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General Info
Advanced dental technology including digital x-rays, fluorescent cavity detection, fluorescent oral cancer screening, digital scanner for crowns and bridges, electronic syringe for greater injection comfort, and more. General and cosmetic dentistry for the entire family. Dental implant placement and restoration.
The no drill veneers should not be done if they will make your teeth look too big. Sometimes braces and tooth whitening can achieve the same result and not cost any more. In most cases the teeth do need to be drilled on for the veneer to be done. Remember, drilling on the tooth is forever and if not needed should be avoided! When treatment is planned and done properly, veneers can last a very long time. As they don't last forever, can de-bond and fall off, and yes you can get a cavity under them, doing veneers as with any dental procedure has potential for a future cost of replacing them.
Something else to consider is if the bridge will be on the upper arch or lower arch. When we chew the lower jaw flexes and this flexing of the jaw over time can weaken the hold the bridge has on the teeth. So if the decision between doing a bridge or implant is close, which jaw it goes on can tip the balance in the decision process.
Yes, I do offer the amalgam filling material otherwise known as the silver filling, (this may change soon as the cost of waste disposal and the cost of the filling material itself has taken away the one advantage of the filling, it used to be less expensive). Yes, there is mercury in it. Yes, there is some exposure to mercury, most of that exposure is when the filling is placed and when it is removed. Studies showing the harm of this mercury are inconclusive and contradictory. On July 28, 2009, the FDA has changed the classification of the silver/mercury amalgam from a type 1 to a type 2 medical device and recommends not using it on pregnant women and children younger than 6 years old.
The root canal is a surgical procedure that is designed to remove infected tissue from the inside of the root. This tissue is made up of nerve tissue and blood vessels. The nerve can die from trauma like a blow to the tooth when your child jumps up to give you a hug and hits our tooth or from the bacteria from a cavity reaching the nerve. When the nerve dies it can do so with symptoms like spontaneous pain, pain to hot and cold, pain on biting, and sometimes it can die with no symptoms at all. When the nerve dies without pain, you may not know you have a problem until an abscess forms and that starts to hurt. Believe it or not, you can even get an abscess without pain and you might not know you have a problem until the dentist finds the abscess on an x-ray. Note: This is one of the reasons that a full mouth series of x-rays or a panorex x-ray is advised for all new patients and then periodically after that.
***Dentures take time to make, if we plan ahead, I have the ability to start the denture process in the morning one day and delivery the finished denture in the afternoon the next day. No corners are cut making these 2 day dentures!
Bleaching the teeth is a process in which you use a gel, either carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide to lighten the tooth. Hydrogen peroxide is a quicker and less sensitive chemistry. In-office bleaching is in the short run more expensive but in the long run often less expensive. To get the same results with take home systems that you would get with an in office procedure you may spend days to weeks to get the same result that you would get with one in office visit. When you bleach your teeth, you should not have anything to eat or drink that may stain you teeth for 2 full days. Not only do you get immediate results with in-office whitening, you do not have to go without your coffee for as long as the take home systems.
We look forward to providing you with the personal care you deserve. Whether your dental needs are a complete exam and cleaning, full mouth restoration, a filling, crown, implant, etc... we will provide you with exceptional care as we enhance a healthy and beautiful smile. Our goal is to give you not only a healthy smile but something to smile about. Not many people want to see the dentist but we promise to use a gentle touch to make your experience pleasant.
Dental Sealants
Sealants are a pain free way to reduce the risk of tooth decay in the pits and fissures of the teeth. The sealant is basically a very flowable form of filling material that flows into and seals shut the grooves that naturally occur in the teeth. These tooth grooves and pits can act as an express tunnel for the bacteria and nutrients for those bacteria to get deep into the tooth before a cavity ever forms. Once in the grooves the bacteria hide from your brushing efforts and over time can cause a cavity. For a sealant to work best, it should be placed as soon as the tooth erupts enough to seal the groove. If the sealant fails, it is ideal to redo the sealant as soon as possible. Unfortunately, most insurance companies stop providing a benefit for sealants as we get older. However, cavities don't care how old you are, they just care about how much food (sugars and carbohydrates) you feed the sugar bugs.
Like every dentist should, here at Abbott Family Dentistry, LLC, a soft tissue exam is part of every exam. Part of that soft tissue exam is to evaluate for signs of oral cancer. Please do not panic if the doctor ever suggests you return to re-evaluate a suspect area or if a biopsy is advised. In Dr. Pierson's over 24 years of practice, only one case of oral cancer has ever been found and it was cured with the biopsy.
Dental Examination
The dental exam is the most important part of your dental experience. The goal of the exam is to evaluate for both hard and soft tissue disease of the oral cavity. Without a proper exam, the path to a healthy dentition and mouth is impossible.
One thing you should know and this is something I tell all my patients before doing a root canal, it is not possible to remove all the infected tissue from the canal system. It is not possible to sterilize the inside of the root. This means that the best any dentist can do is remove as much of the infect nerve tissue as possible and disinfect the inside of the tooth as much as possible. This is why I have changed the way I do root canals 6 times in my career. Studies do vary so the number I am about to give you may be different than other numbers. I can't quote the study as the following information was from an endodontist at a continuing education course that meets the ADA CERP standards. When done properly, root canals have about a 92% success rate. This means that the dentist can do everything right and the root canal may not work. Root canals are still worth trying because not only is 92% a good success rate, the alternative is to extract the tooth. Another thing you need to know is that a tooth abscess cannot be treated with antibiotics alone. Additionally, tooth abscess can become life threatening so if you have one you have to either get a root canal or tooth extraction!
If you are told that you need periodontal maintenance visits you have been told that you have or have had periodontal disease. Periodontal maintenance visits are meant to be done after scaling and root planning (deep cleanings) have already been done. Periodontal maintenance visits are usually every 3 months but can vary depending on the patients' needs. These types of cleanings are different and usually take longer that a prophy. A prophy is a preventive cleaning that primarily addresses the tooth above the gum and the root surface just slightly below the gum level. A periodontal maintenance visit goes as far below the gum as needed, scaling and root planning is redone if needed, and sometimes you need to get numb for the cleaning. It takes a long time for gum disease to heal and you need to both follow your dentists advise on the periodontal maintenance frequency and on how to take care of your teeth at home or the infection might not respond as we hope to the scaling and root planning that was done. Failure to follow the recommended treatment advise and home care instructions can result in loss of teeth.