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Cosmetic & General Dentistry
The practice of dentistry encompasses an amazing array of services and procedures, all with a common goal: to help you to preserve your natural teeth as long as possible, ensure your oral health, and keep you looking and feeling great throughout life.
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There's so much that can be done these days to improve the appearance of a person's smile — at any age. From powerful, professional whitening treatments to amazingly realistic porcelain veneers to state-of-the-art dental implants, there's a wide range of exciting possibilities.
The first step in any smile makeover is a thorough dental examination to make sure that your cosmetic problems really are just that, and not a sign of underlying dental disease. Once your health has been established, your smile can be cosmetically enhanced in a variety of ways.
Cosmetic & General Dentistry Procedures
Modern dentistry offers a wide range of services to make sure your teeth stay healthy, function well and look great. These procedures include:
- Cleanings & Oral Exams, to keep your teeth and gums healthy, and catch early signs of dental disease
- Cosmetic Bonding, to repair small chips or cracks
- Crowns & Bridgework, to replace large amounts of lost tooth structure and/or missing teeth
- Dental Implants, for the longest-lasting tooth replacement available today
- Extractions, to remove unhealthy teeth that cannot be saved
- Fillings, to restore decayed teeth
- Inlays & Onlays, to fill teeth with larger cavities
- Invisalign Clear Aligners, for highly discreet orthodontic treatment
- Oral Cancer Screenings, to detect a dangerous disease that can be cured if caught early
- Orthodontic Treatment, to move teeth into the right position
- Porcelain Veneers, for repairing larger chips and cracks, and reshaping teeth
- Removable Dentures, to help you smile again
- Root Canal Treatment, to rescue diseased teeth
- Sealants, to help prevent cavities
- Teeth Whitening, to brighten a faded or discolored smile
- TMD Treatment, for pain in the jaw area that can interfere with biting and chewing
- Tooth-Colored Fillings, for a completely natural, healthy look
- Tooth Decay Prevention, so you keep your natural teeth as long as possible
When to Visit the Dentist
Many people only go to the dentist when something is wrong. That is truly a shame, because they are missing out on so many preventive services that can save discomfort — and expense — down the road. Regular dental visits are essential to make sure oral health problems — from tooth decay to oral cancer — are detected and treated in a timely manner. Some individuals may need to see the dentist more often than others to stay on top of problems like plaque buildup and gum disease, but everyone should go at least once per year.
Your regular dental visits will include a thorough oral exam to check the health of your teeth and gums; and oral cancer screening to spot any suspicious signs early; and a professional cleaning to remove stubborn deposits and make your teeth look and feel great. So don't miss out on the many benefits dentistry offers you and your family!
Your Smile Makeover
The most important job you have as a member of your own smile makeover team is to communicate exactly what you don't like about your smile and how you'd like it to be different. Before the first consultation, give some thought to the following questions:
- What do you like or dislike about the color, size, shape and spacing of your teeth?
- Are you pleased with how much your teeth show, both when you smile and when your lips are relaxed?
- Do you want teeth that are perfectly aligned and a bright “Hollywood White,” or would you prefer a more natural look with slight color, shape and shade variations?
- Would you like more or less of your gums to show when you smile?
It is extremely helpful for you to bring in pictures you have collected — of smiles you like, smiles you don't like, and/or photos of the way your own smile used to look, if that's the result you're aiming for. Now is the time to get started on creating a smile that will make you feel as good as you look!
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Smile Makeover
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Cosmetic & General Dentistry
Smiling with confidence makes you feel great. A beautiful smile is also an important social and professional asset. Yet there are many people who avoid showing their teeth in public or in photographs because they don't like what they see. If that describes you, then why not start the process of getting
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Fillings
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Cosmetic & General Dentistry
If you have never had a cavity, congratulations! If you have had one, you are not alone. About 78% of us have had at least one cavity by the time we reach age 17, according to a 2000 report by the U.S. Surgeon General. Fortunately there's a time-tested treatment for cavities: the dental filling.
Fillings
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Crowns & Bridgework
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Cosmetic & General Dentistry
Dentistry is an art as well as a science; dental crowns offer a perfect example of this. A dental crown or “cap” is a covering that fits over a damaged, decayed or unattractive tooth. It can even replace a tooth entirely as part of dental bridgework.
A crown completely covers a tooth above the gum
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Inlays & Onlays
Category:
Cosmetic & General Dentistry
There are times when a tooth suffers damage (from decay, for example) that is too extensive to be treated with a simple filling — but not extensive enough to need a full-coverage crown. In these cases, the best option for restoring the tooth may be an inlay or onlay.
