Dentistry Cleanings & Prevention The first step to a healthy mouth and a beautiful smile is prevention.

Dental Restorations

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If you want to transform your smile, take a look through our dental restorations pages. We offer numerous ways to gently and easily change the appearance of your smile, or give you back the smile of your youth.
Dental implants can restore missing teeth and gaps in your smile to give you a straight, even smile and improve chewing. One of our newest cosmetic treatments is the zirconium crown, a strong metal-free all white crown that can completely restore the look and feel of your natural tooth.
We can even make dentures or partial dentures in order to give you back both your smile and your biting capabilities. You will look and feel younger than ever before, and your smile will bring you all the confidence in the world.

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White Fillings

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White fillings for cavities, also known as “dental composite resins”, are a beautiful alternative to traditional “silver” fillings.
White fillings simply look much better than the old-fashioned silver fillings. The white fillings can be made to match virtually any tooth color – especially important for pre-teens and teens getting a filling for the first time who are worried about how the new filling will make their smile look.
In some cases silver fillings are still a better choice in treatment and the doctors at Venier Dental Group can advise you at your appointment.

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Braces

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We offer a variety of leading orthodontic treatment options for children and adults. Though patients tend to associate braces with negative feelings, modern technology has made braces more wearable, less noticeable and more comfortable for orthodontic patients.
We have a range of braces options for our patients and will customize a patient's orthodontic treatment program to achieve the maximum aesthetic results with minimum time in braces.
Orthodontic treatment is important in more ways than just for having a pretty smile. Teeth that are crowded and crooked are difficult to brush and floss, which leads to a higher incidence of tooth decay and cavities over the course of a lifetime. Additionally, orthodontic treatment helps align the surfaces of a patient's teeth so they can enjoy normal wear over tooth surfaces, something that is not possible with crooked teeth.
Other health benefits of orthodontic treatment include elimination of chronic headaches, face and neck pains as well as jaw problems and excessive stress on gum tissues that can result from misaligned teeth and jawbones.

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Crowns

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Crowns are tooth shaped coverings used in cosmetic dentistry to restore the natural look of the teeth. They are used when the filling area is too large to be filled with usual filling material. Crowns are also used for fixing the teeth that are badly broken or chipped. Crowns are recommended for root canaled teeth as they may become brittle after the nerve has been removed.
We use porcelain or zirconia crowns for front teeth because they look like natural teeth and have several shades that can be mixed to match the color of the surrounding teeth. Porcelain and zirconia has enamel-like features when it comes to light. Porcelain and zirconia are translucent which makes the tooth with porcelain or zirconia crown look like a natural one.

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Fixed Bridges

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This procedure is used when you have a natural tooth missing. This tooth can be replaced with fixed bridges to maintain the balance and harmony of the remaining teeth. Fixed bridges take support of the natural teeth on both sides of the space and is bonded permanently on these supporting teeth. Your natural smile can be restored by making a porcelain bridge to blend in with your natural teeth.

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Dental Veneers

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The doctors at Venier Dental Group use veneers to help restore the natural look of the teeth. Dental veneers are very thin layers of porcelain or resin shells that are made to cover the surface of the teeth to enhance their look. Enamel of teeth can become worn, dulled or discolored genetically or by age. Veneers are used to fix teeth that are discolored, chipped, broken or irregularly shaped. We use porcelain veneers which are translucent, just like the tooth enamel. When the light gets to the teeth, it moves through the layers of the tooth and reflects from the core. Porcelain has the same feature which makes the teeth look natural. As they are customizable they can improve the teeth by more than just changing their color and shape. Veneers can be made in many different shades to match the surrounding dentition. Although veneers are strong, they may need to be changed after five to ten years.
The process of placing the veneers on the teeth is done in several sessions. The doctors will first examine your teeth to see if they are good candidates as weak and unhealthy teeth are not good candidates for dental veneers. At the next appointment half a millimeter of the dental enamel is removed, and a model of your teeth is made, which will be used to make the veneers. After two weeks special cement is applied to the veneers and they are permanently placed. Veneers that are chipped or cracked cannot be repaired. They would need to be replaced. Your teeth may become more sensitive after placement of veneers as some part of the enamel is removed. Having good oral hygiene is always important as teeth with veneers can still get decay. Book a consultation with the doctors at Venier Dental Group if you are interested in dental veneers and we will see if they are a treatment that can work for you!

