Dental Services
Preventive Care
Initial Visit
For your first visit, you come in for digital x-rays and a comprehensive exam. These x-rays contain 90% less radiation than the conventional x-rays and are the best way to check for problems within or between teeth.
The exam includes the detection of decay, even on previously restored teeth. Our doctors will also check for gum disease, bone loss, and oral cancer of the face, neck, throat, lips, gums, and tongue.
Professional Dental Cleaning
If the dentist decides there is no gum disease, you will be scheduled for a dental cleaning, professionally called a prophylaxis. This will be done by one of our three highly experienced dental hygienists.
They will remove the calculus (hardened plaque left on teeth for a long time, forms below the gum line), remove the plaque (the sticky film on your teeth), and polish your teeth (which will remove some staining).
If the plaque is allowed to build up too long and regular flossing is not done, bacteria, food, and saliva begin to grow in the gums, causing inflammation, known as gum disease.
Fluoride
FLUORIDES are natural substances that help guard teeth from decay. They are often added to drinking water because of their protective qualities and are the active ingredients fighting tooth decay in many toothpastes and mouth rinses.
Many studies have documented 40% to 70% reduction in tooth decay when fluoride supplements were used as compared to using nothing at all!
Sealants
If no decay is present on a tooth, the doctors will recommend a sealant be placed on the tooth. It is a clear coating that gets into the groves on the chewing surfaces of a tooth and prevents decay from forming on that surface. This procedure is very short and does not require any anesthetic.
Restorations
Amalgam Fillings
These fillings are also known as silver fillings. They are lower in cost to the white (composite) fillings, but they are more noticeable. The silver fillings are not put on a front tooth.
The silver filling does contain trace amounts of mercury, but several studies (performed by the American Dental Association, the Center for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, and the Food and Drug Administration) have found them to be safe. It has been used by dentists for over a century because of its value and durability.
Composite Fillings
These are the fillings that are the same color as the tooth, making it appear more natural than its silver counterpart.
These fillings bond with the teet, and they are always done on an anterior tooth. Your dentist will let you know if a tooth will be in your smile line so that you can make a more informed decision in deciding between silver and white fillings.
Cosmetic Dentistry
Cosmetic Work
Our doctors do beautiful cosmetic work on patients who are unhappy with their smiles. This includes everything from teeth whitening using Zoom to gold crown removal to full mouth restorations.
The cosmetic work can correct crooked teeth, discolored teeth, oversized or undersized teeth and spaces between teeth. This work can sometimes take the place of orthodontics, which can take 2-3 years to complete.
Results are visible within one treatment visit, even while permanent crowns are being made. Our doctors love to create the perfect smile.
Invisalign
Coming Soon
Veneer
Dental veneers are custom-designed shells of tooth-like ceramic material that, when applied over the surface of a tooth, can cover worn tooth enamel, uneven tooth alignment or spacing and chips or cracks.
Dental veneers fall into the category of cosmetic dentistry because they create a bright, white smile with beautifully aligned, shapely teeth.
Even better, the translucent ceramic quality of today's veneers provides a more natural look than what’s been available in the past. Regardless of what causes unattractive teeth, dental veneers may solve most or even all of your cosmetic dental issues, including:
*Worn enamel: Over time, the thin, hard, white substance covering your teeth (enamel) may become worn, dulled, and discolored. Such wear and discoloration may be natural or the result of a genetic predisposition; however, it is often a result of your habits (soft drink, tea, or coffee consumption, smoking, medication use, etc.).
*Wear and tear: Teeth naturally wear down as people age. Aged teeth are more likely to have chips, cracks or a generally uneven appearance.
*Genetics: Certain people may be born with abnormal spacing between the teeth that grows wider as they age.
*Uneven teeth: Uneven teeth can result from tooth grinding or general wear and tear.
Crowns
A patient gets a crown on a tooth that has been root canalled or has lost some structure. In the first visit for the crown, the patient will leave the office with a provisional crown. It is going to be the template for which the permanent crown is made.
Impressions will be taken and sent off to a lab, where they will custom make the crown for you. That crown will not be permanently seated until our doctors are confident that it is perfect. The crowns are made of porcelain, most fused to a high noble metal. Our crowns are made here in Lousiana.
Periodontal Disease
Periodontal diseases (also known as gum diseases) are infections of the gum and bone that hold teeth in place. As the tissues are damaged, the sulcus develops into a pocket that is greater than three millimeters.
