Our Services

Teeth Whitening

Your teeth may darken over time. Changes to the genetically determined color of your teeth may be caused by age, medication, illness, tobacco, food and beverages. Restoring and enhancing your natural white smile has been a common procedure at our practice since 1988. Our methods will not harm your teeth in any way. We use a combination of topical gels delivered in custom-fitted trays to make teeth whitening comfortable and efficient. We will choose from a variety of options the method and regimen designed and supervised uniquely for you.

Our techniques, with proven safety, can effectively whiten your teeth when it’s most convenient for you, whether you’re sitting at home, watching TV or driving to work. In only 30 minutes, twice a day, for 10-16 days, you can have the bright white smile you’ve always wanted. The results are long lasting too!

Digital X-Rays

Since 2000, we have offered one of the latest technological advances in dentistry, digital radiography (X-rays). A sensor is placed in the mouth, and a computer generates an image in seconds as opposed to the general 10 minute wait time for images taken on dental film. These X-rays can also be enhanced on the computer and enlarged.

Not only are they friendly to the environment, they are much safer than traditional X-rays. Digital radiographs reduce radiation exposure by 90 percent! Peggy, our senior hygienist, is a certified trainer for the Dexis digital x-ray system.

Porcelain Veneers/Lumineers

Veneers are thin, semi-translucent "shells" typically attached to your front teeth. Veneers are customized from porcelain material and securely bonded to your teeth. Veneers are a great option to improve the appearance of your smile.

Common problems that veneers are used for:

• Spaces between the teeth
• Broken or chipped teeth
• Unsightly, stained or discolored teeth
• Permanently stained or discolored teeth
• Crooked or misshapen teeth

Veneers are a great aesthetic solution to your smile that may even help you avoid orthodontic treatment. Dramatic changes to your smile can be achieved with veneers, and in most cases, veneer application is completed in only two office visits.

“Lumineers” is one type of porcelain. Dr. LoPrete has provided porcelain veneers for over 20 years and will recommend the type best for you including Lumineers. For more information visit www.lumineers.com.

Please contact our office if you have any further questions on veneers.

Crowns

A crown is a permanent covering that fits over an original tooth that is either decayed, damaged or cracked. Crowns are made of a variety of different materials such as porcelain, gold, acrylic resin or a mix of these materials. Porcelain generally has the most natural appearance, although it is often less durable. A full crown covers the tooth completely to the gumline. A partial crown, often called an onlay, replaces the damaged portion of the tooth and preserves as much of the natural healthy tooth as possible.

The treatment plan for a patient receiving a crown involves:

1. Numbing the tooth to remove the decay in or around it.
2. Re-sculpturing the tooth to provide an ideal fit for the crown.
3. Making an impression of your teeth in order to create a custom-made crown (usually takes one to two weeks).
4. Making a temporary crown out of acrylic resin and fitting it onto the tooth during the interim period when the permanent custom-made crown is being created.
5. Applying the permanent crown (when received from the lab) by removing the temporary crown and fitting the permanent one onto the tooth.
6. After ensuring that the crown has the proper look and fit, the dentist cements it into place.

This process generally consists of a minimum of 2-3 visits over a three to four week period.

Once the procedure is completed, proper dental hygiene, including daily brushing and flossing, is required to maintain healthy, bacteria-free teeth, gums and crowns. This helps in the prevention of gum disease. Given proper care, your crowns can last a lifetime.

Bridges

A bridge is a dental prosthesis that fills a space that a tooth previously occupied. A bridge may be necessary to prevent:

• Shifting of the teeth that can lead to bite problems (occlusion) and/or jaw problems and resultant periodontal disease.
• Bridges safeguard the integrity of existing teeth and help maintain a healthy, vibrant smile.

