General Treatment

Our practice can provide a wide range of dental services. We can typically provide every type of dental service without having to refer you to other specialties. This flexibility saves you time and keeps your total dental care within one practice. Our emphasis is on total preventive care for our patients. Total care begins with regular hygiene visits, regular check-ups and continued home oral health routines.

Our practice also provides the highest-quality services for restoring mouths that have been damaged by dental disease and injury and common problems that require cosmetic dentistry. Our primary goal for our patients is to achieve and maintain optimum oral health through advances in techniques, technologies and by maintaining their scheduled dental exams.

Teeth Cleanings

Annually, you should schedule a routine dental cleaning. During this visit, one of our dental hygienists will remove plaque from your teeth, especially from places where your brush can’t reach, such as underneath the gum line and in-between teeth. We will then clean your teeth and apply fluoride to help protect your teeth once you leave the office.

Fluoride is a relatively recent but important advancement in dental and oral health. Studies consistently show that a moderate but consistent exposure of teeth to fluoride helps strengthen and rebuild tooth structure, and helps prevent future decay.

If you are due for your annual dental cleaning, please call our office to schedule an appointment.

Composite Fillings

The concept of a “filling” is replacing and restoring your tooth structure that is damaged due to decay or fracture with a material. We will replace old, broken-down amalgam/metal fillings that contain traces of mercury with white fillings (composites) to restore your smile and teeth to a more natural look and feel.

With today’s advancements, no longer will you have to suffer the embarrassment of unsightly and unhealthy silver/mercury fillings or metal margins of the past. Eliminate the dark, black appearance in your teeth with new-age, state-of-the-art, tooth-colored resin or porcelain materials.


BEFORE	AFTER

Crowns and Bridges

Crowns

A crown is a custom-made covering that fits over an original tooth that is either decayed, damaged or cracked. Crowns are made of a variety of different materials such as porcelain, gold, acrylic resin or a mix of these materials. Porcelain generally has the most natural appearance, although it is often less durable.

The treatment plan for a patient receiving a crown involves:

Numbing the tooth to remove the decay in or around it.
Re-sculpturing the tooth to provide an ideal fit for the crown.
Making an impression of your teeth in order to create a custom-made crown (usually takes one to two weeks).
Making a temporary crown out of acrylic resin and fitting it onto the tooth during the interim period when the custom-made crown is being created.
Applying the custom-made crown (when received from the lab) by removing the temporary crown and fitting the custom-made one onto the tooth.
After ensuring that the crown has the proper look and fit, the dentist cements it into place.

This process generally consists of a minimum of two to three visits over a three to four week period. Once the procedure is completed, proper dental hygiene, including daily brushing and flossing, is required to maintain healthy, bacteria-free teeth, gums and crowns. This helps in the prevention of gum disease. Given proper care, your crowns can last a lifetime.

Bridges

A bridge is a dental device that fills a space that a tooth previously occupied. A bridge may be necessary to prevent:

Shifting of the teeth that can lead to bite problems (occlusion) and/or jaw problems and resultant periodontal disease.
Bridges safeguard the integrity of existing teeth and help maintain a healthy, vibrant smile.

There are three main types of bridges, namely:

A fixed bridge is the most popular and consists of a filler tooth that is attached to two crowns, which fit over the existing teeth and hold the bridge in place.
The “Maryland” bridge is commonly used to replace missing front teeth and consists of a filler that is attached to metal bands that are bonded to the abutment teeth. The metal bands consist of a white-colored composite resin that matches existing tooth color.
The cantilever bridge is often used when there are teeth on only one side of the span. A typical three-unit cantilever bridge consists of two crowned teeth positioned next to each other on the same side of the missing tooth space. The filler tooth is then connected to the two crowned teeth, which extend into the missing tooth space or end.


BEFORE	AFTER

Tooth Extractions

General Extractions

An extraction is the complete removal of a tooth. Extractions are sometimes necessary if a primary tooth is preventing the normal eruption of a permanent tooth, if the tooth has suffered extensive tooth decay or trauma that cannot be repaired, if the patient has gum disease, or if the tooth is impacted (usually the wisdom teeth). Depending on the complexity of the case, an extraction can be performed surgically or non-surgically. A mild anesthesia is used to ensure your child is as comfortable as possible throughout the procedure.

Wisdom Teeth

Your third molars are more commonly called "wisdom teeth." Usually appearing in the late teens or early twenties, third molars often lack the proper space in the jaw to erupt fully or even at all. This common condition is called impaction. When any tooth lacks the space to come through or simply develops in the wrong place of your jaw and becomes impacted, problems can arise. Primarily, damage to adjacent teeth and crowding occur.

In certain cases, the wisdom tooth that cannot come through becomes inflamed under the gums and in the jawbone, causing a sac to develop around the root of the tooth that then fills with liquid. This can cause a cyst or an abscess if it becomes infected. If either of these situations goes untreated, serious damage to the underlying bone and surrounding teeth and tissues can result.