Generally the more severe the disease, the greater the pocket depth and bone loss. The enlarged pockets allow harmful bacteria to grow and make it difficult to practice effective oral hygiene. Left untreated, periodontal diseases may eventually lead to tooth loss.
If periodontal problems are not treated, they can become severe and may eventually lead to tooth loss. Periodontal diseases are often painless, and you may not be aware that you have a problem until your gums and the supporting bone are seriously damaged.
The good news is that periodontal diseases often can be treated in the early stages with a treatment to clean your teeth called scaling and root planning. Treatment has a huge benefit. You’ll increase the chances of keeping your natural teeth.
Periodontal Diseases Diagnosis
If you schedule regular dental checkups, your dentist can detect developing periodontal diseases before the gums and the bone supporting your teeth are irreversibly damaged. Periodontal diseases are most often progressive-left untreated, the condition often becomes worse.
During a checkup, the dentist examines your gums for periodontal problems. An instrument called a periodontal probe is used to gently measure the depth of the spaces between your teeth and gums. At the very edge of the gum line, healthy gum tissue forms a very shallow, v-shaped groove (also known as sulcus) between the tooth and gums.
The normal depth of the sulcus should be three millimeters or less. When periodontal disease is present, this normally shallow sulcus develops into a deeper pocket that bleeds, collects more plaque bacteria and is difficult to keep clean.
Dental x-rays also may be taken to evaluate the condition of bone supporting the teeth and to detect other problems not visible during the clinical examination.
Periodontal (gum) Disease: If the doctor does determine that gum disease is present, it is important to get the deeper cleaning done. It will be either a full mouth debridement or scaling and root planning, depending on the severity of the gum disease.
If periodontal disease goes untreated too long, it can affect a person’s health and well-being. It has been shown that gum disease has correlations to stroke, heart disease, and even an unborn child with a mother that has gum disease.
Some of the symptoms include:
- Bleeding Gums: healthy gums will not bleed when you brush or floss your teeth.
- Loose or Shifting: teeth come loose as the bacteria below the gum line eats away at the bone that holds the teeth in place.
- Receding Gums
- Puffy, Red Gums: healthy gums are tight and pink.
- Halitosis: bad breath caused by the bacteria in the gums.
- Presence of Pus: sign of infection
In some cases, a special electric toothbrush and rinses may be recommended. In most all cases, it is recommended that the patient comes in more often than every 6 months for a cleaning so that the gums and bone that are still present can be maintained.
Full Mouth Debridement
Sometimes, a new patient will present with so much plaque and calculus built up on their teeth that it is impossible to completely visualize the teeth, or to probe the depths of the patient's periodontal pockets without pain and bleeding.
When this is the case, a normal prophylaxis is not possible, and a more aggressive procedure called a full mouth debridement is necessary.
It involves a rough scaling to remove the bulk of the calculus and plaque from the teeth and as far down on the roots as the patient can tolerate without anesthesia. This will make it possible for the patient's gums to begin the process of healing, and just as importantly, it makes a thorough oral examination possible.
A debridement removes most of the calculus buildup. It is quite labor intensive and is more expensive than a normal prophylaxis. The full mouth debridement is accomplished on the initial office visit, and the official oral exam is deferred until a subsequent visit, after some healing has taken place.
If the patient's periodontal condition has improved to the point where bleeding has stopped and minor periodontal pocketing has begun to resolve, then a second cleaning visit (called a fine scale and prophylaxis) and the initial oral examination are performed.
If the patient's periodontal condition remains grave, then the initial oral exam is performed, a treatment plan is outlined and the patient is scheduled for several periodontal root planning visits in addition to appointments to repair or extract damaged teeth.
Oral Surgery
Extraction
Every tooth extraction is different. Some are simple and some require more extensive procedures. Surgical extraction is required whenever the tooth cannot be removed by simple force extraction.
Conditions that warrant surgical removal would include cracked teeth, impacted teeth, severely decayed teeth, or any condition that makes the extraction a bit difficult. This type of tooth extraction is routine in our office and is nothing to be afraid of.
There are downsides to losing a natural tooth. When a tooth is removed and not replaced, the nearest teeth may begin to shift from their normal position. This may cause the teeth to become crooked or crowded, which makes biting and chewing more difficult.
