Cosmetic dental surgery can not only improve your smile but can also boost your self-confidence. The highly experienced, board-certified doctors and friendly staff provide a full range of general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry and restorative dentistry services including the following:

CEREC

CEREC (Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics) is a multi-instrument system that allows dentists to create and implant custom-fit ceramic restorations in a single appointment. The system consists of an infrared digital camera, a computer with 3-D imaging software, and a milling unit with diamond blades for quick, precise and highly detailed construction of restorations.

The CEREC system can produce any permanent, single-tooth ceramic restoration, including crowns, onlays, veneers and fillings. Unlike metals and alloys, ceramic is similar to the natural tooth, so cracking is minimized because it expands and contracts at about the same rate as the tooth during temperature changes while eating. In addition, CEREC offers benefits over traditional restoration construction such as fewer injections, less drilling, less material removed from the damaged tooth, and minimal time commitment.

The process is simple. First, the Dr. Highsmith examines your tooth and determines the proper treatment. After application of anesthesia, the damaged part of the tooth is removed and an optical impression (digital photograph) is taken. The computer converts this data into a three-dimensional virtual image that allows Dr. Highsmith to design the restoration that's right for you. Dimensions of the restoration are sent to the milling machine, which shapes a ceramic block to create the restoration in 10-20 minutes. Finally, the restoration is tried for fit in your mouth, polished and bonded to your tooth.

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For more information on CEREC, click here

Dental hygiene visit (more than "just a cleaning!")

What happens when I see the hygienist? That visit is much more than "just a cleaning!" Here is a sample of the benefits of spending time with Martha, Becky, or Laura.

• Oral Cancer Screening (did you know that 3% of all cancers are oral cancer? In any cancer, early detection is crucial to successful treatment.)
• Update your medical history. Some medications and conditions do affect your oral health!
• Periodontal charting. This helps tell us the health of the jaw bone supporting the teeth.
• Evaluation of the restorations (fillings, crowns, bridges) in your mouth. Are there any urgent or long-term problems? We can now use laser diagnosis to tell if some area need filling or not.
• Discussion of cosmetic concerns you may have. This is a great time to explore enhancing your smile!
• Home care instruction. How can you keep your teeth as healthy as possible? The hygienist is your coach in showing you how to care for your own mouth. As one dentist told us, "if you keep your teeth as clean as you keep your silverware, you won't need us as much!"
• Dietary advice. You would be amazed at what people don't know about how what they eat affects their teeth.
• Fluoride treatments to strengthen teeth and prevent decay.
• Taking any necessary x-rays to diagnose hidden problems.
• Applying any needed sealants to young teeth to prevent decay.
• Oh yes, they also clean, polish, and floss your teeth! This visit, an oral prophylaxis, is mostly to prevent periodontal disease as well as brighten your smile. If periodontal disease is diagnosed, other forms of treatment are needed.

See why this visit is so necessary to keeping your mouth healthy? It is so much more than "just a cleaning!!"

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Oral Sedation Dentistry

Many people have dental phobias, usually arising from unpleasant dental experiences in the past. Dental techniques in earlier years were not nearly as painless as modern dentistry. Still, the knowledge that current visits can be quite comfortable does not alleviate the emotional "post-traumatic stress syndrome" that affects many patients.

We make visits comfortable for you in many ways. Painless injection technique, stereo headphones, video goggles, watching your own procedure in a mirror (many people are comforted by seeing what we are doing), and talking people through a procedure are all very helpful.

Still, for some these techniques are not enough. For these patients we can prescribe an oral sedative to help them get the dental care they need and want. While this technique does not put the patient to sleep, patients are very relaxed and often don't remember much of their visit. It also helps the time pass very quickly; many patients comment on how fast the appointment seemed for them. Most sedated individuals take a nap when they get home.

You may either take the medication dose an hour before your appointment (and have someone drive you), or you may drive yourself and arrive an hour prior to your appointment time and take the medication in the office. Either way, you will need someone to drive you home, and you may not drive for 24 hours.

Don't hesitate to ask whether sedation is appropriate for you.

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For more information on dental hygiene, click here