Dr. Mark Lavin is originally from Vermillion, South Dakota. Inspired by his eldest brother, Marshall (an endodontist) and his twin sister, Molly (a family dentist), he attended dental school at the University of Nebraska. Dr. Mark extended his training, specializing in periodontics. Since completing his education in 2006, he has owned and operated his periodontal practice in Sioux Falls. In 2010, Dr. Mark married his lovely wife, Stacy, and they have two beautiful girls. They enjoy traveling and spending time with their families and friends. Dr. Mark also regularly trains and competes in triathlons, including the Ironman.

Practicing periodontics and placing dental implants takesextensive, specialized training outside of dental school. Dr. Lavin knew right away he had the personality to excel in one area of dentistry rather than attempt to be great in all aspects of dentistry. After graduating from dental school at the University of Nebraska, Dr. Lavin continued his education to specialize in periodontics and implants.

Now, Dr. Lavin performs this specialty every day, fixing problems with periodontal health. You and Dr. Lavin work together to figure out why youre experiencing the problem at hand and discussing what can be done to solve that problem.

Are you missing teeth? As an periodontist in Sioux Falls, SD, Dr. Mark Lavin can replace them with dental implants. If you compare a dental implant to a natural tooth, youll see striking similarities. A natural tooth consists of a root and a crown, and an implant has the same basic parts and function:

The difference is a dental implant is made of titanium the same durable material surgeons use for artificial joints. Its important to replace missing teeth because it can hinder your bites function while affecting your speech and eating choices. As you rely on your remaining teeth, your surrounding teeth wear out and your jawbone starts to deteriorate.

Generally, people will lose 25% of their supporting jaw bone structure within the first year after tooth loss. Dental implants are more easily placed when teeth are first extracted because bone replacement becomes more complex as time passes. The great news? Implants act similar to your natural teeth. They safeguard and preserve your bone structure, oral health, and appearance. Your dentist and Dr. Lavin will provide you with options so you can make the most informed decision concerning tooth replacement.

Placing dental implants requires constant communication, and Dr. Lavin will work closely with your restorative dentist to properly place and restore your dental implants, so you walk out of our office with a beautiful smile. Your Sioux Falls periodontist will perform the implant surgery, tooth extraction, and bone grafting (if necessary) while your dentist will make the permanent restorations to place on top of the titanium.

Also known as an overdenture, this option involves placing four to six implants, depending on your jaw size or shape, into your lower jaw. After its healed, the implants are connected to a support bar to firmly snap the denture into place. Its more stable than the ball attachment denture with minimal denture movement.

This option places five or more implants in your jaw and attaching a permanent denture. Its held in place by screws or clasps that secure it to the support posts or bar. It cannot be removed except at maintenance visits.

This is the best option to closely resemble your natural teeth, which includes placing eight or more implants. The teeth are often joined together for sinus grafting to replace bone height, strength,and support. Since it requires more implant fabrication, this is the most costly option.

This option allows you to enjoy your foods and gives you a better sense of its temperature. Depending on the number of implants you need, a full denture may not be needed. Either way, your denture will feel more natural and can be removed to clean your support bar and denture.

When one or more teeth are missing, it can lead to jaw bone loss at the site of the gap, which can create potential consequences, including drifting teeth, collapsed facial profile, limited lip support, TMJ pain, difficulty in chewing and speaking, and sinus expansion.

With our bone grafting options combined with dental implants, Dr. Lavin can restore your oral and overall health with aesthetic benefits. Dr. Lavin will determine which bone graft materials are right for you.

When you have missing teeth, the jawbone deteriorates, leaving poor quality and quantity of bone suitable for placement of dental implants. With bone grafting, Dr. Lavin can replace the bone where its missing AND promote new bone growth in that location!

It is accomplished by placing bone graft material in the tooth socket immediately after the tooth is removed. This avoids the need for a second procedure. Then, the gum tissue is placed over the empty socket, which is firmly secured with sutures.

The maxillary sinuses are empty, air-filled spaces located above the upper teeth. When the upper teeth are removed, there is often just a thin wall of bone separating the maxillary sinus and the mouth, making it impossible to place dental implants.