Crooked or crowded teeth are more likely to have gum disease because they are harder to keep clean than straight teeth. A replacement tooth (an implant or bridge) is usually more expensive than endodontic treatment and can involve more extensive dental procedures on nearby teeth. A natural tooth is normally better than an artificial tooth.
Tooth Impaction
TOOTH IMPACTIONS (most commonly associated with wisdom teeth) are situations where the tooth is confined in the bone, preventing its normal eruption into the mouth. Impactions vary as to degree, complexity, and severity. But they are common causes of problems at different stages of life.
Most commonly, they are a cause of pain and swelling of the surrounding gum tissues. But they are also a source of problems such as tooth shifting, bite interferences, cysts, gum disease, and tooth decay due to food and plaque buildup because of the difficulty encountered in cleaning around them. Extraction is usually the treatment of choice to eliminate these problems.
Implants
When a tooth is missing, a dental procedure called an implant can sometimes be done. It involves replacing a tooth by placing an artificial root into the gums and bone.
This will help prevent the bone loss that comes with extracting a tooth. It does take several visits, but in most cases, you will not have to crown the adjacent teeth. The doctor will take necessary x-rays to determine eligibility.
Mini Implants
Unlike standard implants, mini implants can be placed in the jawbone in a one-hour procedure that generally does not involve cutting an incision in the gums.
These implants are about the size of a round wooden toothpick, are made out of a very strong titanium alloy that Osseo integrates quite well, and are of the sandblasted variety.
The denture (usually an old denture) is then retrofitted with tiny housings that contain a rubber o-ring made to slip over the implants. The denture then snaps into position over the implants and the patient can wear and use the denture immediately upon walking out of the office.
Bone Graft
There are many ways in which bone grafting can be done. Sometimes it is as simple as collecting bone when preparing an implant site and then reusing the bone for grafting purposes. Whenever we can use the patient's own bone for repairs or additions, we will get the best results.
In extreme cases, bone can be harvested from areas outside the mouth. The most common area is the hip. Needless to say, when this type of bone graft is done, everyone has to be fully prepared, and you would usually find yourself in a hospital setting with a physician actually removing the bone from your hip and your dentist placing it in the appropriate areas of your mouth.
Very often, we can use "bone in a bottle" to do bone grafting for dental implants. This bone is specially prepared from cadavers or other sources and used to get the patient's own bone to grow into the repair site.
It is very effective and very safe. Sometimes, synthetic materials can be used to stimulate bone formation, and sometimes we even use factors from your own blood to accelerate and promote bone formation in graft areas.
Very often, bone grafting is done in combination with what dentistry refers to as a "Barrier Membrane Technique". Membranes made out of special materials are placed over bone graft sites to keep out the types of soft tissue cells we do not want and to promote the growth and migration of cells that will turn into normal, healthy bone.
These membranes are very successful and are used quite a bit these days to promote sound bone formation. The membranes are usually removed at a later date, but sometimes they can be reabsorbed by the body and disappear all on their own.
In addition, it is not uncommon to use "screws" and "tacks" to secure membranes and bone grafts at an implant site. Sometimes, these pieces will also have to be removed at a later date, but rest assured that all of these components and grafting materials are safe and effective, and their use has gone a long way in increasing the success rates of dental implants.
Laser Dentistry
Lasers can be used in certain dental procedures, such as preparing for a crown or doing fillings. The beauty of the laser in this treatment is that anesthetic will not always be necessary, thus minimizing pain and recovery time.
There is no drilling; therefore, there is no heat or vibration. It can be used to zap cold sores, correct gummy smiles, and remove tumors.
Root Canals: Root canal treatments are done when a tooth has an exposed nerve, severe trauma, or an infection. The alternative treatment to doing a root canal is to do an extraction. In the long run, the root canal is going to be a much more cost-effective treatment with fewer implications on the surrounding teeth.
During a root canal, the pulp is removed and the canals of the tooth are cleaned and filled. After that treatment, the doctor will build the tooth back up from its diminished tooth structure and place a crown on top of it.
This will protect the tooth from any further damage. It is important to keep up with dental recalls (checkups) after the crown is placed so that the life of that tooth is extended even more.
Why is Root Canal Needed?
Natural teeth are meant to last a lifetime. Years ago, diseased or injured teeth frequently were extracted. But today, even if the pulp in one of your teeth becomes injured or infected, the tooth often can be saved through root canal (endodontic) treatment.
