Comfortable Dental Treatment

We will thoroughly examine your teeth and gums, specifically looking for any potential issues. Radiographs (x-rays) will likely be taken to thoroughly diagnose your teeth and bone. If there are any signs of decay or other problems, we will recommend treatment options and make notes of any conditions that may need future observation. Oral hygiene instructions will also be provided along with suggestions to help you care for your teeth.

Twice a year, you should schedule a routine dental cleaning. During this visit, one of our dental hygienists will remove plaque and tartar from your teeth, especially from places where your brush can't reach, such as underneath the gum line and between teeth. We will then clean your teeth and may apply fluoride to help protect your teeth once you leave the office.

Fillings replace damaged or decayed tooth structure with a restorative material. There are several different types of filling materials, including:

A crown is a custom-made covering that fits over an original tooth that is either 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 usually involves:

New technologies have greatly reduced the time needed to make strong, natural-looking crowns. Once the procedure is completed, proper care should be taken to ensure the crown remains in good condition and the teeth and gums are healthy. Given proper care, your crowns can last a lifetime!

A bridge is a dental device that fills a space that a tooth previously occupied. A bridge may be necessary to prevent the shifting of teeth, to fix bite problems or to ensure the strength and integrity of the surrounding teeth.

Fixed bridges are the most popular and consist of a filler tooth attached to two crowns in order to hold the bridge in place. "Maryland" bridges, commonly used to replace missing front teeth, use tooth-colored metal bands bonded to surrounding teeth. And cantilever bridges use two crowned teeth positioned next to each other on the same side of the missing tooth.

A root canal is a procedure that extracts decayed tissue from inside a tooth, reshapes the canal and replaces it with strengthened filler. There are a number of reasons a root canal may be necessary, including dental injuries, severe decay and infection or inflammation in the tooth pulp. When left untreated, these problems can cause extensive damage to the tooth structure.

Root canals can typically be completed in one visit, although more extensive cases may require another appointment. You will also be able to drive yourself home after the appointment.

An extraction is the complete removal of a tooth. Extractions are sometimes necessary if:

For your comfort, we may refer you to an oral surgeon for an extraction depending on the complexity of your case. 

A baby's first tooth typically erupts between 6 to 12 months of age. Gums are sore, tender and sometimes irritable until the age of 3. Rubbing sore gums gently with a clean finger, the back of a cold spoon or a cold, wet cloth helps soothe the gums. Teething rings work well.

It is important to monitor your child's teeth for signs of baby bottle decay. Examine the teeth, especially on the inside or the tongue side, every two weeks for dull or dark spots. A bottle left in an infant's mouth while sleeping can cause decay. This happens because sugar in the liquid mixes with bacteria in dental plaque, forming acids that attack the tooth enamel. Each time a child drinks liquids containing sugar, acids attack the teeth for about 20 minutes. When awake, saliva carries away the liquid. During sleep, the saliva flow significantly decreases and liquids pool around the child's teeth for long periods, covering the teeth in acids.

Tooth decay in infants can be minimized or totally prevented by not allowing sleeping children to bottle-feed. Children that need a bottle to comfortably fall asleep should be given a water-filled bottle or a pacifier.

Primary (baby) teeth play a crucial role in dental development. Without them, a child cannot chew food properly and has difficulty speaking clearly. Primary teeth are vital to development of the jaws and for guiding the permanent teeth into place when they replace the baby teeth, starting around age 6 through about age 12.

Since primary teeth guide the permanent teeth into place, children with missing primary teeth or those who prematurely lose primary teeth may require a space maintainer, a device used to hold the natural space open. Without a maintainer, the teeth can tilt toward the empty space and cause permanent teeth to come in crooked or prevent them from coming into the mouth at all.

The way your child cares for their primary teeth plays a critical role in how they treat their permanent teeth. Children and adults are equally susceptible to plaque and gum problems — hence, the need for regular care and dental check-ups.

A child's teeth actually start forming before birth. As early as 4 months of age, the primary (baby) teeth push through the gums — the lower central incisors are first, then the upper central incisors.

