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Bridges

If you're missing one or more teeth, you may notice a difference in chewing and speaking. There are options to help restore your smile.

Bridges help maintain the shape of your face, as well as alleviating the stress in your bite by replacing missing teeth.

Sometimes called a fixed partial denture, a bridge replaces missing teeth with artificial teeth, looks great, and literally bridges the gap where one or more teeth may have been. The restoration can be made from gold, alloys, porcelain or a combination of these materials and is bonded onto surrounding teeth for support.

Unlike a removable bridge, which you can take out and clean, a fixed bridge can only be removed by a dentist

An implant bridge attaches artificial teeth directly to the jaw or under the gum tissue. Depending on which type of bridge your dentist recommends, its success depends on its foundation. So it's very important to keep your remaining teeth healthy and strong.

Crowns

If you want a smile that's your crowning glory, you may need a crown to cover a tooth and restore it to its normal shape and size. A crown can make your tooth stronger and improve its appearance.

It can cover and support a tooth with a large filling when there isn't enough tooth left. It can be used to attach a bridge, protect a weak tooth from breaking or restore one that's already broken. A crown is a good way to cover teeth that are discolored or badly shaped. It's also used to cover a dental implant.

If your dentist recommends a crown, it's probably to correct one of these conditions. Your dentist's primary concern, like yours, is helping you keep your teeth healthy and your smile bright -- literally, your crowning glory.

Dental Implants

Crowns and conventional bridges or dentures may not be your only options when replacing missing teeth. For some people, dental implants offer a smile that looks and feels very natural. Surgically placed below the gums over a series of appointments, implants fuse to the jawbone and serve as a base for individual replacement teeth, bridges or a denture.

Implants offer stability because they fuse to your bone. Integration of the implants into your jaw also helps your replacement teeth feel more natural and some people also find the secure fit more comfortable than conventional substitutes.

Candidates for dental implants need to have healthy gums and adequate bone to support the implant. A thorough evaluation by your dentist will help determine whether you are a good candidate for dental implants.

Dentures

If you’ve lost all of your natural teeth, whether from periodontal disease, tooth decay or injury, complete dentures can replace your missing teeth and your smile. Replacing missing teeth will benefit your appearance and your health. Without support from the denture, facial muscles sag, making a person look older. You’ll be able to eat and speak—things that people often take for granted until their natural teeth are lost.

There are various types of complete dentures. A conventional full denture is made and placed in the patient’s mouth after the remaining teeth are removed and tissues have healed which may take several months. An immediate complete denture is inserted as soon as the remaining teeth are removed. The dentist takes measurements and makes models of the patient’s jaws during a preliminary visit. With immediate dentures, the denture wearer does not have to be without teeth during the healing period.

Even if you wear full dentures, you still must take good care of your mouth. Brush your gums, tongue and palate every morning with a soft-bristled brush before you insert your dentures to stimulate circulation in your tissues and help remove plaque.

Removable Partial Dentures

Removable partial dentures usually consist of replacement teeth attached to pink or gum-colored plastic bases, which are connected by metal framework.

Extractions

What should you expect when you are scheduled for a tooth extraction?

Your dentist will numb the area to lessen any discomfort. After the extraction, your dentist will advise you of what post extraction regimen to follow, in most cases a small amount of bleeding is normal.

Avoid anything that might prevent normal healing. It is usually best not to smoke or rinse your mouth vigorously, or drink through a straw for 24 hours. These activities could dislodge the clot and delay healing.

For the first few days, if you must rinse, rinse your mouth gently afterward, for pain or swelling, apply a cold cloth or an ice bag. Ask your dentist about pain medication. You can brush and floss the other teeth as usual. But don't clean the teeth next to the tooth socket.

When having an extraction, today's modern procedures and follow up care as recommended by your dentist are there to provide you the patient great benefit and comfort.

Whitening

Everybody loves a bright white smile, and there are a variety of products and procedures available to help you improve the look of yours.

Many people are satisfied with the sparkle they get from brushing twice daily with a fluoride-containing toothpaste, cleaning between their teeth once a day and the regular cleanings at your dentist’s office. If you decide you would like to go beyond this to make your smile look brighter, you should investigate all of your options.

If you are a candidate for bleaching, your dentist may suggest a procedure that can be done in his or her office. This procedure is called chairside bleaching and may require more than one office visit. Each visit may take from 30 minutes to one hour.

During chairside bleaching, the dentist will apply either a protective gel to your gums or a rubber shield to protect the oral soft tissues. A bleaching agent is then applied to the teeth, and a special light may be used to enhance the action of the agent.

A number of in-office bleaching agents have the ADA Seal of Acceptance, your assurance that they have met ADA standards of safety and effectiveness.

