Brandon FL Dental Blog

With cosmetic dentistry, Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS creates brilliant smiles for patients. We use cosmetic dentistry every day to create fabulous new smiles for our patients. We call this a “smile makeover.” What exactly does it entail?

A smile makeover means using the techniques of cosmetic dentistry to make positive changes to your smile. Possible techniques might include:

• Teeth whitening
• Porcelain veneers
• Bonding
• Gum contouring
• Dental implants

A beautiful smile is the sum of its parts. With your input, we do a smile analysis to evaluate your smile. Our goal is to bring the teeth, skeletal structures, and muscles into harmony. It’s a complicated endeavor, requiring an understanding of how all of these components relate to one another.

Any one of the the techniques listed above will go a long way toward transforming your smile. Two or more can leave you with the smile of your dreams.

Located in Valrico near Riverview and Brandon FL, Five Star Dental Care offers a wide variety of cosmetic and restorative dental care, including dental implants and sedation dentistry.  Talk to us about your goals for your smile. We look forward to designing a custom treatment plan to transform your smile. Call today!

Contact Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS:

813-653-2273

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

3203 Lithia Pinecrest Rd
Valrico, Florida
33596

There is no doubt about it – it is harder to keep your teeth clean if you wear braces. It’s unfortunate (and ironic) when brace wearers develop tooth decay and weaken their teeth while they’re actually trying to improve their smile with braces. The team at Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS in Valrico wants to discuss how to keep your mouth healthy while you’re wearing braces.

The brackets and wires on traditional metal braces create hard to reach places where harmful bacteria can thrive. If brace wearers don’t pay continual and careful attention to oral hygiene, their teeth can be permanently damaged. The cycle of decay goes like this:

1. Food particles are trapped in the tiny spaces in and around the wires.
2. The bacteria in the food particles multiply.
3. The bacteria creates plaque.
4. The plaque erodes the enamel.
5.  Cavities form.

Teeth are not the only thing at risk here, orthodontic patients can also develop gum disease (gingivitis) which can progress quickly into periodontitis and eventual bone recession and tooth loss.

Bottom line: orthodontic patients need to be vigilant about a healthy diet and good oral hygiene.

Most brace wearers know that they should avoid sticky, sugary foods that stick to their braces, but some don’t realize that any carbohydrate-based food turns into sugar. Thus, a cracker can be just as bad for your teeth as a piece of candy if the particles are not removed.

Here are the steps to effective brushing while wearing braces:

1. Remove any rubber bands you might have before brushing.
2. Using a fluoride toothpaste and a soft toothbrush. Gently brush along the gum line where the gums and teeth meet, using a small circular motion on each tooth.
3. Spend about 10 seconds on each tooth before moving onto the next tooth, brushing in a set pattern so that you don’t miss any teeth.
4. Gently brush the braces. Press your toothbrush firmly enough so that the bristles spread into the gaps between the wire and the tooth. Brush in and around all of the brackets and wires. Make sure you brush under the wires.
5. Brush both the inside and the outside surfaces of your teeth using a gentle circular motion on each tooth.
6. For the chewing surfaces, use a firm back and forth motion.
7. Spit out excess paste, then check your teeth and braces in the mirror to check that they are clean and shiny.
8. Replace your rubber bands (if you’re in that phase of treatment.).
9. After brushing, rinse with a fluoride mouthwash for 1 minute to help prevent cavities and white spots.

If you’re looking for a beautiful smile, call Five Star Dental Care, serving the Brandon, FL area including Tampa, Valrico, Plant City, Seffner, Lithia, and Riverview FL. Five Star Dental Care offers a wide variety of cosmetic and restorative dental care.

Contact Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS:

813-653-2273

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

3203 Lithia Pinecrest Rd
Valrico, Florida
33596

The team at Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS in Valrico wants to discuss dental veneers. Porcelain veneers can transform your every-day ok smile into a magical one.

Have you ever wished your dentist could glue new pearly white covers on your existing teeth as quick and easy as you paint a wall in your house? Guess what? With porcelain veneers, it’s possible. Porcelain veneers are wafer-thin tooth-shaped fronts that are permanently affixed to your natural teeth.

Unlike a crown procedure, our team doesn’t need to remove tooth structure to place the restoration.

We will use veneers alone and in combination with other cosmetic dental procedures in complete smile makeovers. Because they can correct cosmetic tooth misalignment in one visit, veneers are sometimes called instant orthodontics.

