Gig Harbor General Dentist

Tooth-colored fillings are called composite restorations and have been used in dentistry for many years. These tooth-colored fillings are especially useful when the restoration will be visible when you talk or smile.

Advantages of a composite restoration include a natural finished appearance similar to that of your real teeth and the most conservative restoration in dentistry today. They require only one appointment for completion.

If you have any questions about composite restorations, please feel free to ask us.

Periodontal disease is an infectious process classified according to how much damage has been done to the structures surrounding the teeth, namely the gums and bone. It is an infection in your mouth! It can happen anytime, around your teeth, affecting some or many of your teeth to varying degrees. There are genetic predisposing factors to periodontal disease, but it is usually related to how well you can keep your teeth clean. The better you clean your teeth to remove all the plaque, the less likely you are to develop periodontal disease.

By the time you notice that your gums are bleeding, the disease has been present for some time. When the disease has progressed past the bleeding gum stage, you may notice some pain, gum recession, loosening of the teeth, and bad breath. At this point, support for the teeth may be permanently altered and diminished.

Oceanspray Dental Health's office stresses prevention! Don't wait for the warning signs of gum disease to occur before you schedule your dental hygiene appointment. You may require a yearly cleaning and exam by the dental hygienist, or a dental office visit three to four times a year. We will let you know what is appropriate for your oral condition.

If you have any questions about periodontal disease, please feel free to ask us.

Sometimes brushing is not enough. Everyone has hard-to-reach spots in their mouth, and brushing doesn't always fully clean those difficult places. When that happens, you are at risk of tooth decay. Decay on premolars and molars usually begins in the grooves and fissures that exist on the biting surfaces of these back teeth.

Dental sealants are clear resin coatings that can be placed on the biting and grinding surfaces of back teeth. When sealing a tooth, the grooves of your teeth are filled, and the tooth surface becomes smoother and less likely to harbor plaque.

The sealants will stop the customary progression of tooth destruction. With sealants, tooth brushing becomes easier and more effective against tooth decay.

We, at Oceanspray Dental Health's office, are dedicated to the prevention of oral disease. It is clear that if the initial decay is prevented from the beginning, there is a great savings in time, money, discomfort, and tooth structure.

If you have any questions about preventative dentistry, please feel free to ask us.

When a tooth has been moderately to extensively destroyed by decay, previous drilling, or fracture, but there is still sufficient enamel remaining, one innovative way it can be restored is with a porcelain inlay or onlay. An inlay is a restoration in which a portion of the biting surface is replaced with porcelain. An onlay will restore a larger portion of the biting surface of the tooth. These are considered very conservative restorations. The porcelain allows an excellent esthetic result.

Advantages include excellent esthetics, high strength, predicted longevity, and a conservative preparation that is less drilling than for a crown.

For those who want the strongest, longest-lasting conservative restoration that closely matches a tooth, porcelain is possibly the best choice. Once an inlay or onlay is finished, the tooth, if cared for properly, should not have to be restored for years.

If you have any questions about porcelain inlays and onlays, please feel free to ask us.

Crowns are used to reconstruct a single tooth broken down by tooth decay or one that has simply fractured. If the tooth was in good alignment before the crown was prepared, the crown will be in good alignment. If the tooth was misaligned before the crown, sometimes the crown may be made to obtain a more ideal shape and position. It is cleaned and flossed just like a natural tooth.

Our goal at Oceanspray Dental Health's office is to provide dentistry that is undetectable. One of the most aesthetic ways to restore teeth today is to use a full cast ceramic or porcelain crown. This type of crown contains no metal, so it approximates the total appearance of an undamaged, natural tooth.

These are beautiful restorations, and they are possibly the most beautiful full-coverage restorations available. You can expect them to last for a long time. If you need a full coverage restoration, and aesthetics are of maximum importance to you, porcelain and ceramic crowns should be considered.

If you have any questions about porcelain crowns, please feel free to ask us.

Computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology have been revolutionizing industries, including dentistry. With the CEREC system, a digital scanner is used to record a 3-D image of your teeth instead of gooey impression materials. We are also able to make the crown in the office, avoiding the need for a temporary crown.

