GENERAL TREATMENT

Fillings | Bonding | Root Canals | Tooth Extractions | Digital Radiographs

Our practice can provide a wide range of dental services. We can typically provide every type of dental service without having to refer you to other specialties. This flexibility saves you time and keeps your total dental care within one practice. Our emphasis is on total preventive care for our patients. Total care begins with regular hygiene visits, regular checkups and continued home oral health routines.

Our practice also provides the highest-quality services for restoring mouths that have been damaged by dental disease and injury and common problems that require cosmetic dentistry. Our primary goal for our patients is to achieve and maintain optimum oral health through advances in techniques, technologies and by maintaining their scheduled dental exams.

Fillings

The concept of a "filling" is replacing and restoring your tooth structure that is damaged due to decay or fracture with a material. We will replace old, broken-down amalgam/metal fillings that contain traces of mercury with white fillings (composites) to restore your smile and teeth to a more natural look and feel.

With today’s advancements, no longer will you have to suffer the embarrassment of unsightly silver/mercury fillings or metal margins of the past. Eliminate the dark, black appearance in your teeth with new-age, state-of-the-art, tooth-colored resin or porcelain materials.

Comparing White Fillings Versus Silver Amalgam Fillings:

White fillings bond to the tooth; they strengthen the tooth by restoring most of its original shape. Silver amalgams, on the other hand, weaken the teeth and make them more susceptible to breaking. Broken teeth can be very expensive to replace; white amalgam can actually save time and money in the long run.
White fillings are preferred by most patients. This is due to their natural color, strength and overall appearance.
Restorations with composites require less removal of tooth, less structure to place than those with amalgams and especially with new cavities. Dramatically smaller holes are needed with a composite.

Composite Bonding

Bonding is a common solution for:

Fixing or repairing chipped or cracked teeth
Reducing unsightly gaps or spaces between teeth
Hiding discoloration or faded areas on the tooth's surface

Often used to improve the appearance of your teeth and enhance your smile. As the name indicates, composite material is bonded to an existing tooth. Unlike porcelain veneers or crowns, composite bonding removes little, if any, of the original tooth.

Composite bonding has many advantages:

It is a quick process, which typically takes one appointment
It does not reduce the tooth's original structure and is relatively inexpensive
Composite resins come in many different shades and provide better matching of shades to the natural color of your teeth
Composite bonds, however, are not as durable and long-lasting as porcelain veneers and crowns and may need to be re-touched or replaced in the future

Composite bonds stain more easily and therefore require proper care and regular cleaning. In order to ensure the longest possible duration of the bonding, composites should be brushed and flossed daily. Common staining elements include coffee, tea, tobacco, foods and candy.

Root Canals

Endodontics is an area of dentistry that deals with the treatment of teeth with infected nerves (rool canal). Root canals are performed by General Dentists and Endodontists (dentists who specialize in root canals).

Common causes for the need of endodontic treatment:

Inflamed/infected tooth pulp
Severe sensitivity to hot and cold elements
Tooth decay
Chipped or broken tooth
Blow to the tooth
Swelling or tenderness near the infected tooth
Repeated dental procedures on a tooth

Please contact our office if you experience any of the above symptoms; our doctor is well educated in all areas of dentistry and are ready to help you.

Tooth Extractions

Your third molars are more commonly called "wisdom teeth." Usually appearing in the late teens or early twenties, third molars often lack the proper space in the jaw to erupt fully or even at all. This common condition is called impaction. When any tooth lacks the space to come through or simply develops in the wrong place of your jaw and becomes impacted, problems can arise. Primarily, damage to adjacent teeth and crowding occur.

In certain cases, the wisdom tooth that cannot come through becomes inflamed under the gums and in the jawbone, causing a sac to develop around the root of the tooth that then fills with liquid. This can cause a cyst or an abscess if it becomes infected. If either of these situations goes untreated, serious damage to the underlying bone and surrounding teeth and tissues can result.

Digital Radiographs

Our office is equipped with state-of-the-art computerized digital radiographs. X-rays taken by this method have 85-90% less radiation than traditional x-rays! They can be taken in less time, and are more comfortable for the patient. For the dentist they provide superior diagnostic capabilities. X-rays can be digitally enhanced, colorized and inverted to allow detection of lesions not previously visible. Catching dental disease early allows you, the patient, more choices in treatment and fewer complications.