Fillings are also used to repair cracked or broken teeth and teeth that have been worn down from misuse (such as from nail-biting or tooth grinding).

What Types of Filling Materials Are Available?
Today, several dental filling materials are available. Teeth can be filled with gold; porcelain; silver amalgam (which consists of mercury mixed with silver, tin, zinc, and copper); or tooth-colored, plastic and glass materials called composite resin fillings. The location and extent of the decay, cost of filling material, patients' insurance coverage, and your dentist's recommendation assist in determining the type of filling that will best address your needs.

A root canal is a treatment used to repair and save a tooth that is badly decayed or becomes infected. During a root canal procedure, the nerve and pulp are removed and the inside of the tooth is cleaned and sealed. Without treatment, the tissue surrounding the tooth will become infected and abscesses may form.

"Root canal" is the term used to describe the natural cavity within the center of the tooth. The pulp or pulp chamber is the soft area within the root canal. The tooth's nerve lies within the root canal.

A tooth's nerve is not vitally important to a tooth's health and function after the tooth has emerged through the gums. Its only function is sensory -- to provide the sensation of hot or cold. The presence or absence of a nerve will not affect the day-to-day functioning of the tooth.

There are numerous types of space maintainers. They range from the very simple to those with numerous bands and wires. They can be constructed differently and used in different parts of the mouth. As we will cover later, some even have parts extending into the tissue.
We feel the best way to make sense of the numerous types and subtypes of space maintainers is to start by classifying them broadly into four categories. They can be fixed or removable, and they can be unilateral or bilateral.

A removable space maintainer, of course, can be removed. A fixed space maintainer is fixed (i.e., held) to a tooth or to more than one tooth. Fixation usually is done by cementing the space maintenance appliance in place.

Unilateral space maintainers are fixed to one side of the mouth and bilateral space maintainers are fixed to both sides of the mouth. Fixed space maintainers can be unilateral or bilateral.

Space maintainers also can be placed on the mandibular or maxillary arch. Consequently, we could have a maxillary removable bilateral space maintainer, or a mandibular fixed unilateral right side space maintainer, and so forth. There are numerous variations on these basic themes. For example, some space maintainers are used for missing anterior teeth and some are used to preserve space for posterior unerupted teeth.

The term "dental sealant" or "tooth sealant" refers to a plastic resin that a dentist bonds into the grooves of the chewing surface of a tooth as a means of helping to prevent the formation of tooth decay ("cavities").

Fissurotomy is where fissures are extremely deep or have signs of early decay or are stained – these pits and fissures of molars are cleaned with a microscopic fine bur, decay is removed, and the base of the pits/fissures are restored with a white filling material (different types are used depending on the most appropriate material for the situation).

The surface is then restored with a sealant or flowable composite (similar to a glaze) to increase strength and provide a smoother surface.

A bridge may be recommended if you're missing one or more teeth. Gaps left by missing teeth eventually cause the remaining teeth to rotate or shift into the empty spaces, resulting in a bad bite. The imbalance caused by missing teeth can also lead to gum disease and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders.

Bridges are commonly used to replace one or more missing teeth. They span the space where the teeth are missing. Bridges are cemented to the natural teeth or implants surrounding the empty space. These teeth, called abutments, serve as anchors for the bridge. A replacement tooth, called a pontic, is attached to the crowns that cover the abutments. As with crowns, you have a choice of materials for bridges. Your dentist can help you decide which to use, based on the location of the missing tooth (or teeth), its function, aesthetic considerations and cost. Porcelain or ceramic bridges can be matched to the color of your natural teeth.

Some teeth will extensive decay (dental caries) or else will have broken or cracked in such an extreme manner that an extraction might be considered the best or at least a reasonable, solution. Of course there will be a number of factors that will come into play with any specific situation. In some cases obstacles that present themselves might be so formidable that a repair for the tooth is simply not possible. In other cases the cost of needed dental treatment or else a questionable long term outlook for the success of the treatment may be the reason an extraction is chosen.

Bonding is a composite resin filling placed in the back teeth as well as the front teeth. Composites are the solution for restoring tooth decayed teeth, making composite improvements and even changing the color of your teeth or re-shaping of the teeth. Bonding will lighten any stains you may have, close up minor gaps and can be used to correct crooked teeth. Basically, bonding will cover any natural flaws applying a thin coating of a plastic material on the front surface of your teeth. After this, your cosmetic dentist will apply a bonding material and sculpt, color and shape it to provide a pleasing result. A high intensity light then hardens the plastic, and the surface is finely polished.

While the traditional silver fillings last about seven years, these composites should last about seven to eleven years.

Advances in anesthesia techniques have made it possible to provide safe and reliable, and economical anesthesia services for the children and adults in dental offices.

The safety record of in-office anesthesia administered by an independent dentist anesthesiologist is unsurpassed by any other system of anesthesia delivery.

Please call our office for more information.

Many dentists are of the opinion that professionally dispensed take home whitening kits can produce the best results over the long haul. Take home kits incorporate an easy-to-use lower-concentration peroxide gel that remains on the teeth for an hour or longer (sometimes overnight). The lower the peroxide percentage, the longer it may safely remain on the teeth.
The gel is applied to the teeth using custom-made bleaching trays that resemble mouth guards.