Certain relationship experts say that it is a good idea to “never go to bed angry,” but that’s hard to do if one of you snores like a freight train. Your partner needs his or her beauty sleep and won’t feel very intimate and cuddly if you keep them up every single night with window-rattling snores.

Of course you don’t snore on purpose, but if you don’t want your spouse packing their bags and sleeping in the guest room (or kicking you to the couch), then you need to take control of your snoring issues. Your dentist may be able to create a custom mouth appliance do just that. Available in a wide variety of styles and function levels, there is a custom mouth appliance for snoring that will meet your individual needs and keep your jaw pushed forward during the night. This will keep your airway open and allow you to breathe without “sawing logs.”

Then you and your partner can enjoy sweet dreams and a happier relationship! 

If you have been suffering with painful or missing teeth for some time, then it could be a big relief to finally start the process of getting partial dentures from your dentist. The process of creating dentures may require more time than you originally anticipated. For example, your dentist may need to bring you in to extract any remaining teeth and then take impressions of your gums. These impressions will go off to a dental laboratory like SML Global, so that a customized pair of dentures can be created just for you.

You may think that your tongue and lips are the only body parts responsible for clear, crisp sounding words, but that is not the case. Since the holidays are coming up, you may hear the funny song, All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth. The joke is that the child singing the song can’t pronounce the word “Christmas,” because he or she has no front teeth.

In fact, teeth are vital to speech and speech patterns. As you speak, try to notice how your tongue moves against your teeth to form certain words, including “th” sounds. In fact, without your teeth, it would be very difficult to say the word “teeth”!

One of the benefits of investing in cosmetic dentistry is that it can help you maintain clear speech patterns. Your speech patterns may also be skewed if your teeth are crooked or you are missing teeth. If you feel your teeth (or lack of teeth) are affecting your speech pattern, make an appointment with your local dentist or orthodontist.  

Faithfully wearing a dental appliance can be tricky for your adult patients, much less your youngest ones. As you know, children don’t have the longest attention span or the greatest tolerance for following rules for retainer and/or appliance wear.

How can you help increase compliance? Try turning compliance into a game -- complete with rewards. Your game can take on different characteristics, but you’ll definitely need to recruit parents to help.

Ask parents to keep track of each day the child wears the appliance (correctly) as directed. When the child reaches a certain amount of successful days, you give them a prize. It may be something simple, like adding their picture to a special “superstar board” in your office or even a token of appreciation like a small toy.

Track compliance to see if it improves. And don’t forget to insist on the best quality appliance – make sure your dentist’s pediatric dental lab of choice is SML. 

If you need to maintain a patient’s arch length, consider the effective and simple Lingual Arch U/L, one of our most popular arch length appliances. The Lingual Arch is a simple retainer that does a fantastic job of preventing mesial and lingual tipping of the molars while maintaining arch length for your patient.

This retainer can be manufactured in a number of ways, though the most popular design is to have an arch wire soldered to two bands.   

When a patient complains of jaw pain, headaches, tooth pain or stiff jaw, one potential cause is bruxism -- more commonly known as teeth grinding. Since many patients grind their teeth unconsciously in their sleep, it behooves the dentist to carefully monitor the condition of a patient’s teeth, supporting tissues, TM joints, and mastication muscles to determine whether bruxism is the reason for your patient’s complaints.

Should you discover evidence of bruxism, it’s time to start considering solutions. In some cases, a custom dental splint can help. While a splint won’t stop the episodes of bruxism, it can distribute the considerable grinding pressure among the teeth, helping to reduce specific damage and alleviate jaw pain. Another option? Fabricate a custom mouth guard to protect the patient’s teeth.

Comprised of quality labs all across the globe, SML (Space Maintainers Laboratories) can create a custom dental splint or mouth guard that will bring relief to your bruxing patients. Call us!

Sure, these days most children with crooked teeth are quickly put into braces, but that wasn’t always the case. If you’re an adult with crooked teeth considering dental treatment braces, don’t let your fears or feelings get in the way. You are far from alone!

Attention Dentists: your patients’ privacy is important. You need to ensure that you keep their records and information safe, both at your office and whenever you transfer information. This is true when you send patient files, x-rays, and diagnostic notes to your preferred dental lab.

Have you ever asked your dental lab how they treat your patient information…or what security protocols they have in place? At SML (Space Maintainers Laboratories), we are dedicated to safeguarding your patient data and adhering to all HIPAA regulations.

That is why we’ve implemented a secure, HIPAA-compliant, password protected portal -- the SML Digital Portal -- that all our clients use to transmit data. Through this portal, dentists can submit their patient files -- and our trained consultants can offer assistance with patient consultations, diagnoses, treatment planning, and care presentations.

If your dental lab doesn’t take online data security seriously, consider switching to SML.  

Ready to do something about your crooked teeth?  Your orthodontist is the one to see. Today, you have more braces options than ever, including traditional metal braces, less visible clear braces, and even Invisalign trays. If you’ve never had braces before, you might assume that once the braces come off, your teeth will be permanently straight forever.

Well, not exactly. While braces do a great job of moving your teeth into an optimal position, your teeth don’t always want to stay there. They don’t just stop moving once you get them in the right place. In fact, it’s very common for teeth to begin shifting back to their old positions after the braces come off.  That’s why your orthodontist will almost certainly direct you to wear a custom dental retainer to keep reminding your teeth where they belong. Some you may wear all day long initially, some only at night, some just a little of both to do the trick.

Custom dental retainers – although not as great as wearing no retainer at all – will help you keep your perfect smile for life. 

If your teeth are generally crooked, chances are that your dentist is going to refer you to an orthodontist, but what happens if only one or two teeth are out of alignment? For smaller jobs, your dentist may recommend using a retainer. If a few teeth need to move back, the metal bar on the retainer can apply consistent pressure on the teeth to bring them back in line. If you have one or two teeth that need to move forward, a mini-screw appliance is a better option. This type of appliance looks similar to a typical retainer, but mini-screws in back of the device press behind individual teeth to slowly push them forward.

Whether you think that you need a retainer or a mini-screw appliance, it is best to speak with your dentist first about what you want to accomplish. Give your dentist a call today to learn more.