Hygiene program

Patients with a stable dentition and gums will most often be seen for regular cleanings and recall exams at six month intervals. Respecting this frequency allows the dentist to ensure that problems are caught and treated early.

It is recommended that patients who are at high risk of developing cavities or periodontitis (gum disease) be seen more frequently, up to three or four times per year, in order to adequately maintain their dental health.

Sealant

Dental sealants are thin protective plastic coatings applied to the chewing surfaces of the posterior teeth, usually permanent molars. These teeth often present deep pits and grooves where bacteria can infiltrate and eventually cause cavities. By sealing these pits and grooves, we reduce the child’s risk of developing dental decay.

Usually sealants are applied soon after the eruption of the permanent molars, and are carefully checked at every recall exam appointment. Sealants are part of a child’s total preventive dental program, also including daily brushing and flossing, wise food choices, fluoride and regular professional dental care.

Restoration

Dental restorations are used to restore the function, integrity and morphology of missing tooth structure, which most often results from caries or fracture. They include direct and indirect restorations. Direct restorations (dental fillings) are completed in a single appointment and most often involve the use of amalgam (grey) or composite (white) restorative material. Conventional Indirect restorations are completed in two or more appointments and require the help of a dental laboratory for the fabrication of the restorations (inlays, onlays, partial or full crowns, bridges).

Cosmetic dentistry

Cosmetic dentistry generally refers to any dental work that improves the appearance of a patient’s teeth or gums (e.g., whitening, composite or porcelain veneers, crowns, bridges, certain types of gum surgery, etc.).

When the nerve inside a tooth dies or gets abscessed and/or causes a great deal of pain, a root canal is required. Root canal treatment (or endodontic therapy) is a sequence of procedures affecting the pulp of a tooth which results in the elimination of infection and protection of the decontaminated tooth from future microbial invasion. Root canals and their associated pulp chamber are the physical spaces within a tooth that contain nerve tissue and blood vessels. A root canal treatment involves the removal of these structures, the subsequent cleaning, shaping, and decontamination of the canals with small files and irrigating solutions, and the obturation (filling) of the decontaminated canals with an inert filling material called gutta percha.

When a tooth is too compromised to allow for a dental restoration, when the long term prognosis is deemed too poor, or in the case of a problematic wisdom tooth, the removal of the tooth will be indicated. Extractions can be simple or surgical (i.e. requiring sectioning of the tooth, flapping of the gum or bone removal), and are performed under local anesthesia.

Periodental treatment

Periodontal (or gum) treatment is often crucial in order to achieve a healthy and maintainable state of the dentition. It includes various procedures performed with the goal of stabilizing the teeth’s foundation, i.e. the supporting bone and gums. Periodontal treatment is often divided in two phases, debridement (deep cleaning under local anesthesia in multiple sessions) and surgery (pocket reduction, gum grafts, etc). The response of the gum tissues to debridement will determine the need for the surgical phase in a particular patient.

Perio protect method

The Perio Protect Method is a daily, simple, efficient and innovative tool at our disposal to aid us in our fight against gum disease. The wear of customized trays loaded with appropriate medication provide us with an additional weapon to reduce the bacteria levels around the gums. This method is often associated with other bacterial control techniques, such as root planning and gum surgery.

Please refer to the following link for more information…
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Veneer

A veneer is a thin layer of material applied over the front surface of a tooth, usually to improve esthetics, such as size, shape, position and shade of teeth, as well as spacing and symmetry. Veneers are fabricated using two main types of dental materials, composite or porcelain. Composite veneers are usually completed in one visit, while porcelain veneers may require multiple appointments.

Crown

A crown is a type of indirect dental restoration which completely encircles a tooth. Crowns are often needed when limited healthy tooth structure is left (eg. in the case of a large cavity/filling or fracture), and are used to improve the strength and appearance of teeth.

Bridge

A bridge is a fixed indirect restoration used to replace missing teeth. In the case of a single missing tooth, the bridge consists of three splinted crown units with the middle (floating) crown replacing the space.

