**PROMOTIONSS***

For those who are having trouble opening the picture, it states that our office is running a promotion for new patients. This is how it works, all new patients can come in for a cleaning, exam, and full x-rays for a VERY low price of $99.00 only. We also have a promotion for our existing patients; if you referr a friend or family member and they come in for any sort of treatment in our office, you will get $20 dental dollars. The $20 dental dollars can be applied to any services rendered in our office,they can be saved up and used later on as well or they can be applied to any other patients in the same account or family. There are no limits to how many dental dollars you may earn or use. However, they cannot be credited. For any questions, comments, or concerns please give us a call at 631 724 0094

"DENTAL TIP" something to always consider before choosing a dentist

Responsible Esthetics

Cosmetic dentistry has been around a long time but has changed dramatically over the years. In the Forties, Hollywood starlets would get their teeth capped so that they were “ready for their close-ups Mr. DeMille”. Because techniques and materials were limited back then, much of the tooth structure had to be sacrificed to obtain an acceptable result. Dentistry progressed through the years and great improvements were made for patient comfort and higher quality care.
But it wasn’t until the early eighties when predicable bonding to teeth was achieved that the modern era of cosmetic dentistry really began. There is a lot of confusion over the term “bonding”. I often hear people say “I had my teeth bonded”, but that could really mean many things. Bonding really refers to the method by which dentist adhere materials to tooth structure. Most commonly the esthetic materials we bond are composite and porcelain.

With composite and porcelain; crowns, fillings and veneers can be bonded to the teeth for natural looking tooth colored restorations. Porcelain veneers are thin shells of porcelain which are bonded over the teeth became very popular because patients were able to receive “smile makeovers” in a few visits, producing dramatic changes in shape and color. This power to transform a person’s smile had its consequences. In my opinion we became too aggressive and not open to consider other more conservative options.

The present era of responsible esthetics aims to achieve excellent cosmetic results while minimizing the removal of healthy tooth structure. Direct composites material can be used to mimic tooth structure so well, many times any preparation of the tooth can be avoided. Porcelain veneers can be made so thin now that no preparation or addition only restorations are possible. The use of adjunctive services such as orthodontics and implant also enable the dentist to provide less invasive and irreversible treatment in the pursuit of beautiful and healthy smiles.

“With great power, comes great responsibility.” --- Spiderman

Helpful dental tip for those with a "GUMMY SMILE" :S

The Gummy Smile


Many patients come in with a complaint of a “gummy smile” and want to know if it can be fixed. The answer is yes, however a determination of what caused the gummy smile must first be diagnosed. Once a diagnosis is made the various treatment options for that specific case can be discussed.

Some causes of gummy smile (excess gingival display) are very common and the treatments can be easily accomplished. Many times, during development the front teeth don’t fully erupt and a portion of the tooth remains below the gum line. In these cases the teeth appear short but once the excess gum is removed they have a normal appearance and less gum shows with smiling. The next most common occurrence is related to the skeletal or bony development of the upper jaw. If the upper jaw grows more than the lower you can get the typical “buck teeth” appearance with accompanying excess gum. Typically this can only be treated with orthodontics and in some cases orthognathic surgery where the jaw must be repositioned.

The lips can also contribute to a gummy smile. A hyper-mobile lip is when the muscles used for smiling pull too hard and causes the lip to go up higher than it should. A short upper lip is just that, and in that case the upper lip is not long enough to cover the upper teeth. These are less common and until recently not routinely treated. With the advent of Botox injections for numerous applications, success in treated lip related gummy smiles has been achieved.

What looks good can be very subjective. Studies have been done and there is a range of how much gum can show before a smile is considered unattractive. For women some gum showing is acceptable and often times desirable, ala Julia Roberts. On the other hand what really matters is how you feel about yourself, for example Katie Couric the poster child for gummy smiles, did quite well with her smile.

NDA case of the month before and after picture

No prep porcelain veneers. My philosphy of minimally invasive dentistry extends to cosmetics as well. When possible my goal is to create natural esthetics without damaging tooth structure. With proper planing and execution results like these are predictable.

before and after picture

If you have an old bonded filling that doesn't blend seemlessly, new composites can be made to mimic natural tooth with conservative techniques that preserve your natural tooth sturcture."