Philly Dentistry

Get amazing white teeth with teeth whitening and bleaching services from Philadelphia Dentistry. Have your teeth been stained by smoking or drinking coffee, or do you have yellowness due to aging?  Are you unhappy about the appearance of your teeth?

Our whitening options allow you to brighten your teeth quickly either in our office at a convenient location at 16th and Walnut Streets at our Center City Philadelphia dental office or at your convenience at home.

Check out whitening on our website here: Tooth Whitening

Call today and ask if we have any whitening specials.  We often do!

Good oral hygiene is important, not only for looks, but for general health as well. Poor oral hygiene can lead to a variety of dental and medical problems such as gum disease, infection, bone loss, heart disease, strokes and more. Regular check ups and cleanings can prevent these problems as well as provide you with good oral hygiene.

1. To Prevent Oral Cancer

According to The Oral Cancer Foundation, someone dies from oral cancer every hour of every day in the United States alone. When you have your dental cleaning, your dentist is also screening you for oral cancer.  If you wonder why Dr. Cirka is asking you to stick out your tongue and he touches it with a piece of cotton, oral cancer is what he is looking for.

Bruxism is a medical term that describes the act of grinding the teeth and clenching the jaw.

Sometimes, people grind their teeth without it causing any symptoms or problems. However, regular and persistent teeth grinding can cause pain and discomfort in your jaw and it can wear down your teeth.

Teeth grinding can also cause headaches and earache.

Read more about the symptoms of bruxism.

Most cases of teeth grinding (nearly 80%) occur subconsciously during sleep. It is usually associated with contributing factors, such as stress or anxiety (see below).

Bruxism also affects people when they are awake, although this is more likely to be clenching the teeth and jaw, rather than grinding. Most people do it subconsciously while they are concentrating.

What causes bruxism?

Bruxism almost always occurs in association with other factors. About 70% of bruxism cases that occur during sleep are thought be related to stress and anxiety.

There is also a strong association between bruxism and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). OSA is a sleep disorder where your breathing is interrupted during your sleep.

Teeth grinding can also be caused by taking certain antidepressants. Your lifestyle can also have an effect. For example, regularly drinking alcohol, smoking and using recreational drugs, such as ecstasy and cocaine, increase your risk of bruxism.

Doctors sometimes refer to teeth grinding that is caused by an underlying condition as “primary bruxism” and teeth grinding associated with a medication, condition or your lifestyle as “secondary bruxism”.

Read more about the causes of bruxism.

Treating bruxism

There are a number of possible treatments for teeth grinding but only a few have been shown to be effective.

Behavioural therapies and the use of night guards, mouth splints and mandibular advancement devices are recommended treatments for bruxism.

If you grind your teeth while you are asleep, you may need to wear a mouth guard at night to protect your teeth from further damage.

If you have an anxiety or stress-related problem, a course of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) may be recommended. CBT aims to manage your problems by changing how you think and act.

It may be possible to break the habit of teeth grinding using habit-reversal techniques.

Making some simple lifestyle changes, such as giving up smoking (if you smoke), reducing your alcohol consumption and managing stress may also help.

Call us today at (215) 568-6222 to schedule a FREE consultation with Dr. Cirka if you suffer from any of the symptoms of bruxism.  Here are Dr. Cirka’s Office we will make you a custom night guard! Call now and we can schedule you an appointment that works with your schedule.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Top Five Reasons You Should Straighten Your Teeth

Call us today at (215) 568-6222 to schedule a FREE consultation to discuss your options for straightening your teeth with Dr. Cirka.  He gets great results with InvisAlign and we can schedule you an appointment that works with your schedule.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

When someone’s teeth don’t fit their face, it’s hard not to notice. Consider the actress and singer Hilary Duff, who is often more talked about for having her horsey veneers shortened than for her celebrity status.

Poorly fitted dentures or veneers are often the culprit behind the wrong size teeth. It’s hard to believe that celebrities exhibit some of the “toothiest” grins out there – which may make you have doubts about getting your own porcelain veneers or cerinate lumineers.

Don’t be wary: There is a happy medium. You won’t come out of our Philadelphia dental office looking like Gary Busey or American Idol’s Elliot Yamin with their obvious mouthfuls of big teeth. Authenticity is the goal when you’re opting for a new smile via cosmetic dentistry.

Well-done veneers are barely noticeable – when your new smile is properly fitted and proportioned to the rest of your face, you’ll have acquaintances wondering what’s different about you. You’ll be satisfied, confident, and refreshed – they might think you lost weight or got a new hairstyle. That’s the right reaction to a new smile. Your new smile should naturally enhance your features without changing your face.

Call us today at (215) 568-6222 to talk about the aesthetic dentistry services that are right for your appearance. Contact Dr. Ken Cirka at his Philadelphia dental office to get started. We also provide an exam with Dr. Cirka and cavity detecting x-rays (which are FREE for new patients) so we can make sure that all of our patients are in the best oral and overall health.  We’ll see you soon!

Periodontal disease affects more than 80 percent of adults in the U.S. population and it may not present with any noticeable symptoms. It is a major cause of tooth loss in adults.

The disease starts when a bacteria-rich, sticky bio film called plaque builds up on teeth. If the plaque remains untreated, it will turn into calculus (tartar) that can only be removed by a dental professional. This plaque buildup eventually results in pockets, a feature caused by gums detaching from the teeth. This allows more plaque and bacteria to reach further into the tissues and cause infection. Infection may lead to more pain (often there is NO pain), swelling of the gums and damage to the gums, tooth roots and bone. The longer the disease goes untreated, the deeper the pocket will grow, and the bone that surrounds the tooth will resorb or melt and create craters, with eventual loosening of the teeth.

