Diagnostic

• Dental Examination
  Dentists and dental professionals are the front line of defense against oral cancer. Your dentist and hygienist are trained to look for tissue abnormalities that may be cancerous during your routine dental examination visits.
• X-rays
  Your dentist and hygienist will also review dental x-rays to look for bone loss, another sign of advanced periodontal disease.
• Oral Cancer Screening
  Oral cancer can be successfully treated, the key is early detection and diagnosis. Dr. O'Neal routinely performs an oral cancer screening during each examination visit. She will carefully examine the inside of the cheeks, the palate, tongue and floor of the mouth to look for suspicious areas that may require further evaluation.

Preventive

• Teeth Cleaning
  Dental calculus deposits cannot be removed by brushing or flossing. Your dentist and dental hygienist must remove this buildup (also known as tartar) with dental instruments and ultrasonic cleaning systems. If it is not removed, tartar will continue to form below the gum line on the tooth root surfaces. This causes the gums to pull away from the tooth, forming deepened ‘pockets’ between the gums and the teeth.
• Fluoride Treatment

Restorative

• Fillings
• Veneers
  Gingival contouring procedures may be recommended by Dr. O'Neal and your restorative dentist in conjunction with dental veneers or crowns, or to correct a ‘gummy’ smile. Using the dental laser, Dr. O'Neal can sculpt a smooth, symmetrical gum line to give the teeth a more uniform, natural appearance.
• Crowns
  In addition to the diagnosis and treatment of infection and inflammation associated with periodontal disease, Dr. O'Neal provides periodontal surgical services to repair, rebuild and shape bone and soft tissue, including bone and soft tissue grafts, sinus lifts and crown lengthening procedures.
• Bridges

Periodontics

• Gingivectomy and Gingivoplasty
• Periodontal Surgery
  Surgical treatment of periodontal disease is sometimes necessary to create access for Dr. O'Neal to provide deeper cleaning of the root surfaces, or, to treat damaged areas in need of bone or soft tissue grafting procedures. Periodontal surgery is minor dental surgery that Dr. O'Neal performs at our Marietta periodontal practice.

Prosthodontics

• Dentures
  Dental implants and implant-supported dentures provide options to replace missing teeth to restore your smile confidence and help you enjoy your favorite foods again. Dental Implants
• Overdentures
  All smiles are possible with dental implants! Dr. Cheria O'Neal places dental implants in our Marietta periodontal practice as part of your restorative dentist's treatment plan for your smile. Dental implants can be used to replace a single tooth, such as with an implant crown, or multiple missing teeth in combination with a bridge, partial, complete denture or overdenture.

Implants

• Dental Implants
  Today, Dr. O'Neal works closely with restorative dentists in the Atlanta area to provide patients with comprehensive dental care. She has extensive experience and training in placing dental implants, bone grafts and sinus lifts, periodontal soft tissue surgery and cosmetic periodontal procedures.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

• Oral Surgery
  After making the affected area numb with local anesthetic, Dr. O'Neal will fold the gum away from the teeth to remove the deep bacterial deposits from the root surfaces and eliminate any diseased soft tissue. This type of oral surgery is also known as a dental ‘flap’ procedure.
• Flap Surgery
  The tiny tip of the laser provides fine instrumentation for Dr. O'Neal to perform periodontal surgical procedures. In many cases, she is able to avoid traditional periodontal flap surgery and instead, insert the laser tip into the areas between teeth and along the tooth roots to destroy infection and stimulate healing.
• Gum Surgery
  Dr. O'Neal may recommend periodontal surgery (gum surgery) when the progression of periodontal disease has extended below the gum line and bacterial infection has begun to surround the tooth and penetrate into the supportive bone. If the periodontal infection is not treated, the bone around the tooth will be destroyed, and soon the tooth will become loose and eventually be lost altogether.
• Osseous Surgery
  In cases of bone defects or severe bone loss, Dr. O'Neal may also recommend bone re-contouring (osseous surgery), or bone or soft tissue graft surgery.
• Tooth Extractions
  Removal of a tooth, or tooth extraction, becomes necessary when the tooth structure is damaged beyond repair due to extensive decay or fracture. Tooth extraction may also be required in cases of advanced periodontal disease that have resulted in loss of adequate bone support for the tooth.
• Ridge Augmentation
  Bone grafts, also known as Guided Bone Generation (GBR), may be used to raise the height or width of the jaw bone in a specific area, procedures known as ridge augmentation or ridge preservation. Bone grafts are also used to restore defects in the bone that are genetic in nature or a result of a prior tooth loss.
• Bone Grafting
  In many cases, Dr. O'Neal can provide a bone grafting procedure, known as a ‘sinus lift’ to add bone to these areas and create a stable foundation for a dental implant. The dental implant can be used to support a prosthetic tooth replacement, such as a dental implant or bridge.