Initial Appointments and Treatment Options
Treatment Options
Our Astonishing Progress in Preventing Root Canal Treatment
Through a triangulation of deep knowledge of dental adhesion principles, ozone therapy (to kill the cavity-causing germs) and the extreme precision of working in the Operating Microscope, we have made incredible gains in our ability to maintain vitality of the pulps in our patients’ teeth. The pulp is the small band of living tissue deep inside each of our teeth. It’s involved in the growth of the tooth when we are children, and remains through adulthood. Often, unfortunately, to cause us trouble.
Why the trouble? Situations like deep decay, trauma or gum disease can all cause infection in the pulp. Such infections are what cause patients to require root canal therapy in order to save the tooth.
Since adding ozone to our treatment protocol in 2016, Dr. Wilson has kept record of each patient with deep decay where there was as yet no infection, and where a direct restoration of the tooth was performed; not a full crown. In one thousand and one cases to date (5/1/2024), only thirteen have required root canal treatment after our great efforts to prevent it. In many high-tech practices, the rate of needing root canal treatment on such teeth would be over fifty percent; in practices where silver amalgam fillings or poor quality adhesion is practiced, most such teeth would have required root canal treatment.
Maintaining healthy tooth pulps is one of our most energetic goals, and we achieve that goal at a rate that far exceeds the baseline standard of care.
Preventative Care
Oral health maintenance is far less costly than treatment, by any means you want to measure it. There’s financial cost, of course, and if teeth are lost or broken down, there’s also the loss of function and the beauty of our smiles. We look forward to working together to maintain your health and prevent dental problems; we know that healthy teeth are central to so many of life’s pleasures.
We have also created the “Caries Clock” as an educational tool to help prevent cavities in our modern sugar-laden culture. Especially, to help parents in teaching their children about decay prevention. Behavior is notoriously difficult to change; our clock gets people thinking about how they eat and drink as well as what they eat and drink.
Gum Care and Treatment
We help you prevent gum disease, and provide treatments when disease occurs. Gum disease, or periodontitis, is caused by germs in the plaque that forms on our teeth and if untreated leads to a melting away of the jawbone, loose, unsightly teeth and tooth loss. Preventing gum disease is vitally important.
Root Canal Treatment
Root canal is a procedure used to treat infections inside of our teeth, in the delicate pulp, which is often unable to stand up to injuries brought against it by cavities, gum disease and trauma. Adopting four modern technologies has allowed us to completely re-invent this storied dental procedure. We do root canal treatment by use of an operating microscope so that your tooth is magnified and flooded with light. Our modern rotary instruments completely remove infected pulp from the tooth, and we irrigate with the new EndoVac system, which vastly improves post-op comfort by safely drawing out even microscopic debris. Then we fill with bioceramic sealing materials, the finest yet devised to keep further infection out of your tooth.
Dental Crowns
There are times when a tooth simply cannot be maintained with a big filling any longer. There’s just too much damage, and chewing many hundreds of times per day exerts enormous pressures on teeth. In these situations a dental crown can often save your tooth. A crown surrounds the top and all sides of a tooth with ceramic materials. We don’t take these treatments lightly, but when they’re warranted, they bring a welcome second life to worn, broken and heavily filled teeth. And they look better as well.
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Dental Implants
We don’t mind saying that you’ll find dental implants in the mouths of one of the doctors and a number of our staff. That’s how much we believe in them. Dental implants consist of a titanium artificial substitute for the root of a tooth, and then the actual crown that replaces the missing teeth in function and appearance. We restore dental implants, as well as refer to our periodontist and oral surgeon colleagues for the surgical placement of dental implants.
Dentures – Full and Partial Removable
In situations where many or all teeth are missing, partial and full dentures remain a valuable treatment option. Carefully designed full dentures that are supported by mini-implants are remarkable, beautiful and long-lasting restorations. You’ll find your chewing power (and eating pleasure) restored.
Invisalign
Invisalign is a tray-based tooth movement system. Many adult patients have teeth that are, taken individually, absolutely beautiful. It is inappropriate to mask severely crowded and uneven teeth with dental restorations like veneers or crowns. A far healthier and long-lasting option is to move your teeth into their proper positions. We perform Invisalign treatment where appropriate, and refer to the finest orthodontists when braces are the best treatment option.
Night Guards
Night guards provide protection and relief for those patients who grind their teeth excessively at night. With a protective appliance, you won’t wear your teeth away and your muscles and joints won’t suffer from high levels of strain. There’s nothing about eating your own teeth that makes sense.
Children
We welcome children in our practice. And yet, the finest, most innovative pediatric dentist in the region practices just blocks from us.
She is:
Maria Cordero-Ricardo, D.M.D., M.S., M.P.H.
2000 Hamilton St Suite 304, Philadelphia, PA 19130
(267) 507-1064
https://www.phillypediatricdental.com
Sealants
We wish we could provide anti-decay armor for every part of every child’s tooth. Well, in the grooves on the biting surfaces of the back teeth, we can. Sealants are like fillings, only there’s no cavity first. We coat the tooth and seal over those grooves with a thin, bonded filling material. This protects one vulnerable area of a child’s tooth from decay.
Research and Its Implementation
We are a progressive dental office, actively seeking information on the latest developments, both in approaches to care and dental technology. We look forward to working with you using the most proven, innovative practices.