Both inlays and onlays are considered
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Tooth-Colored Fillings
Category:
Cosmetic & General Dentistry
If you could have fillings that matched the natural color of your teeth so well that nobody could tell the difference, would you choose them over metal?
We thought so! Both scientific studies and clinical experience have shown that tooth-colored restorations (fillings) are safe, reliable and long-lasting.
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Cosmetic Tooth Bonding
Category:
Cosmetic & General Dentistry
We are proud of the ways in which dentistry can restore broken or decayed teeth to full beauty and function. One of the easiest and least expensive ways of doing this is with dental bonding.
Bonding uses tooth-colored materials to replace missing tooth structure or hide cosmetically unappealing minor
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Teeth Whitening
Category:
Cosmetic & General Dentistry
It's hard to imagine anything more appealing than a sparkling, white smile. Yet our teeth rarely stay as white as we'd like them to without a little help. Fortunately, that help is available at the dental office.
Teeth whitening done in a professional dental setting is a safe, effective way to brighten
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Removable Dentures
Category:
Cosmetic & General Dentistry
Full or partial tooth loss, if left untreated, doesn't just affect a person's self-image — it can also increase the risk of developing nutritional problems and other systemic health disorders. Fortunately, there's a reliable and time-tested method for treating this condition: full or partial dentures.
Dentures
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Porcelain Veneers
Category:
Cosmetic & General Dentistry
What makes a smile beautiful? That's a complex question, but some qualities of a lovely smile are immediately identifiable: good tooth color, shape and alignment are a few of the most important ones. If your teeth could use improvement in any of these categories, porcelain veneers could be just what
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Tooth Contouring & Reshaping
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Cosmetic & General Dentistry
Sometimes little defects in teeth can attract more than their fair share of attention. The eye often seems drawn to the tiny chip in a front tooth; the slight mismatch in tooth size among adjacent teeth; the extra-pointy canine. If you find yourself staring at these subtle yet distracting features in
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TMD
Category:
Cosmetic & General Dentistry
If you experience ongoing pain in the area near your ear, your jaw or the muscles on the side of your face, possibly accompanied by a clicking or popping sound or restricted jaw movement, you may be suffering from TMD — an abbreviation for Temporomandibular disorders. Sometimes people incorrectly use
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Snoring & Sleep Apnea
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Cosmetic & General Dentistry
You know it instinctively: A good night's sleep is essential for good health. It makes you feel rested and ready to take on the world. Yet many people don't get the sleep they need. Sometimes this is related to sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBD) — their own, or those experienced by their sleeping
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Tooth Wear
Category:
Cosmetic & General Dentistry
With proper care, your teeth can last a lifetime. But some amount of wear as we age is normal. By “wear,” we mean loss of tooth structure. Wear starts with loss of the hard, translucent enamel that forms the outer covering of teeth, and might, in more serious cases, progress to the softer inner tooth
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Nitrous Oxide
Category:
Cosmetic & General Dentistry
Some people fail to receive the benefits of modern dental treatment because of a simple yet seemingly overwhelming problem: Fear. It isn't uncommon to have a little anxiety about an upcoming dental procedure. But if your fears have kept you away from the dental office when you know you really should
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Gummy Smiles
Category:
Cosmetic & General Dentistry
Some people feel self-conscious about smiling because they believe their gums are too prominent. Though we each have our own definition of what makes a smile beautiful — including how much gum is too much — a smile will usually be perceived as “gummy” when 4 millimeters (just over an eighth of
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Tooth Decay Prevention
Category:
Cosmetic & General Dentistry
Tooth decay is often called the second most prevalent human disease, after the common cold. Without effective treatment (as was the case through most of history) it can lead to pain, tooth loss, and sometimes worse illnesses. Even today, it's estimated to affect over a quarter of U.S children from ages
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Mouthguards for Children
Category:
Cosmetic & General Dentistry
Kids who take part in athletic activities — whether they're playing on organized sports teams, bicycling, or just kicking a ball around — gain a host of well-documented health benefits. Yet inevitably, along with all the fun, the sense of achievement, and the character-building features of athletics,
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Mouthguards for Adults
Category:
Cosmetic & General Dentistry
Today most adults recognize that leading a healthy, active lifestyle is a big plus. Moderate exercise has been shown to help lower blood pressure, keep cholesterol levels under control, and even reduce feelings of anxiety or depression. To stay active, some 150 million adults in the United States get
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