Symptoms of periodontal disease include:

• Red, swollen or tender gums
• Persistent bad breath
• Sore and/or bleeding gums
• Sensitive teeth
• Gums that are detaching from the teeth causing pockets
• Pain when chewing
• Loose teeth

Call us today at (215) 568-6222 to schedule a cleaning with one of our amazing hygienists.  Patients have come through our office and said that the cleaning they had here was the best of their life.  We also provide an exam with Dr. Cirka and cavity detecting x-rays (which are FREE for new patients) so we can make sure that all of our patients are in the best oral and overall health.  We’ll see you soon!

I bet every time you visit the dentist for a checkup, there’s one question you’re almost certain to hear: “Have you been flossing regularly?” For a lot of patients, the answer isn’t always yes. Many people make a point of brushing their teeth twice a day, as the American Dental Association (ADA) recommends, but fewer people follow the recommendation to floss at least once a day [source: ADA].

What many of these non-flossers don’t realize is that this step plays an important role in dental health. Unlike a toothbrush, which cleans the tops and outer surfaces of the teeth and gums, floss is an inter-dental cleaner— it’s designed specifically to clean the tight spaces between the teeth and the gap between the base of the teeth and the gums. These are places that a toothbrush can’t reach. And while antimicrobial mouthwash can kill the bacteria that form plaque, it can’t remove the stubborn tartar and bits of food that can lodge in these places [source: ADA].

An increasing body of evidence suggests that proper dental care — including regular flossing — can do more than keep your smile pretty and healthy. A healthy mouth can also help prevent much more serious diseases, some of which can be life threatening [source: CDC]. But if you’re still not convinced that you should add flossing to your daily routine, we’ve got five examples to make the case that flossing is extremely important, starting on the next page.

Call us today at (215) 568-6222 to schedule a cleaning with one of our amazing hygienists.  Patients have come through our office and said that the cleaning they had here was the best of their life.  We also provide an exam with Dr. Cirka and cavity detecting x-rays (which are FREE for new patients) so we can make sure that all of our patients are in the best oral and overall health.  We’ll see you soon!

Traditional veneers are generally thicker, and thus require more aggressive and irreversible removal of healthy tooth structure. The extensive preparation technique frequently requires shots and anesthesia to minimize sensitivity and pain, and typically involves placement of acrylic temporaries for over two weeks between visits. The minimally invasive Lumineers technique typically eliminates the need for shots or temporaries, so while you wait for your custom-made Lumineers, you’ll look great and feel great. While many dentists offer veneers, not all dentists have been trained to deliver the signature benefits of Lumineers, so make sure you consult with Dr. Cirka who is a master at Lumineers!

You can put your best smile forward in as little as an hour with our teeth whitening options. We have the ability to transform dull, dingy smiles into masterpieces. Don’t hide your smile any longer! Contact us today to schedule your teeth whitening consultation with Dr. Cirka!

With a variety of tooth whitening methods available, whitening your teeth has never been more accessible. Are you dreaming of a white smile? Before considering whitening your teeth, book an appointment for a check-up and cleaning with your dentist. Surface stains will need to be removed before whitening to achieve optimum results. Your dentist will then determine if you are a candidate for tooth whitening.

Are You a Candidate for Tooth Whitening?

Not everyone can use tooth whitening solution. Circumstances that may prevent the use of tooth whitening product are:

• Teeth that have restorations, such as Lumineers or having been bonded with white fillings, cannot be whitened with hydrogen or carbamide peroxide. These materials do not whiten past the color they were originally made. The color of these types of restorations were determined by the surrounding teeth. If the surrounding teeth are whitened, the restorations will stand out and look artificial. Replacing old or discolored restorations will allow you to change their appearance.

• Teeth that have internal staining, discoloration from developmental conditions or have been root canalled may not be affected by the typical whitening process. Internal tooth whitening or permanent restorations may be an option to consider.

• Natural tooth colors that are brown or gray in hue may not produce desired results. Typically, teeth with a yellow hue will produce the best results.

How Are Teeth Whitened?

Enamel, the first layer of tooth surface, is actually semi-translucent, or clear. The layer underneath the enamel, known as dentin, is typically yellow, but may be gray, brown or black. This hue is what is seen penetrating through the enamel. In order to whiten the dentin, a peroxide solution is placed on the enamel. This process opens the pores of the enamel, allowing the solution to reach the layer of dentin. The solution will then begin to lighten the dentin, resulting in the appearance of whiter teeth.

Several brands of tooth-whitening products are on the market that all promise one thing — noticeable results. Professional in-office whitening, professional take-home whitening and over-the-counter whitening products remain the most common ways to whiten your teeth.

It is important to have realistic expectations when evaluating your final results; it may take several treatments to achieve a whiter smile. Whitening results may not be permanent, as your teeth will naturally pick up stain from foods or beverages or from tobacco use. Remember to brush and floss daily, and visit your dentist for regular cleanings and examinations. Tooth whitening results will vary from person to person, so chose an option that will suit your specific need and budget.

You can put your best smile forward in as little as an hour with our teeth whitening options. We have the ability to transform dull, dingy smiles into masterpieces. Don’t hide your smile any longer! Contact us today to schedule your teeth whitening consultation with Dr. Cirka!