There are three main types of bridges, namely:

• Fixed bridge- this is the most popular and consists of a filler tooth that is attached to two crowns, which fit over the existing teeth and hold the bridge in place.
• The “Maryland” bridge is commonly used to replace missing front teeth and consists of a filler that is attached to metal bands that are bonded to the abutment teeth. The metal bands consist of a white-colored composite resin that matches existing tooth color.
• The Cantilever bridge is often used when there are teeth on only one side of the span. A typical three-unit cantilever bridge consists of two crowned teeth positioned next to each other on the same side of the missing tooth space. The filler tooth is then connected to the two crowned teeth, which extend into the missing tooth space or end.

Bonding

Bonding is a common solution for:

• Fixing or repairing chipped or cracked teeth
• Reducing unsightly gaps or spaces between teeth
• Hiding discoloration or faded areas on the tooth’s surface

Often used to improve the appearance of your teeth and enhance your smile. As the name indicates, composite material, either a plastic or resin, is bonded to an existing tooth. Unlike veneers or crowns, composite bonding removes little, if any, of the original tooth.

Composite bonding has many advantages:

• It is a quick process, which typically lasts less than one hour.
• It does not reduce the tooth’s original structure and is relatively inexpensive.
• Composite resins come in many different shades and provide better matching of shades to the natural color of your teeth.
• Composite bonds, however, are not as durable and long-lasting as veneers and crowns and may need to be re-touched or replaced in the future.

Composite bonds stain more easily and therefore require proper care and regular cleaning. In order to ensure the longest possible duration of the bonding, composites should be brushed and flossed daily. Common staining elements include coffee, tea, tobacco, foods and candy.

Oral Cancer Detection

Oral cancer is a devastating disease and like any cancer, early diagnosis is critical to successful treatment. Because treatment outcomes for oral cancer have not improved in more than 40 years, Dr. LoPrete and our hygienists emphasize careful oral cancer exams. In addition to examination, we recommend and offer tissue illumination and staining to reveal cellular changes in the oral mucosa. Areas of concern can then be further evaluated by a simple brush biopsy (www.oralcdx.com) or referred for a conventional biopsy. For further information, go to www.vizilite.com/about/.

Sterilized Water System

All water that enters your mouth from all of our instrumentation is completely sterilized by our automatic centralized PureLine water purification system. The manufacturer, Sterisil, supplies their equipment to the U. S. military as well as numerous medical and dental institutions. Our system contains 7 different stages including reverse osmosis and ultraviolet sterilization. The water is plumbed to our dental equipment with new bacterial suppressant tubing and a residual disinfectant. It is completely safe for your care and confidence.

Invisalign

Introducing Invisalign® — The Straightest Way to a Great Smile

Invisalign straightens your teeth without wires and brackets, using a series of clear, customized, removable appliances called aligners. It’s virtually undetectable, which means hardly anyone will know that you’re straightening your teeth.

Clearly Different
The Invisalign System combines advanced 3-D computer graphics technology with 100-year-old science of orthodontics. Invisalign aligners are designed to move your teeth in small steps to the desired final position prescribed by your orthodontist. Each aligner is precisely calibrated and manufactured to fit your mouth at each stage of the treatment plan. Your first step is to visit our office to determine if Invisalign is right for you. After sending precise treatment instructions, Invisalign uses advanced computer technology to translate these instructions in a sequence of finely calibrated aligners -- as few as 12 or as many as 48. Each aligner is worn for about two weeks and only taken out to eat, brush and floss. As you replace each aligner with the next, your teeth will begin to move gradually -- week-by-week until the final alignment prescribed is attained. Then you'll be smiling like you never have before!

If you want to learn more about Invisalign and how it works, please visit the Invisalign Homepage.

To ensure the best possible results, only an orthodontist who has been trained and certified by Align Technology can diagnose and treat using Invisalign. Invisalign is not intended for children and is not appropriate for every adult. Only an orthodontist can determine if this treatment is an effective option for you.

