Comprehensive Exam
This is where the detective work comes in. We check your mouth for oral cancer, defective crowns and fillings, and new decay. We use a trans illuminator which helps us detect decay between teeth, and count on x-rays that show decay between teeth and under old fillings—things you can’t see or feel yet.
In addition, we use high-powered magnifying glasses or “loupes” that make everything in your mouth look bigger and easier to see. We’ve also added a dental microscope to our “toolbox”, which gives us the power to see and diagnose cracks in teeth that wasn’t possible before.
Periodontal (gum) care
You call it a teeth cleaning, but it’s really much more than that. Along with cleaning your teeth, we monitor your mouth for signs of gum disease and advise you on ways to prevent it. Given the recent correlations between gum disease and heart disease, that’s a pretty vital thing to do.
Fillings
Yep, it’s what we dentists do the most of. We’ll recommend a new filling if your tooth has decay in it, and we’ll recommend a replacement filling if your old one is defective. The composite filling material we use is tooth-colored, state-of-the-art, and chemically bonds to tooth structure, to help strengthen it.
Kids
It never ceases to amaze us how fun kids can be in the dental chair. Yes, they can be wiggle-worms, but kids find the honesty and humor in any situation, which is why we like treating them.
We believe that working with children early is essential to keeping them fearless about dentistry. The ideal time to see your child is 6 months after the eruption of her first baby tooth (roughly at one year of age). That’s also when we’ll educate you on the best ways to keep her teeth healthy for life. By age two and a half or three, she should be ready for twice-a-year checkups.
Cosmetic Dentistry
Porcelain Crowns and Veneers.
Today’s esthetic materials are so life-like, it’s hard to tell what’s porcelain and what’s enamel. If you’re looking to beautify your smile, now’s the time. Come talk to us, there’s lots we can do!
Gold Crowns
It’s the oldest dental restorative material in the book, and the one with the most longevity. Every day, we see gold crowns that are over 20 years old, some way older than that. Even with the current cosmetic dental revolution, there’s still a place in many people’s mouths for gold– which is why we do it.
Endodontic Therapy (root canals)
We know, we know. You don’t want to talk about root canals. So we’ll keep it brief: to date, a root canal is the best, most predictable way to keep from losing your tooth once the nerve becomes unhealthy. We do root canals in our office, and refer to our network of top specialists when necessary.
Extractions
Even with how far dentistry has come, occasionally a tooth can’t be saved. When that’s the case, we’ll remove it and recommend ways to replace it.
In certain situations, like impacted wisdom teeth, we’ll recommend our team of oral surgeons to treat you. They’re talented beyond belief, and will take excellent care of you.
Dentures
In certain situations, dentures are the best option. If you’re a new denture candidate who wants dentures that fit tight and don’t flop around, or if you have worn dentures for years and have lost a lot of bone support, we may suggest implants first. They’ll help keep your dentures more stable.