Teeth will darken over time. Changes in the color of your teeth can be caused by foods and beverages (coffee, tea, soda,, red wine, blueberries etc.) Other known factors for discoloration may include childhood medications or illnesses, tobacco use, or improper oral hygiene. Restoring your natural white smile is a priority for our dental whitening team. We can provide a variety of options for whitening your smile.
Tooth whitening services are growing in popularity and its one of the most requested services offered by our practice. Everyone sees the growing consumer market focused on whiter teeth. The reality is that over the counter "too good to be true" solutions typically show poor results.
We are trained professionals using industry-approved methods. Our goal is to meet the needs of every patient, and every patient's needs are different. One of the methods used by our practice is a gentle carbamide peroxide gel activated solution. Our process will start whitening your entire smile in one week. Call us today for a whitening evaluation.
Nothing improves your appearance more that a Bright, White SMILE!!
Veneers are thin, semi-translucent, tooth-colored "shells" typically attached to your front teeth. Veneers are customized from porcelain material and permanently bonded to your teeth. Veneers are a great alternative to otherwise painful dental procedures to improve the appearance of your smile.
Common problems that veneers are used for:
- Spaces between the teeth
- Broken or chipped teeth
- Unsightly, stained or discolored teeth
- Permanently stained or discolored teeth
- Crooked or misshapen teeth
Veneers are a great aesthetic solution to your smile that may even help you avoid orthodontic treatment. Subtle changes to your smile can be achieved with veneers, and in most cases, veneer application is completed in only two office visits.
Please contact our office if you have any further questions on veneers.
Crowns or Caps
A crown is a permanent covering that fits over an original tooth that is 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. The treatment plan for a patient receiving a crown involves two visits over a 3 week period.
The first visit consists of:
- Removing old filling and decay, and shaping the tooth for the crown.
- Making an impression to create a custom-made crown.
- Making a temporary crown out of acrylic resin. This temporary crown is worn during the interim period when the permanent custom-made crown is being fabricated.
The second visit consists of:
- Removing the temporary crown.
- Cementing the new crown to the tooth.
Once the procedure is completed, proper dental hygiene, including daily brushing and flossing, is required to maintain a healthy, bacteria-free environment. With proper care your crowns can last many years.
A bridge is a dental device that fills a space that a tooth previously occupied. A bridge is necessary to:
- Prevent shifting of the teeth that can lead to bite problems (occlusion) and/or jaw problems and resultant periodontal disease.
- Safeguard the integrity of existing teeth and help maintain a healthy, vibrant smile.
- Provide greater surface area for enhanced chewing efficiency.
The course of treatment for a bridge usually requires 3 appointments
The first visit consists of:
- Numbing the surrounding teeth with a local anesthetic and cleaning plaque or decay
- Reducing the teeth so that the crowns can be fitted.
- Making a mold or impression of the teeth in order to create a cast of the teeth.
- Fabricating and cementing a temporary bridge which is worn until the permanent bridge is completed.
The second visit consists of:
- Removing the temporary bridge
- Trying in the gold alloy or ceramic base of the bridge to insure a proper fit.
- Recementing the temporary bridge.
The third visit consists of:
- Removing the temporary bridge.
- Cementing the permanent bridge.
Dental implants are artificial tooth replacements that were first developed half a century ago by a Swedish scientist named Per-Ingvar Branemark. Implants arose from the patient's need to secure loose-fitting dentures. Enhancements to the implant have enabled dentists to expand the implant's usefulness, including the replacement of missing or lost teeth. Today, implant techniques have over a 90% success rate, and provide a wide range of tooth replacement solutions including:
- Single tooth replacement
- Fixed and removable bridge abutments
- Support for full dentures
The root implant is by far the most popular. It is the most effective because it mirrors the size and shape of a patient's natural tooth. This implant is often stronger than the patient's original tooth. The implant, or artificial root, is placed into the jawbone under local anesthesia and allowed to heal and integrate with the bone. Once the healing process is completed and the jawbone has attached to the implant, the patient returns to the dental office where the implant is fitted with the new tooth. This process generally takes anywhere from 3 to 8 months.
Although proper oral hygiene is always recommended for maintaining good dental health, it is especially important when a patient has received a dental implant. Bacteria can attack sensitive areas in the mouth when teeth and gums are not properly cleaned, thus causing gums to swell and jaw bones to gradually recede. Recession of the jawbone will weaken implants and eventually make it necessary for the implant to be removed. Patients are advised to visit their dentists at least twice a year to ensure the health of their teeth and implants. Dental implants can last for decades when given proper care.
A filling is replacing and restoring tooth structure that is damaged due to decay or fracture of enamel. You still have two choices for filling material in our office -Amalgam (silver filling) or Composite resin (white filling) Both are good, and each have pros and cons.
Amalgam fillings are more durable, cost less, last about 10-20 years, but are unaesthetic. Composite resin fillings cost a bit more, last about 8-10 years, and have a much more natural appearance since they are the same color as your tooth. There is no right or wrong choice; it's just a matter of personal preference.
Bonding is often used to improve the appearance of your teeth and enhance your smile. As the name indicates, composite material, either a plastic or resin, is bonded to an existing tooth. Unlike veneers or crowns, composite bonding removes little, if any, of the original tooth. It is a common solution for:
- fixing or repairing chipped or cracked teeth
- reducing gaps or spaces between teeth
- covering discolored or faded areas on the tooth
Bonding has many advantages, it is a quick process which usually takes less than one hour to complete. In most cases it does not reduce the tooth's original structure and is less costly than veneers. The composite materials come in many different shades to match the surrounding teeth. But, composite bonds are not as durable and as long lasting as veneers. They stain easily (coffee, tea, tobacco, red wine, blueberries etc.) and need to be polished or replaced more often.
The biting or chewing surfaces of back teeth (bicuspids and molars) are filled with many grooves and pits, where plaque & food like to hide. A sealant is a liquid acrylic resin that is hardened into these grooves and seals the surface thereby preventing plaque and food accumulation and helping to prevent decay. It is most commonly done in children when their six-year molars erupt. It is applied to the bicuspids and twelve-year molars when they erupt. Adults may also have it done in teeth that have no filling. The material used is very durable, but may need to be reapplied periodically.
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 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.
Procedure:
- The patient undergoes anesthesia.
- A dental dam is used to isolate the tooth.
- The tooth is opened to allow for removal of 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 permanent restoration of the tooth.