To potentially stave off this result, an extraction of one, several or all of the wisdom teeth may be advised. If that is the case, we have the equipment and training needed to perform such extractions, with an absolute minimum of discomfort. Ask our staff for more information regarding tooth extractions if you feel you may need one.

Dentures & Partials

Replacing your missing or damaged teeth will benefit not only your appearance but your overall health. Using state-of-the-art technology and updated materials, dentures can now be custom designed to look more natural and feel more comfortable.

It may take some time to adjust to your dentures. Speaking and eating may feel different at first, but these regular activities will resume normally once you are accustomed to your dentures.

Complete Dentures

Complete dentures are artificial, removable replacements for the natural teeth of the upper or lower jaw or both.

Upper dentures
Upper dentures are held in place by a vacuum created between your appliance and the palate of your mouth.
Lower dentures
Lower dentures are horseshoe-shaped to accommodate the tongue, and, due to lack of suction, are often held in place by implants placed in the jaw for support.

Partial Dentures

Partial dentures are removable appliances that replace missing teeth by attaching via a metal framework to your natural teeth.

Caring for your removable appliances:

Proper denture care is essential to the durability of your dentures and the overall health of your mouth.

Brush your dentures daily with a soft-bristled tooth brush. (Don’t forget to brush your gums and tongue as well.)
While not being worn, keep your dentures in denture solution and/or water (not hot) to prevent warping.
Handle with care and keep out of the reach of children and pets
If your dentures become loose, chip, break or crack, see your dentist

Nightguards/Mouthguards

Nightguards

Night guards are recommended to help treat teeth grinding and help prevent further damage to your teeth. Teeth grinding or bruxism, is the habit of grinding, gnashing or clenching the teeth. Occasional teeth grinding is not harmful. However, severe teeth grinding that occurs on a daily basis can lead to jaw pain, discomfort, tooth fracture and headaches. While some people unconsciously clench their teeth during the day, teeth grinding occurs most often during sleep.

A dental night guard provides a cushion by covering the top or bottom teeth. It can be made of plastic or acrylic, with the acrylic one staying in place better because it is less flexible. While you can buy a night guard at your local drugstore, it typically does not fit properly and could cause discomfort. In order to ensure a proper fit, dentists recommend getting a custom-fitted night guard so that it fits perfectly.

The benefits of wearing a night guard include prevention of teeth grinding, protection of your teeth, reduction in headaches, improved breathing, and less jaw stress.

Mouthguards

We are pleased to offer our patients custom-fabricated mouthguards for sports activities. Unlike stock mouthguards, which fit loosely because they are designed to accommodate many possible wearers, our sports mouthguards are tailored to fit your exact dental profile, providing the highest attainable level of comfort and security in a mouthguard.

The first step in fabricating these mouthguards is to take an impression of your teeth. We then use that impression and fabricate the mouthguard using special professional-grade materials. The perfect fit of these custom-fabricated mouthguards ensures that not only will your mouthguards fit comfortably, they will also offer the most protection and will interfere the least with speech or breathing.

Oral Cancer Screenings

Oral cancer is one of the most under-discussed but prevalent forms of cancer. In fact, the American Cancer Society has recently released information showing that, while incidents of cancers overall have reduced in the United States, the occurrences of oral cancers are actually increasing, as is its mortality rate.

With proper screening and early diagnosis, the severity of oral cancer drops significantly. But as with most forms of cancer, being able to detect the cancer in an early stage is crucial. That’s why our office uses advanced oral cancer screening equipment, to be able to detect and screen for the lesions that indicate possible oral cancer easily and accurately. Using specialized lights and optics, your dentist is able to conduct an oral cancer screening that can detect lesions that are invisible to the unaided human eye. These screenings are fast and completely comfortable – and best of all, they are the best possible way to ensure that your mouth is healthy and cancer-free!

We recommend an annual oral cancer screening for our patients, particularly if you:

Are above the age of 30
Use tobacco products, or have used them in the past 10 years
Consume an average of 1 alcoholic drink or more per day
Have been previously diagnosed with any form of cancer

Don’t become a statistic – talk to us today about the dangers and warning signs of oral cancer, and schedule a screening with your next appointment!

Sedation

"Laughing Gas"

Nitrous oxide, more commonly known as “laughing gas,” is often used as a conscious sedative during a dental visit. The gas is administered with a mixture of oxygen and has a calming effect that helps phobic or anxious patients relax during their dental treatment. Because it is a mild sedative, patients are still conscious and can talk to their dentist during their visit. After treatment, the nitrous is turned off and oxygen is administered for 5-10 minutes to help flush any remaining gas. The effects wear off almost immediately. Nitrous oxide rarely has side effects, although some patients may experience minor nausea and constipation. Your doctor will provide you with pre-and post-sedation instructions.