COMMON PROCEDURES

Regular dental checkups with your dentist in Grants Pass are imperative for oral health. During your annual or bi-annual dental checkup Dr. Hill will:

• Discuss Your Medical History
• Check for Underlying Issues
• Examine Teeth for Decay
• Check Gums for Disease
• Complete a Professional Teeth Cleaning

Bonding is a conservative way to repair slightly chipped, discolored, or crooked teeth. During dental bonding, a white filling is placed onto your tooth to improve its appearance. The filling “bonds” with your tooth. Because it comes in a variety of tooth-colored shades, it closely matches the appearance of your natural teeth.

Tooth bonding can also be used for fillings instead of silver amalgam. Many patients prefer bonded fillings because the white color is much less noticeable than silver. Bonding fillings can be used on front or back teeth, depending on the location and extent of tooth decay.

Bonding is less expensive than other cosmetic treatments and can usually be completed in one visit to our office. However, it can stain and is easier to break than other cosmetic treatments, such as porcelain veneers. If it does break or chip, tell Dr. Hill. The bonding can generally be easily patched or repaired in one visit.

A bridge may be used to replace missing teeth, help maintain the shape of your face, or alleviate stress on your bite.

A bridge replaces missing teeth with artificial teeth, looks great, and literally bridges the gap where one or more teeth may have been. Your bridge can be made from gold, alloys, porcelain, or a combination of these materials, and is bonded onto surrounding teeth for support.

The success of any bridge depends on its foundation — the other teeth, gums, or bone to which it is attached. Therefore, it’s vital to keep your existing teeth, gums, and jaw healthy and strong.

Dentures are natural-looking replacement teeth that are removable. There are two types of dentures: full and partial. Full dentures are given to patients when all the natural teeth have been removed.

Partial dentures are attached to a metal frame connected to your natural teeth and are used to fill in where permanent teeth have been removed. Just like natural teeth, dentures need to be properly cared for. Use a gentle cleanser to brush your dentures, always keep them moist when they’re not in use, and be sure to keep your tongue and gums clean as well.

There are times when it is necessary to remove a tooth. Sometimes a baby tooth has misshapen or long roots that prevent it from falling out as it should, and the tooth must be removed to make way for the permanent tooth to erupt.

At other times, a tooth may have so much decay that it puts the surrounding teeth at risk, so we may recommend removal and replacement with a bridge or implant. Infection, orthodontic correction, or problems with a wisdom tooth can also require removal of a tooth.

When it is determined that a tooth needs to be removed, Dr. Hill may extract it during a regular checkup or request another visit for this procedure. The root of each tooth is encased within your jawbone in a “tooth socket,” and your tooth is held in that socket by a ligament.

In order to extract a tooth, Dr. Hill must expand the socket and separate the tooth from the ligament holding it in place. While this procedure is typically very quick, it is important to share with Dr. Hill any concerns or preferences for sedation.
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Once a tooth has been removed, neighboring teeth may shift, and cause problems with chewing or your jaw joint function. To avoid these complications, Dr. Hill may recommend that you replace the extracted tooth.

Traditional dental restoratives (fillings) include gold, porcelain, and composite/amalgam. The strength and durability of traditional dental materials continue to make them useful for situations where restored teeth must withstand extreme forces that result from chewing, such as in the back of the mouth.

Newer dental fillings include ceramic and plastic compounds that mimic the appearance of natural teeth. These compounds, often called composite resins, are usually used on the front teeth where a natural appearance is important. They can be used on the back teeth as well, depending on the location and extent of the tooth decay. Composite resins are usually more costly than the older silver amalgam fillings.

What's Right For Me?

Several factors influence the performance, durability, longevity and expense of dental restorations:

• The components used in the filling material

• The amount of tooth structure remaining

• Where and how the filling is placed

• The chewing load that the tooth will have to bear

• The length and number of visits needed to prepare and adjust the restored tooth

The ultimate decision about what to use is best determined in consultation with your doctor. Before your treatment begins, discuss the options with Dr. Hill. To help you prepare for this discussion, it is helpful to understand the two basic types of dental fillings: direct and indirect.
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• Direct fillings are placed immediately into a prepared cavity during a single visit. They include dental amalgam, glass ionomers, resin ionomers, and composite (resin) fillings. Dr. Hill prepares the tooth, places the filling, and adjusts it during one appointment.

• Indirect fillings generally require two or more visits. They include inlays, onlays, veneers, crowns, and bridges fabricated with gold, base metal alloys, ceramics, or composites. During the first visit, Dr. Hill prepares the tooth and makes an impression of the area to be restored. He places a temporary covering over the prepared tooth. The impression is sent to a dental laboratory, which creates the dental restoration. At the next appointment, Dr. Hill cements the restoration into the prepared cavity and adjusts it as needed.

