more than slimmer people. If you smoke, drink, have an unhealthy lifestyle or have allergies that affect the nose, you are more likely to suffer from the condition.

Risks of sleep apnea

There are a range of health risks associated with sleep apnea. They include:

• Higher rate of mortality through cardiovascular disease.
• Doubled risk of stroke or heart attack.
• Heightened risk of congestive heart failure.
• Poor overall health.

We know that during a sleep apnea event, you stop breathing and the oxygen levels in your blood drops significantly. This causes your brain to wake you to restore breathing and increase oxygen intake. Part of this process is the constriction of blood vessels, which increases blood pressure and the pressure placed on the heart.

Usually, blood pressure drops anything up to twenty percent during sleep. With sleep apnea, it can increase by the same amount. This then causes generally high blood pressure, which puts severe pressure on the heart and can lead to stroke or heart attack.

Effective treatment for sleep apnea

While we don’t mean to scare you with this article, we really need you to understand the severity of sleep apnea. Too many Americans just ignore the condition and this will not help. The quicker you receive treatment, the quicker we can address the condition and lower pressure on your heart.

There are a couple of effective treatments for sleep apnea. They include lifestyle changes as well as devices such as the CPAP machine or oral devices to help keep your tongue and jaw aligned during sleep.

Lifestyle changes include stopping smoking, losing weight, drinking less and exercising more. The CPAP, or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, device is a very effective treatment for sleep apnea. It is a breathing apparatus with a mouthpiece that maintains positive pressure and prevents your airways from closing. It is a very effective treatment for sleep apnea.

Oral devices called mandibular advancement devices (MAD) can include an aligner type appliance that positions the tongue and jaw comfortably during sleep. It prevents the tongue moving back and blocking your airway and aligns the jaw to help maintain position.

There are surgeries available to treat sleep apnea but these are only ever considered as a last resort.

Aesthetic Family Dentistry offers very effective treatments for sleep apnea. Don’t delay, make an appointment today for a consultation.

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Ozone therapy is applied using a specific medical device designed for dental use. It can apply medical ozone directly to bacteria and has been proven to kill 99 percent of bacteria with just a 1minute dose. It requires no surgery, no medication and no special preparation, offering amazing benefits to dental patients.

Ozone therapy can:

1. Eliminate 99 percent of all bacteria in the mouth.
2. Disinfect the tooth beneath the enamel without surgery.
3. Prepare the site for root canal therapy.
4. Ensure faster, more effective recovery after dental surgery.

The benefits of ozone therapy in dentistry

As you may already know, ozone occurs naturally in the atmosphere and we inhale low concentrations of it with every breath. Dental ozone is many times more concentrated and specially prepared for medical use. It is applied by a specific device that can target a specific area of the mouth, deliver the ozone and suck it back into the machine.

This process delivers a fast, clean method of eradicating bacteria from the mouth. A process that requires no special preparation, no anesthetic, no medication and has no known side effects. That’s why we are so excited about its use in dentistry.

Ozone therapy for cavities

Ozone therapy can remove bacteria from within a tooth which can in some cases, avoid the need for drilling and filling. It can also disinfect the site for other dental surgery, drastically reducing the risk of infection and speeding up recovery time. It is a very effective tool in the dentist’s arsenal and one that is gaining popularity steadily.

Ozone therapy for root canal

Another significant benefit of ozone therapy in dentistry is for root canal therapy. Ozone therapy is used to clean the site of the root canal before filling the space. By removing as much of the bacteria as possible, we prepare the mouth as best we can for a rapid recovery with the minimum risk of infection.

Given the speed and voracity of bacteria growth, any help we can provide the body in fighting bacteria can have long-lasting health benefits.

Ozone therapy can also be used for preventive treatment, such as when adult teeth appear in children or to help cleaning fissures before applying dental sealant. Other applications will no doubt be developed as ozone therapy matures and evolves as such treatments do.

If you think you may benefit from ozone therapy or would like to know more about its advantages, contact Aesthetic Family Dentistry today to schedule a consultation.

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So how does ozone help in periodontal therapy?

Ozone is unique in that it is a naturally occurring gas that has some amazing properties. It can kill bacteria, viruses, spirochetes and effectively disinfect an area. What makes it more impressive is that it targets harmful bacteria while leaving beneficial bacteria alone. So this natural gas targets pathogens that would harm us while leaving the bacteria we need alone!

Benefits of ozone use in dentistry:

• An ozone liquid rinse acts as both pre and post-treatment disinfectant
• Ozone gas can treat a wide range of oral health challenges
• It is perfectly safe to use by qualified clinicians
• Ozone only targets harmful pathogens and leaves healthy bacteria alone
• The effects of ozone therapy can last for years
• Ozone offers non-invasive treatments for a range of oral health conditions

Ozone and periodontal therapy

Periodontal disease is caused by harmful pathogens finding their way into the mouth and replicating. These pathogens cause infection, inflammation and can harm our teeth and bone. Left untreated, periodontal disease can cause tooth loss, gum recession and other complications. There is also increasing evidence that it has far-reaching implications to our overall health too.

