Protect Your Smile & Your Health

                               with Our Restorative Dentistry Services

Root Canal Treatments
Root canal treatment is necessary when a cavity is allowed, through neglect, to reach all the way to this pulp. Sometimes deep restorations or trauma to a tooth may cause the nerve to be damaged to the point it needs root canal therapy. Once this occurs, the pulp becomes infected, and can even extend through the root tip and begin to eat away at the surrounding bone (an abscess). By the time the pulp is infected it must be treated and cannot heal on its own. It can even weaken the entire immune system. Symptoms that the pulp has become infected may include sensitivity to hot/cold or sweets, swelling, pain to biting or pressure, and a bad taste in the mouth. Sometimes, however, no symptoms are apparent and the person is unaware of any problem until a checkup.

A root canal is then performed to clean out the infected tooth pulp, and disinfect the canals of the tooth. The only other treatment would be to extract the tooth. Once the infection is resolved, the canal(s) are filled in to prevent any further infection.

Bridge Work
Fill the space created by a missing tooth with the help of our restorative dentistry office. Our bridges are formed to look like the missing tooth, and take the place of gaps in your mouth. The sides of a bridge use the 2 surrounding teeth for support, hence the name, and is as much an art as it is an exact science. The materials used may be gold alloys, porcelain bonded to metal alloy, or all ceramic material. The choice of material depends on requirements for strength, wear, and/or esthetics. 

It is important that a missing tooth be replaced as soon as possible for several reasons. If not treated, the teeth surrounding the gap begin to shift inward. Teeth use their neighbors for support, so with just 1 missing, they start to "fall." As this worsens, the bite changes in response to the pressure. This can eventually result in problems with the entire jaw, e.g. TMJ. The surrounding teeth deteriorate and it is just a matter of time before they, too, are lost. Gum disease becomes a serious problem, with the difficulty of treatment increasing as the neglect continues.