Professional cleanings and examinations are the foundation for preventative dentistry.  For a patient with a healthy mouth our office recommends professional cleanings twice a year.  A professional cleaning or a “preventative prophylaxis” is to help prevent dental problems such as periodontal disease, gingivitis and tooth decay.  Despite even the most excellent home care with brushing and flossing, tartar still develops on our teeth.  This tartar is an irritant to the gum tissue and a place for bacteria to colonize and infection to set in.  At each professional cleaning our hygienists provide periodontal screenings to evaluate your oral health and risk for disease.  Symptoms such as bleeding gums, shifting teeth, and bad breath may indicate periodontal disease and should be evaluated by a dentist and hygienist.

While at our office, we make sure that you receive the highest level of service and ensure that our dental work is of the highest quality. To ensure that you maintain great oral health, this level of quality needs to extend into your personal oral hygiene routine. We can help you establish a dental hygiene routine that will keep your teeth healthy and white. If you have any questions about your current hygiene plan please ask us.

Statistics show that one American dies each hour from oral cancer. Our office is trying to reduce that number through early diagnosis and prevention. Oral cancer screenings are performed by the dentist at every professional cleaning appointment. An oral cancer screening is non-invasive and completely comfortable. Certain lifestyle choices can have a great impact on the health of tissues and your overall health in the mouth. If you are a smoker or heavy drinker, make sure to see your dentist twice a year for oral cancer screenings.

Periodontal (gum) disease is the number one cause of tooth loss in adults in the US.  Our teeth are set in bone and tissue just like a fence post is set in the soil.  Periodontal disease causes destruction of the bone and tissue around the tooth.  Just imagine the fence post.  If you dug out all the soil on one side of the fence post, pretty soon you’ll be able to rock that post back and forth.  That’s what we want to avoid with our teeth.

Periodontal disease is a common problem and can be treated non-surgically in our office by root planing.  Our hygienists perform root planing when bacteria and tartar has accumulated under the gums causing pockets.   These services can be completed with minimal discomfort to our patients.

Temporal Mandibular Disfunction. Most people talk about having TMJ. We all have a TMJ (it’s the Temporal Mandibular Joint) but some of us have TMD which is dysfunction of the joint. The treatment will depend on if we diagnose if it is a problem within the joint or if it is the muscles supporting the joint.

Missing teeth can damage self esteem and oral health. Dental implants are a permanent replacement option for missing teeth. Dental implants feel and look like natural teeth. They also reduce or eliminate bone loss associated with losing a tooth. Dental implants are considered the gold standard for tooth replacement because they offer a one tooth solution for a one solution problem, whereas with a bridge, the healthy adjacent teeth must be altered. Dental implants can be placed with very little discomfort to the patient. After the implant is fully restored a patient can treat it like any other natural tooth. There are no bothersome dental tools needed to clean it, no appliance to take in and out of your mouth at night, and you can brush and floss just like normal. Dr. Carter places dental implants here in our office. He works to determine the best treatment options for each patient on an individual basis. Call our office for an implant consultation if you are interested in hearing your options.

Dental bridges can be a great way to replace missing teeth. Your existing teeth are used to literally create a bridge to cross the area where your tooth is missing. Bridges are made from gold, metal, alloys, or porcelain to ensure that they are strong and durable.

The process of creating a bridge begins by creating abutments out of your existing teeth where the bridge will be attached. The existing teeth are recontoured to provide a base for the bridge. After the abutments have been created, a mold is taken of the area which is sent to a dental lab. The lab is able to use the mold to create a bridge that will fit properly and feel as close to your natural teeth as possible. The bridge consists of two crowns on either end to place on the abutments and a pontic, which is the new tooth that replaces your missing tooth.

We will fit you with a temporary bridge while we wait for the lab to craft your permanent bridge. This will protect the abutments and the exposed gum areas and look more appealing than having a missing tooth. When the permanent bridge has been created, you will have a follow up visit to set the bridge. It will be placed on the abutments and the dentist will then use an adhesive to make sure that the bridge is set.

If you are missing a tooth you should strongly consider having it replaced. Besides the aesthetic disadvantage of missing a tooth, it could also cause structural changes to your mouth and jaw, as well as making it difficult to eat or speak properly. If you have questions about if a bridge is right for you call our office to set up a consultation today.

Bone grafting is where the jawbone is built up to accommodate a dental implant or other restorative device. Bone grafting is a common procedure that is used frequently for dental implants and other periodontal procedures. The bone used to graft is taken from a sample from the patient. Many times, the bone is taken from another area of the mouth when drilling takes place. The bone fragments are suctioned from the mouth and used for the graft. Cadaver bone fragments are also used. They are harvested by bone banks and are a very safe source for bone donation.