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Root Canal Treatment

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Root canal therapy is the treatment of a tooth with diseased or infected nerve. In the past, such a tooth had to be removed. With advancement in dentistry, many of these teeth can now be treated successfully. The dentists at Venier Dental Group will make every effort to save your tooth without causing you any discomfort. We want to help you preserve your natural teeth for good. In some cases a root canal cannot be done in our office in which case we would refer you to an endodontist to have your root canal completed there.

Steps of the Root Canal Procedure

The first step of a root canal procedure is to identify the tooth with the problem. It may not be as simple as it sounds, since sometimes the pain is so strong that it radiates to adjacent teeth, making it difficult to understand where the source of the pain is. In some cases, an x-ray might be needed to provide evidence of a tooth abscess at the end of the infected tooth. Before making the decision to proceed with root canal treatment, the dentist must make sure that the pulp/nerve is not alive. If the tooth does not respond to hot or cold stimuli, it is an indication that the pulp is dead. Sometimes the dentists use a device called electric pulp tester to identify the condition of the pulp. The results of these tests will indicate whether or not an endodontic procedure is necessary.

Preparation for a root canal treatment

If there is inflammation and swelling, the dentist may prescribe an antibiotic and/or anti-inflammatory medicine for some days before starting the root canal procedure. The purpose is to control the infection and to ease the swelling which can make the anesthetic less effective. If the condition is painful, the patient will have to take an over the counter or prescription analgesic to relieve the tooth pain until the root canal can be started. The next step is to take an x-ray to check the shape of the root canals and determine if there are any signs of infection in the surrounding bone.

Gaining access to the dental pulp

In order to perform the root canal treatment, the dentist must gain access to the infected pulp area inside the tooth. First, the dentist will remove any tooth decay from the crown of the tooth. Then, an opening is drilled through the tooth crown into the pulp chamber, over the position where the dentist expects to find the nerve. On the back teeth the access hole is made on the chewing surface of the tooth, while in front teeth the hole is made on the back of the tooth, to keep it out of sight. Opening the dental pulp chamber relieves the pressure inside the tooth and can offer significant pain relief.

Cleaning the root canals

After the canals have been measured, the dentist or endodontist will start the cleaning procedure that involves the removal of bacteria, nerve and dead tissue debris from the interior of the tooth. First, any remaining pulp tissues are removed from the pulp chamber with the use of a slow speed hand piece (drill). After the pulp chamber is cleaned the dentist inserts endodontic files into the root canal to remove the nerve from inside the canal. When the nerve is removed, the root canal has to be slightly enlarged, shaped and smoothed for the correct application of the filling material in the next step.

The dentist or endodontist will start with a very thin file followed by progressively larger diameter files until the entire mass of the nerve is removed and the sides of the root canals are made smooth and clean. After each pass with the endodontic files, the pulp chamber and the root canals are irrigated with a solution in order to wash out bacteria, dead tissue and debris, and to sterilize and chemically neutralize any dead tissue that may be missed by the files. Instead of bleach solution, some dentists use a solution of chlorhexidine. Cleaning the root canals is the most critical part of the dental root canal procedure. The dentist has to be careful to clean all the infected tissue, not miss any root canal or branch of a canal and use the files exactly up to the measured length of the root canal, no less – no more. The procedure is usually performed by the dentist by hand, moving up and down and twisting the endodontic file inside the root canal, in order to scrape and scrub the sides of the canal. Other options include the attachment of the file to a low speed hand piece or using ultrasonic equipment. The cleaning phase of a root canal procedure might need more than one appointment, especially in cases when the dentist suspects that the root canals are branched in a way that infected tissue and bacteria might be left in areas that the dentist cannot see or the files can’t reach. In these cases, the dentist will put antimicrobial medication in the pulp and canal area to kill any remaining bacteria and will use a temporary filling to protect the tooth until the next visit. The dentist may decide to leave the tooth open for a few days to allow drainage of a periapical abscess and prescribe an antibiotic to stop the infection. If the infection is not controlled until the next appointment, the process is repeated.