The doctors at Oceanspray Dental Health can now complete beautiful restorations like crowns, inlays, onlays, and veneers in-office in only ONE appointment. Benefits for our patients:

• "ONE" visit

• no impressions

• no temporaries

• highly aesthetic

• long-lasting

Our Cerec system allows us to replace conventional impression methods with a clean, fast digital scan that is obtained in just a few minutes through a series of photographic images taken in the mouth. Combining this scanned data with our advanced software, we're able to design a custom, permanent restoration. A milling unit then fabricates your restoration design quickly and conveniently, right in our dental office.

Your final result is a natural-looking restoration of superior strength that perfectly matches the surrounding teeth, making your crown, veneer, or filling virtually undetectable. The elimination of impressions, temporaries, and second appointments enhances the entire dental experience for our patients. As a bonus, many of our patients love watching their new tooth come to life in the milling unit right in front of their eyes!

If you have any questions about Cerec "One Visit" restorations, please feel free to ask us.

When people speak of "bonding" their teeth to make them look better, they are usually referring to porcelain veneers. Veneers cover only the outside portion of the tooth, the part that shows when you smile or talk. Porcelain veneers are placed to correct slight or severe defects in tooth alignment, shape, or color. This is done when there is still enough enamel on the tooth to allow the veneer to be placed. The most common use for porcelain veneers is to improve the cosmetic appearance of the patient.

If you have any questions about porcelain veneers, please feel free to ask us.

Replacing missing front teeth can improve the appearance of your smile. What most people don't think about is what happens when a missing back tooth is not replaced. Replacing a back tooth will help you regain your normal ability to chew food properly. When a tooth is lost, the other teeth surrounding the space tend to move into the space. This contributes to an increased opportunity for decay and gum disease to begin, along with bite problems and a potential for other dental problems. Missing teeth should always be replaced—the sooner the better.

Fixed bridges are one of the possibilities that exist for the replacement of one or more missing teeth. The advantages include proven reliability and longevity.

Fixed bridges are crowns that are attached, suspending the crown portion of a false tooth in or over the space left behind by the missing tooth. With a bridge, the false tooth will most often butt up against the soft tissue ridge where the removed tooth was. Sometimes a bridge is used to splint loose teeth together in order to make the teeth more stable. The bridge teeth can be brushed the same as natural teeth, but since they are attached, they must be flossed differently by using a floss threader or other device.

A strict regimen of brushing and flossing will keep the bridge and surrounding teeth clean. This is of critical importance, as the bridge relies on the neighboring teeth for support. We will show you how to properly clean it. Frequent examinations are one way to protect your investment and to maintain optimal oral health.

If you have any questions about bridges, feel free to ask us.

Thirty-five years ago, if someone described how teeth could be replaced with implants, it might have been called a miracle. Twenty years ago, the use of dental implants to replace missing teeth might have been called astounding. Today, implant procedures are called routine.

Dental implants are metal anchors that act as tooth root substitutes. They are surgically placed into the jawbone. Small abutments are then attached to the implant, which protrudes through the gums. These abutments provide stable anchors for artificial tooth replacement. Implants can be used to replace a single missing tooth, replace several missing teeth, or provide added retention to a removable dental appliance such as a full denture.

Dental implants are designed to provide a foundation for replacement teeth that look, feel, and function like natural teeth. The person who has lost teeth regains the ability to eat virtually anything and can smile with confidence, knowing that the replacement tooth appears natural. In addition, implants can help preserve facial bone, preventing the bone deterioration that occurs when teeth are missing.

If you have any questions about dental implants, feel free to ask us.

You, Dr. Remy Rogers, and Dr. Matthew J. Stadler may determine that you need a tooth extraction for any number of reasons. Some teeth are extracted because they are extremely decayed, others may have advanced periodontal disease, or have broken in a way that cannot be restored. Other teeth may need removal because they are poorly positioned in the mouth (such as impacted teeth) or in preparation for orthodontic treatment.

The removal of a single tooth can lead to problems related to your chewing ability, challenges with your jaw joint, and shifting teeth, which can have a major impact on your dental health.

To avoid these complications, Dr. Remy Rogers and Dr. Matthew J. Stadler will discuss replacement options for the extracted tooth.

If you have any questions about tooth extractions, please feel free to ask us.

To learn more about your treatment options and receive a personalized dental care plan, we encourage you to schedule a consultation with our team.