Dentures are a replacement for missing teeth that can be removed and put back into your mouth as you please. Depending on each individual patient case, they may receive full or partial dentures. Full dentures are used when all of the natural teeth are removed from the mouth and replaced with a full set of dentures. There are two types of full dentures.
<ul>
<li>Conventional Full Dentures – This is when all the teeth are removed and the tissue is given time to heal before the dentures are placed. It could take a few months for the gum tissue to heal completely, and during this time you will be without teeth.</li>
<li>Immediate Full Dentures – Prior to having your teeth removed, your dentist takes measurements and has dentures fitted for your mouth. After removing the teeth, the dentures are immediately placed in your mouth. The benefit is that you do not have to spend any time without teeth. You will, however, need to have a follow up visit to refit your dentures because the jaw bone will slightly change shape as your mouth heels. The dentures will need to be tightened after the jaw bone has healed.</li>
</ul>
Partial dentures are another option when not all of your teeth need to be removed. This is similar to a bridge, but it is not a permanent fixture in your mouth.

Your dentures may take some time to get used to. The flesh colored base of the dentures is placed over your gums. Some people say that it feels bulky or that they don’t have enough room for their tongue. Other times the dentures might feel loose. These feelings will affect the way you eat and talk for a little while. Over time, your mouth becomes trained to eat and speak with your dentures and they begin to feel more and more like your natural teeth. They may never feel perfectly comfortable, but it is much better than the alternative of not having teeth.

Even though dentures are not real teeth, you should care for them like they are. You should brush them to remove plaque and food particles before removing your dentures. After they have been removed you should place them directly into room temperature water or a denture cleaning solution. Never use hot water because it could warp the dentures. Your dentures are delicate, so make sure you are careful when handling them so you don’t drop them. Also, never try to adjust your dentures yourself. You could ruin them, so you should always seek assistance from your dentist if they feel uncomfortable or loose.

Wisdom teeth extractions are a fairly common procedure. Wisdom teeth often cause problems as they are trying to protrude through the gums. When a wisdom tooth is impacted, it means the tooth is coming in at an angle and not straight through the gum line. This can cause pain, the tooth can come in unevenly, or the tooth may only emerge partially.
When a wisdom tooth only emerges partially a flap of skin, called an operculum, may form over the tooth. This can make the tooth hard to clean, and pieces of food may be caught under the skin. This makes it easy for an infection, called pericoronitis, to develop. It will usually go away on its own, but it causes swelling and pain in the area.
Our dentists offer various types of sedation to ease anxiety including laughing gas and oral sedation.

Endodontics is the dental specialty that deals with the nerves of the teeth. Root canals are probably the most notorious procedure in dentistry and the most common procedure relating to endodontics. When a tooth becomes infected it is usually related to the nerves in the root of the tooth. The infected nerves need to be removed. If left untreated an infection can turn into an abscess, which is a much more serious problem that includes bone loss in the jaw.

“Root canal” has become a scary term for dental patients to hear, but the benefits of the procedure and advances in dental technology have made it much less “scary”. Local anesthetics and proper pain medication allow the procedure to be performed with little to no pain in most cases. Our dentists offer various types of sedation to ease anxiety including laughing gas and oral sedation.

Bonding is a popular method to enhance the aesthetics of your smile. Bonding can be used to correct cracks or gaps in teeth, as a filling after a cavity has been removed, or to cover up stains or discolored teeth.

A composite resin is used on the affected tooth or teeth. It is molded and sculpted over an adhesive gel that is placed on the tooth. After the resin has been applied an ultraviolet light is used to harden the resin, which is then polished to give you a fresh, new smile.

Bonding is an obvious improvement over unsightly silver amalgam fillings. It is a safe, affordable, and attractive solution for many dental problems.

Keeping our teeth their whitest is a lot harder than it sounds. With all the coffee, wine, smoking and other foods that have the ability to stain our teeth on a daily basis, even proper maintenance sometimes leaves them a little lackluster. Teeth whitening is an excellent way to restore the natural color of your teeth or even make them whiter than your natural color if you would like.

To accomplish the whitening of your teeth, we utilize a tray whitening system. This tray whitening system is completed in 2 steps. The first step is to make an impression of your teeth. With this impression, we’ll craft you custom whitening trays that you can use over and over. Finally, you will take the whitening gel and put it in the gel for a short period of time over a period of a few days. This often results in a whiter smile of 4 – 8 shades!

Please contact us today to see if you are a candidate for this type of whitening.

Veneers are an excellent way to redesign and reshape your entire mouth. Veneers are a very thin ceramic shell that covers your existing tooth structure. In placing these new veneers on your teeth, you are able to fix the look of issues such as staining, cracked teeth, spaces, misaligned teeth, chipped teeth and many other issues.

In terms of the process to place veneers, it is a process that takes approximately two to three visits. In the first visit, we will discuss the new shape and look of what we are going to accomplish by placing the veneers. Once we have put a plan in place, we will carefully prepare the teeth for the placement of the new veneers. As we complete this piece of the process, the next step is to take an impression of the newly prepared teeth. This impression will be sent to our laboratory for the final product to be fabricated. We only utilize the highest standard laboratory for fabrication of all of our work. This process at the laboratory takes between 10-14 days. While the new veneers are being fabricated at the lab, we will provide you with a beautiful temporary solution to wear for this time.

As the veneers are finalized, we will make every effort to make sure that your new veneers will feel just like your natural teeth. We will bond them into place ensuring that you can enjoy your new smile for a very long time!