My interest in dentistry dates back to my grandmother, who was a Prosthodontist. She specialized in giving people their smiles, chewing and cheerfulness back. As a child I watched her working with her patients, I saw the gratitude of people, who would spring back to life by simply having their teeth restored.
We are proud to provide a state-of-the-art facility for the highest quality dental care available. It is one of our top priorities to protect the well-being of our valued patients. For this reason, our office meets and surpasses all OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and CDC (Center for Disease Control) standards. We are confident that you will feel right at home in our office as we welcome all patients as if they were family.
We will be more than happy to submit all insurance forms for you and help you recover the most from your benefits. We will do everything we can to help you afford the treatment you need and want. For patients who require major work, a complete payment plan is designed with an appropriate payment schedule. Forms of payment accepted by the office are check, cash, or any major credit card.
General Dentistry is our core service at Dental Arts. Our motto is healthier teeth, happier you. At Dental Arts, we provide comprehensive general dentistry services to keep your family healthy and smiling. Our dentists strongly encourage long-lasting dental health by regular dental checkups every six months.
During your check-up, we will examine your teeth and overall oral health after a healthy cleaning from your hygienist. With regular dental visits, we can prevent common dental health problems such as tooth decay or periodontal disease by monitoring your teeth and gums. Good oral health can also prevent dental procedures such as cavity fillings, root canals and tooth extractions. If you are in need of emergency dental please check our emergency dental page.
At our office, we use clinical laboratory services from OralDNA Labs to ensure we are giving our patients the best oral health information possible. OralDNA Labs is a specialty diagnostics company designed to provide reliable, definitive and cost effective clinical tests that guide oral health professionals in detecting and prognosing disease at an earlier, more treatable stage.
Periodontal (gum) disease is insidious. It is an infection of the gums that starts out as plaque, an opaque film on the teeth that hardens to form tartar. As tartar accumulates, it harbors bacteria that attack the soft tissue around the gums.This is the early stage of gum disease known as Gingivitis. Left untreated, Gingivitis becomes Periodontitis which ultimately destroys the tissue surrounding your teeth AND the bone that holds your teeth in place.
Wisdom teeth extractions are a fairly common procedure. Wisdom teeth often cause problems as they are trying to protrude through the gums. When a wisdom tooth is impacted, it means the tooth is coming in at an angle and not straight through the gum line. This can cause pain, the tooth can come in unevenly, or the tooth may only emerge partially.
A soft tissue graft is used when there has been a significant amount of gum recession in a particular area. Slight gum recession can usually be fixed with a few changes to your oral hygiene routine to take better care of your teeth and gums. When the gingiva recedes further it exposes you to greater risk for infection and bacterial penetration. You will likely be more sensitive to hot and cold foods when you have receding gums. If the gums recede enough as to expose the root you can set yourself up for more serious problems. The root is softer than the enamel making it more vulnerable to bacteria and plaque.
To restore proper gum level and functionality a soft tissue graft can be performed. This is done by either removing soft tissue from the roof of the mouth, or repositioning healthy gum tissue from adjacent teeth. This procedure is very predictable and has a high success rate. This procedure should be performed before more serious problems develop and periodontal surgery is necessary.
Gingivitis is a generative disease that left untreated, will cause significant tooth and gum deterioration. Just the word gingivitis can strike panic in a patients mind. The reality is that the treatment is simple and performed right in your dentists office.
When removing a tooth it is important to consider what will be done with the empty space after that tooth is removed. Wisdom teeth are in the back of the mouth, so that site will heal on its own with no complications. If it is necessary to remove another tooth, plans must be made.
Dental bridges are a great way to replace missing teeth. Your existing teeth are used to literally create a bridge to cross the area where your tooth is missing. Bridges are made from gold, metal, alloys, or porcelain to ensure that they are strong and durable. The process of creating a bridge begins by creating abutments out of your existing teeth where the bridge will be attached.
Over time our teeth begin to weaken and become more susceptible to problems such as decay, cracks, discoloration and others. If you feel your smile isnt what it once was, crowns can help you recover your smile. If your dentist notices that a tooth is decayed or seems weakened/cracked a crown may be necessary to make sure that there are no additional problems with the tooth. In cases like this a filling or bonding will not be sufficient.
Cavities can decay to tooth to the point where restoration is virtually impossible without a procedure called crown lengthening. Crown lengthening is a routine surgical procedure, which remodels the contour of the gum line. The procedure does not actually lengthen the crown, but rather lowers the gum line. When there is not enough tooth structure to affix a crown, this is the only option. Sometimes a tooth has been broken below the gum line. In this instance, crown lengthening is very successful in exposing more of the tooth, so that the dentist has something to work with.
Many people are afflicted with bruxism, or teeth grinding. Some people may do this consciously during the day, but it is a larger problem at night while you are asleep. Grinding your teeth can damage enamel, wear down teeth, cause jaw pain, or irritate your gums. The noise from teeth grinding can also disturb your spouses sleep if loud enough.
Bone grafting is where the jawbone is built up to accommodate a dental implant or other restorative device. Bone grafting is a common procedure that is used frequently for dental implants and other periodontal procedures. The bone used to graft is taken from a sample from the patient. Many times, the bone is taken from another area of the mouth when drilling takes place. The bone fragments are suctioned from the mouth and used for the graft. Cadaver bone fragments are also used. They are harvested by bone banks and are a very safe source for bone donation.
Sometimes the effects of periodontal disease create permanent changes in the tooth and gum structure that will cause issues in the future. Enlarged gum pockets between the tooth and the gum line are common after having advanced gum disease. Sometimes these gaps are cosmetic in nature, and affect the appearance of the gums. More commonly, the gaps put the teeth at future risk for tooth and gum disease, as they are just one more place that plaque and bacteria can collect.