General Treatments

Regular preventive dental visits play a crucial role in maintaining your oral health. You can get answers to any questions on oral hygiene issues, systemic disease connections, and more. Having regular checkups could save you time, aggravation, and money. It could even save your teeth!

Dental Checkups

Twice a year, you should schedule a routine dental cleaning. During this visit, one of our dental hygienists will remove plaque from hard-to-reach deposits, and thoroughly clean, floss, and polish all your teeth. You will also be checked for any signs of oral cancer, tooth decay, gum disease, and other oral infections. If you are due for your semi-annual dental cleaning, please call our office to schedule an appointment.

Fillings

A dental filling is when we replace and restore your tooth structure that is damaged due to decay or a fracture. We can also replace old, broken-down amalgam/ metal fillings with white fillings (composites) to restore your smile and teeth to a more natural look and feel. Eliminate the dark, black appearance in your teeth with new-age, state-of-the-art, tooth-colored resin or porcelain materials.

Sports Guards

We are pleased to offer our patients custom-fabricated mouthguards for sports activities. Unlike stock mouthguards, which loosely fit because they are designed to accommodate many possible wearers, our sports mouthguards are tailored to fit you, providing the highest attainable level of comfort and security in a mouthguard.

The first step in fabricating these mouthguards is to take an impression of your teeth. We use the impression to fabricate the mouthguard using special professional-grade materials. Once complete, the mouthguard will fit comfortably and  will offer the most protection for your teeth and mouth.

Sealants

The grooves of your back teeth are extremely difficult (if not impossible) to clean of bacteria and food. As the bacteria reacts with the food, acids form and break down the tooth enamel, causing cavities. Recent studies indicate that 88% of total cavities in school children are caused this way.

Tooth sealants protect these susceptible areas by sealing the grooves and preventing the bacteria and food particles from causing decay. Sealant material is a resin typically applied to the back teeth, molars, premolars, and areas prone to cavities. It lasts for several years but needs to be checked during regular appointments.

Prevention

Dental problems can become expensive — and painful — the longer they go untreated. Fortunately, modern dentistry has many easy, and relatively inexpensive ways to make sure that today's minor annoyance does not turn into tomorrow's major headache. The goal is to keep you healthy and maintain your natural teeth.

Tooth Decay
Tooth decay is a preventable disease, and while it may not endanger your life, it may negatively impact your quality of life. Cavities, when left untreated can lead to the need for root canal therapy, or even an extraction. Carbohydrate-rich foods such as candy, cookies, soft drinks, and fruit juices, leave deposits on your teeth. Those deposits bond with the bacteria in your mouth to form plaque. The combination of deposits and plaque forms acids that can damage the structure of your teeth and eat away at tooth enamel, which causes tooth decay.

Sensitive Teeth
Your teeth expand and contract in reaction to changes in temperature. Hot and cold food and beverages can cause pain or irritation to people with sensitive teeth. Over time, tooth enamel can be worn down, gums may recede, or teeth may develop microscopic cracks which expose the interior of the tooth and irritating nerve endings. Just breathing cold air can be painful for those with extremely sensitive teeth.

Gum Disease
Gum disease can cause inflammation, tooth loss, and bone damage if left untreated. Gum disease begins with a sticky film of bacteria called plaque. Gums in the early stage of disease, or gingivitis, can bleed easily and become red and swollen. As the disease progresses to periodontitis, teeth may fall out or need to be removed by a dentist. Gum disease is highly preventable and can usually be avoided by daily brushing and flossing. One indicator of gum disease is consistent bad breath or a bad taste in the mouth.

Bad Breath (Halitosis)
Daily brushing and flossing helps to prevent the build-up of food particles, plaque, and bacteria in your mouth. Food particles left in the mouth deteriorate and cause bad breath. While certain foods, such as garlic or anchovies, may create temporary bad breath, consistent bad breath may be a sign of gum disease or another dental problem.

Canker Sores
Canker sores (aphthous ulcers) are small sores inside the mouth that often recur. Generally lasting 1-2 weeks, the duration of canker sores can be reduced by the use of antimicrobial mouthwashes or topical agents. A canker sore has a white or gray base surrounded by a red border.

Orthodontic Problems
A bite that does not meet properly (a malocclusion) can be inherited. Some causes of malocclusion include missing teeth, extra teeth, crowded teeth, or misaligned jaws. Accidents or developmental issues, such as finger or thumb sucking over an extended period of time, may also cause a malocclusion.

Grinding Teeth (Bruxism)
Teeth grinding, or bruxism, is the habit of grinding, gnashing, or clenching the teeth. Occasional teeth grinding is not harmful, however, severe teeth grinding that occurs on a daily basis, can lead to a tooth fracture, jaw disorders, and headaches. While some people unconsciously clench their teeth during the day, teeth grinding most often occurs during sleep. This means most people are unaware that they are grinding their teeth. Signs and symptoms of teeth grinding include:
  • A dull headache
  • Sore jaw
  • Worn tooth enamel
  • Fractured, flattened, or chipped teeth
  • Chronic facial pain
  • Tightness in the jaw muscles or jaw pain
Although doctors do not completely understand what causes teeth grinding, possible causes include, stress, anxiety, or the misalignment of the upper and lower teeth. During regular dental exams, our dentists will check for signs of teeth grinding. If you or your child are experiencing any of the symptoms, please call us to book an appointment.

In most cases, no treatment may be necessary. Most children simply outgrow the condition, and many adults do not experience the severe teeth grinding that may require therapy. If the problem becomes severe, we can fit you with a mouthguard to prevent further damage to your teeth.
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