General Dentistry in Mt Laurel, NJ

Examinations:
During your dental examination, the dentist will examine the whole mouth. The dentist as well as the hygienist will check for cavities, abnormalities, or any sign of periodontal disease. They will also evaluate your risk of developing other oral health problems. Necessary x-rays will be taken at the time of the examination. If treatment is needed, the dental professionals will develop a treatment plan for you and take care of any other oral health needs.

Flouride treatment:
Fluoride treatment is very important when maintaining your oral health. Fluoride helps prevent tooth decay by remineralizing the teeth to make them more resistant to acid attacks from certain bacteria and sugars in the mouth. Fluoride can even reverse early decay.

Crowns:
A dental crown is used to restore a tooth that has been damaged from decay or trauma. Dental crowns can also be made for cosmetic purposes to cover miss shaped or severely discolored teeth. Dental crowns are a great option for a permanent fix. During a crown visit, the tooth will be prepped, an impression will be taken, and your crown will be shipped to our professional dental lab where quality crowns are made. At our office we offer all kinds of different crowns for our patients. The two main types are porcelain fused to metal, and zirconia.

Porcelain Fused Metal (PFM) :

Dental crowns can be colored to match your teeth unlike metal or gold crowns. With a PFM crown, the outside porcelain will match the adjacent teeth but the inside is metal. Depending on the patient these crowns can be good for back teeth.

Zirconia:

Zirconia is a very strong material that is known to last longer then other types of crowns. Zirconia crowns have an attractive white on white/ translucent color that appears just like a real tooth. There is no metal in a zirconia crown which makes it unbeatable for cosmetic purposes and teeth that are visible within the patents smile. Zirconia is the best choice is you are looking for a long lasting and visually appearing crown.

Bridges:
dental bridges are similar to dental crowns except they are a better option for patients that have many damaged teeth in a row, or gaps from missing teeth. Bridges can restore your smile, and give you back your ability to chew properly. Dental bridges can be made zirconia or porcelain fused to metal.

White Composite fillings:
At our office we use composite to fill the teeth that have cavities. Composite fillings are a tooth colored resin that have great durability. Composites release fluoride into the tooth to help strengthen it. Your insurance may downgrade your composite filling resulting in an additional cost. We have many different shade of composites to match your teeth perfectly. We only use the best composite material out there.

Extraction:
In our office our first priority is to restore any tooth that has been damaged any way we possibly can. Your teeth are important for chewing those foods we love and your health. As a LAST resort, if the tooth is too damaged to fix we offer teeth extractions to the patient. Having to get a tooth extracted is stressful for the patient, therefore we do our absolute best to make our patients feel comfortable before and after the extraction. Local anesthesia is used to completely numb the area so the patient does not feel pain.
After an extraction it is important to follow our instructions on how to maintain the extraction to promote healing. We advise our patients to avoid smoking, spitting, and drinking through a straw or do anything that would disrupt the blood clot for at least 48 hours. We also highly recommend a lot of warm salt water rinses to help the healing process.

Dental implants:
Dental implants are a great option for missing teeth. A dental implant is a permanent and highly effective way to fill the gaps in your smile and prevent any bone lost from an extraction. At our office, we will refer you to the best implant specialist in the area. After the implant is placed you will need to come back to our office for the crown and abutment.

Single visit root canals:
Root canal treatment is something all patients fear, but at our office root canal treatment is very easy and generally painless. Root canal treatment is needed when the nerve of the tooth gets infected caused by severe decay or trauma. When the nerve is infected an abscess forms and causes severe pain in the tooth and sometimes even in the jaw. During root canal treatment the inside of the tooth is carefully cleaned out and disinfected, then the infected nerve gets replaced with a bio-compatible material called gutta percha. After the gutta percha is perfectly placed, the tooth is sealed with a build up and a crown. Following root canal treatment, the patient is always given antibiotics and advised to take it easy for a few days.

Partial Dentures/ Full Dentures:
Although we like to restore the teeth to the best of our abilities, sometimes the teeth are too damaged to be saved. If a patient is missing Several teeth on the top or bottom and does not want a dental bridge or dental implants we offer partial dentures or full dentures. Partial dentures come with small wire clasps that comfortably click onto the adjacent teeth for stability. The partial will include all teeth that are missing. If a patient has to have all upper and lower teeth removed, full dentures are offered. Dentures replace all of the missing teeth. Partials and dentures and removable and we empathize how important it is to remove them every night and soak them in denture cleaner. When you visit our office for dentures or partials it's a very easy visit. We take a full mouth impression and send it off to our quality south jersey dental lab where the dentures and partials are made.

Dental Cleanings:

A dental cleaning is a professional service performed by a dental hygienist. A thorough exam is done on the patient before your cleaning begins. The hygienist examines the condition of your gum tissue, teeth and evaluates the entire mouth for anything irregular. An evaluation of your gums is done and pocket depths are documented. If the hygienist sees any area of concern, she will bring it to both your attention and the doctors. An Oral Cancer screening is also done which consists of checking all surfaces of your tongue, lips, cheeks, and the throat area.The cleaning procedure consists of a combination of ultrasonic scaling (vibration and water) and hand scaling (what people know as “scraping”) to remove the buildup and tartar on your teeth. Once the full mouth is scaled, the teeth are polished with a pumice based paste to remove soft plaque and stain. Lastly, we floss all of the teeth. This will leave your mouth feeling squeaky clean!

Following the cleaning, the doctor will come into the room and follow up with the hygienist's examination, and also perform a thorough one of his own. The doctor will discuss any restorative work that needs to be done to the teeth and discuss all other treatment that he recommends. A treatment plan is discussed with the patient and scheduling future appointments is done.

Scaling and Root Planing:
Also known as “deep cleaning”. This is performed on patients who have gone “years” without a cleaning, or who are periodontally involved and accumulate heavy build up. This is usually done 2 quadrants at a time (half the mouth, both upper and lower teeth). You will be numb during this procedure, so it should be relatively painless for you. During this, your mouth will be deep scaled to rid of all bacteria and build up that is in your mouth. After this procedure, you should not feel anything more than some gum soreness to heal within a few days. You will need to return to complete the entire mouth, and then you will be placed on cleanings every 3 months to maintain your oral hygiene.