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List
of Procedures
Preventive
Care
Cleaning
Debridement
Probing depths/measuring the
pocket depths
Deep Cleaning
Oral Cancer Exam
Night Guard
Mouthguard
Anti-Snoring Device
Tooth Whitening
Tooth Color Filling
Veneer
Inlay/onlay
Crown
Bridge
Root Canal Treatment
Extraction
Implant
Emergency appointment
Partial, stayplate, valplast,
immediate dentures, dentures
Oral Conscious Sedation
Choose
Eric, for all your dental needs. Schedule your next dental appointment
now.
Give us a call today, you deserve it, 209.358.0800.
(Best time to reach us: 9am to 1pm, 2pm-4:30pm Monday to Thursday)
Or click the TEXT
HERE
link to send us a text.
Or fill
in your information
and we will call you to schedule your next appointment.
Preventive
Care
Preventive
care and good oral hygiene are our main focus. Eric performs the
dental exam, cosmetic dentistry such as tooth whitening, tooth
color fillings, porcelain crowns and veneers, dental implant restorations,
and also professional cleaning, night guard, anti-snoring device,
root canal treatment, extraction, partial and complete dentures.
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Cleaning
A
standard prophy or a professional cleaning is generally done above
and slightly below the gumline. Harmful bacteria gather together
around the gumline to form the biofilm or plaque. A cleaning is
to disrupt the bacteria and the biofilm to keep cavity and gum
disease away.
There are couple steps in the professional cleaning appointment.
Polish is the first step to remove any loose and some attached
bacteria or plaque from the tooth surface and also aids in stain
removal.
Next step is to floss under the gumline to remove more bacteria
and plaque.
An ultrasonic cleaning device uses water spray and vibration to
finish removing plaque and the hard deposits called tartar or
calculus. Tartar is calcified plaque and will not come off with
brushing or flossing.
Then
light hand scaling smooths the teeth. Always we will review your
oral hygiene and help find ways to fine tune your home care to
get the wanted results on your gum, your mouth and your body.
Here
is a short video about gingivitis
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Debridement
When
there is just too much tartar buildup for us to do our exam, debridement
is performed to clean enough so Eric can do his exam. It is an
additional procedure to cleaning, so it is not very common and
only if you need it.
Here
is a video about debridement
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Probing
depths/measuring the pocket depths
During your exam at Atwater Family Dental, besides checking your
teeth, soft tissues, head and neck area, your gum will also be
examined too. Probing or measuring the pocket depths gives a blueprint
of how your gums are attaching to the roots of your teeth.
Imagine
your tooth as a castle and the gums are the moat around the castle.
The deeper the moat, the more things could stay there, the more
infected and unhealthy your gums are. Also, moat is not filled
with lava at peace time. Similarly, healthy gum does not bleed.
Healthy pocket depths range from 2-3 millimeters without bleeding
while probing the pockets.
Pocket depths greater than 3 millimeters can shrink after a proper
professional along with daily flossing prior to brushing twice
daily. This healing and regeneration depends on the severity of
the infection. Gum disease ranges from gingivitis to severe gum
disease where considerable bone is lost due to the chronic inflammation
and infection eating away the supporting bone. Without bone, the
tooth will come off.
Let's
watch a short video about Probing
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Deep
Cleaning
Deep
cleaning is officially called Scaling and Root Planning (S/RP).
Using the pocket depths measurement as a guide to remove bacteria,
plaque and tartar buildup underneath the gumline. Anesthesia is
generally used to around the gum tissue to make you comfortable.
The ultrasonic machine is used to go deep into the pocket to remove
the hard deposits of tartar.
Next special design hand instruments are used in the deep pockets
to make the roots smooth. Then an antimicrobial solution irrigation
kills bacteria chemically.
After the visit, you are in charge of your home care and will
be seen and re-measured every three months. When your pockets
improve or reduce to 2-3 millimeters, the cleaning appointment
will go back to every 6 months. However, if your pockets do not
improve and your gum stays inflamed or gets worse, Eric will recommend
sending you to the periodontist, the gum specialist, for an evaluation
when gum surgery will likely need to be done.
