Veneers/Bonding

Veneers are the least invasive method to achieve optimal alignment, control blemishes, and achieve characteristics of that “Hollywood smile”.  Veneers are porcelain jackets, fit to your existing or slightly prepped front teeth, and then cemented into place permanently.  

Bonding refers to the use of tooth colored filling material to sculpt the same results as the veneers accomplish with porcelain.  Both options are ideal to restore previously chipped or cracked tooth edges, unwanted spaces, or general alignment issues of the anterior (front) teeth. 

Please ask our staff about how these services can benefit your individual case!

Endodontics is a term used to encompass root canal treatments.  Root canals are necessary in the event that the nerve tissue within your tooth dies or begins the process of dying.  There can be several causes of nerve death with the most common being a neglected dental cavity (decay) that has entered or approached the nerve tissue.  Other reasons include excessively deep restorations (fillings), fractured teeth (usually due to large fillings),  or various types of trauma determined by force to the face/tooth area.

Once the nerve dies, fluid begins to collect below the tooth in the jawbone, creating a painful feeling of pressure.  This collection of fluid is called an abscess and root canal treatment or extraction is required immediately to alleviate the patient’s discomfort.  Symptoms of a dying tooth can present themselves as the tooth is dying or show up after it already has and include extended sensitivity to cold temperatures and sometimes sweets(longer than 15s),  pain to biting pressure,  throbbing and swelling.

Root canals basically consist of mechanically instrumenting the infected nerve tissue out of the affected tooth, followed by sterilization of the areas and  finalized by sealing the areas so that no further bacteria is allowed into the tooth.  This procedure allows you to keep a tooth that would previously would have had to be extracted, and likely saving you money compared to the replacement options.  

Periodontics is a term used to describe a wide variety of treatments involving the gums and supporting tissue of the teeth.  While periodontitis rarely hurts, it can be present for years and cause considerable damage before discovery due to intraoral symptoms.  For this reason, keeping your periodic hygiene appointments is extremely important.

Periodontitis starts as simple gingivitis, a small amount of inflammation involving the gums.  As the inflammation is left untreated and progresses, continued gum destruction as well as supporting bone destruction begins to develop and spread.  This spread can lead to symptoms such as easily bleeding gums, loose teeth, changes in bite, bad tastes or smells coming from the gum, and loss of attachment between gums and teeth.

Dr. Robertson has added soft tissue lasers to his practice  to aid with some of  the procedures involving the gums.  Removal of blemishes, bumps, nodules and/or removal of gingival overgrowth (usually post-ortho) are all possible with little to no anesthesia necessary.  This is because the laser uses light energy instead of heat to cut, which in addition to less discomfort, creates cauterization of the area with little to no bleeding.  If you’re thinking you have periodontal issues or simply have a small blemish you’d like to remove, please contact our staff to see how we may be of service!

Prosthodontics:

Removable—Complete/Partial Dentures

Prosthodontics is the area of treatment involving the replacement of large amounts or all teeth.  Prosthodontics includes complete dentures, partial dentures and almost all replacement combinations in between.  Most, if not all, of these treatment options are removable, but are sometimes required when the lack of natural remaining dentition is present for adequate support of other types of restoration. 

Our procedures consist of a few “fitting” appointments throughout the prosthesis construction and painstaking attention to color matching of your natural dentition whether you still have any of your natural teeth or not.  If you are edentulous, old photos to show shade and alignment of your previous teeth can be very helpful in reconstructing your mouth.  If you need these tooth replacement services, please call our office today to see what  we can offer you!

Crowns (or caps) are a full coverage procedure used to protect teeth that are weakened due to treatment or natural reasons.  Teeth that likely need this treatment contain very large fillings and/or have had previous root canal treatment.  When root canal treatment is performed, the nerve and blood vessels that supply the tooth with nutrients and moisture are removed because they are infected.  This removal tends to dry the tooth structure out and preclude it to a greater chance of fracture.  Large restorations (fillings) endanger the tooth in the same manner creating a wedge-like affect when the amount of filling material exceeds the amount of real tooth structure left. Remember, your mouth and it’s adjoining musculature can create as much as 300lbs of biting pressure in the posterior and as much as 75lbs in the front.  These forces constantly contribute to fractured fillings and tooth structure. Crowns are made from either porcelain, various ceramics, gold, and now cubic zirconia, making them very resistant to breakage

Bridges are the use of crowns for restoration, except they are in units of two or more to complete the case.  The most common being a three unit bridge where the tooth on each side of the space you are replacing are used to support the false tooth you are adding.  These multiple units can be very helpful with spaces bordered by teeth that have larger restorations already in them, so as to say they’d need a crown individually but can also be used to support the bridge that is being used to fill a space.

Dental implants are idealistically the best treatment  for missing teeth and especially individual tooth replacement.  Implants are titanium threaded tooth analogs that are placed by an oral surgeon into the jawbone and allowed to anchor themselves via natural healing.  In the simplest cases, once the healing has commenced, the dentist can then attach a tooth to the artificial tooth root (implant).

Dental implants are especially useful when surrounding teeth are virgin, meaning that they have had no previous work.  Using an implant in these cases allows a tooth to be replaced and no surrounding teeth to the area be affected.  Implants can also be used to anchor bridges (replaces more than a single tooth) and for retention of complete dentures in some cases.  While the maxillary (upper) denture rarely needs additional support to combat movement, the mandibular (lower) almost always does.  Dental implants are an exceptional way, and sometimes the ONLY to achieve this stabilization.

If you feel you have a need for implant treatment, please contact our office so we can consult with you and a local oral surgeon about the best course of treatment for you!