Our Professional Purpose:

Preserving as much bone as possible in your jaws.

We achieve this by restoring your dental health through healthy teeth and gums. Losing teeth or having gum disease will cause your jaw bone to disappear, leaving you with narrow and expensive options. We can preserve your smile and function and also teach you how to prevent dental disease, only if you are seen early enough in the disease process.

At our practice, we constantly rededicate ourselves to providing you with exceptional dental care. We make every effort to ensure that you experience quality care in a friendly and comfortable environment. We will diagnose, then discuss and explain your course of treatment with you. We work to help you obtain your goal of optimum dental health.

Treatment Decisions: It is usually not sound to base your decisions on the advice of acquaintances that are not qualified dental professionals. Each individual has their entirely own dental and medical experience which reflects the following factors - anatomy and pathology of the problem, financial means, social personality and their pain threshold, time and age of occurrence and the competence of the provider.

The patient, as the person making treatment decisions regarding their dental needs should base such decisions on a thorough discussion with their dental provider and certainly not on the dictates of a third party such as dental insurance. The appropriateness and quality of care should serve their personal and best long term interests. These include the ability to chew your food properly which is essential for providing your body with proper nutrition and being able to smile with confidence, an important social qualification, till the very end of your life.

If you haven't been to a dentist for a while then you may not have heard about some of the latest revolutions in dentistry such as the one visit CEREC CAD/CAM caps and restorations, smile enhancing Veneers, Tooth Whitening, Dental Implants, white fillings and implant supported dentures.

Deep Bleaching - Are your teeth discolored or darker than those of others?

Bleaching is a treatment that whitens discolored teeth. There are no known long term side effects. There are two methods of whitening teeth:

We recommend that you have a combination of the two treatments and we will be happy to discuss the advantages at a consultation.

Bridges - Are you missing one or more teeth?

Bridges are fixed artificial teeth spanning a space where one or more teeth have been lost in the dental arch. The teeth adjacent to the area of missing teeth are usually prepared for crowns (caps) in order to support the bridge.

It is generally better to have an implant.

Bonding - Do you want that beautiful smile that you always desire? Affordable and comfortable procedures now offer you an easy way to a beautiful smile!

Bonding is one of the methods to achieve that beautiful smile (Veneers and Whitening are the other two methods). Bonding restores teeth that are discolored, chipped, cracked, misaligned, or gapped. This technique restores teeth to their natural appearance. The dentist will apply a bonding fluid on the tooth, place a tooth colored resin onto the tooth, then sculpt and polish the tooth.

It is usually better to have a combination of these procedures after a discussion of your smile needs with the dentist.

Cleaning - Are your teeth stained from smoking, coffee, or tea?

Tooth Cleaning is a treatment done by a dental hygienist or dentist. The hygienist removes stains, plaque and tartar from the crowns of the teeth and finishes with a polishing. Regular professional cleaning is very important because it prevents teeth decay, gum inflammation, bone loss, and it whitens teeth.

NOTE: The term cleaning is usually referring to a tooth cleaning above the gum line. A majority of patients suffer from a condition known as periodontal disease. The treatment protocols for this condition is dependent on the severity and extent of the condition. It is not appropriate to do a "tooth cleaning" first, before a scaling and root planing, as an artificial healing may occur which disguises pockets of bacteria and a lurking danger of abscesses. An excellent resource on the subject is the website of the American Academy of Periodontology

A cleaning and a professional examination by a dentist or hygienist should be performed at least every 6 months, but preferably every 4 months - it is an investment in prevention.

Crowns (or caps) - Do you have chipped, cracked, or broken large old fillings or teeth?

Crowns are made from a variety of materials that strengthen and protect the tooth structure. There are three types of crowns: a full-porcelain crown, a porcelain fused-to-metal crown and the all-metal crown. Your dentist will discuss and help you decide which type of crown is suitable for you. Crowns are suggested for the following reasons:

Dentures - Full & Partial

Dentures are artificial and removable replacements for missing teeth (dental implants and bridges are fixed replacements for missing teeth). They are usually made of acrylic resin. Complete dentures replace all teeth and are custom fitted for each individual, while partial dentures are fitted with clasps to replace a section of missing teeth. With dentures, patients can improve their chewing and speech. Dentures also provide support for facial muscles.

