Diagnostic

• Dental Examination
• X-rays

Preventive

• Teeth Cleaning
  When you come in to clean your teeth, we scrape off the hard deposits called tartar. Tartar is covered with plaque which are full of bacteria. The bacteria multiply and irritate the gums. The gums become red and start to bleed. If the irritation persists then the bone around the teeth dissolves away. If too much bone dissolves away, then the teeth become loose and fall out.

Restorative

• Fillings
• Resin Composite
  Emax porcelain veneers from tooth #7 to #11. #6 is actually a baby tooth and veneered with composite resin. She’ll need an implant later.
• Veneers
• Crowns
  The implant is placed. The post operative pain is usually gone in a day. We wait 4 to 6 months for the bone to heal and mature. The image on the left is an x-ray of the implant and a healing collar or a small temporary cap that is screwed on top of the implant. Once fully healed, then a titanium abutment is screwed in and a porcelain crown is cemented on the abutment (right image). Implant placement and restoration by Dr. Gerald Au
• Bridges
  The Golden Gate Bridge uses 2 strong towers to hold the roadway in between. In the same way, a dental bridge uses teeth to hold replacement teeth in between. The example provided is a lower front porcelain bridge with 2 anchor teeth holding 4 replacements. Because of increased stress, bridges in the back of the mouth are limited to 1 or 2 replacements. Bridges last a long time if kept free of plaque. This is easy to do in the front, not so in the back. The bridge is 1 piece made to look like many teeth so you can not floss in the conventional way. An alternative solution would be implants, or an implant supported bridge or a partial denture.

Endodontics

• Root Canal Treatment
  On the x-ray, looking at the lower left first molar, tooth #30, the white lines in the center of the roots is a root canal filling. In this case, the root canal has failed. Below the roots, there is a dark area which represents a chronic abscess full of bacteria. To the right is white oval. That is a ball bearing that is used to calibrate the x-ray so that we can digitally measure height.

Prosthodontics

• Dentures
  This is a partial denture. One appliance restores many teeth. There is a metal framework supporting pink plastic and plastic denture teeth. The partial is removed at night to allow the tissue to rest. You clean the partial in your hands with soap, water and a denture brush.

Implants

• Dental Implants
  This partial has a clasp to one last surviving tooth. In the past, this would not be a workable solution and the tooth would be removed. Imagine a tray of heavy plates and the strain of holding it with one hand. Two hands are the minimum, necessary, to hold the tray. Four would be better. It’s the same with partials and teeth. Four teeth, spread out like legs on a chair are necessary to hold the denture. In this case, we do implant surgery and place three implants around the arch.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

• Oral Surgery
• Gum Surgery
  Teeth roots are covered with bone and gums. Between the gums and teeth is a space called the pocket. We measure the depth of the pocket with a probe and record the finding in millimeters. 3 mm is normal. 6 mm is gum surgery. 9 mm means the tooth is lost. The picture on the left show the probe going down 5 mm. It bleeds to touch which is a sign of inflammation.

Orthodontics

• Invisalign Orthodontics

General

• Teeth Whitening
• Cosmetic Dentistry
  Pretty Teeth for a Pretty Woman. Here is a gratifying case that makes you feel good about being a dentist. The before and after pictures shows a big difference. Our rule is if it shows up in your pictures then consider cosmetic dentistry. Many little defects do not. These flaws were dramatic: pointy fangs on a young woman. Even my colleagues at the implant study club were impressed.