Dental Services

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At Donato Dental we take great pride in educating our patients so that they fully understand what their dental needs are and what treatment options are available to them. We strongly believe that the better educated our patients are, the happier they will be with their treatment choices.

Please feel free to e-mail us your comments or any questions you may have at info@DonatoDental.com

Services we offer at Donato Dental

Diagnostic & Preventive Services

Diagnostic & Preventive Services

Complete Oral Examination & Digital x-rays
Here we examine all of the hard and soft tissues for caries (cavities), periodontal (gum) disease, and early signs of oral cancer.With digital x-rays, patients receive up to 90% less radiation than conventional x-rays. Other benefits include superior image quality with zoom capability which greatly enhances diagnosis. Also, Images are shown instantly on a computer monitor which eliminates the time needed to develop and process x-rays. Below is a description of some other techniques we use to aid us in detecting disease early.

Diagnodent® Laser Cavity Detection System
This new technology detects cavities in the very early stages. Studies show that 50% of caries go undetected by conventional diagnostic methods. Diagnodent significantly lowers this percentage. If you would like to see how Diagnodent® works, click here.

Periodontal Screening & Probing
This technique is used in the early detection of gum disease which is the leading cause of tooth loss. Because periodontal disease is painless, most people do not even realize that they have it! In some cases, unless your gums are probed and measured for pocketing, even a dental professional would not know if you have gum disease. The latest medical literature suggests that periodontal disease may play a role in heart disease, respiratory disease and premature pregnancies.

Oral CDx Brush Biopsy
This new laboratory test is used to determine if any suspicious looking lesions of the oral soft tissues may be cancerous. As with most types of cancers, early detection is key. If you would like to learn more about oral cancer, click here.
Prophylaxis (Dental Cleanings):
Helps prevent gum disease and caries.

Fluoride Treatments
Helps prevent tooth decay.

Oral Hygiene Instruction
Click here to learn proper brushing and flossing techniques.

Pit & Fissure Sealants
Helps prevent cavities which can occur on chewing surfaces of teeth.

Mouthguards & Nightguards
Helps prevent sports related injuries and damage to the temporomandibular joints in patients who clench or grind their teeth.

Emergency Dental Services
Usually same day for our patients of record only.

Restorative & Cosmetic Services

Fillings
We offer both amalgam (silver) and composite (tooth colored) restorations. We also offer gold or porcelain inlays and onlays. With our dental Laser, most early stage cavities can now be treated with no novacaine!

Crowns (Caps) & Onlays
Available in Porcelain or Gold. Usually needed for severely broken down teeth or teeth that have had root canal.

Crowns cover the entire tooth, whereas onlays cover just a portion of the tooth without disturbing or removing portions of tooth structure that are otherwise healthy. Onlay preparations tend to be much more conservative than crown preparations and are generally used in situations where a tooth has lost one or two cusps.

CAD/CAM technology now enables us to fabricate crowns and onlays in just one visit with no impressions and no temporaries.

Veneers
Available in composite resin or porcelain. Used in restoring chipped teeth, closing gaps and creating that Hollywood smile.

Fixed Bridges & Implants
Used in permanently replacing missing teeth.

Teeth Whitening
We offer both a one visit in-office procedure and At-Home Kits.

Endodontic (Root Canal) Services

Endodontic procedures are usually needed for teeth that have advanced decay or for teeth that have been traumatized. In our office, we try to complete most root canals in one visit.

Our experiences have been that most patients have considerably less post-operative complications when a root canal is completed in one visit. Patients also love the convenience of not having to schedule multiple appointments for the same procedure.

With the newer and better penetrating anesthetics that are available today, root canals are virtually painless!

Here is more information about one-visit root canals.

Single-Visit Endodontics
Article by Michael J. Wahl, D.D.S.

Initiating and completing an endodontic treatment in one appointment has always been surrounded by controversy. In 1982 a survey revealed that 87% of endodontists did not believe that most necrotic teeth could be treated successfully in one visit. In addition, the majority of endodontists thought that performing treatment in this fashion would cause more post-operative pain than if performed in multiple appointments. However, a growing number dentists are practicing more and more single-visit endodontics.There are numerous advantages to completing root canal therapy in one appointment:

• The clinician has the most intimate awareness of the canal anatomy immediately following instrumentation.

• No risk of losing important landmarks.

