Ashley Graham has a beautiful and valuable smile—an important asset to her bustling career as a plus-size model and television host. But she recently revealed on Instagram a “confrontation” between one of her teeth and a frozen oatmeal cookie. The cookie won.

Holding her hand over her mouth during the video until the last moment, Graham explained how she sneaked a cookie from her mom's freezer and took a bite of the frozen treat. Taking her hand from her mouth, she revealed her broken tooth.

Okay, maybe it wasn't an actual tooth that was broken: the denticle in question appeared to have been previously altered to accommodate a porcelain veneer or crown. But whatever was once there wasn't there anymore.

Although her smile was restored without too much fuss, Graham's experience is still a cautionary tale for anyone with dental work (and kudos to her for being a good sport and sharing it). Although dental work in general is quite durable, it is not immune to damage. Biting down on something hard, even as delicious as one of mom's frozen oatmeal cookies, could run you the risk of popping off a veneer or loosening a crown.

To paraphrase an old saying: Take care of your dental work, and it will take care of you. Don't use your teeth in ways that put your dental work at risk, tempting as it may be given your mouth's mechanical capabilities.

 Even so, it's unwise—both for dental work and for natural teeth—to use your teeth and jaws for tasks like cracking nuts or prying open containers. You should also avoid biting into foods or substances with hard textures like ice or a rock-hard cookie from the freezer, especially if you have veneers or other cosmetic improvements.

It's equally important to clean your mouth daily, and undergo professional cleanings at least twice a year. That might not seem so important at first since disease-causing organisms won't infect your dental work's nonliving materials. But infection can wreak havoc on natural tissues like gums, remaining teeth or underlying bone that together often support dental enhancements. Losing that support could lead to losing your dental work.

And it's always a good idea to have dental work, particularly dentures, checked regularly. Conditions in the mouth can change, sometimes without you noticing them, so periodic examinations by a trained dental provider could prevent or treat a problem before it adversely affects your dental work.

We're glad Ashley Graham's trademark smile wasn't permanently harmed by that frozen cookie, and yours probably wouldn't be either in a similar situation. But don't take any chances, and follow these common sense tips for protecting your dental work.

If you would like more information on care and maintenance of cosmetic dental work, please contact us or schedule a consultation. To learn more, read the Dear Doctor magazine articles “Porcelain Veneers: Strength & Beauty as Never Before” and “Dental Implant Maintenance.”

Getting a new implant tooth in only one day sounds too good to be true. But it's true—up to a point. Whether or not you can undergo an immediate crown replacement (attaching a crown to an implant right after surgery) will depend mostly on the underlying bone.

Traditionally, an implant crown isn't attached until several weeks after surgery to allow bone cells to grow and adhere to an implant's titanium surface (osseointegration). The gums are sutured back in place to protect the metal implant until it develops a durable hold within the bone. But this also leaves you with a noticeable missing tooth gap during the integration period.

A “tooth in a day” procedure gives you a full smile right after implant surgery. There is one catch, though—this first crown will be temporary and it won't be able to receive biting pressure.

Until the bone and implant fully integrate, attaching a full-sized permanent crown can damage the implant. To avoid this, the initial crown is slightly shorter than the future permanent crown. This prevents it from contacting solidly with teeth on the other jaw while biting or chewing, which can generate enough force to potentially damage the implant.

If you undergo an immediate-load crown on your implant, you'll have to return later for the full-length permanent crown. In the meantime, though, you'll avoid the embarrassment of a missing tooth in your smile.

With that said, the target bone must be healthy and intact for you to undergo a “tooth in a day” procedure. That isn't always the case with missing teeth—over time, bone volume can gradually diminish. The subsequent loss can complicate implant placement, which must be exact to achieve the most natural outcome. If extensive bone loss exists, you may need grafting to build up enough bone to adequately support an implant.

Even if an implant can be placed, the bone may still be too weak to allow for immediate crown placement. In that case, the traditional procedure may be the best course to allow the bone and implant to fully bond.

To determine if you're a candidate for a “tooth in a day” implant procedure, you'll first need to have a thorough dental exam that includes an assessment of bone health. If it's sound, you may be able to have a full smile right after implant surgery.

If you would like more information on dental implant restorations, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Same-Day Tooth Replacement With Dental Implants.”