Services

From routine cleanings and fillings to a smile makeover, Dr. Gibbons is equipped to handle all your dental needs. To help you understand your options, we've included descriptions of some of our leading services on this page.

Initial Oral Examination

Your initial oral examination includes a visual examination, charting, periodontal probing, diagnosis and treatment recommendations. A thorough smile analysis, muscle exam and TMJ exam will be performed as well. We will take the appropriate x-rays, which may include a panoramic x-ray and bite-wing x-ray series for proper diagnosis of any decay of posterior teeth as well as any impactions.

Bruxism (Teeth Grinding)

"Keep a stiff upper lip" or "get a grip!" That's often the advice we get—and give—on how to cope with stress. If you take it literally, the result could be grinding your teeth or clenching your jaws. It's called bruxism, and often it happens as we sleep, caused not just by stress and anxiety but by sleep disorders, an abnormal bite or teeth that are missing or crooked.

Symptoms include a dull headache or a sore jaw. You could have teeth that are painful or loose from severe grinding. This can lead to fractures in your teeth. We can fit you with a mouth guard to protect your teeth during sleep. If stress is the cause you need to find a way to relax! Physical therapy, muscle relaxants, counseling and even exercise may help reduce tension.

Cosmetic Dentistry

A smile can be the most eye-catching feature of a face. With dentistry's many advances, you no longer have to settle for stained, chipped, or misshapen teeth. You now have choices that can help you smile with confidence.

Even the most subtle change in your smile can make a dramatic difference in the way you look and feel about yourself.

Some options are:

• Tooth whitening (bleaching) brightens teeth that are discolored or stained. Bleaching may be done completely in our office or we may dispense a system for you to use at home.
• Bonding can improve the appearance of teeth that are chipped, broken, cracked, stained, or have spaces between them. With bonding, tooth-colored materials are applied, or bonded, to the tooth surface.
• Enamel shaping involves modifying teeth to improve their appearance by removing or contouring enamel. The process, which often is combined with bonding, usually is quick and comfortable and the results can be seen immediately.
• Veneers are thin custom-made shells designed to cover the front side of teeth. Made of tooth-colored materials, veneers are used to treat spaces between teeth and teeth that are chipped or worn, permanently stained, poorly shaped or slightly crooked.
• Braces are not just for kids. Orthodontics may be needed if teeth are crooked, crowded or do not meet properly. If we think you'd benefit from orthodontic treatment, we can refer you to an orthodontist.

Composites (Cosmetic Fillings)

Thanks to advances in modern dental materials and techniques, dentists have more ways to create pleasing, natural-looking smiles. Dental researchers are continuing their often decades-long work developing materials, such as ceramics and polymer compounds that look more like natural teeth. As a result, dentists and patients today have several choices when it comes to selecting materials to repair missing, worn, damaged or decayed teeth.

These new materials have not eliminated the usefulness of more traditional dental materials, such as gold, base metal alloys and dental amalgam. That's because the strength and durability of traditional dental materials continue to make them useful for situations, such as fillings in the back teeth where chewing forces are greatest.

Crowns and Bridges

Crowns

If you want a smile that's your crowning glory, you may need a crown to cover a tooth and restore it to its normal shape and size. A crown can make your tooth stronger and improve its appearance. It can cover and support a tooth with a large filling when there isn't enough tooth left. It can be used to attach a bridge, protect a weak tooth from breaking or restore one that's already broken. A crown is a good way to cover teeth that are discolored or badly shaped. It's also used to cover a dental implant.

Bridges

If you're missing one or more teeth, you may notice a difference in chewing and speaking. There are options to help restore your smile. Bridges help maintain the shape of your face, as well as alleviating the stress in your bite by replacing missing teeth.

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

Unlike a removable bridge, which you can take out and clean, a fixed bridge can only be removed by a dentist. An implant bridge attaches artificial teeth directly to the jaw or under the gum tissue. Depending on which type of bridge Dr. Gibbons recommends, its success depends on its foundation. So it's very important to keep your remaining teeth healthy and strong.

Dental Implants

Crowns and conventional bridges or dentures may not be your only options when replacing missing teeth. For some people, dental implants offer a smile that looks and feels very natural. Surgically placed below the gums over a series of appointments, implants fuse to the jawbone and serve as a base for individual replacement teeth, bridges or a denture.

Implants offer stability because they fuse to your bone. Integration of the implants into your jaw also helps your replacement teeth feel more natural and some people also find the secure fit more comfortable than conventional substitutes.

Candidates for dental implants need to have healthy gums and adequate bone to support the implant. A thorough evaluation by Dr. Gibbons will help determine whether you are a good candidate for dental implants.

Root Planning & Scaling

Current treatment guidelines stress that periodontal health should be achieved in the least invasive and most cost-effective manner. This is often accomplished through non-surgical periodontal treatment, including scaling and root planing (a careful cleaning of the root surfaces to remove plaque and calculus [tartar] from deep periodontal pockets and to smooth the tooth root to remove bacterial toxins), followed by adjunctive therapy such as local delivery antimicrobials and host modulation, as needed on a case-by-case basis.

Most periodontists would agree that after scaling and root planing, many patients do not require any further active treatment, including surgical therapy. However, the majority of patients will require ongoing maintenance therapy to sustain health. Non-surgical therapy does have its limitations, however, and when it does not achieve periodontal health, surgery may be indicated to restore periodontal anatomy damaged by periodontal diseases and to facilitate oral hygiene practices.

Sealants

A sealant is a plastic material that is usually applied to the chewing surfaces of the back teeth—premolars and molars. This plastic resin bonds into the depressions and grooves (pits and fissures) of the chewing surfaces of back teeth. The sealant acts as a barrier, protecting enamel from plaque and acids.

Teeth Whitening

If you are a candidate for bleaching, Dr. Gibbons may suggest a procedure that can be done in the office. This procedure is called chairside bleaching and may take one to two hours.

During chairside bleaching, the doctor or dental assistant will apply either a protective gel to your gums or a rubber shield to protect the oral soft tissues. A bleaching agent is then applied to the teeth, and a special light may be used to enhance the action of the agent. Impressions of your teeth will also be taken to make appliances that allow you to continue the process at home and touch-up at routine intervals.

Veneers

Veneers are thin, custom-made shells crafted of tooth-colored materials designed to cover the front of teeth. Porcelain veneers are made by a dental technician, usually in a dental lab, working from a model provided by our office. You should know that this is usually an irreversible process, because it's necessary to remove a small amount of enamel from your teeth to accommodate the shell.

Veneers can lengthen teeth, close gaps between teeth and give a more uniform color and brighten your smile. Another form of a veneer is a directly bonded composite that can be highly polished and placed immediately on your tooth or teeth by Dr. Gibbons, usually during one visit. Considered less invasive to the teeth, direct veneers offer an excellent alternative to processed veneers but do have limitations. Talk with Dr. Gibbons about which method is best for you.