CEREC (Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics or CEramic REConstruction) is a dental restoration tool allowing the dental practitioner to produce an indirect ceramic restoration using a variety of computer assisted technologies, including 3D photography and CAD/CAM. With CEREC, teeth can be restored in a single appointment, rather than the multiple appointments required with conventional techniques. Furthermore, CEREC allows us to be more conservative by maintaining healthy tooth structure.

Implant

A dental implant is a titanium “screw” resembling a tooth root and placed within the jaw bone to support restorations replacing missing teeth. The implant fuses with the surrounding bone (osseointegration), but it lacks the periodontal ligament. For this reason, missing teeth restored with dental implants might feel slightly different from natural teeth during chewing.

Dental implants are used to support a number of dental prostheses, including crowns, implant-supported bridges or dentures. They can also be used as anchorage to allow tooth movement during orthodontic treatment.

Implant restoration

Dental implant restorations refer to crowns, bridges and dentures which are either cemented, screwed or snapped onto dental implants. An impression of the implant is taken, allowing the dental laboratory to fabricate the implant restoration.

Mini dental implant

These mini dental implants are considered a quick and economical way to improve retention stability and chewing efficiency for a multitude of clinical situations involving complete dentures or partial dentures.

Mini dental implants are smaller diameter implants than conventional implants, allowing them to be placed in areas of the jaws where there are less bone volume than required for conventional implants.

This implant system is minimally invasive and immediately stabilizes loose dentures using a 90-minute patented protocol, often completed without a flap and sometimes even using the patient’s existing dentures. Mini dental implants are usually placed under local anesthetic.

Dentures are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and which are supported by surrounding soft (gums) and hard tissues (teeth) of the oral cavity. Removable partial dentures are for patients who are missing some of their teeth on a particular arch. Conversely, complete dentures are worn by patients who are missing all of their teeth in a single arch.

Conventional dentures are removable, but dentures can also be stabilized with the use of dental implants (implant overdentures).

Tooth whitening (or bleaching) is a common procedure in general dentistry. There are many methods of whitening available, including bleaching strips, and bleaching gel used in custom fit plastic trays. Most bleaching methods use carbamide peroxide which reacts with water to form hydrogen peroxide.

Treatment with the NV Diode Microlaser. This device is a laser that can be used for many different soft tissue procedures, both preventative and restorative. The following is a summary of the intended uses of a diode laser…

• Sulcular debridement of diseased tissue (gum disease)
• Excision and biopsy soft tissue benign tumor (i.e. removal of fibroma)
• Gingivectomy and gingivoplasty (gum recontouring)
• Desensitization and accelerated healing of aphthous ulcers and herpetic lesions (canker sores)
• Frenectomy
• Photo coagulation (achieving hemostasis)
• Bacterial reduction in periodontal pockets
• Desensitization of exposed root

Bite guards (or night guards) are custom fit hard acrylic appliances worn at night and used to protect the teeth and dental restorations from the trauma of parafunction (clenching and grinding). The dentist will often recommend a night guard when signs of clenching/grinding are present (eg. wear, fractures, craze lines, etc).

Sports guards are similar protective appliances. Suggested for physical activities involving risks of trauma to the head and neck area.

30% of adults have black triangles, clinically known as open gingival embrasures.

This can result from bone loss, recession of the gum line, and sometimes movement of the teeth. Dark spaces between teeth can age a smile. Teeth with black triangles are also prone to food accumulation and tartar build-up.

In cases where the enamel is perfectly healthy, teeth do not need to be masked with veneers. Using the Bioclear Method, we can conservatively close these gaps to rejuvenate your smile.

Icon is a non-invasive, painless treatment that can correct the appearance of white, yellow, or brown spots. It consists of an innovative, highly fluid resin that deeply penetrates the enamel. Once cured, the resin creates a permanent seal, improving the appearance of the tooth while preventing future damage. Icon resin effectively conceals discoloration because it mimics the appearance of your natural enamel.

Icon offers numerous benefits, such as:

• No shots or drilling
• Preserves natural tooth structure
• Uniform, natural-looking color
• Long-lasting results

Invisalign treatment uses clear, removable aligners, which straighten your smile discretely. With no wires or brackets, they’re a more esthetic alternative to conventional fixed metal braces. The aligners are made from a flexible plastic material and custom-made to fit your mouth.