Dental Services
Other Dental Services
On this page: Fillings | Sealants | Bleaching | Bridges | Crowns
Fillings
Our office is pleased to provide both white/composite fillings as well as silver/amalgam fillings. Each type of filling material has its own advantages and disadvantages. Our dentists will discuss the options with you and will provide a recommendation best suited for your treatment needs.
Sealants
Highly effective in preventing decay on the biting surfaces of your chewing teeth, sealants are a simple procedure in which a tooth-colored acrylic "coating" is painted onto the surface of the tooth. This effectively "seals" the deep grooves acting as a barrier, protecting enamel from plaque and acids.
Sealants protect the depressions and grooves of your teeth from food particles and plaque that brushing and flossing can't reach.
Easy to apply, sealants take only a few minutes to seal each tooth. Sealants hold up well under the force of normal chewing and can last several years before a reapplication is needed.
Children and adults can benefit from sealants in the fight against tooth decay.
Bleaching
Having a beautiful smile may be even easier than you think. Many people achieve the look they've been dreaming of with our simple "bleaching" procedure.
It's safe, quick, and inexpensive. Just let us know at any appointment if you would like to begin bleaching. You can lighten only your upper teeth or both the upper and lower, depending on how much of each shows when you talk and smile.
In only a day or two your custom bleach splints will be ready for you. We provide you with a special bleaching agent that you put into the clear, nearly invisible splints. With only a few hours of wear per day, our special bleaching agent bubbles stains right out of your enamel in a very short time without altering tooth structure or existing dental work in any way. When your teeth reach the brightness you want, only occasional treatment is needed to maintain your new smile.
Dental bleaching can be used to correct many tooth discolorations. These discolorations may have been caused by staining, aging, or chemical damage to teeth. Using the latest in bleaching technology, we can offer a safe method for creating a beautiful, "brilliant" smile. In cases of extreme tooth discoloration, crowns, or veneers may be the only choice. However, because of the low cost of bleaching treatments, bleaching is nearly always worth a try.
Key Benefits
- Corrects brown, yellow, and mottled tooth staining
- Works on people of all ages.
- Is a near permanent solution for a "dull" smile, restoring brightness, and bringing a smile alive.
How Is It Done?
An impression is taken to make a specialized "mouthguard" or "stent" to hold the bleach against the teeth. The material is used each night for about three to four hours for a week or two, after which significant whitening will occur. In some cases, the change is nothing short of brilliant. For confidence in appearance, bleaching technology offers improvements in yellowing, aging, or stained teeth. For very severely stained teeth, crowns, or veneers may be more appropriate.
Bridges
All of your teeth play an important role in speaking, chewing, and maintaining proper alignment of other teeth. Tooth loss doesn't necessarily have to occur as you age. But if you do lose teeth, they must be replaced to maintain proper function of your mouth. Fortunately, there are options for correcting tooth loss.
Options
A bridge — a device used to replace missing teeth — attaches artificial teeth to adjacent natural teeth, called abutment teeth. Bridges are either permanently attached (fixed bridges) or they can be removable.
Fixed bridges are applied by either placing crowns on the abutment teeth or by bonding the artificial teeth directly to the abutment teeth. Removable bridges are attached to the teeth with metal clasps or by precision attachments.
If you're missing one or more teeth, you may be aware of their importance to your appearance and dental health. Your teeth work together for many daily functions from eating to speaking. With missing teeth, it's difficult to do these things. Missing teeth can and should be replaced. Fixed bridges are a great way to restore your dental health and appearance.
What Is A Bridge/Fixed Partial Denture?
A bridge (fixed partial denture) is a device that fills the gap where teeth are absent. Fixed bridges are bonded into place and can only be removed by a dental professional. Removable bridges, as the name implies, can be taken out and cleaned. Fixed bridges offer more stability than their removable counterparts.
Why Do I Need A Bridge?
Oral functionality and appearance are important reasons for wearing a bridge. A bridge helps support your lips and cheeks. The loss of a back tooth may cause your mouth to sink and your face to look older.
Dental health is the most important reason for a bridge. Teeth were designed to complement each other. Unusual stresses are placed on the gums and other oral tissues when teeth are missing, causing a number of potentially harmful disorders.
Increased risk of gum disease has proven to be one of the worst side effects of missing teeth and can be minimized with a bridge.
Missing teeth can cause speech disorders as they are used to make many of the sounds we use to speak clearly.
How Is A Bridge Attached?
The attachment procedure usually takes two or three appointments to complete. At the first appointment, Our doctors will prepare the teeth on either side of the gap by removing a portion of the enamel and dentin.
Since the bridge must be fabricated very precisely to ensure correct bite and to match the opposing tooth, impressions of the teeth are taken and sent to the lab where the bridge will be constructed.
Fixed bridges are typically cemented to the natural teeth next to the space left by the missing tooth. A pontic (false tooth) replaces the lost tooth. Crowns, which are cemented onto the natural teeth, provide support for the bridge.
What Materials Are Used?
Bridges can be constructed from gold alloys, non-precious alloys, porcelain, or a combination of these materials. Porcelain is often bonded to either a precious or non-precious metal.
How Do I Take Care Of My Bridge?
A strict regimen of brushing and flossing will keep the bridge and surrounding teeth clean. This is of critical importance since the bridge relies on the neighboring teeth for support.
Crowns
Where damage to a person's teeth is extreme and apparently beyond repair, we can use porcelain, porcelain fused to gold or full gold crowns to make the smile appear "as new". This is an extremely reliable technique for repairing the most severe dental problems, even permanently replacing missing teeth to offer a complete smile and a functional bite. Crowns are used for a long-lasting correction of major dental problems. It is usual for crowns to last for 20 to 30 years, which is as close to permanent as dental treatment can get.
How Long Does It Take?
Fitting a crown requires at least two office visits. Initially, we will remove decay, shape the tooth, and fit it with a temporary crown.
On the subsequent visit, we will remove the temporary crown, and then fit and adjust the final crown. Finally, we will cement the crown into place and you have a new beautiful looking tooth.
Key Benefits
- Replaces missing teeth
- Offers support to misshapen teeth or badly broken teeth
- Looks completely natural
- Fixes "smile" and functional chewing problems.
What Is The Capability Of A Crown?
Crown and bridgework is a very reliable solution for major dental problems caused through accidents, diseases, or wear and tear. Major problems can usually be corrected using these techniques. Materials used in these repairs are either gold, high-grade porcelain or porcelain bonded to gold. The higher strength of the porcelain and gold materials is recommended to treat the most serious of dental problems. Where accidental damage has occurred resulting in lost teeth, or teeth have broken away through excessive wear, or as the result of old fillings breaking, crowns and/or bridges can be used as a long-term solution.
Many people have unexplained pain from filled back teeth that is usually due to hairline cracks in the chewing part of the tooth. Placing crowns on these teeth relieves the pain and allows a return of full dental function for these teeth. In front teeth, older fillings can both weaken the teeth and cause appearance problems due to staining or chipping. Porcelain crowns and bridges are suitable in cases where porcelain veneers are not. In teeth with root canal fillings, crowns can prevent breakage.
