General Dentistry

On the surface, your oral health and your weight may not seem very connected. However, there are some correlations between poor oral health and weight gain. Your health can come under siege if certain types of bacteria found in the mouth travel to other parts of the body. Among these various health concerns is unintended weight gain. Austin Dental Spa provides a slew of services including laser dentistry and advanced periodontal care, two services that can go a long way […]

As part of Austin Dental Spa’s video series, Dr. Mark Sweeney provides another educational session focused on the link between oral health and memory loss. During the video segment, Dr. Sweeney talks about how the connection between your mouth and memory can impact overall brain function. The first link he explains is the act of chewing. Referencing a study, Dr. Sweeney says nerves beneath your tooth are connected to the brain and can help stimulate neural activity. If someone has […]

At Austin Dental Spa, Dr. Mark Sweeney truly believes that dentistry can go a long way in improving the lives of patients. As part of Dr. Sweeney’s ongoing video series, he recently provided an entry that details three ways your dentistry can improve your life. Those three ways included using Zoom!^® teeth whitening, single-visit dental crowns by CEREC^®, and a smile design or smile makeover. Continue reading to learn how those three techniques can improve your life. Zoom! Advanced Power: […]

Many have wondered whether getting your wisdom teeth removed is an absolute necessity. The answer is not as simple as “Yes” or “No.” For those who have the room for the extra teeth, no, removing these teeth is likely not necessary. However, for those who do not have the room for more teeth in their mouth, the development of wisdom teeth can cause overcrowding, discomfort, pain, and the need for extraction. Our cosmetic dentist at Austin Dental Spa, Dr. Mark […]

Dental X-rays allow your dentist to evaluate the health of your teeth and jaw, as well as detect any changes in the positioning of your teeth or bite. The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends that adults with an increased risk of cavities get X-rays every six months to a year. For those with minimal risk of decay, such as those who have never had a cavity, the ADA advises they may be able to wait as long as two to […]

We all know that brushing our teeth is essential for maintaining good oral health, but did you know the type of toothbrush you use is important too? Our cosmetic dentist, Dr. Mark Sweeney, talks about the benefits of using an electric toothbrush versus a manual toothbrush in the video below. Video Image Placeholder For more information, or to schedule your routine checkup with Dr. Sweeney or Dr. Slagter, contact our office!

Wisdom teeth that are impacted, meaning that they do not erupt, can be discomforting over time. Many people with impacted wisdom teeth find themselves at their dentist’s office by mid-twenties with complaints of pain and discomfort. In addition, impacted wisdom teeth can crowd surrounding teeth, offsetting your bite. Finally, it is not too uncommon for wisdom teeth to become infected over time.  In fact, infections can become serious so it’s important to address wisdom tooth pain right away. It is […]

DR. MARK SWEENEY: I did my last silver filling, metal amalgam filling in 1995 and it opened up a whole new era in dentistry for me to be able to restore a tooth so that when I was done, it looked just like a regular tooth again. I don’t know how I lived with myself all those years of putting big metal fillings. I had them in my own mouth for 25 years, but what we understand now although that […]

DR. MARK SWEENEY: Another exciting innovation in dentistry is dental implants. I was initially a little worried about them back 20 years ago when they first came out. They were a little Star Warsy for me. Now it’s something that we do everyday of the week. It’s a fairly straight forward thing to take a person with a missing tooth, have an implant placed and then put a restoration over that implant. It looks just like a natural tooth. Dental […]

DR. MARK SWEENEY: Even on back teeth we can use all ceramic restorations now. There’s really very little need for metal to be involved in dentistry anymore. We almost everyday are making crowns to go on back chewing teeth, on the molars that are all ceramic restorations. The advantage then over porcelain to metal is rather than being cemented into place, they’re actually chemically bonded into place and they’re much more natural looking because they transmit light very similar to […]