Whether your dental needs are a complete exam and cleaning, a full-mouth restoration, or anything in between, we promise to provide you with exceptional care as we enhance the natural beauty of your smile. Below are just some of the many procedures and services we regularly provide to our patients – with a gentle touch, and stunning results. Your smile is our first priority, and we’ll give you something to smile about.If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to schedule an appointment, please contact us today. We look forward to providing you with the personal care you deserve.
Click on a procedure below for more information.
Endododontic deals with the tooth pulp and the tissues surrounding the root of a tooth. If the pulp (containing nerves, arterioles and venules as well as lymphatic tissue and fibrous tissue) has become diseased or injured, endodontic treatment is required to save the tooth. The treatment (commonly refered to as root canal treatment) involves cleaning, sanitizing, and filling the canal(s) of the tooth to prevent recolonization of infective bacteria.
If decay progresses to the first stage, a small filling will be required. If decay develops to the third stage depicted, root canal therapy will be required.
The supporting tissues of teeth are known as the periodontium, which includes the gingiva (gums), alveolar bone, cementum, and the periodontal ligament.
The oral cavity houses a complex ecosystem of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that interact to initiate food digestion. Consequently disease free maintainence of the periodontum is integral to our bodies general health.
Tooth polishing is the act of smoothing the tooth surface. The purpose of polishing is to make it difficult for plaque to accumulate on the surface area. Tooth surface is rubbed by rubber cup or brush etc.
Dental Prophylaxis (Prophy) is the removal of adherent plaque and calculus with hand or electric instruments known as an ultrasonic or sonic scalers. It also can also be performed on patients without periodontal disease. Diseased periodontium however requires treatment.
Periodontal debridement refers to the removal of plaque and calculus that have accumulated on the teeth. Debridement in this case may be performed using ultrasonic instruments, which fracture the calculus, thereby facilitating its removal, as well as hand tools, including periodontal scaler and curettes, or through the use of chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide.
Periodontal Scaling includes the removal of plaque, calculus and stain not only from the crown but also from the root surfaces of teeth, whereas root planing is a specific treatment that removes the roughened cementum and surface dentin that is impregnated with calculus, microorganisms and their toxins. Scaling and root planing are often referred to as deep cleaning, and may be performed using a number of dental tools, including ultrasonic instruments and hand instruments, such as periodontal scalers and curettes. Sonic and ultrasonic scalers are powered by a system that causes the tip to vibrate. Sonic scalers are typically powered by an air-driven turbine. Ultrasonic scalers typically use either magnetostrictive or piezoelectric systems to create vibration. Magnetostrictive scalers use a stack of metal plates bonded to the tool tip. The stack is induced to vibrate by an external coil connected to an AC source. Many ultrasonic scalers also include a liquid output or lavage, which aids in cooling the tool during use. The lavage can also be used to deliver antimicrobial agents.
When decay is first detected in a tooth, the usual action taken by the dentist is to provide the tooth with an intracoronal restoration: a restoration consisting of a dental material that will exist totally within the confines of the remaining tooth structure. The restoration is commonly referred to as a “cavity fillings”, or Dental “fillings.”
A Crown or Cap completely caps or encircles a tooth or dental implant and is typically bonded to the tooth using a dental cement. Crowns can be made from many materials, which are fabricated using indirect methods. Crowns are often used to improve the strength or appearance of teeth.
When there is not enough remaining solid tooth structure after decay and fragile tooth structure is removed, or the tooth has fractured and is now missing important architectural reinforcements, the tooth might very well require a Crown or Cap, a restoration consisting of a dental material that will encircle the remaining tooth structure to a varying degree. In a recent study, only 1.7% of the ceramic fused to metal crowns needed to be replaced after two years. Things are not always straightforward when it comes to restoring a tooth. An advantage of crowning a tooth over restoring the tooth with an excessively large pin-supported amalgam or composite restoration is that crowns provide much more protection against future fracture or recurrent decay. The indirect techniques of crown fabrication translate into a more adapted tooth-restoration margin and thus a better seal against the decay-causing bacteria present in saliva. Upon removal of any remaining restoration and dental caries (decay), the remaining tooth structure’s integrity is evaluated as to it’s need for added reinforcement for crown support. A dental impression of a prepared tooth is taken to fabricate the crown outside of the mouth. The crown can then be inserted at a subsequent dental appointment. Using this indirect method of tooth restoration allows use of strong restorative materials requiring time consuming fabrication methods requiring intense heat, such as casting metal or firing porcelain which would not be possible to complete inside the mouth.
