Smile • Look Fabulous • Be Healthy

Evaluating the general health of your teeth, along with their appearance, function and periodontium, will enable us to provide you with the maximum opportunity for full longevity of your smile.  A well functioning mouth is a major contribution to your overall well being.  With our mouths we smile, nourish, communicate, love, express our full range of emotions and show the world who we are.  What messages through your smile are you sending or would like to send to the world about who you are? New technological advances in dentistry can now allow you to have “Tomorrow’s Dentistry …… today.” Restorative and Aesthetic dentistry can help you achieve goals of good health in appearance and function, as well as help you live a better life.  Excellent dentistry allows you to live your best life.

Porcelain Crowns

Crowns are sometimes known as "caps".  They cover your entire tooth (thus the common term "cap") and are made of all porcelain, a porcelain/ceramic or metal combination.  Crowns are necessary to provide support for teeth that have had old broken down fillings, teeth that are fractured or severely decayed, after a root canal, and chipped or sensitive teeth.  Crowns strengthen and protect remaining tooth structure and also can be used to improve the appearance of natural teeth that are malformed, malpositioned or discolored.

Porcelain Bridges

When teeth are missing and there are teeth on either side of the space, a bridge is possible as an alternative to a removable replacement for those missing teeth.  Bridgework and dental implants can both frequently accomplish the same result in different ways.  A bridge is called such because it bridges the open space or span.  When as little as one tooth is lost, five or more other teeth may be effected and drift.  This shift can cause one of several problems: jaw pain (TMJ problems), a predisposition to gum disease or decay (due to more difficult hygiene) or lastly, a collapse of the bones in the jaws that will lead to decreased chewing function and the future loss of other teeth.

Porcelain Veneers

Porcelain veneers, alternatively termed dental veneers or porcelain laminates, are water-thin shells of porcelain that are bonded to the front side of teeth creating a more attractive tooth shape and color.  Porcelain veneers are routinely used as a way to make cosmetic changes for teeth that are discolored, worn, chipped, or misaligned.  The translucent effect of porcelain creates a lustrous appearance for the tooth that very closely resembles the natural appearance of enamel.

Dental Implants

Implants represent the remarkable advancement in dentistry in recent years.  Dental implants look and perform like natural teeth, are rooted in the bone, and there is no artificial plastic on the roof of your mouth, or need for adhesives and dental creams.  Dental implants are a long-lasting tooth root replacement that is implanted into the jawbone to simulate the root of a pre-existing tooth.  The implant is composed of three parts:

1. the titanium implants that fuses with the jawbone
2. the abutment, which fits over the portion of the implant that protrudes from the gum line and
3. the crown, which is restored by us and fitted into the abutment for a natural appearance.

Composite Restorations

In the past, teeth were most commonly repaired with amalgam (silver) fillings.  Our practice does not use silver fillings for the restoration of teeth.  With advances in dental materials and techniques, teeth can be restored with a more cosmetic and natural appearance.  A tooth colored filling is technically called a Composite Restoration.  It is made up of a composite quartz resin filled with small filler particles and is cured in your teeth with an ultraviolet light.  These light cured composites are extremely cosmetic and are bonded into place in one appointment.  They can be used in both the front teeth, as well as in your back teeth.  The shades of the restorations match the color of your teeth.

Root Canal Therapy

Root canal therapy can help save a damaged tooth.  When the pulp (tissue inside the tooth that contains nerves and blood vessels) is diseased or injured, it is unable to repair itself and the pulp dies.  The most common causes of pulp death are fractured teeth, leaking old fillings, tooth stress, and deep decay.  All these cases can expose the pulp to bacteria found in your mouth and cause an infection inside the tooth.  If the damaged or diseased pulp is not removed (by root canal therapy) the tooth and surrounding tissues become infected.  Without treatment, your tooth could eventually have to be removed.  If the problem is caught early enough, however, in most cases, your tooth can be saved using root canal therapy.

Teeth Whitening

There are two main methods of gel bleaching—one performed in office with high-concentration gel, and another with low-concentration agents at home.  Performing the procedure at home is usually accomplished using low-concentration carbamide peroxide and is performed by applying a concentration of oxidizing agent to the teeth with thin plastic trays for a short period of time, which produces acceptable results.  The application trays are custom made by our office for your mouth from a dental impression.  The at home trays will typically stay on the teeth for about 30 minutes each day and repeate for about two weeks.  Most in-office bleaching procedures use a light-cured protective layer that is carefully painted on the gums and papilla (the tips of the gums between the teeth) to reduce the risk of chemical burns to the soft tissues.  The bleaching agent is either carbamide peroxide, which breaks down in the mouth to form hydrogen peroxide, or hydrogen peroxide itself.  The bleaching gel typically contains between 10% and 44% carbamide peroxide, which is roughly equivalent to a 3% to 16% hydrogen peroxide concentration.

Low-concentration whitening is far less effective, and is generally only performed at home.  Results can vary, depending on which application is chosen, with some people achieving whiter teeth in a few days, and others seeing very little results or no results at all.

