Most people brush their teeth, but they are not meticulous. You can't do a thorough job in 5 seconds! We teach proper brushing techniques, instructing our patients about cleaning their gums, tongue, and all surfaces of their teeth.
Professional cleaning removes plaque, tartar, and stains from the teeth. Surface stains on the crown part of the tooth or above the gumline are removed so the teeth will look and feel cleaner. The combination of a prophy and a routine exam is the first line of defense against future dental problems.
A crown is needed to protect a tooth that just had a root canal because these teeth tend to become brittle and are more likely to fracture. Crowns are also used to hold a cracked tooth together, cover discolored teeth, and to support the replacement tooth/teeth in a bridge.
A bridge is a dental appliance that replaces one or more natural missing teeth, thereby 'bridging' the space between two teeth. Fixed bridges are cemented into place using the surrounding teeth on either side of the space.
If you do not practice good oral hygiene and visit us for routine periodic exams, cavities will develop causing you to need a filling, a root canal or an extraction. At the exam we check for new cavities and inspect old fillings for leakage around their edges. Fillings don't last forever!
Aging may change teeth or the surrounding structures enough to require replacement of a filling to improve your bite or to save your teeth. The old filling may have aged past its usefulness and the underlying tooth structure may be in danger if a new restoration is not done.
A dental implant is a metal post that is surgically placed in the bone to simulate a tooth root. The purpose of an implant is to hold a replacement tooth, teeth or denture. Implants are the closest replacement functionally and esthetically to natural teeth.
Implants can be an option for people who have lost a tooth or teeth due to caries, periodontal disease or an injury. However, it is important candidates for implants are in good general and oral health, which includes being free of gum disease and having an adequate amount of bone present for placement.
Extraction involves the complete removal of a tooth from the mouth. Some extractions may require cutting into the gums and removing supporting bone and/or cutting the tooth into sections prior to removal.
We encourage root canal therapy over extraction. Extractions can cause a great deal of trauma pulling teeth may affect memory if you extract a tooth you will loose 10% of your chewing ability. You may also loose other teeth due to drifting.
A root canal treatment involves the removal and replacement of a tooth's pulp. The pulp is the soft tissue containing blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue found in a canal that runs through the center of the inside of the tooth.
Root canal therapy or pulpectomy consists of making a small hole in the tooth and then removing the tiny dead nerves, blood vessels and debris from each canal in the tooth. The roots are then shaped, disinfected and filled with an inert material.
Veneers are a thin, semi-transparent tooth shaped 'shell' that are custom made of porcelain. They are permanently bonded to your natural teeth to enhance their shape, color, length or size. They fit your teeth precisely to look completely natural.
A complete or full denture is a removable replacement for missing teeth and adjacent tissue. They are made when all of your natural teeth are missing. You can have one for your upper or lower jaw, or both.