When teeth undergo endodontic treatment, or root canal therapy, they are devitalized when “pulp chamber” and “root canal”, are thoroughly cleansed and filled with various materials to prevent future invasion by bacteria. Although there may very well be enough tooth structure remaining after root canal therapy is provided for a particular tooth to restore the tooth with an intracoronal restoration, this is not suggested in most teeth. The vitality of a tooth is remarkable in its ability to provide the tooth with the strength and durability it needs to function in mastication. The living tooth structure is surprisingly resilient and can sustain considerable abuse without fracturing. Consequently, after root canal therapy is performed, a tooth becomes extremely brittle and is significantly weaker than its vital neighbors.
The average person can exert 150-200 lbs. of muscular force on their posterior teeth, which is approximately nine times the amount of force that can be exerted in the anterior. Therefore, posterior teeth (i.e. molars and premolars) should in almost all situations be crowned after undergoing root canal therapy to provide for proper protection against fracture (mandibular premolars, being very similar in crown morphology to canines, may in some cases be protected with intracoronal restorations). Should an endodontically treated tooth not be properly protected, there is a chance of it succumbing to breakage from normal functional forces. This fracture may well be difficult to treat or untreatable. Tooth loss can lead to the shifting of remaining teeth, resulting in periodontal pocketing and disease, further tooth loss, and TMD temporal mandibular joint disorder.
A bridge, also known as a fixed partial denture, is a dental restoration used to replace a missing tooth by joining permanently to adjacent teeth or dental implants.There are different types of bridges, depending on how they are fabricated and the way they anchor to the adjacent teeth. Conventionally, bridges are made using the indirect method of restoration (as with a crown) the adjacent teeth are reduced in size to accommodate the material to be used to restore the size and shape of the original teeth in a correct alignment and function. If the lost tooth has no adjacent tooth, or the adjacent teeth are disease and resotation free, a Dental Implant may be the repacement choice. A dental implant is an artificial tooth root replacement and is used in prosthetic dentistry to support restorations that resemble a tooth or group of teeth. The most widely accepted and successful implant today is the osseointegrated implant. A titanium can be successfully fused into bone when osteoblasts grow on and into the rough surface of the implanted titanium. This forms a structural and functional connection between the living bone and the implant which can then be crowned to replace a single tooth or act as an abutment for a fixed bridge or a Removable Proshtesis.
Partial and Complete Dentures are removable dental prostheses. A removable partial denture (RPD) is for a partially edentulous patient who cannot have “crown and bridge” for any number of reasons, such as a lack of required teeth to serve as support for a bridge.
Fixed bridges are more expensive than removable appliances but are more stable and hygienic.
The reason why this type of prosthesis is referred to as a removable partial denture is because patients can remove and reinsert them when required without professional help. Conversely, a “fixed” prosthesis can and should be removed only by a dental professional.
Conversely, complete dentures or full dentures are worn by patients who are missing all of the teeth in a single arch (i.e the maxillary (upper) or mandibular (lower) arc.
Dentures are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and which are supported only by surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. While full dentures supply a valuable option of dental treatment, their use does have limitations.
Some of the most common problems for new full upper denture wearers includes the loss of taste and sore spots as they compress the soft tissues mucosa (denture bearing soft tissue) — a few denture adjustments for the days following insertion of the dentures can take care of this issue. Gagging is another problem encountered by a minority of patients.
But the greatest problem with dentures is keeping them in place. The palate or roof of the mouth can lend some support to the Maxillary Denture, the osseous (boney) ridge shape, and insertion of musculature of the lips and the mandible (lower jaw) determine the functional and aesthetic limits of the prosthesis. The lower or Mandibular Denture rests only on the osseous ridge and mucosa that once supported teeth. For this reason, full dentures may be designed to function with dental implants.