When you arrive for your first visit, please be prepared to complete all insurance and health information forms that will allow us to begin your dental treatment. We will ask you to fill out several forms that will get you acquainted with our office.
Your initial exam will last approximately one hour. Your dentist will thoroughly examine your teeth and gums, specifically looking for any potential problems. Depending on the patient, X-rays may be taken. If there are any signs of decay or other problems, your dentist will recommend treatment options and make notes of any conditions that may need future observation. Oral hygiene instructions will also be provided along with suggestions to help you care for your teeth. In most cases, we will also clean your teeth on this visit.
Routine Teeth Cleanings
Twice a year, 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 bi-annual dental cleaning, please call our office to schedule an appointment.
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.
Tooth Extraction
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. 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.
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.
Dental Implants
Dental implants are artificial tooth replacements that were created half a century ago by a Swedish scientist named Per-Ingvar Branemark, and were designed to secure loose-fitting dentures. Since the advent of the implant, engineering, and enhancements to the implant have enabled dentists to expand the implant’s usefulness, including the replacement of missing or lost teeth. Today, implant techniques provide a wide range of tooth replacement solutions including:
Single Tooth Replacement Dental implants mimic the structural characteristics of natural teeth, providing strength and stability. Unlike other tooth replacement options that anchor to surrounding teeth, dental implants can be placed in a single tooth. Because they are not attached to an adjacent structure, there is no need to reduce the natural tooth supporting the replacement tooth. This preserves healthy functioning and appearance of surrounding teeth while eliminating complications associated with dental nerve damage and grafting gums back together.
Anterior Replacement Missing front teeth are commonly replaced by a dental bridge, which is an artificial tooth replacement that fills the space where one or more natural teeth have been lost or removed. A bridge provides support for your remaining teeth and fills the gap created by one or more missing teeth. The bridge will be made of one or more artificial crowns, which are attached to your existing teeth on either side of the space.
Posterior Replacement This type of replacement is necessary when one or more of the back teeth are removed or lost. Replacing missing posterior teeth with either a dental bridge, dentures, or an implant can reduce the risk of teeth shifting and may protect the gums from damage.
Full Upper Replacement For those who are missing most or all of the teeth on their upper arch, we offer dentures that can go over the affected teeth, as well as dentures that can be implanted into the jaw. It is important to replace to maintain most, if not all of the teeth on the upper arch because missing teeth can cause adverse changes to the jaw, along with the physical appearance of the face.
If the missing tooth space has no surrounding teeth, the dentist may decide an implant is the most appropriate treatment choice or option.
Root Canal Treatment
A root canal is a procedure that extracts decayed pulp from the central part of the tooth, reshapes the canal and replaces it with strengthening filler.
A cavity is the result of superficial decay of the enamel of the tooth. Left long enough, this decay can burrow into the deeper reaches of the tooth, causing extensive damage to the tooth structure. When the damage goes beyond what can be treated with a filling, dentists can perform a root canal (or endodontics), preserving the tooth and retaining its original integrity; thereby, saving a tooth that in the past would have to have been pulled.
This procedure involves:
The patient undergoes anesthesia.
A dental dam is used to isolate the tooth.
The tooth is opened to allow for the removal of the infected or dead dental pulp.
The tooth is comprehensively cleaned, including any cracks and canals.
With special tools, the doctor reshapes the canals.
The tooth is filled again with cutting-edge biocompatible filling material.
A temporary covering is used to cover the access opening.
Patients must see their regular dentist quickly for a restoration of the tooth.
Dental Exam
Dental Exam