Please
spend the time on home care to prevent gum disease and get treatment
early so the disease does not progress.
Here
is a video about gum
disease or periodontal disease
Here
is a video about deep
cleaning
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Oral
Cancer Exam
At
each exam, Dr. Eric check the soft tissues in your mouth, tongue,
and glands for abnormal tissues and screen for oral cancer. Please
let us know if you have any blister or sore that does not go away.
Oral cancer risk factors are not limited to smoking and drinking
any more.
One of the fastest cancer group is caused by the HPV or Human
Papilloma Virus could cause oral cancer. Oral HPV is about three
times more common in men than in women. Each year about 8400 Americans
are diagnosed with oral cancer that is caused by HPV.
The signs may include persistent sore throat, earaches, hoarseness,
enlarged lymph nodes, pain when swalloing, and unexplained weigh
loss while some people have no signs or symptoms.
Oral HPV is relatively new, so there is no testing or no vaccine.
The point is everybody could be at risk of cancer.
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Night
Guard
After
years of grinding and clenching, your teeth are wearing away.
Rather than grinding on your teeth or crowns, grind on the night
guard. It is a lot cheaper to replace the night guard than your
teeth.
Here
is a video about tooth
wear
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Mouthguard
Mouthguard
or sports guard is very important for any athletes.
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Anti-Snoring
Device
Snoring
could annoy your significant other. This is different than sleep
apnea appliance. Sleep apnea is when someone stops breathing when
that person sleeps. Wearing an anti-snoring device will not prevent
sleep apnea.
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Tooth
Whitening
Atwater
Family Dental makes customized take-home teeth whitening tray
for you. You can control the degree of color change. Keep the
trays for touch ups or next whitening treatment.
Here
is a video regarding bleaching
tray
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Tooth
Color Filling or composite filling or bonding
When
the cavity reaches dentin, we have to take out the cavity. If
the size is small, we fill it up with a filling. There is the
controversial silver filling that has mercury alloy. I do not
remove silver fillings just because of mercury. If the filling
starts breaking down, if the patient thinks they are ugly, I change
them into tooth color filling.
Here
is a short video about tooth
color filling on your front tooth
Here
is a short video about tooth
color filling on your back tooth
Take
a look at this video about filling
versus crown. When you need a filling, don't
wait too long or it will turn into a crown which costs 3 or 4
times as much.
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Veneer
Veneer
is used to enhance smile without taking away a lot of tooth structure.
With advances in bonding, veneer is getting thinner and more predictable.
Planning is the key.
Here
is a video about veneer
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Inlay/onlay
If
you want to save as much tooth structure, inlay and onlay are
partial coverage crown to preserve and replace tooth structure.
Your oral hygiene needs to be excellent. Otherwise, cavity can
happen elsewhere on that tooth.
Here
is a video about inlay
or onlay
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Crown
or cap
If
the cavity is too big to hold a filling, crown is used to cover
the whole tooth. Crown is also used to wrap around fractured teeth
and hold them together.
Here
is a short video about crown
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Bridge
Bridge
is a method to replace one or more missing teeth. The two adjacent
teeth are prepared and a bridge is made to connect all three teeth.
Floss threader is recommended to keep the area underneath the
bridge clean.
Here
is a short video about bridge
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Root
Canal Treatment
When
the nerve in the tooth goes bad, you will be in severe pain and
likely have an infection too.
(Please see preventative and home care so you never hear these
three words)
Here is the progression. Bacteria goes deep into the tooth and
into the pulp where the nerve is. Pain and discomfort until the
nerve is dead. Then surprisingly no pain. Bacteria do not go away,
but keep growing. Once bacteria go out to the end of the tooth
into the gum and bone area, that is where the pain is coming from.
At this point, when you see me, I will give you some antibiotic
and bring you back for root canal treatment. At the root canal
appointment, we get your numb. We clean out the cavity and the
pulp. Then we fill in the root canal system and seal the tooth.