Do veneers look like natural teeth?
Skilled dental lab artists create porcelain veneers with the color, reflective properties, and translucency of natural teeth: perfect natural teeth, that is. In addition, porcelain veneers can be fabricated in any size or shape.

Are veneers strong?
Porcelain veneers are fabricated out of extremely durable material. If you have questions about whether a veneer or dental crown is the best choice for you, talk to our team.  We will consider the size and condition of the tooth and its position in the mouth.

How long do veneers last?
Some smile makeover patients have veneers they received over 15 years ago. (And they still look incredible!) If properly cared for, veneers can last as long as dental crowns.

Are porcelain veneers affordable?
Porcelain veneers are often less expensive than crowns and orthodontia. For questions about the cost of porcelain veneers, call our office.

Located in Valrico near Riverview and Brandon FL, Five Star Dental Care offers a wide variety of cosmetic and restorative dental care, including dental implants and sedation dentistry.  Talk to us about your goals for your smile. We look forward to designing a custom treatment plan to transform your smile. Call today!

Contact Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS:

813-653-2273

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

3203 Lithia Pinecrest Rd
Valrico, Florida
33596

Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS in Valrico offers helpful tips about toothbrushes. How often should your replace your toothbrush?

The angle of the bristles on your toothbrush are an important part of cleaning. Straight bristles scrub your teeth and flex your gums. A light circular motion is enough to clean your teeth without causing damage.

Flat or frayed bristles, from well-used brushes, are less efficient and can even cause you to work harder. Pressing harder on your teeth can cause damage.

Anyone who has worried about changing the oil in their car has learned this basic rule of thumb; change your oil every three months. It’s the same with your toothbrush.

We recommend you replace your brush every 3 months. Replace it sooner if you’ve had a cold or flu.

The reasons to replace your toothbrush includes worn bristles and bacteria. Worn bristles, as we have discussed, are less effective.

Bacteria can also built up in the small gaps of your toothbrush and may contribute to decay and bad breath. Make sure you keep your toothbrush in a sanitary location. Allow for good drying to help extend its life.

Regardless of how long it’s been, if the bristles on your toothbrush look like they’re trying to get away from each other, it’s time. Otherwise, change your toothbrush at the start of every new Florida season to keep it fresh and effective.

If you’re looking for a beautiful smile, call Five Star Dental Care, serving the Brandon, FL area including Tampa, Valrico, Plant City, Seffner, Lithia, and Riverview FL. Five Star Dental Care offers a wide variety of cosmetic and restorative dental care.

Contact Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS:

813-653-2273

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

3203 Lithia Pinecrest Rd
Valrico, Florida
33596

The most common times people brush their teeth are morning and night – either before or after breakfast, after dinner, or at bedtime. Common concerns that come with this routine involve hiccups in the schedule, from family life, shift work or exhaustion. At Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS , we’ve seen this many times.

Many families face irregular weeknight routines. As the school year progresses, some have games to attend, band concerts, play practice, youth groups or other weeknight commitments. An irregular schedule typically disrupts regular dental maintenance. We see patients who are adjusting to irregularities in sleep patterns. This leads to exhaustion and often sleep takes priority over consistent brushing – either morning or night.

The most important time to be sure to brush is after eating sugar or carb-intensive foods. These foods kickstart bacteria growth on the teeth.

Highly acidic foods weaken the enamel, so it is best to swish with water immediately after consuming acidic foods to curtail the acid. Then brush about 30 minutes later when the mouth is less acidic. The fluoride in toothpaste helps remineralize the enamel.

We encourage you to stay on top of your dental hygiene routine – and if it’s changed, call us and we’ll help you get back on the right track.

Located in Valrico near Riverview and Brandon FL, Five Star Dental Care offers a wide variety of cosmetic and restorative dental care, including dental implants and sedation dentistry.  Talk to us about your goals for your smile. We look forward to designing a custom treatment plan to transform your smile. Call today!

Contact Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS:

813-331-5230

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

3203 Lithia Pinecrest Rd
Valrico, Florida
33596

Have you lost teeth? It’s a lot different than when you lost your baby teeth way back in the day. Unfortunately, these don’t grow back. (And a gap-toothed smile doesn’t look as adorable as it did when you were in elementary school.) At Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS in Valrico, we can help your missing tooth problem.

