Dr. Gabriel offers a range of services for people to repair and improve their smiles. But the best thing you can do to have a beautiful smile is to protect it from oral disease. The ultimate defensive strategy involves a comprehensive at-home oral care routine as well as regular visits to your dentist.
Learn how Dr. Gabriel and our incredible team can help you maintain a gorgeous smile, as well as repair your teeth when oral health issues affect you.
Cleaning your teeth at home is a vital part of keeping your teeth healthy and sparkling. But even the best of us have trouble reaching every area of our mouths consistently. There are some hard-to-reach areas that can be vulnerable to harmful oral bacteria if they aren’t cared for properly. The plaque in these spots can harden, making it nearly impossible to remove without professional tools.
That’s where we come in. Twice a year, we’ll clean every area of your teeth professionally. We’re able to easily take off the hardened plaque to prevent it from forming into cavities, as well as polish your teeth so they sparkle.
As a part of your regular appointment, we’ll examine your teeth and mouth for potential issues. The exam is a vital part of your oral hygiene visit because we can often detect oral health problems before they begin to cause pain or serious damage.
The earlier an oral health issue is detected, the less invasive procedure you’ll need to recover from it. You’ll be able to maintain a more beautiful smile and worry less about potential oral health complications.
During your exam, we’ll perform a visual and physical check of your teeth and gums. But sometimes, there are areas that can be difficult to see. That’s why we use dental x-rays to find very small or hard-to-reach areas of decay. X-rays are typically taken once a year unless we suspect you have tooth decay we can’t see.
Our office uses digital x-ray machines, which are more comfortable than traditional x-rays and take less time. They also expose you to much less radiation, making them easier and safer overall.
Oral cancer is difficult to notice until it becomes a major issue. But by that point, invasive treatment may be the only possible option. Dr. Gabriel has a better way of detecting oral cancer and other tissue abnormalities⎼ the best part is, it can be performed as a part of your regular exam.
We’ll check the soft tissues in your mouth physically and visually for any lumps, discoloration, and other signs of oral cancer. Dr. Gabriel also uses VELscope technology to help detect abnormal areas of tissue in your mouth that aren’t visible to the human eye.
If we detect a cavity on one of your teeth, Dr. Gabriel will recommend a dental filling. A cavity forms when bacteria eat through the enamel of your tooth, resulting in a hole. The bacteria will continue drilling a hole into your tooth unless they’re stopped in their tracks.
Dr. Gabriel will clean out the infected part of your tooth and remove any affected tooth materials. Then, he can fill in the hole with a natural-looking filling that’ll protect your tooth from further infection and keep your smile looking natural.
Cavities are common, so they may not seem like a big deal. But if you leave a cavity without treatment, the bacteria will continue through the layers of your tooth until they reach the center. In the center of your tooth, important and sensitive nerves and tissue are stored. They can become severely painful when affected by bacteria and the infection threatens your entire tooth.
Learn more about how Dr. Gabriel can save your tooth when you’re in this situation.
If root canal therapy isn’t an option or doesn’t work for your tooth, it may have to be extracted. Dr. Gabriel will do everything he can to save your natural tooth. However, sometimes it’s necessary for the benefit of your oral health to remove the source of the problem.
Dealing with a tooth extraction can be difficult, but Dr. Gabriel can help you recover. He offers beautiful and natural-looking tooth replacements, such as dental implants, that can fully restore your smile.
Oral infections don’t just affect your teeth. Periodontal disease can be just as harrowing as a root canal infection and threaten your smile. When oral bacteria make it below your gumline, they can attack your tooth roots directly and lead to gum recession as well as tooth loss.
Learn how Dr. Gabriel can help you reverse the effects of gum disease and get your smile back.
General dentists often perform a variety of procedures including preventive and restorative treatments. Preventive treatments are meant to keep tooth infections and oral health complications away, such as regular teeth cleanings and fluoride treatments.
Restorative procedures fix tooth decay and oral health issues when they do happen. These treatments include dental fillings, root canal therapy, and periodontal procedures. Many dentists, like Dr. Gabriel, also perform cosmetic procedures to help their patients recover aesthetically from oral infections.
Dental fillings can last anywhere between 10 to 20 years. Their lifespan depends on the material of the filling, where it is in your mouth, and how well you take care of your teeth. Amalgam or silver fillings last the longest, but white fillings can last over 10 years as well.
Fillings on areas of your teeth with heavy use, like a filling on the crown of a molar, can wear out quicker due to the constant stress on them. We’ll check your fillings to make sure they’re in good condition when you come in for your regular appointments.
The dental filling procedure can be slightly painful, depending on how severe the cavity is. Dr. Gabriel uses the best tools, including highly accurate dental lasers, which reduce the amount of pain you’ll feel. Many patients don’t even need anesthesia for simple treatments.
If you feel anxious about your filling or have very sensitive teeth, Dr. Gabriel does offer dental sedation. Nitrous oxide sedation can help you feel relaxed and numbs pain, so the filling procedure will pass by quickly for you.
We recommend that you get a dental cleaning every six months or twice a year. Brushing and flossing your teeth every day is essential for your oral hygiene, but there are some hard-to-reach areas that can be vulnerable to plaque buildup and bacteria.
Our dental team can help clear those areas of debris and buildup so they’re less likely to become cavities. With our professional tools, we can easily get rid of hardened plaque and detect tiny areas of decay that would otherwise develop into bigger cavities.