• The canal is never cleaner than immediately after proper instrumentation

• No risk of flare-up induced by leakage of the temporary seal (because obturation is completed).

• Teeth are ready sooner for final restoration, diminishing the risk of a fracture necessitating extraction

• Patients’ pre-appointment anxiety and post-operative discomfort are limited to one episode

• Time is saved for the patient and for the practitioner since the treatment is completed in one visit.
Three contradictions exist in completing a root canal treatment in one appointment:

Inability to dry the canals completely, insufficient time to complete the procedure, and possible increased stress on temporomandibular joint musculature, or increased psychological stress on patients or clinicians because of longer appointment time, or both.

With so many advantages and so few disadvantages why don’t more clinicians practice single appointment endodontics? It is generally believed that post-operative pain is greater when endodontic treatment is completed in a single-visit. An overwhelming number of studies show that post-operative pain resulting from treatment of nonvital teeth does not differ among patients treated in a single-visit or in multiple-visits. Furthermore, Walton and Fouad found no significant difference in flare-ups between single and multiple-visit endodontics.

Is the prognosis of the treatment compromised by performing root canal therapy in one appointment? In humans, overwhelming evidence shows that healing is the same for single and multiple-visits regardless of pulp vitality.

Aside from cost, there are two major barriers to patients visiting the dentist:

Fear of pain and time required. Completing root canal therapy in one appointment limits fear of pain to one incident and decreases the total time required to complete the treatment.

In conclusion, single-visit endodontics has been shown to be an effective treatment modality, which compared to multiple-visit therapy, is more beneficial to patients and dentists in many ways.

Laser Periodontal Therapy

Conquering and preventing gum disease is easier now than ever before. Newly published research has also cited a link between gum disease and heart disease, respiratory disease and premature child birth. The question is, with all that is available to prevent gum disease, “Why do approximately 80% of American adults have it?” The answer is that many people do not realize they have gum disease because it doesn’t hurt in the early to moderate disease phases.

In periodontal laser therapy, the laser is used to gently disinfect and evaporate inflamed tissues inside the oversized gum pockets. When the area is cleansed, bacterial activity that causes inflammation and eventual bone loss is interrupted, giving the tissues a chance to heal and even re-attach to the tooth thereby reducing the depth of the pocket to a normal level.

Where surgery was indicated in just the very recent past, laser therapy is available with less pain, quicker recovery, and less scarring. While surgery may still be indicated for advanced periodontal disease and grafting purposes, intercepting the disease process in the early phases is a much more conservative, effective, and comfortable option.

An increasing number of medical studies are suggesting a link between gum diseases and how it may affect one’s general health if left untreated.

Periodontal (Gum) Services

All phases of periodontal services are available including:

Laser Periodontal Therapy
Conquering and preventing gum disease is easier now than ever before.

Deep Scaling and Root Planing
Non-Surgical treatments for mild to moderate cases of gum disease.

Periodontal (Osseous) Surgery
for more advanced cases of periodontitis.

Connective Tissue & Free Gingival Grafts
for teeth with severe gum recession.

Crown Lengthening & Gingivectomy

Oral Surgery (Extractions & Implant) Services

Simple & Surgical Extractions
(excluding impacted wisdom teeth.)

Dental Implant Placement
for replacing lost teeth or stabilizing loose dentures.

Bone Grafting procedures
for preserving bone following extractions.

Surgical removal of Benign Oral Cysts
such as fibromas.

Prosthodontic (Denture) Services

Complete (full) and Immediate Dentures: We only use high quality (Trubyte®) denture teeth in all of our dentures. We take special care in choosing the proper shade, shape and size teeth that are right for you so that your smile will look esthetic and natural.

Partial Dentures, (PD): These come in 3 types:
• Conventional/cast PD

This type of PD has a metal framework and is used mainly with patients who have periodontally sound remaining teeth.

• Transitional PD
This type is made of all acrylic and is used mainly with patients who have periodontally compromised remaining teeth. This type of PD can be converted to a complete (full) denture in the future if the remaining teeth are lost.

• Flexible Acrylic PD
This type of PD works great for patients who have had a difficult time adapting to a conventional PD. Patients love this type for its comfort.

Implant Retained Denture
Ideal treatment for patients with loose fitting dentures (especially the lowers). Implants are placed in the jaw and the denture snaps on to the implants. In most cases, your existing dentures can even be used with this service.

Denture Repairs and Relines
for broken or ill-fitting dentures.