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| Services • Dental Implants • Porcelain Veneers • Porcelain Crowns & Bridges • Tooth Colored Restorations • Extractions • Tooth Whitening • Oral Sedation |
Periodontal Diagnosis and Treatment
“Periodontal” comes from the two Greek words that mean “around the tooth.” Healthy gum tissue and bone form the supporting foundations of each tooth. Periodontal diseases are caused by bacterial infections that attack gums, ligaments and bone. There are several kinds of periodontal disease. Often painless, these diseases may develop slowly or progress rapidly and occur at any age.
During your initial examination and each Preventive Care appointment following that, a simple test involving probing around the gumline will be given. Pocket depths over 3 mn will be noted. The dental x-rays taken will note any bone loss that may have incurred. The first step is usually debridement, a thorough cleaning to remove plaque and tartar below the gumline. If pocket depths are 4-6mn a root planing or thorough deep scaling of teeth may be necessary. This is always given under a local anesthetic. Antibiotic agents, fluoride toothpastes and rinses along with fluoride trays may be added to your treatment.
Good oral hygiene at home is essential to help keep periodontal disease from becoming more serious or recurring. You don’t have to lose teeth to periodontal disease.
Dental Implants
Nothing can take the place of a healthy set of teeth, but when disease or an accident ends in tooth loss, it’s good to know that there are options for restoring your smile. If you are self conscious because you have missing teeth or you wear dentures, there is an alternative: Dental Implants.
Many patients choose dental implants to replace a single tooth, several teeth or to support a full set of dentures. Dental implants are titanium cylinders that are surgically placed in the jaw where they function as a sturdy anchor for replacement teeth.
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Dental Implant for |
First Premolar
Implants are not an option for everyone. Because implants require surgery, the patient must be in good health, have healthy gums and have adequate bone to support the dental implants. If you think you may be a candidate or wish for more information, please feel free to call our office.
Porcelain Veneers
A veneer is a porcelain material that is placed over a tooth in a manner similar to a false fingernail. The advantage of veneers is that less of the tooth is removed in the preparation. Veneers can be a great way to improve the appearance of your smile by filling in spaces, changing the color, changing the shape - Enhancing your Smile. Veneers are very durable and long lasting, strengthening the tooth when placed.
Porcelain Crowns
A porcelain crown is a restoration that covers a tooth to restore it to its normal shape, size and strength. A crown is placed for a number of reasons: to support a large filling when there isn’t enough tooth remaining, to protect weak teeth from fracturing and to restore fractured teeth. Because crowns have the added benefit of strengthening the tooth, they are commonly used in areas where biting forces are high such as your molar, but can easily be used on your front teeth should the diagnosis so warrant.
A fixed porcelain bridge relies upon the foundation of the teeth immediately adjacent to the area of a missing tooth. The anchor teeth are then prepared or ground down so that a crown may be fitted over them. The crowns are then attached to the artificial tooth or teeth to form a bridge. The bridge is then cemented in place and may only be removed by the dentist.
Tooth Colored Restorations
The most common material once used for dental restorations was amalgam or silver filling material. Today materials have changed and a tooth colored composite is now the standard of care when dealing with a restoration. When fillings are placed, a local anesthetic is used if needed. X-Rays may be needed to confirm the size and location of the decay. The cavity is cleansed of decay and shaped carefully. The tooth colored filling material is then placed and bonded to the tooth structure.
Tooth Extractions
If a tooth is considered “hopeless” it is often desirable to extract it before beginning any sort of treatment in order to eliminate a potential haven for bacteria. Tooth extractions are done in this office under certain conditions. If the patient’s situation warrants, Dr. Nelson may refer this procedure out to one of our many specialists we work with.
Tooth Whitening
The Tooth Whitening service we provide is the making of bleaching trays. This enables the patient to perform the whitening at home, on their own and it also allows patients to keep the trays as long as they need to. Bleaching gel is placed into the tray and the tray is then worn for one hour every day for the first two weeks. This process will whiten teeth six to eight shades lighter. And, although whitening does not remove the blue or yellow hue from teeth, it will lighten these colors significantly. Once teeth are at their desired, lighter shade; patients need only to wear the tray for one hour once every six to eight weeks. Additionally, as a gift, we provide complimentary bleaching trays to all of our multi-veneer and multi-crown patients.
Oral Sedation
This is a process where an oral prescription is given to a patient prior to performing various oral procedures. This prescription is simply slipped under the patient’s tongue and will allow the patient to doze during the procedure. The oral sedation also prohibits patient recognition and memory of the various sensory stimuli that occur during the procedure.