Tooth Colored Restorations

Modern, state of the art dentistry offers more natural looking alternatives to silver and gold for filling and restoring teeth.

Tooth-colored restorations are nearly undetectable.

They conserve teeth, maintain their strength, and often prevent the need for more extensive treatment later on.

Through the latest in adhesive bonding technology and techniques, we can conserve teeth, maintain their strength, and often prevent the need for more extensive treatment later on.

We can place all ceramic (porcelain) restorations in the front and back teeth using these materials, without compromising strength or natural looks.

Tooth-colored restorations...including fillings, inlays, onlays, crowns, and veneers...are the state of the art alternative for rebuilding teeth.

Cosmetic Dentistry

A smile can be the most eye-catching feature of a face. With dentistry's many advances, you no longer have to settle for stained, chipped, or misshapen teeth. You now have choices that can help you smile with confidence.

Even the most subtle change in your smile can make a dramatic difference in the way you look and feel about yourself. Talk to your dentist about the options most suitable for you, what your expectations are and the dental fees involved. Some options are:

• Tooth whitening ( bleaching) brightens teeth that are discolored or stained. Bleaching may be done completely in the dental office or the dentist may dispense a system for you to use at home.
• Bonding can improve the appearance of teeth that are chipped, broken, cracked, stained, or have spaces between them. With bonding, tooth-colored materials are applied, or bonded, to the tooth surface.
• Enamel shaping involves modifying teeth to improve their appearance by removing or contouring enamel. The process, which often is combined with bonding, usually is quick and comfortable and the results can be seen immediately.
• Veneers are thin custom-made shells designed to cover the front side of teeth. Made of tooth-colored materials, veneers are used to treat spaces between teeth and teeth that are chipped or worn, permanently stained, poorly shaped or slightly crooked.
• Braces are not just for kids. Orthodontics may be needed if teeth are crooked, crowded or do not meet properly. If your dentist thinks you should see a specialist for treatment, he or she will refer you to an orthodontist.
• Invisalign is a treatment that will consist of a series of aligners that you switch out about every two weeks. Each aligner is individually manufactured with exact calculations to gradually shift your teeth into place. And since your Invisalign system is custom-made for your teeth and your teeth only, with a plan devised by you and your dentist or orthodontist, you know you'll end up with a smile that truly fits.If you're ready for a smile that transforms your appearance, Invisalign is your answer. Although there are many choices out there, no other works as effortlessly as the Invisalign system. http://www.invisalign.com

Periodontal (Gum) Diseases

Periodontal disease is an infection of the tissues that support your teeth. Your gum tissue is not attached to the teeth as high as it may seem. There is a very shallow v-shaped crevice called a sulcus between the tooth and gums. Periodontal diseases attack just below the gum line in the sulcus, where they cause the attachment of the tooth and its supporting tissues to break down. As the tissues are damaged, the sulcus develops into a pocket: generally, the more severe the disease, the greater the depth of the pocket.

Periodontal diseases are classified according to the severity of the disease. The two major stages are gingivitis and periodontitis. Gingivitis is a milder and reversible form of periodontal disease that only affects the gums. Gingivitis may lead to more serious, destructive forms of periodontal disease called periodontitis.

Children's Dental Treatment

Children are a large and enjoyable part of the practice.   We begin seeing them regularly at age three, but children should have a quick first assessment by age 1, to screen for early problems.

Our treatment of the child patient includes evaluation of facial growth, orthodontic problems and psychological needs, and in some cases we devote as much time to a young patient as an adult. Early treatment of beginning dental problems can prevent the need for extensive (and expensive) repair work later.

With nitrous oxide gas and new technology, "freezing" young children's mouths is now generally unnecessary.

Some important Dos and Don'ts for your children's dental treatment:

Don't over-prepare them.  Please treat the dental appointment casually, and don't have a long talk about it.  Children will expect a more difficult experience if you do.

If you are anxious, please stay out of the room. Children are experts at picking up on adults' body language. If you feel tense or anxious in the dental office,  this will be transferred to your child if you stand in the room with them.  Send them with a parent or relative who is comfortable with dentistry - or stay in the reception area.

Let us do the talking and explaining.  We need your child's concentration to do the best job, and we have to minimize distractions.  When the parent is talking or repeating, it divides the child's attention and makes it much more difficult to accomplish treatment. Please re-assure your child with your presence, but be a "silent partner"

Watch Your Language.  We ask that emotionally-loaded words be avoided with children. We do not speak of needles, or drills to kids - and we musk ask that you don't either.  Here are a few much better expressions that are standard language in our office:

Sleepy Medicine              instead of            needle
Tooth Cleaner                  instead of            drill
Rubber Raincoat              instead of            rubber dam
Wiggle a tooth out            instead of            pull a tooth out
Tooth Counter                  instead of            dental instrument