Here
is a video about root
canal treatment
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Extraction
Wisdom
teeth and breaking down teeth along with bone graft or bone augmentation
Wisdom teeth are usually the last teeth in our mouth. When they
are underneath the gum, we need to check the position to make
sure they will not damage your other molars. When the wisdom teeth
are partially out in the mouth, we need to clean that area very
well to avoid food traps and discomfort. When the wisdom teeth
are out, we need to make sure we keep them clean. Otherwise, the
wisdom teeth will grow bacteria and spread to your other teeth.
Dental
implant is growing in popularity. If there is only a hole or socket,
there is no bone to hold onto the implant. In addition, gum and
bone shrinks after extraction. This is especially important for
front tooth extractions. Imagine a big gap between your restored
tooth and the gum. Bone graft or bone augmentation is a solution.
After the extraction, a filling material fills the socket.
Here
is a short video about wisdom
teeth removal
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Implant
Currently,
dental implant is the closest thing to a root of a tooth. It acts
similar to a screw on the wall. The crown on top of the implant
is like a picture that hook on to that screw. Just like the wall
and the underlying wood, the implant needs good bone to support
the crown.
The interesting thing is bone will integrate with the implant,
but it does take time. Just like anything in our mouth, we need
to have good oral hygiene to keep those implant in place.
Here
is a short video about implant.
Keep in mind, each site is different. Some site allows same day
treatment, but usually, this process takes places about 6 months
to a year.
Having
a hard time deciding a bridge or an implant. Here is a video
Another
video. Implant
on your back molar
Bone
graft / Bone Augmentation / Socket Preservation
Implant
needs enough bone. Gum disease causes bone loss. Bone in certain
part of the mouth is just too thin or not ideal. Then we need
to perform bone graft to fill in those area, so an implant could
be placed.
After
an extraction, the remaining bone and gum will shrink. With previous
bone loss, the bone will not be thick enough to place a long lasting
implant successfully. One solution is to add bone after the extraction
to keep the level of bone. If you are thinking about implant,
but do not want to do it right away.
Here
is a short video about bone
graft
Please
consider socket preservation because subsequent bone graft will
be more expensive and need even more time to heal. For example,
the back teeth on the top are near the sinus. Sinus is not filled
with bone. If the implant is 10 mm (just an example), but the
bone is only 5 mm. Where do we get the extra bone? One solution
is sinus
lift. ** Warning ** This following video is
graphic and may not be suitable for everyone. Basically we perform
a surgery to push away the sinus and place bone. Let it heal and
place implant. Let it heal and restore the implant with an implant
crown. The process could take more than a year and multiple surgery,
so this is why I highly recommend socket preservation.
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Emergency
appointment
You
waited and waited. The tooth hurt and hurt some more until you
cannot stand it. Do not need to suffer. Please give us a call:
209.358.0800,
so we can help to get you out of discomfort.
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Partial,
stayplate, valplast, immediate dentures, dentures
There
are various options to replace your missing teeth with something
that you take out everyday/night.
Partials
are removable appliances to replace some of your missing teeth.
A stayplate is an interim partial to replace the extracted tooth
or teeth for esthetic purpose until the area heals.
Valplast does not have metal and is more flexible. However, it
relies on teeth for support.
Dentures or complete dentures are removable appliances if there
are no teeth on the top or the bottom arch.
Immediate denture is the denture used right after extractions
of remaining teeth. Since the gum and bone shrinks after extractions,
immediate dentures will need a reline to fill in the missing space.
Here
is a video about partial
and complete dentures
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Oral
Conscious Sedation
With
special permit, Dr. Eric prescribes medication to our patients
who are anxious. You will still be awake while you are comfortable
during dental visits. Someone needs to give you a ride though.
Please let us know at the first appointment so we can arrange
it for you.
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Choose
Eric, for all your dental needs. Schedule your next dental appointment
now.
Give us a call today, you deserve it, 209.358.0800
(Best time to reach us: 9am to 1pm, 2pm-4:30pm Monday to Thursday)
Or text us at 209.358.0800
Or fill
in your information
and we will call you to schedule your next appointment.
A
Saturday a month, Dr Tung, oral maxillofacial surgeon, will perform
difficult extractions.
Please call 209.358.0800
for detail.
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