Advanced Dental Services

Using dentures to replace missing teeth is not only great for your oral health but it’s a great way to look and feel younger! Today, there are a variety of natural-looking and comfortable dentures for patients who need to replace missing teeth. Made of a gum-colored plastic resin or acrylic base and either resin or porcelain replacement teeth, dentures are custom designed to fit your mouth. If you have several teeth or all teeth missing on the upper or lower jaw, full dentures may be your best option. Partial dentures, which can be either fixed or removable, are great for patients who have several missing teeth scattered along the upper or lower jaw.

The process of getting dentures may take a few months and several dental visits. In some cases, however, same-day dentures are also possible. With same-day dentures, the dentures are created right in the dentist’s office instead of at an offsite laboratory. Same-day dentures aren’t for everyone, though. If your dentures require a lot of customization, same-day dentures may not be right for you.

Just as with your natural teeth, dentures require daily maintenance. With regular wear and tear, your dentures can last five to seven years. During that time, you may need periodic denture relines to accommodate changes in the contours of your mouth. Regular denture relines involve resurfacing the base to ensure that your dentures fit and function perfectly. If you break your dentures, it’s critical to bring them to your dentist for professional denture repair. Home denture repair kits can cause more damage and be even more costly to fix.

Oral surgery is an umbrella term for surgical treatments such as dental implants, wisdom teeth extractions and bone grafting. Dental implants—an excellent solution for missing teeth—are surgically placed tooth roots that hold dental crowns in place. A wisdom tooth extraction may be recommended if there isn’t enough room in your mouth to accommodate wisdom teeth and they become impacted, partially erupted or infected. Bone grafting transfers bone from one part of the jaw to another, usually to accommodate a dental implant. While a general dentist can perform some oral surgery procedures, an oral surgeon is required for others.

Sedation Dentistry: Relax and Feel Comfortable

At Legacy Dental, we understand that visiting the dentist can cause anxiety for some patients. To help you feel at ease during your dental procedures, we offer sedation options designed to ensure your comfort and relaxation.

Our Sedation Options:

1. Valium (Oral Sedation)
   Valium, a mild sedative, can be prescribed to help calm nerves before your dental appointment. Taken orally, it helps patients relax and reduces anxiety, allowing for a more pleasant dental experience. The effects typically last long enough to keep you comfortable throughout the procedure.
2. Nitrous Oxide (Laughing Gas)
   Nitrous oxide, commonly known as “laughing gas,” is inhaled through a small mask placed over your nose. It helps you relax almost instantly, and its effects wear off quickly after the procedure, so you’ll be able to go about your day as usual.

Why Choose Sedation Dentistry?

Sedation can be a great option if you experience:

• Dental anxiety or fear
• A sensitive gag reflex
• Difficulty sitting still for extended periods
• A complex or lengthy dental procedure

Our team is trained to administer these sedation methods safely and monitor your comfort throughout the entire process. If you think sedation might be right for you, schedule a consultation with us to discuss the best option tailored to your needs.

If you’ve been living with persistent jaw pain, ear pain and headaches, you could have TMJ—temporomandibular jaw disorder. TMJ can often be traced back to an improper bite, misaligned jaw joints or an injury to the jaw or face. TMJ treatment from a dentist can relieve the discomfort. Although TMJ treatment varies from patient to patient, it typically involves one or several procedures, including the use of an orthotic splint, enamel reshaping, dental crowns, dental braces or night guards. The goal of TMJ treatment is to stabilize your bite so that your teeth, jaw muscles and jaw joints work properly together without strain—and without pain!

Sleep apnea is a serious, potentially life threatening sleep disorder. It is as common as adult diabetes and affects more than 12 million Americans. The Greek work apnea means “want of breath”. Sleep apnea refers to episodes in which a person stops breathing for 10 seconds or more during sleep. With each episode, the sleeper briefly wakes up in order to resume breathing, resulting in extremely fragmented, poor quality sleep.

There are three types, all of which can severely disrupt the regular sleep cycle. Obstructive Apnea (OSA) is the most common type and involves the walls of your throat relaxing as you sleep, however in this condition they relax to the point where the airway collapses and prevents air from flowing into the nose and mouth, but efforts to breath continue.

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Red, swollen gums are a red flag for one thing: gum disease. If you have the symptoms, you’re not alone. More than 80% of adults have some form of gum disease. Fortunately, there are many effective and pain-free gum disease treatments. For gingivitis, the mildest form of gum disease, treatment typically involves a thorough dental cleaning, followed by daily brushing and flossing. Advanced gum disease—also known as periodontal disease—requires scaling and root planing to remove stubborn deposits below the gum line. Laser gum surgery, a new alternative to scaling and root planing, uses beams of high-speed light to remove plaque and tartar buildup. If non-surgical methods of gum disease treatment are ineffective, a gingivectomy or periodontal surgery may be necessary.

It’s almost impossible to feel confident when you smile if you’re missing teeth. Cosmetic dental implants can change that. With cosmetic dental implants, you get the best in function and aesthetics. Cosmetic dental implants are securely anchored in the jaw bone for maximum comfort and durability. The replacement tooth, or dental crown, is made of tooth-colored porcelain so that your cosmetic dental implants look, feel and function just like your real teeth!

Dental implants can be used to replace a single missing tooth or many. They are a wonderfully permanent alternative to dentures that make the patient feel more confident in his/her teeth. They can also be used to replace just the bottom dentures. This can be a great remedy for those bothersome lower dentures that just don’t want to stay in place.