Dental cleanings are essential twice-yearly preventive visits involving scaling, polishing, and examinations to remove plaque and tartar, preventing gum disease and cavities. Usually lasting 30–60 minutes, the procedure is generally painless, though it may cause minor sensitivity. There are four main types of professional teeth cleanings: Prophylaxis (routine cleaning for healthy gums), Scaling & Root Planing (deep cleaning for gum disease), Periodontal Maintenance (ongoing care after deep cleaning), and Gross Debridement (heavy-duty cleaning for severe buildup).
Your first visit to our office is very important with regard to establishing your oral health baseline. We will begin by carefully reviewing your medical and dental histories and taking special note of all of your dental concerns, as well as any symptoms that you may be experiencing. This will be followed by a thorough clinical examination, including an oral cancer screening, periodontal evaluation, an analysis of your occlusion (bite) plus a thorough examination of your teeth, their supporting structures, and the complete orofacial area. Any needed diagnostic dental films will be taken at this time.
Digital radiography utilizes computer technology and digital sensors for the acquisition, viewing, storage, and sharing of radiographic images. It offers several advantages over the older traditional film based methods of taking x-rays. The most significant of these advantages is that digital radiography reduces a patient’s exposure to radiation. An electronic pad, known as a sensor is used instead of film to acquire a digital image. After the image is taken, it goes directly into the patient’s file on the computer. Once it is stored on the computer, it can be easily viewed on a screen, shared, or printed out.
Dental Fillings are the most common type of dental restoration used to replace sections of teeth that are missing, damaged or decayed. While traditional dental materials like gold, amalgam, porcelain, and composite successfully restore teeth; recent advances in dental technology have made a wider and improved selection of restorative choices available. Some of the newest state-of-the-art filling materials including ceramic and the latest composite materials, are not only strong and durable, they offer the most aesthetically pleasing and natural looking results.
There are many reasons to seek emergency dental care, including severe toothaches, chipped or fractured teeth, a dental abscess, impacted teeth, loose or broken fillings, lost or dislodged crowns, broken dentures and more. Whatever the case may be, urgent dental care is needed to provide you with relief and to avoid any further consequences to your oral health.
Whether your dental emergency is painful, affects the appearance of your smile, or you suspect an infection, contact our office immediately for care. We will make every effort to see you as promptly as possible.
Sometimes it is necessary to extract a tooth. This can happen for a variety of reasons. Extractions are commonly performed in cases where a deciduous “baby” tooth is reluctant to fall out, a severely broken-down and non-restorable tooth is present, or a “wisdom tooth” is poorly positioned and unable to erupt into place fully.
To reduce any anxiety and ensure patient comfort whenever a tooth extraction is necessary, the procedure, the post-surgical instructions, as well as any restorative follow-up care will be carefully and completely explained.
The terms dental crowns and caps are synonymous. If dental decay, cracked fillings, root canals, clenching or grinding the teeth have caused extensive damage to the underlying tooth structure, a dental filling may not be a sufficient restoration.
In addition to restoring a single natural tooth, crowns can be used in other situations, including being the supporting ends of a dental bridge, covering dental implants, or as coverage for a cracked tooth to prevent further breakdown. A crown may also be indicated when a discolored or stained tooth needs to be restored to its natural appearance.
Endodontics, or root canal therapy, is employed when the nerve supply to a tooth has been irreversibly affected by damage or decay. A root canal is performed when there is enough sound root and crown structure remaining to eventually restore form and function to the involved tooth.
Root canal therapy involves cleaning and shaping each canal, and then filling them with a special inert material. Following this they are sealed to prevent any subsequent infection. Once root canal therapy has been completed, the tooth should be fully restored as recommended.
When teeth are missing, a series of changes that can impact your overall dental health and jaw function may be initiated. The adjacent teeth may start to drift or tilt into the space, and teeth in the opposing jaw may start to shift toward the area of the missing tooth.
One of the best options to prevent the consequences of shifting teeth and to restore full function is a dental bridge. A dental bridge replaces missing teeth with artificial teeth supported at the ends by prepared natural teeth. Once fabricated and fitted, a dental bridge will be permanently “fixed,” or cemented into place.
Whether from disease, malnutrition, genetic disorders, or an accident, sometimes an individual must have some or all of their teeth extracted. While this can be devastating, partial or full dentures can be fabricated to restore an attractive smile, provide needed support for normal facial contours, and reestablish a highly functional occlusion.
A denture consists of natural looking artificial teeth set in a supportive base. It may be fabricated to replace either a small group of teeth or an entire arch, or to restore both dental arches.