Thats when a sinus augmentation is needed to ensure your dental implants has the quality and quantity of jawbone needed to last a long time. A sinus augmentation can raise the sinus floor and allow for new bone formation. This involves Dr. Lavin making a small incision into the bone and pushing the membrane lining upward while inserting bone grafting material to form new bone. After the healing process, the bone becomes part of your jaw, and Dr. Lavin can place the dental implants and stabilize it in the new sinus bone.

You may need a tooth extraction because of pain, infection, bone loss, or fracture of the tooth. The bone holding your tooth in place may be severely infected, and the surrounding bone and gums can shrink and recede very quickly after the tooth extraction.

There are many techniques to preserve the bone health and minimize bone loss. We can preserve the tooth socket with bone or a bone substitute. Then, Dr. Lavin covers the bone with gum, artificial membrane, or tissue-stimulating proteins to encourage your bodys natural ability to repair the socket. This will help the tooth socket from shrinking and collapsing, giving you the opportunity to place a dental implant.

We can provide many options while tailoring to your needs. If you need a replacement tooth, we can make temporary, removable teeth or a temporary bridge. For those missing all of your teeth, we can make a temporary denture or modify your current denture. Do you want non-removable teeth during the healing phase? Depending on your case, we can place dental implants and load them immediately. This means a temporary or permanent replacement tooth can be placed on, or shortly after, the day the implant is placed.

Dental implants are well worth the investment in your health and overall appearance. Having functional teeth makes it a pleasure to eat a balanced, healthy diet, preserve your facial contours, and allow you to speak clearly. The cost of implants depends on the procedure and how many implants youre receiving. We do accept CareCredit with up to 18 months of payment. Call us for more details 605-332-6300.

Dr. Mark Lavins practice provides a variety of surgical services for the treatment of periodontal issues. We pride ourselves on the fact that we are very conservative in our treatment recommendations and limit surgery to the areas where it is absolutely necessary.

Many times, the early stages of periodontal disease are best treated with non-surgical periodontal therapy. Even in severe cases, non-surgical periodontal therapy often precedes surgical therapy. This is done to improve the overall tissue quality prior to surgery and also to help limit the areas requiring surgery. We offer a wide range of periodontal services in our Sioux Falls practice, including:

Daily brushing and flossing will minimize the chances of gum disease as it removes plaque, tartar, and other harmful bacteria from your smile. However, its not enough to stop periodontal disease. Visiting Dr. Lavin or your general dentist every six months removes hardened plaque that you wont be able to remove, keeping your smile healthy.

By keeping up with your periodontal maintenance plan that Dr. Lavin prescribes, youll experience many benefits. You can chew your favorite foods with more comfort while smiling and speaking with greater confidence. Plus, youll keep dental costs down by preventing future problems.

Prophylaxis can either be done with Dr. Mark Lavin or by your general dentist. Since Dr. Lavin specializes and understands the full scope of your periodontal disease, it can be more beneficial to visit our Sioux Falls practice. We recommend seeing us twice annually for a dental cleaning and every 3-4 months for anyone who is more prone to periodontal disease. It should be noted that gum disease cannot be completely reversed, but prophylaxis is one of the tools Dr. Lavin can use to halt its progression effectively.

The initial treatment of periodontal disease usually consists of a thorough dental cleaning called scaling and root planing. This non-surgical procedure is performed to remove etiologic agents such as dental plaque and tartar (calculus), which causes gum inflammation. Scaling and root planing is commonly used in cases of gingivitis and moderate to severe periodontal disease.

Dr. Lavin will only perform this preventive measure after a thorough mouth examination through x-rays and a visual exam. Dr. Lavin may advise scaling and root planing depending on your gums condition, the amount of tartar present, pocket depths, and the progression of periodontitis. Heres what you can expect:

According to the American Cancer Society, more than 30,000 cases of oral cancer are diagnosed each year, with more than 7,000 of these cases resulting indeath. If caught early, oral cancer can be effectively treated. Luckily, Dr. Lavin offers annual cancer exams at his periodontics office in Sioux Falls, SD.