The remainder of the 20 primary teeth typically erupt by age 3. Permanent teeth begin eruption around age 6, starting with the first molars and lower central incisors. This process continues until around age 21. Adults have 28 permanent teeth — 32 including the third molars (wisdom teeth).

A child's first dental visit should be scheduled around their first birthday. The most important part of the visit is getting to know and becoming comfortable with the dental team. A pleasant, comfortable first visit builds trust and helps put the child at ease during future dental visits.

The teeth, bones and soft tissue of the mouth require a healthy, well-balanced diet. A variety of foods from the five food groups helps minimize (and avoid) cavities and other dental problems. Children should receive healthy foods like vegetables, low-fat yogurt and cheeses, which promote strong teeth.

It's an unavoidable fact: your teeth will darken over time. Food, drinks, tobacco, and even injuries and illness can all cause your smile to tarnish. But a white, bright smile makes a great impression, which is why we offer effective tooth whitening services.

If you've used over-the-counter solutions for teeth whitening, chances are you've been disappointed. For truly great tooth whitening, you need:

That's exactly why our tooth whitening is the best! Come in for a consultation, and let our experienced team recommend a whitening solution catered to your needs. From prescription strength in-office gels to take-home trays, we have whitening systems that you simply can't find anywhere else.

Veneers are thin, semi-translucent shells customized from porcelain material and bonded to your teeth. Veneers are a great option to quickly improve the appearance of your smile.

Some common problems veneers are used for include:

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.

Dental implants are one of the most popular choices for replacing missing teeth. With dental implants, your tooth replacement looks, feels, bites and functions almost exactly like an actual tooth. Made of a biocompatible metal, implants are placed into the jaw and fuse with the surrounding bone and tissue. A crown is then placed on the abutment, which connects to the implant.

 Implants are a great choice for:

Composite bonding is used to improve the appearance of your teeth and enhance your smile. It is a resin material that is bonded to an existing tooth. Unlike veneers or crowns, composite bonding removes little, if any, of the original tooth.

Composite bonding has many advantages:

This simple process only takes four steps! First, the decay or old filling is removed and then, the teeth are prepared to be digitally photographed by a 3-D camera, which eliminates those messy, cumbersome traditional impressions. Next, computer-aided design (CAD) software is used to design and create a customized restoration specifically to closely match your teeth and meet your specific dental needs.

CEREC holds several advantages over conventional restoration systems, including:

Contact us for more information on this high-tech system.

Laser dentistry can be used to correct many problems, from uncovering partially erupted teeth to removing lip and tongue pulls in patients. Lasers can also obtain small tissue samples in biopsy procedures to detect lesions or potential tumors in the mouth.

Using laser dentistry as opposed to other forms of surgery does have its advantages. Lasers can control the amount of bleeding during the treatment and can sometimes remove gum tissue without causing bleeding. In laser dentistry, there may also be less swelling and pain following the surgery as the laser can seal blood vessels and nerve endings.

The Simply Clear System combines advanced 3-D computer graphics technology with 100-year-old science of orthodontics. Clear aligners are designed to move your teeth in small steps to the desired final position prescribed by your dentist.

Each aligner is precisely calibrated and manufactured to fit your mouth at each stage of the treatment plan. Your first step is to visit our office to determine if Simply Clear is right for you. After sending precise treatment instructions, Simply Clear uses advanced computer technology to translate these instructions in a sequence of finely calibrated aligners — as few as 12 or as many as 48.

Each aligner is worn for about two weeks and only taken out to eat, brush and floss. As you replace each aligner with the next, your teeth will begin to move gradually - week-by-week until the final alignment prescribed is attained. Then you'll be smiling like you never have before!

If you want to learn more about Simply Clear and how it works, please visit simplyclear.com.

To ensure the best possible results, only a dentist who has been trained can diagnose and treat using Simply Clear. Simply Clear is not intended for children and is not appropriate for every adult. Only a dentist can determine if this treatment is an effective option for you. To see if Simply Clear can help you achieve the smile you've always wanted, contact us to make an appointment and get a FREE estimate.