Teeth that have been stained or darkened by food, tobacco use, age, medications or injury can be lightened and brightened by means of a non-invasive process known as teeth whitening.
While there are many over-the-counter options for teeth whitening, the most effective and safest teeth whitening systems are the professional strength ones available at the dentist’s office. A dental professional whitening system offers a higher concentration of whitening components and delivers them to the teeth in the most efficient manner to achieve optimal results.
If your teeth suffer from gaps, chips, stains, or discolorations, you may be a candidate for porcelain veneers.
Porcelain veneers are thin facings custom-made from the highest-quality ceramic materials that fit perfectly over the front of your teeth. One of the most conservative cosmetic treatments available, veneers can mask a host of dental imperfections to give you the smile that you have always wanted. Porcelain veneers not only enhance and improve the shape of your teeth, they are able to create an overall whiter and brighter smile.
Thanks to advances in modern dentistry, teeth that have been affected by a range of imperfections can be restored to produce a naturally beautiful looking and functional smile. The cosmetic dental solutions available today can effectively improve the appearance of teeth that are stained, discolored, misshapen, chipped, fractured, gapped, crowded, or broken down due to dental decay.
Cosmetic dental procedures can range from relatively quick, non-invasive treatments to more comprehensive plans of care to restore incomplete smiles affected by severely damaged, lost, or missing teeth.
Periodontal disease damages the surrounding soft tissues and bone that support the teeth. Periodontal disease can range in severity from a simple gum inflammation, known as gingivitis, to a more serious inflammation of the periodontal tissues. Left untreated periodontal disease can result in significant tissue damage and eventual tooth loss. A series of deep dental cleanings, an improved home care regimen, and a commitment to regular maintenance may be all that is required to prevent this stage of periodontal disease from progressing.
One of the most significant dental innovations in recent times, an implant is a small surgical fixture made of biocompatible metal or ceramic materials that is placed into the jawbone and functions in the same manner as the root of a tooth. In the same way that natural root supports the natural crown of your tooth, an implant once it fully integrates with the surrounding bone, provides a stable and durable foundation for a replacement tooth. Implants often support a crown for an individual tooth, but can also be used as abutment teeth for a dental bridge, or strategically placed to help stabilize a denture.
This remarkable technique requires only 4 implants in either the upper or lower jaw to support all of the replacement teeth for that dental arch. All-on-4™ typically involves only one surgery to place all of the implants, avoids the need for additional bone grafting procedures, and provides the instant gratification of a full set of temporary teeth immediately on the same day as the initial procedure. Once post-surgical healing is complete, and the All-on-4™ dental implants have fully integrated with your jawbone, your customized final bridge permanently replaces the temporary bridge.
Among the most common, irritating and difficult to diagnose problems with head and neck pain are temporal mandibular joint problems, more commonly known as TMJ problems. The joint is located near the ear where the top of the mandible or lower jaw meets the upper jaw at the base of the skull. Once diagnosed, treatments include everything from simple placement of a nightguard, which prevents pressure on the joint, to surgical intervention in more severe cases. A dental health professional is the person most able to diagnose this widely variable and very common issue.
Sedation dentistry offers individuals with general anxiety about going to the dentist or fears about a specific dental procedure the opportunity to have a stress-free and more comfortable experience. Utilizing safe and controlled sedation techniques prior to the dental procedure, the patient is eased into a state of complete relaxation. This eliminates any discomfort, pain, and preoperative anxiety that may be associated with a particular dental visit. With sedation dentistry, patients typically feel more at ease post-operatively as they have little or no memory of the actual moment-to-moment dental procedure.
One of the significant advances in modern dentistry has been the development of dental laser technology. Today, dental lasers are increasingly used to treat tooth decay and periodontal disease, to perform biopsies or remove oral lesions, to cure restorative (filling) materials, and to activate in-office teeth whitening systems. It operates without direct contact with the tooth, using no heat, vibration, or pressure, thereby minimizing the procedure's discomfort and the need for dental anesthesia.
While dental lasers may be an excellent treatment option in some situations, they cannot be used for every dental procedure.
Air abrasion is a minimally invasive technology that provides an alternative for removing tooth decay. It may also be used to prepare the surface of a tooth for a bonding procedure, the application of sealants, or for the removal of certain stains and discolorations of the tooth enamel. Air abrasion operates like a mini sandblaster, emitting a precise stream of fine particles that can be aimed at the affected areas of the tooth. As the stream of particles strikes the tooth’s surface, the decay is efficiently and gently removed. Utilizing this method, the dentist is able to remove the soft decay, while leaving healthy tooth structure intact.