Your smile is a reflection of who you are and speaks volume about your confidence in yourself. But each person’s smile is different and it starts with a foundation of health. Some people want perfectly straight teeth and want them very white, and others are content with some crooked or uneven teeth and are happy with the natural darkening color of teeth as they age. Both of these are the norm in our practice. Our goal is to help you be happy, comfortable, and confident in your smile, no matter how little or much we do for you as long as it is healthy.
We only use tooth colored fillings to repair teeth that are small to moderate in size. These fillings are literally bonded to the tooth creating added strength and a much more esthetic restoration than the previous silver colored fillings.
We can use these fillings to treat the following conditions:
Teeth that are crooked or chipped can also be smoothed and re-contoured to create a nicer, more natural smile.
A veneer is a very thin porcelain facing that is bonded to the front surface of a tooth. While they can be used to repair larger fractures of front teeth, they are our main tool in our smile enhancement services. They are strong, beautiful, like-like restorations that correct discolored, broken, misaligned, and uneven teeth. The create a new and beautiful contour and color of teeth that last for years to come.
A crown or cap is a restoration that covers the entire surface of the tooth. They are used to repair broken or decayed teeth when a stronger option is needed instead of using a filling. In many cases, a crown is recommended when more than 50% of the tooth is already filling, extensive decay is present or part of the tooth is fractured off, or there is pain in the tooth with chewing. Covering the tooth with a crown is the best long-term option in many of these cases.
A bridge is used to place either single or multiple missing teeth when an implant is not the best option. The teeth on either end of the missing space are crowned with one restoration that is permanently cemented. It looks and feels like your natural teeth, does not require removal to clean, and provides excellent esthetics.
Normal chewing and speech requires the replacement of missing teeth, especially when there are multiple teeth missing. In such a case, a partial or full denture may be the best option to replace these teeth. Partials use some of the remaining teeth to help anchor the appliance for extra stability.
Full dentures replace all teeth in an arch. One of the most exciting advances in full tooth replacement is the use of several or multiple implants that can help stabilize the denture and, in some cases, allow for an almost permanent anchoring so that the denture is not removed daily for cleaning.
Your smile is a reflection of who you are and speaks volume about your confidence in yourself. But each person’s smile is different and it starts with a foundation of health. Some people want perfectly straight teeth and want them very white, and others are content with some crooked or uneven teeth and are happy with the natural darkening color of teeth as they age.Both of these are the norm in our practice. Our goal is to help you be happy, comfortable, and confident in your smile, no matter how little or much we do for you.
A dental implant is a screw-like titanium piece that is used to simulate a missing tooth/root. It can be used in the following situations:
Implants are the most natural and best long-term solution to replace missing teeth. They look and feel most like your natural teeth and the esthetics are much better than other options in many cases. We use our 3-D scans to properly evaluate the bone and specific anatomy of every site that may possibly get an implant. With implants, it is not one size fits all and we use or extensive knowledge in this area to give you the best option for your particular situation.
While our goal is to help you keep all your teeth for a lifetime, that is not always the case as teeth can become severely decayed or broken, or periodontal disease takes away the supporting bone and removal of the tooth is required. We carefully evaluate many factors to determine the best treatment and will recommend an extraction if that is in your best interest and will work with you to plan out replacement options. Most importantly, your comfort is very important and we work with a very skilled group of specialists who can help us with this treatment when needed.
Who doesn’t want a whiter, brighter smile. There are several great options for patients who are looking to do a quick and simple improvement to their teeth but you need good, healthy teeth to do these procedures. The whitening process uses a peroxide-based solution to naturally whiten teeth, but it will not change the color of fillings or crowns.
This is a great option if you have health teeth with very limited fillings in them.
When the nerve, or innermost part of the tooth, either dies or abcesses, a root canal may be needed to save the tooth. You may sometimes have sensitivity, pain to temperature, biting, or a spontaneous pain that needs no stimulus. If the root is healthy, a root canal is a great option to allow you to keep the tooth. A very delicate procedure is done using small files, irrigating and sterilizing solutions, and a final sealer in the root to remove the nerve and then seal this area from further infection. On occasion, we may refer our patients to an endodontic specialist to manage more involved or complicated cases.
While we are very skilled at the care we provide, our passion is building relationships with our patients. Relationships build long term trust, respect, and genuine care, three traits that you should expect from us and ones we love to deliver on. Whether you are single or we see 3-4 generations of your family as patients, we love having you as part of the Smile Charlotte family.