Tooth-Colored 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 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 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 composites can actually save time and money in the long run.
- White filling composites are preferred by most patients. This is due to the natural color, strength and overall appearance and feel. Composites are naturally more comfortable.
- Hot and cold sensitivity is greatly reduced with composite material compared to the silver amalgams.
- 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.
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Ceramic Crowns
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 (ceramic), gold, acrylic resin or a mix of these materials. Our doctors provide ceramic crowns, which generally have the most natural appearance, although they are often less durable.
The treatment plan for a patient receiving a crown involves:
- Numbing the tooth to remove the decay in or around it.
- Re-sculpturing the tooth to provide an ideal fit for the crown.
- Making an impression of your teeth in order to create a custom-made crown (usually takes one to two weeks).
- Making a temporary crown out of acrylic resin and fitting it onto the tooth during the interim period when the custom-made crown is being created.
- Applying the custom-made crown (when received from the lab) by removing the temporary crown and fitting the custom-made one onto the tooth.
- After ensuring that the crown has the proper look and fit, the dentist cements it into place.
This process generally consists of a minimum of two to three visits over a three to four week period. Once the procedure is completed, proper dental hygiene, including daily brushing and flossing, is required to maintain healthy, bacteria-free teeth, gums and crowns. This helps in the prevention of gum disease. Given proper care, your crowns can last a lifetime.
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Same Day Crowns
We are proud to provide same day crowns using CEREC 3-D Technology. The CEREC system has revolutionized the dental field by meeting the needs of our patients in a more convenient manner. Gone are the days where the patient must return for multiple visits to complete a crown restoration. Using CEREC Technology our doctors can design, fabricate and place a ceramic crown restoration in just one visit! Also with this new system, the need for temporaries or impressions has been eliminated.
Through the use of this new technology, we can save more of the healthy tooth structure in our patients while giving them beautiful, tooth-colored restorations that are metal-free and durable.
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Metal Free Bridges
A bridge is a dental device that fills a space that a tooth previously occupied.
A bridge may be necessary to prevent:
- Shifting of the teeth that can lead to bite problems (occlusion) and/or jaw problems and resultant periodontal disease.
- Bridges safeguard the integrity of existing teeth and help maintain a healthy, vibrant smile.
There are two main types of bridges, namely:
- Fixed bridge- this is the most popular and consists of a filler tooth that is attached to two crowns, which fit over the existing teeth and hold the bridge in place.
- The Cantilever bridge is often used when there are teeth on only one side of the span. A typical three-unit cantilever bridge consists of two crowned teeth positioned next to each other on the same side of the missing tooth space. The filler tooth is then connected to the two crowned teeth, which extend into the missing tooth space or end.
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Dentures
Periodontal disease, injury and tooth decay can all cause a loss of your natural teeth. However, we can bring back the smile on your face with dentures to restore your missing teeth. With improved technology and updated materials, dentists can now make them appear more natural and more comfortable for the patient.
There are two types of dentures: complete and partial. Complete dentures cover the patient’s entire jaw while partial dentures, with their metal framework, replace multiple missing teeth. Ask our doctors to see which type would be right for you.
It may take some time to adjust to your dentures. Speaking and eating may feel different at first, but these regular activities will resume normally once you are accustomed to your dentures.
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Partials
Partial dentures are removable appliances that replace missing teeth by attaching via a metal framework to your natural teeth.
Caring for your removable appliances:
Proper denture care is essential to the durability of your dentures and the overall health of your mouth.
- Brush your dentures daily with a soft-bristled tooth brush. (Don’t forget to brush your gums and tongue as well.)
- While not being worn, keep your dentures in denture solution and/or water (not hot) to prevent warping.
- Handle with care and keep out of the reach of children and pets
- If your dentures become loose, chip, break or crack, see your dentist.
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Extractions
General Extractions
An extraction is the complete removal of a tooth. Extractions are sometimes necessary if a primary tooth is preventing the normal eruption of a permanent tooth, if the tooth has suffered extensive tooth decay or trauma that cannot be repaired, if the patient has gum disease, or if the tooth is impacted (usually the wisdom teeth). Depending on the complexity of the case, an extraction can be performed surgically or non-surgically. A mild anesthesia is used to ensure you are as comfortable as possible throughout the procedure.
Wisdom Teeth
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.
To potentially stave off this result, an extraction of one, several or all of the wisdom teeth may be advised. If that is the case, we have the equipment and training needed to perform such extractions, with an absolute minimum of discomfort. Ask our staff for more information regarding tooth extractions if you feel you may need one.
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Dental Implants
Thanks to advanced technology, we can now replace teeth in about an hour, using the Nobel Biocare™ Procera® System. Following a thorough examination, we will take a CT scan of the patient’s upper and lower jaw. The CT data is then converted into a 3D image and a surgical plan for the implant is outlined on the computer. This file is then transmitted to a lab for fabrication.
Using the files as a guide, a model of the patient’s jaws is reconstructed. Technicians then formulate a surgical guide for installation of the implant. The guide and all other components are shipped to our office.
We will then fabricate the teeth in our laboratory using the models of the jaw as a guide. With the aid of the computer-generated guide, the implants are surgically installed. Following the procedure, you should experience very little to no swelling or discomfort. Best of all, you’ll enjoy the benefits of a new, improved esthetically pleasing smile!
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Root Canal Treatment
A root canal is a procedure that extracts decayed pulp from the central part of the tooth, reshapes the canal and replaces it with strengthening filler.
A cavity is the result of superficial decay of the enamel of the tooth. Left long enough, this decay can burrow into the deeper reaches of the tooth, causing extensive damage to tooth structure. When the damage goes beyond what can be treated with a filling, dentists can perform a root canal (or endodontics), preserving the tooth and retaining its original integrity; thereby, saving a tooth that in the past would have to have been pulled.
Procedure:
- The patient undergoes anesthesia.
- A dental dam is used to isolate the tooth.
- The tooth is opened to allow for removal of infected or dead dental pulp.
- The tooth is comprehensively cleaned, including any cracks and canals.
- With special tools, the doctor reshapes the canals.
- The tooth is filled again with cutting edge biocompatible filling material.
- A temporary covering is used to cover the access opening.
- Patients MUST see their regular dentist quickly for a permanent restoration of the tooth.
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