A typical course of bleaching can produce dramatic improvements in the cosmetic appearance of most stained teeth; however, some stains do not respond to bleaching.  Tetracycline staining may require prolonged bleaching, as it takes longer for the bleach to reach the dentin layer or may not respond at all.  Case studies have been performed on people with tetracycline stained teeth that used custom bleaching trays every night for 6 months and saw dramatic results and improvement.  These results are not always typical.  White-spot decalcifications may also be highlighted and become more noticeable directly following a whiting process, but usually become less noticeable, with the other parts of the teeth becoming more white with further applications.  Bleaching is not recommended if teeth have decay or infected gums.  It is also least effective when the original tooth color is of a grayish color.  Bleaching is most effective with yellow discolored teeth.  However, whitener does not work where bonding has been used and neither is it effective on tooth-color fillings or crowns.  Other options to deal with such cases are the porcelain veneers or dental bonding.

Periodontal Therapy

Peiodontal Therapy in patients with periodontal disease may include:

• Scaling and Root Planning ( Deep Cleaning)
• Systemic or Localized Antimicrobial Therapy
• Microbiological Testing and Salivary Diagnostics
• Surgical treatment of the disease

Gum Lift

Sometimes patients are unhappy with their smiles because they believe that they have very small teeth.  In some cases, it is not that they have teeth that are too small; however, the problem is that they have gums that are too big.  This look is usually seen as having a “gummy” smile.  Correcting a gummy smile can be accomplished by a simple radiosurgical procedure.  The procedure is called a Gingivectomy.  Gingivectomies are performed when the amount of gum reduction necessary is minimal such as in mild gummy smiles.  During a Gingivectomy, a minimal amount of gum tissue is removed with a dental laser or by a technique known as radiosurgery.  The procedure is painless, requires no sutures and is done with microwaves.  The gum tissues usually heal within two weeks.

Digital Radiography and Panorex

Digital x-rays use a sensor to capture the image which instantaneously can be viewed on a high resolution monitor - processing and fixing of films are eliminated.

Digital Radiography uses up to 85% less radiation than conventional film x-rays.  Additionally, these images are instantaneous - there is no processor or developer time in a dark room or time spent mounting the films.  That means our staff has more time to care for you.

We have found that using digital radiography not only saves time, but being able to view the image on a high resolution computer monitor allows our patients to have a better understanding of their current oral health status.  All images can be enhanced for improved diagnosis and they are stored electronically facilitating seamless communication to specialists, insurance companies, or other dental colleagues.

Laser Decay Detection

The DIAGNOdent pen is a hand-held laser that provides the additional tool in decay diagnostics when indicated .  Sub-surface decay can be difficult to detect using an explorer.  Due to floridation, decay has gone "underground".  While helping to improve the oral health of many Americans, fluoridation has resulted in harder tooth enamel.   Small cavities that once began on the tooth's surface have now migrated below the surface.

Digital Oral Photograpy

To aid in better diagnostics and documentation, we use both digital SLR cameras with special close-up lenses and wireless cameras that go directly inside your mouth.  We use these images to magnify specific teeth or areas of concern.  The biggest advantage is that we can show you, with great detail, exactly what's going on in your mouth.  This lets you make better, more-informed decisions about your treatment options.

If we find something suspicious or out of the ordinary, we're able to capture an image that we can use for future comparison.  Once captured, your images are digitally stored and become part of your confidential digital record.

If you have dental insurance, images can be electronically submitted to help you expedite your dental benefit claims.  With photographs, there is usually less need to write detailed narratives that are used to attempt to explain clinical findings.  In most instances, an accompanying photograph along with an x-ray is worth more than a thousands words.  

High Powered Magnification

Delivering precision dentistry requires visual accuracy.  Magnifying loupes provide a tremendous improvement in visual acuity over the naked eye.  The operating field is considerably enlarged.

Dr.  Lumpkin and Periodontal therapists/hygienists use special telescopic lenses frequently with small halogen headlights to improve visual acuity.

Quality patient care is our highest priority, and using magnification is one more step we take to provide our patients with excellent dental care.

Isolite

Isolite Dryfield Illuminator helps us improve our dentistry and our patients safety and comfort.  Instead of straining to keep the mouth open, the patient’s mouth is comfortably held open with a soft bite block, so the patient experiences less jaw fatigue.  Instead of having to ask for suction during the procedure, the patient’s oral cavity is continuously freed of excess fluids.  In addition, the Isolite provides an added measure of safety by protecting the patient’s tongue cheek and throat throughout the dental procedure.  This also helps to keep old mercury based metals, chipped filling materials and decay that is being removed from being ingested.

CEREC CAD-CAM Dentistry

During a CEREC dental restoration, your teeth will be examined to determine what treatment will best provide you with the results you need.  If CEREC restoration is recommended, your tooth will be prepared for the restoration and a 3 dimensional optical scan of your tooth will be taken.  This high-resolution optical scan will be used to create a ceramic restoration that perfectly fits your tooth and matches the rest of your teeth.

In about 15 minutes, the CEREC milling machine will sculpt your ceramic restoration from a block of dental porcelain.  Once the restoration has been tested for proper fit and so that it does not hinder with your bite, it is permanently bonded to your tooth.  The finished result is a ceramic restoration that looks and feels just like the rest of your teeth.