Ozone gas is the primary tool in periodontal therapy. It is administered directly to carious dentin, dentinal tubules and periodontal pockets to disinfect the area and kill the harmful pathogens that cause disease. This gas can access parts of the tooth that liquids or other non-invasive treatments cannot reach.

The use of ozone in dentistry has enhanced the effectiveness of many treatments significantly. It is perfectly safe, occurs naturally in the atmosphere, does not pollute and has no known side effects. As far as treatments go, it is almost perfect. It also makes it ideal for our holistic approach to dentistry. It is non-invasive, works in harmony with the body’s natural processes and complements our existing defenses. That’s partly why we like it so much!

If you’re looking for a dentist qualified and experience to offer ozone therapy, contact Aesthetic Family Dentistry for a consultation. We are here to help!

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Here at Aesthetic Family Dentistry, we use medical ozone to treat a range of conditions and herpetic lesions are one of them.

Herpetic lesions

Herpetic lesions are the manifestation of the virus on the surface of the skin, commonly called cold sores or fever blisters. They often appear around the mouth or on the lip and usually last around ten days. They are caused by the herpes simplex virus that is passed through contact with infected food, drink, utensils or bodily contact.

While there is a negative connotation to having the herpes virus, the vast majority of adults across the world have it to one degree or other. It is not purely a sexually transmitted disease. There are two variants of herpes, HSV1 (Herpes Simplex Virus 1) which causes herpetic lesions and HSV2 (Herpes Simplex Virus 2) which is genital herpes. The majority of American adults have HSV1, the version we are talking about here.

The virus enters the body through a break in the skin or through the mouth. The virus hides within our cells, which is why it is so difficult to treat using conventional medicine. No current medicine or procedure has been able to tackle the virus without damaging the cell within which the virus hides, until now.

Ozone treatment for herpetic lesions

Ozone treatment has proved itself very effective at treating a range of oral conditions and helps in some interesting ways. As well as cleaning out root canals or removing tooth decay, medical ozone has also proven its worth in tackling herpetic lesions.

Ozone has powerful antiviral properties which makes it a very effective medical tool. One such virus it is effective at tackling is HSV1. Administered into the body, the ozone assists the immune system by destroying harmful viruses and bacteria, even when the virus hides inside a cell.

One of the most impressive things about ozone therapy is that it is complementary in nature. Ozone only targets ‘bad’ bacteria and does not harm healthy cells. As we have evolved around ozone in the atmosphere, we have learned to tolerate it and work with it, just like oxygen and nitrogen. This is why ozone therapy is so effective. Because it is a completely natural element that has some pretty impressive abilities!

Aesthetic Family Dentistry offers ozone therapy to tackle herpetic lesions as part of our service offering. If you’re interested in getting rid of cold sores for good, contact us today to schedule a consultation.

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First let us cover how and why gum recession is a problem and then move on to what we can do about it.

Gum recession

Receding gums are a product of aging and lifestyle. Our gums recede naturally as we age but this process can be accelerated by habits such as smoking, having tongue or lip piercings, grinding your teeth or even something as simple as not brushing your teeth properly.

The causes may be many but the risks are the same. Gum recession is a problem because it exposes the root of the tooth. This increases the risk of tooth decay, periodontal disease, sensitivity and other complications. Healthy gums protect the teeth, which is why gum disease is such an issue.

Until the Chao Pinhole Surgical Technique, the procedure to repair gum recession involved soft tissue grafts. This is a very involved, invasive procedure that worked very well. It was also complicated and often required considerable recovery time. It wasn’t without discomfort either.

Chao Pinhole Surgical Technique

The Chao Pinhole Surgical Technique changes everything. Rather than having to perform soft tissue grafts and suture them in place, the Pinhole Surgical Technique uses a needle to make a tiny incision into the gum. We then perform the entire procedure from within this small pinhole.

So rather than multiple grafts above each tooth with sutures across the gum line, we can perform an equally effective procedure with one or two single needle marks. As you can imagine, this has huge benefits for patients. No more invasive surgery, no more grafts, no sutures and no extended recovery time. Rather than having to wait weeks to heal fully, you could be fully recovered and back at work the same or next day!

The technique is proving itself very effective so you are not compromising the treatment in favor of a simpler procedure either. All studies show that the Pinhole Surgical Technique is as effective with long term results, if not more so, than traditional skin graft techniques.

Our very own Dr. Steiner is qualified to offer the Pinhole Surgical Technique which is why Aesthetic Family Dentistry now offers it. As holistic dentists, we are extremely happy to be able to replace an invasive procedure with a much simpler one that needs less surgery and much less recovery.

Contact Aesthetic Family Dentistry today if you would like to take advantage of this latest gum recession treatment. Call us at 973-627-3617 to schedule a consultation.

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