Services:

Preventative care - Routine examinations, cleanings, and x-rays help detect cavities at early stages when damage is minimal and restorations can be small. Routine cleanings help remove the sticky plaque that builds up on your teeth and can cause decay and gum disease. Polishing your teeth helps to make them as smooth as possible to make keeping them clean easier.

Periodontal treatment - treatment of the gums by scaling and root planing. Scaling is the removal of the calculus and tarter that builds up on teeth and causes the inflammation of the gums. Root planing is the smoothing of the root surfaces the are exposed. The smoother your teeth are the better your gums like it. If not treated this can lead to loss of bone around your teeth and possibly loss of your teeth. Periodontal disease is usually painless and can result in your teeth abscessing. After periodontal treatment excellent home care (this includes flossing once a day along with brushing two times a day) is essential along with regular visits to maintain the health of the existing teeth.

Restorative care - Removing decay (cavities) and placing fillings to repair the tooth. These fillings can last for three years or a lifetime depending on the type and size of a filling and the home care you give your teeth. The fillings can be composite (a tooth colored material that is bonded to the tooth), amalgam (a metal alloy), gold, or porcelain (a tooth colored glass material).

Crowns - Crowns provide full coverage for teeth that are structurally unsound, cracked, or weak due to a large filling. Crowns can be made from a gold alloy, porcelain fused to the metal alloy, or all porcelain. The crown is cemented into place and does not come out. Two visits are usually required to place the crown since a mold of your tooth is sent to a lab to make a crown that fits and functions properly with your other teeth. A temporary crown is used to cover the tooth in the interim between appointments.

Root canals - When the pulp (the nerve and blood supply of the tooth) has become infected or damaged due to decay or injury root canal treatment of the tooth is the only way to save it otherwise it would have to be extracted. This may take one or more visits depending on the severity of the infection and which tooth it is in. The treatment can be relatively painless if the tooth is treated early, before infection has gotten severe.

Tooth replacement - the teeth all fit together and keep each other in the right place.  If one is lost the other start to shift and move. Tilted and crowded teeth are harder to clean and can help lead to cavities and gum disease. Missing teeth also compromise the ability to chew and speak properly. Teeth can be replaced by several methods.

Bridges - Bridges are cemented in permanently also replace missing teeth. They involve putting crowns on the two teeth on either side of the missing tooth to attach the replacement tooth. The bridge is one piece and will last for years if properly maintained.

Partials - replace lost or missing teeth also, but they are removable. They attach to other teeth in the arch.
Dentures replace all the teeth and are also removable.

Implants - are implanted in the bone and the replacement tooth is then attached to the implant. A minimum amount of bone is necessary to place the implant, but then a crown, bridge, or denture is then attached to the implant

Cosmetic procedures - To enhance your smile by changing the color, size, shape of your teeth.

Bleaching - whitening the teeth by at-home trays and bleach worn at night, or in-office bleaching is available.  The teeth can be brightened and lightened by several shades. The bleaching can be touched up for months after the initial treatment to maintain the brighter smile. You should avoid anything that might stain your teeth such as coffee, sodas, tea, and tobacco products because this could compromise the results of the bleaching. Some people suffer some temperature sensitivity on the bleached teeth for a few days after bleaching, but it usually goes away within days.

Bonding and veneers - can change the shape, size, and color of one or more teeth by bonding composite (tooth colored filling) or porcelain to the front of teeth. The veneers are not reversible since a small amount of tooth enamel is removed, but the porcelain veneers can last for years if properly maintained.