Filling the root canals

For a root canal treatment to be successful, the tooth should never be permanently filled and sealed before it is completely free of active infection. Some dentists wait for a week or more after the root canal procedure before they proceed to the filling of the tooth but this is not always necessary. If a dentist is sure that the infection is sustained and the tooth is completely cleared, there is no problem in finishing the root canal treatment in one single appointment. When the dentist decides that it is safe, he will dry the interior of the root canals with paper points and start to fill them with a permanent root canal filling material. The material used for the filling is often a biocompatible rubber-like material called “gutta percha” in combination with an antibacterial cement (sealer). Gutta percha is a pink colored root canal filling material shaped in cones that come in different diameters in order to match the files which are used to clean out the inside of the tooth and fit exactly to each root canal. The creamy sealer is inserted first in the root canal or it is applied to the cone's surface. Then the dentist inserts the gutta percha cone carefully into the canal exactly up to the tip of the root. This is the phase where the measuring of root canal’s length and diameter, done in previous phases comes to use. Additional gutta percha cones may be placed besides the first one to fill the entire root canal. The dentist uses the gutta percha cones to put pressure on the soft creamy cement so that it is forced against the canal’s walls and into every tiny branch of the canal. The purpose of the process is to seal completely the canal from its environment, to prevent bacteria from entering the tooth in the future. Sometimes the gutta percha is warmed (or applied with a thermal ‘gun’) to better adapt to the precise shape of the interior of the tooth. If the tooth has suffered significant damage from tooth decay and it is unable to support a crown, the dentist will place a metal post in the pulp chamber to provide structural support for the crown restoration. As soon as the root canals are filled, the opening at the crown of the tooth can be sealed with a permanent filling but usually a temporary filling or crown is used until a permanent restoration may be made. After the tooth is sealed, the root canal treatment is considered completed. The crown of the tooth should then be restored with a permanent filling or crown within a relatively short time.

Restoring the Tooth after Root Canal

After the completion of the root canal procedure only the interior of the tooth is treated. The external surface of the crown has to be restored for the tooth to get back its form and functionality. The final tooth restoration should not be postponed for a long time (no more than a month) because it increases the risks of a re-contamination of the tooth. Another problem is that the tooth remains weak until restored, and it will fracture easily if pressured. Depending on the general condition of the tooth and the amount of tooth structure lost, the dentist will decide if a permanent composite filling is enough or a crown should be placed. Endodontically treated teeth often become brittle with time after treatment. Crowning the tooth is usually safer, especially if a molar is involved. A crown is cemented on the tooth to strengthen its structure and improve appearance, by a general dentist or a prosthodontist. After a properly performed root canal procedure and restoration, a treated tooth can function normally for a lifetime.

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Periodontal Treatment

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Periodontal disease (or gum disease) is primarily caused by bacterial plaque, although several other factors like genetics, smoking, tobacco consumption and medical conditions like diabetes and AIDS can also cause periodontal disease. The initial symptoms of this disease are bleeding gums and bad breath. It is usually a painless disease and may go unnoticed until it is too late.
The doctors at Venier Dental Group perform periodontal therapy on patients diagnosed with early periodontal disease. Scaling and root planing procedures are used to remove deep tartar. Periodic maintenance appointments are scheduled until optimum results are achieved. We also educate our patients about home health care to achieve these optimum results.