Most oral cancers are linked with avoidable behaviors, such as smoking, tobacco use, and excessive alcohol consumption. Dr. Lavin can provide you with literature and options about quitting dangerous behaviors such as tobacco use.

The oral cancer exam is painless. Dr. Lavin will search for any abnormalities by examining the face, glands, and neck for unusual bumps. If he sees any signs of oral cancer, hell show you what hes seeing and discuss with you the next steps to take.

Are you unhappy with the appearance of short, unsightly teeth? Dr. Lavin can use a combination of procedures to cover unsightly, sensitive, or exposed root surfaces and prevent future gum recession. Although your teeth may appear shorter, they are the proper length. It could be you have excessive gum tissue, which can be corrected by performing periodontal surgery, such as:

This term is used to describe an unbalanced smile where the teeth are covered by excess gum tissue. Crown lengthening reshapes the gum tissue and bone around the teeth to balance your gums and teeth, creating an aesthetically pleasing smile.

Crown lengthening takes about one hour to complete. However, it depends how many teeth are involved with the procedure. Its usually performed under local anesthetic and involves separating the gums from the teeth. This allows the new crowns edge to go below the gum tissue and create a proper fit to the tooth. Once Dr. Lavin is satisfied with the placement of your crown, hell clean the site and secure the new gum-to-tooth relationship. Your teeth will look longer, more balanced, and youll start seeing results right away. A follow-up will be scheduled 1-2 weeks after the procedure, so Dr. Lavin can ensure everything is healing properly.

A healthy bite consists of all of your teeth being present and not worn down from daily usage. When the teeth show wear and tear, looseness, or TMJ (jaw joint) damage, bite therapy restores your bites full function without damage or destruction. Therapy may include:

When your gums recede, gum reconstruction using grafting techniques is an option. There are different levels of gum recession you may be experiencing. When you have minor recession, some healthy gum tissue remains to protect the tooth, so modifying home care practices is necessary to ensure your smile stays healthy. Gum recession often results in root sensitivity to hot and cold foods as well as an unsightly appearance of the gum and tooth. With advanced gum recession, the tooth root is exposed, which can lead to root caries and root gouging. A gum graft is designed to solve these problems. Dr. Lavin takes thin tissue from the roof of your mouth to provide a stable gum foundation around the tooth. Itll be placed to cover the exposed root and start the healing process.

In the past, gum disease was treated by eliminatinggum pockets and trimming away gum tissues through re-contouring uneven bone tissue. With the advancement in periodontics, there are more modern, comfortable ways to treat gum disease. One of those methods is guided bone and tissue regeneration.

This procedure is used to secure endangered teeth or prepare your bite for dental implants. Dr. Lavin may recommendtissue regeneration when pockets appear in the jaw because of periodontal disease,which can promote the growth and spread ofbacteria and infection.

Dr. Lavin will clean the pockets and insert a membrane betweenthe soft tissue and the pocket in the bone.Themembrane covers the pocket and blocking the soft tissue from rapidly growing. That way the bone can begin regenerating itself.

The ultimate goal of pocket reduction surgery is to reduce or remove periodontal pockets that cause gum disease. Its most commonly used when you show signs of more advanced periodontal disease. While its referred to as surgery, many patients report it feels more like a cleaning. The goals of osseous surgery include:

First, Dr. Lavin will access the bone and roots of the teeth by releasing the gum tissue from the bone. Hell thoroughly clean the tooth roots, reshape the bone around your teeth, and place your gums back to their optimal position. Hell provide pain medication and mouthwash after surgery during your recovery process. To ensure your procedure is a success, well schedule follow-up visits and provide a maintenance program to avoid post-operative infection.

A frenum is a naturally occurring muscle attachment, normally seen between the front teeth (either upper or lower), connecting your inner lip to the gum. Sometimes the frenum can exaggerate the pull on the gum margin, resulting in gum recession. It could also prevent teeth from coming together, creating a gap between the front teeth. Dr. Lavin can prevent that by performing a frenectomy by surgically releasing the frenum.