Prevention:
Preventing dental disease starts at home with good oral hygiene and a balanced diet. It is continued in the dental office by the efforts of your dentist and dental hygienist to promote, restore, and maintain your oral health. Twice a year dental exams with oral cancer screenings are done. Regular x-rays are necessary to provide proper diagnosis and treatment. Digital x-rays, lead aprons, and thyroid collars are used to drastically lower the amount of radiation exposure. You will notice our hygienists now staying in the room to take the x-rays with new hand-held units. Yes, it is safe due to less scatter radiation!
We provide routine cleanings for a healthy mouth and deep scaling/root planing procedures for gums in an active disease state. Additional therapies can include fluoride varnish application, bonded sealants placed over deeply grooved teeth, and Arestin antibiotic therapy.
Grinding and clenching of teeth is very prominent in our society. We frequently fabricate night-time splints to protect your smile from cracked teeth and receded gums. Our office believes that most everyone can benefit from an occlusal splint, so prices are kept as low as possible so more people can afford a quality appliance.
Several products designed to assist your prevention of dental disease are regularly stocked at our office. Please ask about extra-strength fluoride toothpaste, Recaldent topical creams such as MI Paste Plus, Sonicare electric toothbrushes, and WaterPik water flossers.
Restorations:
When a cavity occurs, the dentist needs to remove the diseased part and replace it with a filling material. There are many types of filling materials available, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. We offer both silver amalgam and tooth-colored resin composite bonded fillings. You and your dentist can discuss the best options for restoring your teeth.
As with most dental restorations, any filling is not permanent and may someday need replacement. However, they are very durable and will last many years, giving you a long lasting smile.
Implants:
Titanium designed conventional dental implants are a very strong and durable way to replace single or multiple teeth in your mouth. For non-complicated cases, your implant placement surgery and final restoration will be completed by Eden Family Dental. For complicated cases, treatment may be completed at the University of Buffalo or referred to a qualified specialist.
Mini implants are also performed by our office to retain a loose denture. Please ask our office for a complementary implant consultation to see if you are a good candidate for implants. Panoramic or cone beam scans and stone models of your mouth may be necessary for a full diagnostic work-up.
Root canals:
Root canal therapy is necessary when the nerve of the tooth is affected by decay, infection, or trauma. This is the treatment of choice to save a tooth that otherwise would have to be extracted. Many patients believe that removing a tooth is the best solution, but what is not realized is that extracting a tooth will ultimately be more costly over a lifetime and cause significant problems for adjacent teeth.
Root canal treatment is highly successful and usually lasts a lifetime, although on occasion, a tooth will have to be retreated due to new infections. Proper coverage of the root canal treated tooth is paramount; a tightly sealed crown is necessary to protect against chewing forces on our back posterior teeth.
Most all root canals can be completed successfully at Eden Family Dental. More difficult cases will be referred to an endodontist, who is a specialist at treating curved or calcified roots.
Crowns/Bridges:
Crowns, or caps, are necessary to protect teeth against fracture and trauma. There are several different tooth colored materials to choose from, strong Zirconia and Porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFMs) crowns that are designed to withstand chewing forces; and more beautiful and life-like delicate porcelains for our front teeth. Our dentists will evaluate your particular bite type for the best possible crown.
Bridges are an excellent way to utilize the strength and beauty of porcelain to replace missing teeth. These are cemented in the mouth and are not removable. They are cemented to natural teeth surrounding the space where the tooth once stood. A traditional bridge is made by creating a crown for the teeth on either side of the space and placing a false tooth or teeth between the crowns.
Dentures/Partial dentures:
When you are missing teeth, an affordable way to replace them is through a removable complete denture or a removable partial denture. Several appointments are necessary to make precise molds of your mouth to ensure the best fit possible.
There are different styles of partial dentures. Metal-based partials are more rigid and better for replacing our strong posterior teeth. Flexible gum-colored partials are a more esthetic way to replace single teeth or front teeth. Molds will be done of your mouth and a discussion will take place to design your partial to fit and look great!
If a person is lacking adequate bone for good retention of the denture, then placing dental implants under the denture is an option. These can be done either before or after your denture is made. Both mini and larger conventional implants are done at the office to help you eat and speak comfortably and with confidence.
Ask about our complementary implant consultations!
Extractions:
With all our best efforts at preserving our patients’ teeth, circumstances may arise when a tooth needs to be extracted. Our dentists are very skilled at removing teeth in a quick and stress-free manner. Complicated impacted wisdom teeth may be referred to an oral surgeon for removal, or if sedation is recommended.
Cosmetics:
This is our favorite part of dentistry! Many different things can be done to make your smile shine. Custom-made bleaching trays are the simplest way to whiten safely. We offer different bleach concentrations up to 36% hydrogen peroxide. A full exam must be completed first to eliminate any sources of decay prior to bleaching, otherwise extreme sensitivity may result.
Veneers are a very thin porcelain layer that is cemented on your teeth to change the shape and/or color. This is a very conservative method to preserve your protective enamel. Not everyone is a good candidate for veneers; your dentist will check how your teeth bite together (your “occlusion”) and might prescribe a night-time splint to protect your veneers from chipping.