If you have had teeth extracted or if your teeth are compromised by staining, decay, chipping, or brittle aging, then it’s time to visit us.

When it comes to the prospect of losing your adult teeth, the preference is always to preserve your natural teeth. If this is not possible, we offer several ways to maintain your ability to eat, drink, speak, laugh, and smile in selfies.

Dental Veneers

If you still have your teeth, but are not satisfied with them, these might be your solution. Stunning porcelain veneers offer an affordable approach to cosmetic adjustments—uneven color, size, or shape. We will bond these very thin shells to the front of the teeth. They enhance unsightly, but structurally sound teeth.

Dental Bridge

A dental bridge is used where a tooth is missing. It “bridges” a gap between teeth. It is a restoration with a false tooth (or teeth) attached to the surrounding teeth. Dental bridges have been used with success for generations of dental patients who have lost teeth for various reasons.

Dental Implant

A dental implant is a more extensive replacement for a missing tooth. An implant consists of an artificial tooth PLUS an artificial root (usually biocompatible titanium). With local anesthesia, we will insert the artificial root into the jaw bone where it integrates with the bone tissue. There are three parts to a dental implant: the artificial root, the connecting abutment, and the final crown or denture. An implant is often the optimal restoration as it offers beauty, strength, natural function, and protection from bone recession that often transpires at the site of a missing tooth.

Dentures

Dentures are a removable plate holding artificial teeth. These are custom and can contain varying numbers of teeth. Modern dentistry offers many dental implant-denture combinations to restore missing teeth.

Don’t worry about losing your grip on the adult teeth you’ve been enjoying all these years. We have experience and training in many important services to meet your dental needs including root canals, sedation dentistry, teeth whitening, and dental crowns.

If you want to learn about the possibilities for your smile, call Five Star Dental Care, serving the Brandon, FL area including Tampa, Valrico, Plant City, Seffner, Lithia, and Riverview FL. Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS offers a wide variety of cosmetic and restorative dental care. Your consultation will include a customized treatment plan for restoring teeth, an outline of the cost of desired services and a schedule for completing the work. Come with questions and leave with answers.

Contact Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS:

813-653-2273

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

3203 Lithia Pinecrest Rd
Valrico, Florida
33596

Hi! Welcome to the Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS dental blog where we take the time to answer dental questions. Today we are focusing on fabulous veneers, which are used extensively in cosmetic dentistry.

Dental veneers (also called laminates) are custom made to permanently cover the front part of one or more teeth. Wafer-thin, super-strong veneers can fix a host of tooth problems including:

1. Chips
2. Cracks
3. Stains
4. Teeth that are misshapen
5. Teeth that are too short
6. Teeth that are misaligned
7. Gaps between teeth

To create perfect-fitting veneers, your dentist will first create a model of your teeth. The next step is for an expert dental lab tech to fabricate your custom veneers. In some veneer procedures, a small amount of the enamel from the face of the tooth has to be removed. Today’s veneer process leaves most of your healthy tooth structure.

Located in Valrico near Riverview and Brandon FL, Five Star Dental Care offers a wide variety of cosmetic and restorative dental care, including dental implants and sedation dentistry.  Talk to us about your goals for your smile. We look forward to designing a custom treatment plan to transform your smile. Call today!

Contact Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS:

813-653-2273

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

3203 Lithia Pinecrest Rd
Valrico, Florida
33596

If you have missing spaces in your smile due to decay, injury or any other reason, there is hope. If your existing teeth are stained, decayed, or chipped, there is hope. If your teeth have always been misshapen, or crooked, there is hope. Cosmetic dentistry can fix all of those problems.

The team at Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS has the expertise to handle the toughest cosmetic dental problems. Since 1996, we have restored and improved smiles with advanced cosmetic dentistry.

Regardless of the problem, it is usually preferable to retain your natural teeth. If this is not viable, and you have already lost teeth, we offer numerous ways for you to preserve (or regain) your ability to eat, drink, speak, laugh, and smile with confidence.

Dental Veneers
If you still have your teeth, but are not comfortable with them, these might be the best answer. Stunning porcelain veneers offer a relatively affordable approach to cosmetic adjustments – uneven color, size, or shape. These are very thin shells bonded to the front of the teeth. They improve unsightly, but structurally sound teeth.

