Porcelain Crowns

Crowns are sometimes known as "caps". They cover your entire tooth (thus the common term "cap") and are made of all porcelain or a porcelain/ceramic combination. Crowns are necessary to provide support for teeth that have had old broken down fillings, teeth that are fractured or severely decayed, after a root canal, and chipped or sensitive teeth. Crowns strengthen and protect remaining tooth structure and also can be used to improve the appearance of natural teeth that are malformed, malpositioned or discolored.

Porcelain Bridges

When teeth are missing and there are teeth on either side of the space, a bridge is possible as an alternative to a removable replacement for those missing teeth. Bridgework and dental implants can both frequently accomplish the same result in different ways. A bridge is called such because it bridges the open space or span. When as little as one tooth is lost, five or more other teeth may be effected and drift. This shift can cause one of several problems: jaw pain (TMJ problems), a predisposition to gum disease or decay (due to more difficult hygiene) or lastly, a collapse of the bones in the jaws that will lead to decreased chewing function and the future loss of other teeth.

Porcelain Veneers

Porcelain veneers, alternatively termed dental veneers or porcelain laminates, are water-thin shells of porcelain that are bonded to the front side of teeth creating a more attractive tooth shape and color. Porcelain veneers are routinely used as a way to make cosmetic changes for teeth that are discolored, worn, chipped, or misaligned. The translucent effect of porcelain creates a lustrous appearance for the tooth that very closely resembles the natural appearance of enamel.

Dental Implants

Implants represent the remarkable advancement in dentistry in recent years.  Dental implants look and perform like natural teeth, are rooted in the bone, and there is no artificial plastic on the roof of your mouth, or need for adhesives and dental creams.  Dental implants are a long-lasting tooth root replacement that is implanted into the jawbone to simulate the root of a pre-existing tooth.  The implant is composed of three parts:

• the titanium implants that fuses with the jawbone
• the abutment, which fits over the portion of the implant that protrudes from the gum line and
• the crown, which is restored by us and fitted into the abutment for a natural appearance.

Composite Restorations

Our practice does not use silver fillings for the restoration of teeth. Teeth can be restored with a cosmetic and natural appearance. A tooth colored filling is technically called a Composite Restoration. It is made up of a composite quartz resin filled with small filler particles and is cured in your teeth with an ultraviolet light. These light cured composites are extremely cosmetic and are bonded into place in one appointment. They can be used in both the front teeth, as well as in your back teeth. The shades of the restorations match the color of your teeth.

Root Canal Therapy

Root canal therapy can help save a damaged tooth. When the pulp (tissue inside the tooth that contains nerves and blood vessels) is diseased or injured, it is unable to repair itself and the pulp dies. The most common causes of pulp death are fractured teeth, leaking old fillings, tooth stress, and deep decay. All these cases can expose the pulp to bacteria found in your mouth and cause an infection inside the tooth. If the damaged or diseased pulp is not removed (by root canal therapy) the tooth and surrounding tissues become infected. Without treatment, your tooth could eventually have to be removed. If the problem is caught early enough, however, in most cases, your tooth can be saved using root canal therapy.

Teeth Whitening

There are two main methods of gel bleaching—one performed in office with high-concentration gel, and another with low-concentration agents at home. Performing the procedure at home is usually accomplished using low-concentration carbamide peroxide and is performed by applying a concentration of oxidizing agent to the teeth with thin plastic trays for a short period of time, which produces acceptable results. The application trays are custom made by our office for your mouth from a dental impression.

A typical course of bleaching can produce dramatic improvements in the cosmetic appearance of most stained teeth; however, some stains do not respond to bleaching. Bleaching is not recommended if teeth have decay or infected gums. Also, whitener does not work where bonding has been used and neither is it effective on tooth-color fillings or crowns. Other options to consider in such cases are porcelain veneers or crowns.

Periodontal Therapy

Peiodontal Therapy in patients with periodontal disease may include:

• Scaling and Root Planning (Deep Cleaning)
• Systemic or Localized Antimicrobial Therapy
• Microbiological Testing and Salivary Diagnostics
• Surgical treatment of the disease

Gum Lift

Sometimes patients are unhappy with their smiles because they believe that they have very small teeth. In some cases, it is not that they have teeth that are too small; however, the problem is that they have gums that are too big. This look is usually seen as having a “gummy” smile. Correcting a gummy smile can be accomplished by a simple radiosurgical procedure. The procedure is called a Gingivectomy. Gingivectomies are performed when the amount of gum reduction necessary is minimal such as in mild gummy smiles. During a Gingivectomy, a minimal amount of gum tissue is removed with a dental laser or by a technique known as radiosurgery. The procedure is painless, requires no sutures and is done with microwaves. The gum tissues usually heal within two weeks.