Fluoride is effective in preventing cavities and tooth decay. It also prevents plaque from building up and hardening on the tooth’s surface. A fluoride treatment in our office takes just a few minutes. After the treatment, you may be asked not to rinse, eat, or drink for at least 30 minutes in order to allow the teeth to absorb the fluoride.

Depending on your oral health or Dr. Hill’s recommendation, you may be required to have a fluoride treatment every three, six, or 12 months.

If you are missing teeth, it is crucial to replace them. Without all your teeth, chewing and eating can destabilize your bite and cause you discomfort. When teeth are missing, your mouth can shift and even cause your face to look older. Implants are a great way to replace your missing teeth. If properly maintained, they can last a lifetime!

An implant is a new tooth made of metal and porcelain that looks just like your natural tooth. It’s composed of two main parts: one is the titanium implant body that takes the place of the missing root, and the other is the tooth-colored crown cemented on top of the implant. With implant treatment, you can smile confidently, knowing no one will ever suspect you have a replacement tooth.

In addition to tooth replacement, implants may be used to anchor dentures, especially lower dentures that tend to shift when you talk or chew. For patients with removable partial dentures, implants can replace missing teeth so you have a more natural-looking smile.

Whether you wear braces or not, protecting your smile while playing sports is essential. Mouth guards help protect your teeth and gums from injury. If you participate in any kind of full-contact sport, the American Dental Association recommends that you wear a mouth guard. Choosing the right mouth guard is essential.

There are three basic types of mouth guards: the pre-made mouth guard, the “boil-and-bite” fitted mouth guard, and a custom-made mouth guard from a dentist. When you choose a mouth guard, be sure to pick one that is tear-resistant, comfortable and well-fitted for your mouth, easy to keep clean, and does not prevent you from breathing properly. We can show you how to wear a mouth guard properly and how to choose the right mouth guard to protect your smile.

Sometimes brushing is not enough, especially when it comes to those hard-to-reach spots in your mouth. It is difficult for your toothbrush to get between the small cracks and grooves on your teeth. If left alone, those tiny areas can develop tooth decay. Sealants give your teeth extra protection against decay and help prevent cavities.

Dental sealants are plastic resins that bond and harden in the deep grooves on your tooth’s surface. When a tooth is sealed, the tiny grooves become smooth and are less likely to harbor plaque. With sealants, brushing your teeth becomes easier and more effective against tooth decay.

Sealants are typically applied to children’s teeth as a preventive measure against tooth decay after the permanent teeth have erupted. However, adults can also receive sealants on healthy teeth. It is more common to seal “permanent” teeth rather than “baby” teeth, but every patient has unique needs, and Dr. Hill will recommend sealants on a case-by-case basis.

Sealants last from three to five years, but it is fairly common to see adults with sealants still intact from their childhood. A dental sealant only provides protection when it is fully intact, so if your sealants come off, let us know, and schedule an appointment for your teeth to be re-sealed.

You no longer need to hide your smile because of gaps, chips, stains, or misshapen teeth. With veneers, you can easily correct your teeth’s imperfections to help you have a more confident, beautiful smile. Veneers are natural in appearance, and a perfect option for patients who want to make minor adjustments to the look and feel of their smile.

Veneers are thin, custom-made shells made from tooth-colored materials such as porcelain. They are designed to cover the front side of your teeth. To prepare for veneers, Dr. Hill will create a unique model of your teeth. This model is sent to the dental technician to create your veneers. Before placing your new veneer, Dr. Hill may need to prepare your tooth conservatively to achieve the desired aesthetic result.

When your veneers are placed, you’ll be pleased to see that they look like your natural teeth. While veneers are stain-resistant, we may recommend that you avoid coffee, tea, red wine, and tobacco to maintain the beauty of your new smile.

Wisdom teeth are molars found in the very back of your mouth. They usually appear in the late teens or early twenties, but may become impacted (fail to erupt) due to lack of room in the jaw or angle of entry.

When a wisdom tooth is impacted, it may need to be removed. If it is not removed, you may develop gum tenderness, swelling, or even severe pain. Impacted wisdom teeth that are partially or fully erupted tend to be quite difficult to clean and are susceptible to tooth decay, recurring infections, and even gum disease.

Wisdom teeth are typically removed in the late teens or early twenties because there is a greater chance that the roots have not fully formed and the bone surrounding the teeth is less dense. These two factors can make extraction easier as well as shorten the recovery time.

In order to remove a wisdom tooth, Dr. Hill first needs to numb the area around it with a local anesthetic. Since the impacted tooth may still be under the gums and embedded in your jaw bone, he will need to remove a portion of the covering bone to extract the tooth.

In order to minimize the amount of bone that is removed with the tooth, Dr. Hill will often “section” your wisdom tooth so each piece can be removed through a small opening in the bone. Once your wisdom teeth have been extracted, the healing process begins.

Depending on the degree of difficulty related to the extraction, healing time varies. We will share with you what to expect and provide instructions for a comfortable, efficient healing process.