Total Dental Solutions Blog

Stop dreaming of a strong, gorgeous grin and take the first step to making it a reality by visiting George A. Hoop, DDS for a full-mouth reconstruction!
We offer a wide range of restorative dentistry treatments at both of our locations in Fort Myers, FL and North Naples, FL. No matter how bad your current situation is, we can improve it.
Check out this short video with Dr. Hoop to hear a little about full-mouth reconstruction.
See if a full-mouth reconstruction is a good option for you by visiting George A. Hoop, DDS for a consultation. Call (239) 594-8817 or use our online form.

To avoid the mistakes you may have made that led to losing your teeth in the first place, you should learn the various steps you should take to make your replacement teeth last as long as possible. To get high-quality dentures and learn how to properly care for them so they will stay strong and beautiful for many years to come, call George A. Hoop, DDS today at (239) 594-8817!
We can provide custom dentures options at either our North Naples, FL dentist office or Fort Myers, FL dentist office. Regardless of which location you book an appointment with us at, you’ll be treated to professional, compassionate care.
Because every patient has unique oral health issues and smile goals, we offer a broad selection of restorative dentistry treatments to suit each person’s needs.
We accept many payment options for your convenience and open our doors at 8:00 a.m. every weekday so you can book a visit before you need to be at work.
Whether you need to replace several adjacent teeth with a partial denture or you are in need full arch dentures in your upper and lower jaw for a full-mouth reconstruction, we can provide a sneak peek of what your repaired smile will look like. You’ll know precisely what you have to look forward to!
We also want to do everything we can to help you protect your restored smile, so we will help you understand all the best practices for maintaining it. Read on below for some general guidelines for caring for dentures.

Learn The Best Practices For Maintaining Your Dentures

You may have lost your teeth for any number of reasons. For example, you could have experienced a traumatic accident and severely damaged many or all of your teeth – teeth that you took great care of but lost anyway. Accidents can be unavoidable, but you can still do everything you can to take care of your replacement teeth.
As anyone who has them can tell you, caring for dentures is very different from maintaining natural teeth (unless you have dental implant dentures, that is). But don’t worry – if you get traditional dentures from George A. Hoop, DDS, we will do all we can to educate you on how to properly care for your replacement teeth so they’ll last as long as possible.
We’ll answer any questions you have and discuss how to care for dentures, but here are few things you should do if you have dentures:

• Remove your dentures and carefully rinse them with water to get rid of food particles after you eat
• Be very gentle with your dentures when handling them to avoid warping the plastic or otherwise damaging them
• Gently but thoroughly clean your whole mouth (tongue, cheeks, gums, and roof of your mouth) with a soft-bristled toothbrush after removing dentures
• While you sleep, soak your dentures overnight in a special, non-abrasive cleanser to remove harmful particles and re-moisten your dentures (be sure to thoroughly rinse away all the cleanser before putting your dentures back in)
• If your dentures require denture adhesive, brush it all away from the grooves before putting them back in your mouth
• Maintain regular dental cleanings and exams with your dentist to check that your dentures are in good shape and fitting properly and your oral health is good
• Visit your dentist as soon as possible if you notice your dentures are not fitting properly (ill-fitting dentures can lead to sores, gum health issues, and other oral health problems, not to mention problems with slipping or falling out)

There are also various precautions you can take when handling your fragile dentures to prevent damaging them. For example, while cleaning your dentures or handling them for any other reason, you could put a soft towel on the flat surface of your sink and fill the basin with water. That way, if you do drop them, they will have a more forgiving landing and may not break.
Getting dentures should be a pain-free process. To ensure the procedure is comfortable from start to finish, we offer various comfort options for patients.
When making your dentures, we will take precise impressions of your mouth to ensure they are made to exacting specifications. We can also make your dentures to a specific shade of white so you can get the bright smile you’ve always wanted to have.
To take the first step toward a full set of teeth, book a dentures consultation at George A. Hoop, DDS, call (239) 594-8817 or use our handy online form.

If you are experiencing problems with your jaw, visit George A. Hoop, DDS for an evaluation and find out if a TMJ treatment could help.
We offer custom solutions for problems related to TMJ issues at our North Naples, FL dentist office and our Fort Myers, FL dentist office.
To get some idea of whether or not you are showing symptoms of a TMJ disorder, take this short quiz.
Don’t let jaw problems affect your quality of life – call George A. Hoop, DDS at (239) 594-8817 to book a TMJ treatment consultation. You can also use our online form.