Endodontics
Endodontics is the branch of dentistry concerned with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases or injuries to the dental pulp. An endodontist is a dentist who specializes in root canal treatment.
What is the dental pulp?
The pulp is soft tissue inside the tooth that contains blood vessels and nerves. It lies in a canal that runs through the center of the dentin—the hard tissue on the inside of the tooth that supports the enamel—the outer layer of tooth structure.
The crown (the portion of the tooth visible above the gums) contains the pulp chamber. The pulp extends from this chamber down through the root canal to the tip of the root that lies in the bone of the jaws. Teeth have only one pulp chamber but may have more than one root and several root canals.
What happens if the pulp is injured?
When the pulp is diseased or injured and unable to repair itself, it loses its strength. The most common causes of the pulp dying are a cracked tooth, a deep cavity requiring large fillings, or traumatic injuries to the tooth, all of which may allow bacteria and their products to enter into the pulp.
Why should the pulp be removed?
If the injured or diseased pulp is not removed, the tissues surrounding the root of the tooth can become infected, resulting in pain and swelling. Even if there is no pain, certain substances released by bacteria can damage the bone that anchors the tooth in the jaw. Without treatment, the tooth may have to be extracted.
Conscious Sedation
Our doctors have taken many courses in the best way to sedate patients who are nervous for treatment or who need to be scheduled for long appointments.
They have achieved this through conscious sedation. The patient is not “put to sleep,” but they are just given a highly studied combination of medications that make them very relaxed.
It is the perfect solution for those who are too nervous to get in to the dental chair. Our office is equipped with reversal medications for anything we prescribe, and the patient’s vital signs are monitored during the entire visit.
Prosthetic Treatment
Bridge
Bridges are the non-removable way of replacing a tooth that is missing due to extraction. They are done by taking three or more crowns and connecting the teeth on either side of a missing tooth.
Bridges are done to prevent shifting of the teeth around the missing tooth and to prevent the super-eruption of the tooth it opposes (bites down to). This will help prevent the loss of the teeth around the missing tooth.
Dentures/Partials
These are removable prosthetics that replace either some missing teeth (partial denture) or all missing teeth (complete denture). A partial basically does the same job as a bridge, but it will come out, where as a bridge is fixed in.
It is recommended that when a denture is done, that some time goes by after the extractions before beginning the denture. This will allow the gums to heal up and shrink back, giving the denture a more secure fit.
The downside to this is that the patient will have to go without teeth for a couple of weeks. An immediate denture can be done and will be given to the patient at time of extraction, but it is more likely that the denture will have to be relined sooner than with a conventional denture.
During the denture-making process, you will be given an opportunity to approve the look of the denture before the final denture is made.
Other Tooth Replacement Options
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Implants
A dental implant is much like a natural tooth, which has a root in your jawbone, topped by a crown that you can see. When you need an implant, your dentist inserts a metal post beneath your gum and into the bone.
It fuses to the bone in your jaw and acts like the root of a tooth. Then your dentist makes a replacement crown on the metal post, designed to blend in with the way your own teeth look and feel. Dental implants also can be used to anchor dentures.
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Fixed Bridges
Another alternative is a fixed bridge (sometimes called a fixed partial denture). This is a restoration that replaces or spans the space where one or more teeth have been lost. A fixed bridge is bonded or cemented into place—only a dentist can remove it.
A fixed bridge is commonly cemented or bonded to the natural teeth next to the space left by the missing teeth. An artificial tooth (called a pontic) replaces the lost natural tooth and restores its function.
A pontic is attached to a crown (restoration that covers a tooth). Crowns, which are cemented on adjacent prepared teeth, serve as retainers that support the fixed bridge.
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Removable Bridges
As its name describes, a removable bridge (sometimes called a removable partial denture) can readily be taken out of the mouth for cleaning. Although removable bridges generally are less expensive, fixed bridges, when indicated, may feel more stable and comfortable.
Removable bridge may be for you. Removable bridges usually have replacement teeth attached to gum-colored plastic bases connected by metal framework.
They may attach to your natural teeth with metal clasps or devices called precision attachments. A claspless removable bridge, when indicated, may provide better support and esthetics. Crowns on your natural teeth may improve the way a removable bridge fits your mouth.