General Dentistry
White Fillings
White fillings also called composite restorations have so many benefits. The most obvious benefit is the esthetic appeal. If you had a filling, the last thing you want is for someone to be able to notice it. White fillings blend beautifully into the tooth. Even if you have a cavity filled, it will be our little secret!
The other major benefit to a white filling is that it bonds or adheres to the tooth. This is very different than silver (ie Amalgam) fillings which simply fill in a hole in the tooth. This means that teeth flex less and are less likely to develop cracks.
Finally, white fillings are able to be so much more conservative and small than silver fillings. This allows you take out the cavity while preserving as much of the natural tooth as possible.
White Crowns
Our ability to make all-white crowns is a major advancement in dentistry. We have materials that are strong enough to stand up to the most powerful chewing and materials that have unrivaled natural beauty. The best part is, you never get that annoying and unaesthetic black line around the gum line that appears with crowns that have metal underneath them.
Bridges
Bridges are one of the solutions to replace missing teeth. Bridges stay in the mouth and cannot be taken in and out like dentures and partial dentures. There are many advantages to bridges including the relative quick time it takes to have them made. No surgery is involved with bridges and the amount of bone underneath a bridge is usually not very important. Because they are a more traditional tooth replacement options, insurance companies typically pay towards a bridge as well. The disadvantages are that it is more difficult to clean around them and you have to involve the teeth next to the missing space to make them possible. This means affecting, at times, perfectly healthy neighbor teeth. It is also not possible to replace the last tooth, if it is missing, with a bridge.
Full Dentures
Full dentures are one solution to replace all missing teeth in one or more arches in the mouth. Dentures can be made to look beautiful. They can help restore function and confidence to someone. Dentures are not nearly as efficient at chewing food as natural teeth or dental implant restorations. Upper dentures are kept in place by forming a suction to the roof of your mouth. This allows upper dentures to be more stable than lower dentures. Another disadvantage is the impact on tasting food. Because the roof of the mouth is covered by the denture, it diminishes the sensation of eating. Lower dentures do not have the roof of the mouth to help stabilize them. In fact, it is the job of the cheeks and tongue to hold a lower denture in place in order to chew food. This can be a large challenge for patients to become accustomed to. The best solution for a lower full denture is to have at a minimum of 2 dental implants placed in order to stabilize the denture and make it feel much more secure.
Immediate Full Dentures
When someone has extensive damage to their teeth, sometimes they all need to be removed. Immediate dentures are placed in someone’s mouth the moment the teeth all come out. This allows someone to feel confident about their appearance on the day of their procedure. Immediate dentures have a transitional time which can be a challenge. Dr Weber does his best to prepare you for what to expect and walk you through the process, so you never feel alone during this transition. It is important to remember that while losing all of your natural teeth is not ideal, it is far more healthy than having active disease throughout your mouth.
Partial Dentures
Partial dentures are the most economical way to replace multiple missing teeth. They connect to the remaining teeth and hold on to them. The primary advantage to partial dentures is their cost. The disadvantages include having to take out the partial denture at night and after each meal to clean as well as placing stress on the existing teeth that it connects to.