Dental implants

Dental implants are artificial tooth replacements that were first perfected half a century ago by a Swedish scientist named Per-Ingvar Branemark. Implants arose from the patient’s need to secure loose-fitting dentures. Since the advent of the implant, engineering enhancements have enabled dentists to expand the implant’s usefulness, including the replacement of missing or lost teeth. Today, implant techniques provide a wide range of tooth replacement solutions including:

• Single Tooth Replacement
• Multiple Tooth Replacement
• Full or Partial Removable Denture Anchorage

The root form implant—by far, the most popular—is the most effective because it mirrors the size and shape of a patient’s natural tooth. This implant is often as strong as the patient’s original tooth. The implant or artificial root is placed into the jawbone under local anesthesia, then allowed to heal and integrate with the bone. Once the healing process is completed and the jawbone is attached to the implant, the patient returns to the dental office where the implant is fitted with the new tooth. This process generally takes anywhere from three to eight months.

The Implant As a Treatment Option
If the missing tooth space has no surrounding teeth, or the surrounding teeth are very healthy, the dentist may decide an implant is the most appropriate treatment choice.

Post Implant Care
Although proper oral hygiene is always recommended for maintaining good dental health, it is especially important when a patient has received a dental implant. Bacteria can attack sensitive areas in the mouth when teeth and gums are not properly cleaned, thus causing gums to swell and jaw bones to gradually recede. Recession of the jawbone will weaken implants and eventually make it necessary for the implant to be removed. Patients are advised to visit their dentists at least twice a year to ensure the health of their teeth and implants. Dental implants can last for decades when given proper care.

Root Canal

A root canal is a procedure that removes degenerating or infected pulp from the central part of the tooth, reshapes the canal and replaces it with strengthening filler.

A cavity is the result of superficial decay of the enamel of the tooth. Left long enough, this decay can burrow into the deeper reaches of the tooth, causing extensive damage to tooth structure. When the damage goes beyond what can be treated with a filling, dentists can perform a root canal (or endodontics), preserving the tooth and retaining its original integrity; thereby, saving a tooth that in the past would have to have been pulled.

Procedure:

• The patient undergoes anesthesia.
• A dental dam is used to isolate the tooth.
• The tooth is opened to allow for removal of infected or dead dental pulp.
• The tooth is comprehensively cleaned, including any cracks and canals.
• With special tools, the doctor reshapes the canals.
• The tooth is filled again with cutting edge biocompatible filling material.
• A temporary covering is used to cover the access opening.
• This process generally takes 1 or 2 visits about 2 weeks apart.
• The tooth is definitively restored to maintain its structural integrity.

Apicoectomy
Also known as a root-end resection, an apicoectomy literally means the removal of the root end of the root of the tooth. This surgical procedure, done following a root canal, treats the bony area surrounding the end of your tooth, which has become inflamed or infected. By folding back the gum near the tooth, the doctor can access the underlying bone and remove the inflamed tissue. At the same time, the very tip of the root is removed and usually replaced with a small plug or filling. At this time, the doctor may treat the area with antibiotics and will then close the area with a small suture. Eventually, the jaw surrounding the tooth will fill in with bone, supporting the tooth as before. This procedure helps ensure the lasting result of your endodontic treatment.

Private Treatment Suite

Our private, closed treatment suite gives us flexibility and comfort for those patients needing sedation, extended time procedures or mobility equipment. The larger area easily accommodates a parent, child, spouse, translator or care-aid person during treatment.

Emerging Technology

Our facility is designed to accommodate the wonderful new technology emerging in dental care. It may be as subtle as hygienists using magnification and line-of-site illumination or as dramatic as our digital x-ray and intraoral imaging displays.

Dr. LoPrete never hesitates when new technology promises and is proven to enhance the care of his patients. This attitude keeps us on the leading edge of dental practices.

Translation

Our staff member Stela is from Brazil. She speaks Portuguese and Spanish and can help with patients that have this need.