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Periodontal Disease

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Brushing and flossing is very important, as the doctors and staff at Venier Dental Group always advise. But sometimes the lack of brushing and flossing or certain conditions can cause periodontal desease.
Periodontal disease happens when the tissues supporting the teeth get infected. Tobacco, defective fillings, crooked teeth, poorly fitting crowns, bridges, or dentures, some medicine such as cancer therapy drugs, oral contraceptives, and disease such as diabetes are common causes of these infections. Bleeding of gums, loosening of teeth, reddening and swelling of the gums and persistent bad breath or taste of the mouth are usual symptoms of periodontal disease.
The doctors at Venier Dental Group can evaluate your periodontal condition. If caught early enough, the doctors at Venier Dental Group will be able to perform the proper kind of gum treatment to eliminate the infection as soon as possible, before any irreversible damage is made to the teeth or their roots.
Two kinds of gum treatments are used in periodontics; surgical and nonsurgical. Also, different levels of treatment, depending on the severity of the disease, are performed by the family dentist. One procedure is root planing, which is one of the non-surgical gum treatments. The bacteria and infection are removed from the gum, which provides an environment healthy enough for the gums to heal. Applying medication to the place of infection is another way which was developed recently due to the advancements achieved in the field on gum disease.
There are also oral medications that bolster the response of body immune system to the bacteria causing the infection. All these medications are antibiotics that are applied either directly to the gum, taken orally or used as a mouthwash to help cure the gums.
If these methods cannot control the infection or the damage to the teeth and gums are severe, you may need to have surgery. We would refer you to a Periodontist for treatment. One of the surgical methods they may use is gingivectomy, in which the diseased gums are removed so that there are no more pockets for the bacteria to accumulate. Another method they may use is a flap procedure in which the roots are cleaned and damages are repaired.
If teeth or their roots are severely damaged, we would need to extract the damaged teeth. You may need to take antibiotics after the surgery as well to make sure the gum treatment is complete and totally cured.
The doctors at Venier Dental Group can evaluate your periodontal condition and treat you or refer you to a specialist, as needed.

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Tooth Extraction

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Tooth extraction is the last resort when a tooth is severely fractured or decayed and cannot be restored. The dentists at Venier Dental Group can provide our patients who are nervous about extractions with relaxation techniques during this procedure. We use the latest equipment and procedures to ensure that you are in utmost comfort. Patients are given detailed instructions and are informed about the few simple rules to help promote healing and prevent any complications.

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Implants

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Dental implants are small screws designed to replace the root of a tooth and restore the physical appearance and the chewing function of patients with partial or full tooth loss. Dental implants are intended for use in either the upper and/or the lower jaw to support prosthetic devices, such as artificial teeth. By integrating with the jaw, they enable restorations that range from replacement of one single tooth to an entire arch of bridgework, or as stabilizing elements for overdenture applications. Dental implants are manufactured from titanium, which is both biocompatible and strong.

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Are you a good candidate for dental implants?

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Patients must undergo a medical evaluation to determine whether the implant placement procedure poses any health risks, and whether any factors exist that may affect the healing capacity of either their bones or their associated soft tissues.

Who can receive dental implants?

Patients who are medically fit to participate in a general oral surgical procedure.

Who should carefully consider dental implants?

Patients who have medical or other conditions that may interfere with the healing process of either their bones or soft tissues (e.g., connective tissue disorders, steroid therapy, bone infections, cigarette smoking) must carefully evaluate, with their dentists, the potential risks and benefits of using dental implants.

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Precautions for implant treatment

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Dental implants should not be used in patients that have inadequate amounts of bone to permit placement of implants in sufficient size and numbers to support their biomechanical loads. Mechanical failures, including fatigue fracture of implants, prosthetic screws, and/or abutment screws, may occur if dental implants are insufficient in size or number to support their biomechanical loads, or are not properly positioned. To reduce the risk of overload or fatigue failure, dentists must place the implants and design prosthetics to accommodate the physical or medical conditions of their patients, such as bruxism (i.e., grinding or clenching of teeth) or unfavourable jaw relationships.

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