General Treatment

With today's dental advancements, you no longer will need to suffer the embarrassment of unsightly and unhealthy silver/mercury fillings or metal margins of the past. Our dentists use new-age, state-of-the-art, tooth-colored resin or porcelain materials to eliminate the dark, black appearance in your teeth.

Comparing Tooth-colored Fillings Versus Silver Amalgam Fillings:

• Tooth-colored fillings bond to the tooth; they strengthen the tooth by restoring most of its original shape. Silver amalgams, on the other hand, often weaken the teeth and make them more susceptible to breaking. Broken teeth can be very expensive to fix or replace; composite fillings can sometimes actually save time and money in the long run.
• Tooth-colored composites are preferred by most patients. This is due to the natural color, strength, and overall appearance and feel. Composites are naturally more comfortable.
• Hot and cold sensitivity is greatly reduced with composite material compared to the silver/mercury amalgams.
• Restoring teeth with tooth-colored composite fillings requires the removal of less tooth structure than amalgams, especially with new cavities. Dramatically smaller holes are needed to restore with composites.
• Tooth-colored composite fillings are considered by many to be more healthy because of the mercury used in amalgam fillings.

Direct composite bonding is often used to improve the appearance of your teeth and enhance your smile. As the name indicates, composite material, either a plastic or resin, is bonded to an existing tooth. Unlike veneers or crowns, composite bonding removes little, if any, of the original tooth.

Composite bonding has many advantages:

• It is a quick process, which typically takes less than one hour.
• It does not reduce the tooth's original structure and is relatively inexpensive.
• It comes in many different shades and provides better matching of shades to the natural color of your teeth.
• Composite bonds, however, are not as durable and long-lasting as veneers and crowns and may need to be replaced within 5-7 years. Composite bonds stain more easily and therefore require proper care and regular cleaning. In order to ensure the longest possible duration of the bonding, composites should be brushed and flossed daily. Common staining elements include coffee, tea, tobacco, foods and candy.

A cavity is the result of superficial decay of the enamel of the tooth. Left long enough, this decay can burrow into the deeper reaches of the tooth, causing extensive damage to tooth structure. When the damage goes beyond what can be treated with a routine filling, dentists can perform a root canal (or endodontics). This procedure preserves the tooth and retains its original integrity, otherwise the tooth would have to be extracted.

Procedure:

• The patient undergoes anesthesia.
• A dental dam is used to isolate the tooth.
• The tooth is opened to allow for removal of infected or dead dental pulp.
• The tooth is comprehensively cleaned, including any cracks and canals.
• With special tools, the doctor reshapes the canals.
• The tooth is filled again with cutting edge biocompatible filling material.
• A temporary covering is used to cover the access opening.
• Patients MUST see their regular dentist quickly for a permanent restoration of the tooth.

In certain cases, the wisdom tooth that cannot come through becomes inflamed under the gums and in the bone, causing a sac to develop around the root of the tooth that then fills with liquid. This can cause a cyst or an abscess if it becomes infected. If either of these situations goes untreated, serious damage to the underlying bone and surrounding teeth and tissues can result. For this reason, "wisdom teeth" are frequently removed.