Dental Implant
A dental implant is a tooth replacement that consists of an artificial tooth PLUS an artificial root (usually biocompatible titanium). With local anesthesia, the artificial root is actually inserted into the jaw bone where it integrates with the bone tissue. There are three parts to a dental implant: the artificial root, the connecting abutment, and the final crown or denture.

A dental implant is often the most appropriate restoration as it offers beauty, strength, natural function, and protection from bone recession that often take places at the site of a missing tooth.

Dentures
Most Valrico residents have heard of dentures: a plate holding artificial teeth that can be removed for cleaning. These are individually-constructed and can contain varying numbers of teeth. Sometimes the entire set of upper and lower teeth have to be pulled and a denture created. Modern dentistry offers a myriad of custom dental implant-denture combinations to restore missing teeth.

If you’re looking for a beautiful smile, call Five Star Dental Care, serving the Brandon, FL area including Tampa, Valrico, Plant City, Seffner, Lithia, and Riverview FL. Five Star Dental Care offers a wide variety of cosmetic and restorative dental care.

Contact Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS:

813-653-2273

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

3203 Lithia Pinecrest Rd
Valrico, Florida
33596

At Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS in Valrico we love to talk about teeth. Here are 15 things you might not have known about teeth.

1. Children’s teeth are soft until about age 10.
2. A tooth with a crown can get a cavity.
3. Your gum tissue is as important as your teeth.
4. Some prescription medication can increase your risk of cavities.
5. Some home faucet water filters remove fluoride.
6. 19% of little ones between the ages of 2 and 19 have untreated cavities.
7. Heartburn can be harmful for teeth.
8. Allergies can cause tooth grinding.
9. Dried fruit is just as damaging for teeth as sticky candy.
10. Tooth enamel cannot repair itself, though dentin and cementum (the substances that surrounds the tooth root) are capable of partial regeneration.
11. A Harvard-led team used low-powered lasers to activate stem cells and stimulate the growth of teeth in rats and human dental tissue in a lab. 1
12. There are about 300 types of bacteria in your mouth.
13. Chewing sugarless gum after meals can help remove food particles on your teeth. You still need to brush, but if you can’t brush immediately after meals, sugarless gum can help keep your teeth clean.
14. Cavities often don’t cause pain until they have reached the root and nerve of the tooth. Visit your dentist regularly to prevent cavities or at least to detect them when they are small.
15. Bone recession can cause tooth loss even if no decay is present.

We hope you have found today’s post interesting and perhaps even learned something new about your amazing teeth and some of the lesser-known risk factors for decay.

Located in Valrico near Riverview and Brandon FL, Five Star Dental Care offers a wide variety of cosmetic and restorative dental care, including dental implants and sedation dentistry.  Talk to us about your goals for your smile. We look forward to designing a custom treatment plan to transform your smile. Call today!

Contact Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS:

813-331-5230

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

3203 Lithia Pinecrest Rd
Valrico, Florida
33596

Many Valrico, Riverview and Brandon FL residents are enjoying the lasting benefits of aesthetic, or cosmetic, dentistry from Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS.

A stunning smile not only looks great, it makes you feel great!

When you first look in the mirror in the morning while brushing those gleaming babies, you remember; “Oh yeah, I fixed my teeth and they look incredible!”

When you smile, you are happy to show off your new beautiful grin. You feel poised and self-confident.

Most Common Cosmetic Treatments

• Veneers are glass-like, wafer-thin covers that adhere to teeth. Porcelain veneers are sturdy and have the look of natural teeth. They correct chips, stains and misaligned teeth that do not require orthodontics.
• Crowns correct more extensive tooth troubles. They are used in a variety of situations such as the final restoration following a root canal or to restore teeth damaged by decay or injury.
• Dental implants are often the best option to replace a missing tooth. They are the most effective smile restoration option for a gap.
• Professional tooth whitening is the least invasive and fastest way to brighten your smile several shades. We offer both in office and at home tooth whitening treatments.

If you’re looking for a beautiful smile, call Five Star Dental Care, serving the Brandon, FL area including Tampa, Valrico, Plant City, Seffner, Lithia, and Riverview FL. Five Star Dental Care offers a wide variety of cosmetic and restorative dental care.

Contact Five Star Dental Care – Jeff Bynum, DDS:

813-653-2273

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

3203 Lithia Pinecrest Rd
Valrico, Florida
33596