General Dentistry
General Dentistry,
for Everyone.
General dentistry involves fillings, extractions, single crowns, bridges, dentures, root canals, night-guards and more. At Dr. Q Dentistry, we'll work with you to create a personalized oral hygiene plan that includes a dental examination, teeth cleaning, possibly tooth scaling, X-rays, and the use of other diagnostic tools to prevent, detect, and treat problems as soon as possible.
Extractions
Sometimes it is necessary to extract a tooth. This can happen for a variety of reasons. Extractions are commonly performed in cases where a deciduous “baby” tooth is reluctant to fall out, a severely broken down and non-restorable tooth is present, or “wisdom tooth” is poorly positioned and unable to fully erupt into place. To reduce any anxiety and insure patient comfort whenever a tooth extraction is necessary, the procedure, the post surgical instructions, as well as any restorative follow-up care will be carefully and completely explained.
Crowns
The terms dental crowns and caps are synonymous. If dental decay, cracked fillings, root canals, clenching or grinding the teeth have caused extensive damage to the underlying tooth structure a dental filling may not be a sufficient restoration. The only way to completely restore the cosmetic appearance and function of this tooth is often full coverage with a dental crown. The good news is that a completed dental crown looks and feels like a natural tooth.
Bridges
A dental bridge replaces the missing teeth with artificial teeth called “pontics,” and is supported on the ends by prepared natural teeth. Once fabricated and fitted a dental bridge will be permanently “fixed,” or cemented into place. Like crowns, bridges can be made of either porcelain baked on to a metal substrate or many of the new ceramic materials that have been developed.
Dentures
Whether from disease, malnutrition, genetic disorders, or an accident sometimes it is necessary for an individual to have some or all of their teeth extracted. While this can be devastating, partial or full dentures can be fabricated to restore an attractive smile, provide needed support for normal facial contours and reestablish a highly functional occlusion. A denture consists of natural looking artificial teeth set in a supportive base. It may be fabricated to replace either a small group of teeth, an entire upper arch, an entire lower arch, or used to restore both dental arches.
Root Canals
Endodontics, or root canal therapy, is employed when the nerve supply to a tooth has been irreversibly affected by damage or decay. It is a way to prevent or help resolve a dental infection and save a natural tooth from extraction. A root canal is performed when there is enough sound root and crown structure remaining to eventually restore form and function to the involved tooth.
Nightguards
A nightguard is a retainer-like plastic piece that can be hard or soft. It covers the biting surfaces and can be worn on either the bottom or top set of teeth. Since patients have different teeth patterns, a nightguard is custom-made for each patient by molding it to fit your teeth without the risk of being uncomfortable or unnecessarily bulky.
Fillings
Dental Fillings are the most common type of dental restoration used to replace sections of teeth that are missing, damaged or decayed. While traditional dental materials like gold, amalgam, porcelain, and composite successfully restore teeth; recent advances in dental technology have made a wider and improved selection of restorative choices available. Some of the newest state-of-the-art filling materials including ceramic and the latest composite materials, are not only strong and durable, they offer the most aesthetically pleasing and natural looking results.