We strongly recommend avoiding dentures as far as possible as they are fraught with problems and implants are usually a better alternative.

Extractions - Do you have root tips or stumps of broken teeth in your mouth?

Extraction is the process of removing teeth. Teeth need to be removed when all other treatment options are exhausted and because they are causing pain, swelling, infection, or from cavities or gum disease that have progressed too far. Extractions are also performed in cases of impacted wisdom teeth.

In general, try to save all your teeth.

Fillings - Composites (tooth-colored) or Amalgams (silver-colored)

Fillings are made up of amalgams (silver) or composites (white fillings). After the decay has been removed from a tooth, the dentist will place the filling into the tooth, harden it and adjust it to your bite. White fillings have the advantage of esthetics, conservation of tooth structure, and durability.

Composites have gained popularity due to the controversy over the mercury in silver fillings.

Gum Disease - Do your gums bleed when you brush or floss? Are your gums red and swollen?

Gum disease, known as Gingivitis, and bone loss, known as Periodontal disease, are caused by plaque, a colorless film of millions of bacteria, which can harden to form tartar around the teeth. Over time, if plaque is not removed, the tissue that attaches the gums to the teeth will cause the gums to be red and swollen. Eventually, the gums will recede from the teeth and create pockets between the teeth and gums allowing for an increase in plaque build up. To be diagnosed with gum disease, your dentist will have to examine your teeth and gums and then measure the space in between them.

Bleeding puffy gums, bad tastes and bad breath are usually strong indicators of periodontal disease. Bacteria from pockets are strongly implicated in the development of heart disease, strokes, respiratory infections, pancreatic cancer, as well as causing diabetes to become worse.  WHY? Because periodontal disease is an infection and causes inflammation which in turn excites many systemic pathologic conditions. Pregnant women with periodontitis are significantly more prone to many serious complications including pre-term delivery and low birth weight babies.

Implants - Are you missing teeth? Are your dentures loose in your mouth when you speak or eat? Are you not enjoying life because you are embarrassed about your missing teeth or dentures?

Implants are the ideal treatment to replace one or more missing teeth. Implants replace a missing tooth or teeth permanently. A titanium post is surgically implanted into the jawbone. The jawbone will take about 3-6 months for it to grow around the post. After that period a strong and stable foundation will be formed between the post and bone, and a crown will be fabricated to fit the implant. The result will be a strong and stable natural looking tooth.

We can also place implants to give dentures the retention and stability like natural dentition. No more denture adhesives and no more embarrassment. Now you can enjoy the fun and foods that life has to offer. The difference between an implant supported denture and a traditional denture is like night and day. Dentures do not have to behave like dentures anymore.

Preventive Dentistry is a dental health program that is essential to keep teeth and gums clean, healthy and strong. Through regular dental visits, we will clean and examine your teeth, including diagnose and treat early symptoms. Between dental visits, patients can use a variety of dental hygiene products and techniques to maintain a healthy mouth.

Prevention is always the best medicine and the least expensive in the long term.

Root canal treatment is performed when a tooth's pulp (nerve and blood supply) become infected or inflamed. With local anesthesia, the tooth is opened and the pulp and bacteria are removed, leaving an empty pulp chamber. The chamber is first physically and chemically and then filled with a special sealant material. The tooth usually requires additional protection and reinforcement with a crown.

Root canals have an undeserved bad reputation. Today root canals are done quite rapidly and painlessly in a single visit.

Veneers - A comfortable and affordable cosmetic procedure that offers you an easy way to a beautiful smile. It can change your smile quickly and easily.

Veneers are form-fitted porcelain shells applied to the front of the teeth (like false nails). Veneers are used to restore teeth from chips, gaps, crooked, misaligned, and stained. The tooth is prepared for a veneer by removing a thin layer of enamel from the front of the tooth. An impression is made of the tooth and a veneer constructed from the impression. The veneer will then be bonded to the front of the tooth, and then shaped and polished.

In general they are are very long lasting and maintain their luster, long term.

White fillings are known technically as composites. They have virtually replaced silver and gold fillings because of their extreme durability. Composites are made up of a combination of quartz resin and a light sensitive agent and come in different shades in order to match the color of your natural teeth.

For larger restorations we strongly recommend having a ceramic restoration.