How can we help you?
We are happy to answer questions about our services and procedures.
These are a selection of some common questions that patients have. If your question isn't answered here, please contact our office. It's important to us that our patients understand their dental care.
Crowns and Bridges
Modern dental materials and technology have dramatically improved the appearance of dental crowns and bridges. The porcelain used in today’s crowns and bridges can be color-matched to blend perfectly with the shade of your natural teeth. With proper placement, your dental restoration should be virtually indistinguishable from your natural teeth.
Dental Implants
Dental implants have several advantages over other tooth replacement options:
- Dental implants appear the most life-like and natural.
- The actual implant piece of the dental implant is made of titanium, a biocompatible metal.
- Dental implants are the most secure and stable.
- Dental implants prevent bone loss, keeping your jaw tissue healthy and preventing changes in the shape of your face.
- With proper care, dental implants can last a lifetime.
Dentures and Partials
It will take your mouth some time to get used to the feel of dentures. After a few months, however, you will feel comfortable eating and speaking with your dentures in and experience little to no soreness or discomfort. If you ever do experience soreness or if your dentures aren’t fitting right, please let us know.
Emergency Dentistry
If you are in pain, then you are having a dental emergency. Call us right away so that we can examine you, diagnose the problem, and create a treatment plan. Other signs that indicate the need for an emergency appointment include:
- A pimple-like lesion on your gum
- A broken or cracked tooth
- A foreign object lodged between your teeth
- Swelling in the gum
- A broken or lost dental restoration such as a filling or a crown
General Dentistry
Even with excellent hygiene habits, it's easy to miss small areas of your teeth. Over time, the missed plaque will harden into tartar, which can only be removed with a dental hygienist's tools. When tartar accumulates beneath the gum line, the end result is red, puffy, inflamed gums – the beginnings of periodontal disease.
Root Canal Therapy
Learning that you need a root canal doesn’t seem like good news to most people. But catching a problem inside your tooth means it will get the treatment it needs, ending your pain and preserving the tooth. An endodontist specialist performs root canals to save infected, damaged, or diseased teeth.
Your teeth have several layers - the outer enamel, the hard dentin underneath, and the inner pulp, which contains nerves, connective tissue, and blood vessels. If damage, infection, or inflammation penetrates the inner pulp, the tooth is at risk.
An endodontist specialist may perform a root canal in these situations:
- Deep tooth decay
- Fractures, large chips, or cracks
- Disease or infection in the inner pulp
Signs that you might need a root canal include tooth pain when biting down, sensitivity to hot and cold, tooth darkening, tenderness or swelling in the gums, or a pimple-like bump on your gums.
In the root canal procedure, the endodontist removes the infected tooth pulp and seals the area. A dental crown protects the tooth and completes the restoration.
If you’re concerned about a tooth, call your dentist or endodontist specialist right away for a dental exam. Root canals are highly successful, common procedures that can put an end to your pain or sensitivity and restore your tooth.
Sedation Dentistry
No. Most forms of dental sedation will leave you drowsy but conscious and able to voluntarily move and speak. Dental sedation will put you into a deeply relaxed state. You may find that time passes faster, and you may not even remember parts of the procedure when it is over, but you will be conscious the entire time.
Smile Makeovers
If you are looking for solutions that address the health and wholeness of your smile, the answer is yes! Treatments like crowns, bridges, and dental implants enhance your appearance while protecting your oral health. Certain dental health problems can also affect your overall wellness, so it is important to work with your dentist to decide the best way to maintain a smile that is both healthy and beautiful.
Tooth Extractions
One of the priorities in our dental office is to provide comfortable, gentle dentistry for our patients. Dental extraction treatment is no different. Before we begin, we will discuss your history with dental care. If you have difficulty getting numb, let us know. We can take some extra time anesthetizing your tooth to make sure you have a comfortable experience. Gentle care is important to us and since each patient is different, we will discuss any concerns you may have before we even begin.
It is normal to have some discomfort and swelling following a dental extraction. Typically, this can be addressed with over-the-counter medication such as ibuprofen. We will talk to you about dosing recommendations and what to expect as you recover. Fortunately, the human mouth heals fairly quickly, as long as you avoid certain behaviors such as smoking and drinking through a straw following treatment.
You will likely feel a dramatic improvement in a couple of days and will feel completely healed within a week or two. We will schedule a follow-up exam to monitor your healing and make sure that everything is on track. We will be here with you every step of the way.
We also offer a number of options for replacing missing teeth, if necessary. Contact us for an appointment and we will go over everything with you, so you feel comfortable with your dental treatment.
Veneers
Porcelain veneers are considered to be a permanent restoration since they are bonded to the surface of your teeth. They are made of porcelain, a very strong material, so it is rare for them to chip or fall off. In the unlikely event that this does happen, however, the veneer can be repaired and bonded back in place.