Frequently Asked Questions

If you have good oral health, we recommend that you schedule a checkup and cleaning twice a year. If we find issues that need extra attention, we’ll have you schedule another visit.

Checkups are a great way for early detection of potential problems. For example, bone loss is a precursor to decay, oral cancer can be detected in early stages, and many people aren’t even aware they have gum disease. At your hygiene appointment, we’ll clean plaque, tartar, and hardened food particles off your teeth. We’ll also make sure your gums are healthy and problem-free.

Our office uses DIAGNOdent laser cavity detection technology to find cavities in the earliest stages, often before you can ever see or feel them. With early detection, we can provide conservative treatment to save you time, money, and future discomfort. We also use the Vizilite to screen for oral cancer, a disease that will affect more than 30-thousand Americans this year.

Oral cancer is deadly, but with our early detection method, we provide an 80% cure rate. Because gum disease has been linked to stroke, heart attack, osteoporosis, and other health risks, we also look for early signs and use detection methods for periodontal issues. Gum disease is the leading cause of tooth loss in American adults.

Every three to five years, we will take a 3D CT x-ray for detailed pictures of your mouth. We do this in conjunction with annual bitewing digital x-rays. New x-ray technology means less radiation exposure, and our intraoral photographs can help detect early problems. If you haven’t been in for a checkup or x-rays in a long time, call us today to schedule an appointment.

During your checkup, we can also detect the cause of your chronic bad breath, known as halitosis. Some causes of bad breath include tooth decay, gum disease, or a buildup of bacteria. Modern procedures and products can help promote fresh breath, and our team can help you find the right treatment that will help you get your confidence back!

Any bleeding in your mouth is usually a sign of a problem. When gums bleed, the cause usually comes from early-stage gum disease, called gingivitis. We can show you how to apply proper toothbrush pressure for safe and effective daily care. If your gums are showing any signs of gum disease, you probably need a deep dental cleaning to halt the disease in its tracks and restore your oral health.

Gum disease is the leading cause of tooth loss for American adults, in addition to being linked to serious overall health conditions, including stroke, heart attack, and respiratory problems. We may also recommend salivary diagnostic tests that can help us identify certain gum disease causing bacteria that can hide and increase risk of infection. With our team’s skill, we can treat the infection more efficiently using antibiotics and beneficial maintenance.

If gum disease is left untreated, it can escalate and significantly damage your health, so call for an assessment now. We can help you keep your teeth and gums healthy for life!

Implant restorations are a safe and effective alternative to bridges, partials, or full dentures. Our dental implants are made to look, feel, and function like natural teeth. Once the titanium post implants are secured in the jawbone, your dentist will attach a handcrafted, tooth-colored permanent crown. The restorations will blend seamlessly with your smile. Dental implants last a long time, and the life depends depends on your age, oral health, and personal hygiene. With proper maintenance, they last most people a lifetime.

Our office offers bridgework, partials, full dentures, and implant restorations to restore missing teeth. You can learn more about these services on our services page, and then call our office to schedule a consultation. With x-rays, intraoral photos, and a thorough examination of your teeth, the dentist can help you decide which replacement option will work best for your specific situation.

This hides in your mouth and can destroy gum tissue and teeth, as well as lead to strokes, heart attacks, and pregnancy complications. Don’t think it’s your problem? Conservative estimates report that up to 80 percent of the population unknowingly has gum disease in one form or another.

Studies have shown that periodontal (gum) disease has been linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and even complications in pregnancy like low birth-weight babies. Abscessed teeth low-grade infections in your mouth can interfere with you body’s immune system as well. In our office, we perform routine screenings for periodontal disease and check for hidden abscesses that can be caught early to prevent more damage and cost down the road.

This might sound like an easy question to answer, but it isn’t! You have a unique smile, and we won’t compromise your individuality when we makeover your smile. Smile design dentistry done right requires an initial consultation where we can discuss your goals, preferences, and options for care. We often suggest porcelain veneers or Lumineers, teeth whitening, all-white restorations, and/or replacement teeth. Orthodontics could also be a good option.

After your comprehensive evaluation and consultation, we’ll design and present a smile makeover plan for your new smile. We can offer digital imaging for smile previews, as well, so you can see what we can do for your smile before we do it!