If you want to dramatically improve the look of your chompers with a single treatment, visit George A. Hoop, DDS to learn about the three types of dental veneers we offer.
Whether you come to our Fort Myers, FL dentist office or North Naples, FL dentist office, we can treat you to cosmetic dentistry solutions.
To learn more about dental veneers and what they can be used for, check out this short video with Dr. Hoop.
To book a dental veneers consultation with us, call George A. Hoop, DDS at (239) 594-8817. You can also use our online form.

When you lose multiple teeth or even just one, it can often feel like a compromise when you are considering your options to replace them. If you’d like to get the closest thing to your natural teeth in look and function, call George A. Hoop, DDS at (239) 594-8817 to schedule a consultation for dental implants.
Whether you visit us at our North Naples, FL dentist office or our Fort Myers, FL dentist office, we can place and restore dental implants with a variety of restoration options, including:

• Dental crowns, which give you back individual teeth that have been lost or are damaged beyond repair
• Fixed dental bridges, which span the hole in your smile left by multiple, adjacent missing teeth
• Dentures, which replace all the teeth in your upper or lower jaw or both for a full-mouth reconstruction

Along with standard-sized dental implants, we also offer mini dental implants that work in the same way but are much smaller. If you’ve ever been told by another dentist that your jawbone is not strong, thick, or dense enough for dental implants, visit us to see if mini dental implants could work for you!
Compared to other treatments for replacing teeth, dental implants offer many perks, because they are:

• Strong: you can regain the majority of your natural chewing power – as much as 90 percent
• Convincing: your replacement teeth will be indistinguishable from your natural chompers in look, function, and feel
• Long-lasting: if you care for your dental implants properly, they can last many years or even the rest of your life

Unlike traditional dental bridges, dental implants can also be placed without requiring any preparation of healthy teeth that you want to keep.
And because dental implants literally fuse with your jawbone, they provide a sturdy foundation for your replacement teeth. This process, known as “osseointegration,” also helps to prevent jawbone deterioration, which will help you maintain your youthful look and avoid a “sunken in” appearance that often occurs with traditional dentures.
Dr. Hoop has over two and a half decades of providing dental implants, so you can rest assured that we’ll provide a great service if you want dental implants!

Learn About The Accident That Gave Us Dental Implants

Dental implants are such a huge part of modern dentistry that it’s easy to assume they came as a result of careful experimentation and intentional inquiry.
Well, to be fair, the discovery that led to dental implants did result from rigorous scientific experimentation, but they were an unintentional result of an unrelated investigation.
In 1952, a Swedish man named Dr. Per-Ingvar Brånemark and his team of researchers were conducting tests to examine the effect that blood flow has on bone healing. In order to observe this process, they encased small optical devices in titanium, then inserted these instruments into the leg bones of rabbits.
When the time came to remove these devices from the rabbits’ legs and see what had occurred, Dr. Brånemark and his team found that the leg bone had actually healed around the titanium.
Rather than being frustrated by this development, Dr. Brånemark was curious about what had occurred and decided to investigate further. Not only did he realize that titanium was biocompatible (safe for insertion in living organisms), he also found that this phenomenon of bone healing around titanium occurred in humans as well.
In the mid-1960’s, Dr. Brånemark placed four dental implants and attached a full arch of replacement teeth in a patient that had no teeth in his lower jaw. The operation was so successful that the man kept his dental implant restorations for four decades until he passed away.
Needless to say, dental implants have come a long way in the half-century or so since Dr. Brånemark did his first procedure, but the principle generally remains the same.
We are so confident that you will be pleased with our dental implants options that we provide free consultations. We’ll answer any questions you have and help you understand the options that you can consider.
If you do decide to get dental implants, we’ll thoroughly explain the process so you will know precisely what to expect.
To make the procedure as comfortable as possible, we provide various amenities to relax you. We even offer dental sedation options to help relieve dental anxiety if you wish.
Find out if dental implants are a good solution for your dental troubles by calling George A. Hoop, DDS at (239) 594-8817. You can also use our online form to book a consultation.