It is our goal to keep your mouth healthy, your teeth fully functional, and your smile bright — and we are proud of all the services we offer to do exactly that. At the same time, we want you to understand all that modern dentistry in general has to offer you. To that end, we have assembled a first-rate dental library in which you can find a wealth of information on various dental topics, including:
Cosmetic & General Dentistry
From a thorough professional cleaning to a full smile makeover, there is an amazing array of services that cosmetic and general dentists offer to make sure your teeth stay healthy, function well and look great. If your smile is not all you want it to be, this is the place to start. Read more about Cosmetic & General Dentistry.
Emergency Dental Care
When you have a dental emergency — whether it's caused by a sudden accident or chronic disease — your teeth and/or the tissues of the mouth that surround them need to receive proper care right away. It's also important to be aware, before you're actually in the situation, of what you can do to ensure the best outcome. Read more about Emergency Dental Care.
Endodontics
This is the branch of dentistry that focuses on the inside of the tooth — specifically the root canals and sensitive, inner pulp (nerve) tissue. When this tissue becomes inflamed or infected, a root canal procedure may become necessary. But contrary to the popular myth, a root canal doesn't cause pain, it relives it. Read more about Endodontics.
Implant Dentistry
If you are missing one or more teeth, dental implants offer the comfort and security of a permanent replacement that looks and functions just like your natural teeth. Dental implants also help preserve the tooth-supporting bone in your jaw that naturally deteriorates when even one tooth is lost. Read more about Implant Dentistry.
Oral Health
Oral health is an essential component of general health and well-being. Good oral health means a mouth that's free of disease; a bite that functions well enough for you to eat without pain and get ample nutrition; and a smile that lets you express your happiest emotions with confidence. Read more about Oral Health.
Oral Hygiene
A major goal of modern dentistry is to help you keep your teeth and gums healthy for a lifetime. By following a conscientious program of oral hygiene at home, and coming to the dental office for routine cleanings and exams, you have the best chance of making this goal a reality. Read more about Oral Hygiene.
Oral Surgery
The word “surgery” often brings to mind a stay in the hospital, general anesthesia, and perhaps a lengthy recovery period. However, the experience of having oral surgery is usually very different from that. Some common oral surgery procedures include: tooth extractions, dental implant placement, and biopsies of suspicious oral lesions. Read more about Oral Surgery.
Orthodontics
Adults and kids alike can benefit from the boost in self-confidence that comes from having a great-looking smile with beautifully aligned teeth. Orthodontic treatment can even improve chewing, speaking and oral hygiene in certain cases. And with today's virtually invisible orthodontic appliances, it's possible to keep your treatment a private matter… until your new smile is unveiled, of course! Read more about Orthodontics.
Pediatric Dentistry
It's never too early to get your child started on the path toward a lifetime of good oral health, and there are many services to do exactly that. Monitoring your child's dental growth and development, and preventing and intercepting dental diseases along the way, is the primary focus of pediatric dentistry. Read more about Pediatric Dentistry.
Periodontal Therapy
If you want to keep your teeth for life — a completely reasonable goal in this day and age — you need to make sure the tissues that surround them are also healthy. Should gum problems arise, you may need periodontal therapy to restore diseased tissues to health. Read more about Periodontal Therapy.
Technology
In the field of dentistry, new technology is constantly changing the way diseases are diagnosed, routine procedures are performed, and illnesses are prevented. Although they may seem unfamiliar at first, new and improved dental technologies offer plenty of real benefits for patients. Read more about Technology.
There are many elements that make up an ideal smile; bright, healthy-looking teeth immediately come to mind. But the gum tissue that surrounds and supports those teeth also plays a big role in how appealing your smile will look.
There are various cosmetic issues involving gum (gingival) tissue. For example, your smile may look “gummy” — meaning you seem to display too much gum tissue when you smile, or your teeth appear too short. Sometimes it's the opposite problem — your teeth appear too long because your gum tissue has receded (pulled back), exposing tooth-root surfaces that were covered at one time. Or, you may have an uneven gum line, meaning gum tissue covers some of your teeth more than others. All of these cosmetic gum problems can be successfully treated with cosmetic procedures performed in the dental office.
Cosmetic Gum Problems
Excess Tissue. A gummy smile can be caused by excessive gum tissue covering more enamel surface of a tooth's crown (upper portion) than normal. If that is the case, a procedure known as “crown lengthening” can be performed, in which gum tissue (and sometimes a small amount of bone tissue) is removed to expose more tooth surface.
Receding Gums. Sometimes your gums can shrink down (recede), exposing a portion of your tooth roots. This causes a cosmetic problem because root surfaces, which have no enamel covering, tend to appear more yellow than the crowns of your teeth. Also, exposed roots can be more sensitive to cold or touch, and can be at greater risk of decay. There are various gum-grafting procedures that can cover exposed roots, all of which involve moving gingival (gum) tissue from one site in the mouth to another. For example, roots can be covered with tissue from the roof of your mouth, which is of the same type; or adjacent (nearby) tissue can be moved over to cover an exposed root. Sometimes laboratory-processed tissue from another donor can even be used. All of these options can be discussed with you in more detail.
Uneven Gum Line. If you have an uneven gum line where some teeth are covered by more tissue than others, it is often possible to recontour (reshape) the tissue for a very pleasing effect. This can be done conventionally with a surgical scalpel or with newer dental laser technology. The advantage of a laser is that it seals the tissue as it sculpts it, making the procedure more comfortable and requiring a shorter healing time.
What to Expect
All cosmetic gum surgery can be performed at the dental office — and it usually requires only a local anesthetic (numbing shot). In fact, for laser surgery you may need only a topical anesthetic applied in gel form. If you would like a deeper level of relaxation, you can have oral or possibly even an IV sedative; but if this is required, you will need a ride home. Laser surgery leaves no open wounds and causes minimal, if any, discomfort, though the anatomy of the area may preclude laser use. An examination is required to determine whether conventional or laser treatment is in your best interests.
Grafts may take longer to heal, particularly if tissue is taken from the roof of your mouth. If that's the case, you will have two sites that need to heal: the donor site from which the tissue was taken, and the recipient site where the tissue was attached. Both of these sites will require stitches, usually of the dissolving type. You will need to eat a softer diet and avoid chewing on that side of your mouth for a few days. Though full healing may take a few weeks, you will be able to resume your normal activities the very next day. Whichever kind of cosmetic gum surgery you may need, the procedures are routine and predictable — and they can do wonders for your smile!
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Gummy Smiles Sometimes a smile doesn't look as appealing as it could because the gums appear too prominent. If this describes your smile and it's something you want to change, chances are you can be helped by one of several available treatments. But first your dentist will need to determine exactly why your smile looks gummy to begin with. Find out the various causes and treatments... Read Article
Periodontal Plastic Surgery Millions of Americans have some degree of gum recession — a loss of the tough, pink tissue that surrounds teeth. Receding gums can cause anything from minor tooth sensitivity to tooth loss in very severe cases. Fortunately, the field of periodontal plastic surgery has made enormous strides in devising techniques, including grafting, to deal with the problem of lost or damaged gum tissue... Read Article