Cosmetic dentistry, also known as aesthetic or esthetic dentistry, can include any dental treatment that will improve the appearance of your smile. Veneers, whitening, and tooth-colored restorations are a just few of the cosmetic dental procedures we provide in our office.

An important part of cosmetic dentistry is also functionality. Not only should your smile look fantastic, but it should also maintain comfortable function of your teeth and bite. Ask us about smile analysis and our smile makeovers the next time you come in.

Cosmetic dentistry is for people who take pride in their appearance and want an attractive smile. Many of our patients are self-conscious about stains, yellowing, and misaligned teeth, and will avoid smiling as a result. The advanced training our team and doctors have allows us to provide you with beautiful results. It could be something as simple as whitening your teeth or it could be the more permanent porcelain veneers that change the look and shape of your teeth to give you the winning smile you deserve. All of our patients who have had cosmetic dentistry have expressed how they already feel so much better about themselves and how they tend to smile more now! With today’s technology, there is no reason you shouldn’t take advantage of the amazing cosmetic dental services we offer.

Certainly it depends on what services will be provided, but once the diagnostics and treatment plan have been completed, you’ll come back for a few visits over the course of a few months. That’s right, in just a few weeks’ time; you can have a fabulous new smile that will last a lifetime!

It depends on the appearance of your teeth. If your teeth are crooked, chipped, and crowded, whitening will only whiten your teeth, and not straighten or repair them. Porcelain restoration are a better treatment that can repair all of those imperfections at the same time. However, if you are happy with the overall shape of your teeth, then whitening could give you a youthful, stunning smile.

We provide custom take-home trays with professional whitening gel for safe and effective teeth whitening you can do in the comfort of your own home. Home whitening kits can get your teeth up to eight shades whiter! Two full weeks of use produces optimal results, but if your teeth reach the desired shade before then, you don’t have to continue treatment. We also offer Zoom-in-office laser whitening to help you get that movie-star smile you’ve always wanted!

Lumineers are a brand of dental veneers that need little or no preparation before placement. Some patients like Lumineers because they are applied quickly and have a reduced risk of tooth sensitivity. However, others prefer traditional veneers because of their completely customized design.

Depending on your unique situation, we may suggest either porcelain veneers or Invisalign clear braces. Read more about these procedures on our services page.

Metal fillings and crowns can be restored with tooth-colored replacements designed to be strong and blend in with your natural teeth. Our dentists and dental team have been restoring teeth with composite tooth-colored fillings for years. We also offer porcelain crowns and veneers to give you a dazzling smile.

CEREC stands for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics—or CEramic REConstruction for short. This newer technology uses digital personalized design to create a customized crown, inlay, or onlay in a milling machine at our office.

What can this mean for you? The “chairside” aspect of CEREC means you get a tooth restoration in just one visit! Here we can prepare your tooth, create your restoration, and place the permanent crown, inlay, or onlay all in one day. You won’t have to worry about a temporary crown or an extra follow-up visit, and you can get back to your own busy schedule.

Our cosmetic dentistry team has the ability to create a natural looking smile, so others can’t tell porcelain restorations have been used. We use excellently skilled lab technicians to help us achieve these results. And since we do not use metal under our porcelain restorations, you won’t have any noticeable gray lines running down your teeth.

Chronic headaches could be symptomatic of a misaligned bite, bruxism (grinding), or TMJ disorder. One of our doctors will carefully examine your occlusion (bite), jaw, head, and neck to determine the root cause of your pain. We can often treat chronic headaches with a custom night guard. Call our office if you have more questions about headache relief and our available non-surgical therapies.

Yes, and thank you for your confidence! We appreciate your referrals and promise to extend the same comprehensive, caring service to your friends and coworkers that you receive every time you visit.

Typically, we first like to see kids when they reach two or three years of age, after all their baby teeth have come in. We’ll check for any issues or concerns, and talk about important preventive measures like flouride tables, or about any orthodontic problems we see. We’ll start your child off with a friendly and positive dental experience!

Place the tooth in a glass of milk and call or come in to our office as as soon as you can. Make sure to bring you tooth, and use a warm, wet washcloth to cover the gums around the place where the tooth fell out.

Yes. We generally see emergency cases during our regular business hours. However, we do offer a phone number after hours on the answering machine, so patients that have been seen in our office before can contact our dentist on call.