Local Dental Care for Access Dental
Shannon Dental Health Center
Appointments: (509) 783-0824
Michael Shannon D.M.D.
Shannon Dental Health Center
800 North Center Parkway
Kennewick, WA 99336
A negative self image can be detrimental to many facets of your life. Kennewick area dentist Dr. Michael Shannon understands the positive life-changing power that a healthy and beautiful smile can bring to you. Here at Shannon Dental Health Center, we don't want you to be embarrassed any longer. Why not take your smile - and even your life - to a new level of self-confidence and beauty?
Dr. Michael Shannon at his Kennewick dentistry practice is pleased to offer you a free smile analysis if you are 18 years old or older. Our friendly and professional team will make you feel comfortable and welcome.
We'll answer your questions and assess your dental needs to achieve long term oral health. Our goal is to make your visit enjoyable, and to give you the smile you deserve.
Would you like your smile to be a bit brighter than it is right now? We can make it happen at Shannon Dental Health Center, with professional tooth whitening for brighter natural looking teeth. Dr. Michael Shannon's Kennewick, WA area office can effectively lighten your stained or discolored tooth enamel. Whiter teeth not only look great, they improve your self-confidence.
If you want a gorgeous smile that turns heads, you may want to learn about the range of dental services offered at Shannon Dental Health Center. Kennewick area cosmetic dentist Dr. Michael Shannon is dedicated to producing quality results and beautiful smiles.
One of the first things people notice is your smile. All it takes is a single appointment or two with Kennewick area dentist Michael Shannon, D.M.D., and you, too, can have the winning, healthy-looking smile you've always wanted. The beautiful cosmetic results you'll get from Shannon Dental Health Center can be immediate and dramatic!
Leesburg Dental
Appointments: (703) 777-2442
Jose Loza D.D.S.
Leesburg Dental
602 S. King St. Suite 302
Leesburg, VA 20175
Dr. Jose Loza, practicing in the Leesburg, VA area, can provide you with the highest quality dental crowns available, and restore your smile. Using state-of-the-art materials and cutting-edge techniques, Dr. Loza can make your smile look healthy and natural again.
Leesburg Dental offers designated handicap parking spaces for the exclusive use of vehicles displaying handicap hangtags or disabled license plates. Conveniently located in the Leesburg, Virginia area, Dr. Jose Loza provides general dentistry and offers fully accessible facilities.
If you're looking for a more pleasing, silver-free smile, you'll want Leesburg area dentist Dr. Jose Loza to replace your amalgam fillings with natural-looking composite fillings. Tooth-colored fillings are thought to be safer and more attractive than older silver amalgam fillings. Dr. Loza will precisely match your new tooth-colored composite fillings with the natural color of your teeth, providing you with virtually invisible fillings.
Leesburg Dental practices the highest infection control standards to protect our patients and ourselves. In the Leesburg, VA area, Dr. Jose Loza and his staff strictly observe all Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines. All instruments are cleaned, disinfected and routinely sterilized as recommended by the American Dental Association and the Centers for Disease Control. Whenever possible, disposable, single-use items are used to ensure your safety.
We understand you have a busy life, and "going to the dentist" is one more task you need to check off your ever-growing "to-do" list. That's why here at Leesburg Dental, located in the Leesburg, VA area, we offer people hours, not office hours. Dr. Loza and his staff put your needs first by providing flexible scheduling options to ensure you obtain an appointment that is convenient and workable for you.
Bourquin Dental Centre
Appointments: (604) 859-6555
Caroline Cesar D.M.D.
Bourquin Dental Centre
2745 Bourquin Crescent West, Suite 101
Abbotsford, BC V2S 6J4
More Dentists in the Abbotsford, BC Area Near You
SOLANEK FAMILY DENTISTRY PLLC
174 ROUTE 101 UNIT C 1
BEDFORD, NH, 3110
(603) 472-7055
Dr. Michael S. AffleckD.D.S.
6287 S Redwood Road
Salt Lake City, UT, 84123
(801) 313-1144
Doctor - Activate Your Free 1stDentist Directory Listing
BARRETT DAVIS JR D.D.S.
304 PENNY LANE
MOREHEAD CITY, NC, 28557
(252) 726-9555
SAJINI SHETTY DMD DENTAL OFFICES PC
297 DW HWY STE 6
MERRIMACK, NH, 3054
(603) 429-2199
Learn About Invisible Fillings for Your Teeth
Technology now offers attractive options for cavity restorations in dental care. Called composites, these new tooth-colored fillings are excellent choices for front teeth and other repairs that might be visible. Composites duplicate the natural appearance of a tooth in restoring decayed teeth or repairing a defect.
What Material Is Used in the Composite?
Composites are made from a mixture of microscopic plastic and ceramic resin particles. Another type of tooth-colored filling is called a resin ionomer, which releases fluoride useful for preventing tooth decay.
Besides Their Cosmetic Value, What Other Benefits Do Composites Provide?
The bonding process used in restoration provides strength to the tooth, making it more structurally sound. It also seals the tooth, decreasing the chance of sensitivity to hot and cold. Some composites made with materials releasing fluoride are ideal for treating root decay, a condition when gums recede, exposing tooth roots to more cavity-causing plaque. These fluoride-releasing materials also are useful for filling decayed baby teeth.
What Is the Process for Treatment?
Following removal of the decayed area, a mild acid solution is used to prepare the tooth's surface for bonding. A bonding agent is then brushed over the surface. Next, several layers of the composite are applied. For a natural appearance, the dentist matches the color of the composite to the tooth.
Then, it is chemically hardened or cured with a special light and finally polished for a natural-looking finishing touch.
How Durable Are Composite Fillings?
In a five-year clinical study, some of the resin materials demonstrated 100% effectiveness for adhesion and retention. Like other types of fillings, they may require periodic replacement. While the material is very durable, they may not perform quite as long as silver fillings or amalgams for their resistance to the rigors of grinding and chewing.
Scheduling regular dental exams is an important part of good oral hygiene. Your dentist will check your invisible fillings each time to ensure their performance.
By Brian J. Gray, DDS, MAGD, FICO
How To Know If You Have A TMJ Problem With Your Bite
Problems with the way your teeth fit together occur in many different ways. Some bite problems cause discomfort or even pain, and that pain can masquerade as problems that you would not readily associate with your teeth. Some bite problems can cause major damage to your teeth without producing any obvious discomfort.
There are some pretty simple ways that anyone can detect TMJ when a problem with the bite is causing or at least contributing to pain or discomfort.
The clench test: With your mouth empty so there is nothing between your teeth to bite on, close your teeth together and squeeze hard. If clenching your teeth together causes any sign of discomfort in any tooth, you have a disharmony in your bite.
Teeth that are sensitive to cold often get that way from the extra pounding they take if any part of that tooth strikes before the rest of the teeth contact during closure. Use the clench test to see if the extra sensitivity is related to an uneven bite. Squeeze hard. If you can make any tooth hurt by empty mouth clenching, the bite is probably the main reason for the sensitivity. This is a good way to find out if a new filling or crown is "high." If it hurts when you clench, it is probably not in perfect harmony with a correct bite. You should be able to bite hard and grind your teeth together in all directions without feeling discomfort in any tooth if your bite is perfect. The exception to this is if you have advanced periodontal disease, you may have several teeth that can't accept firm biting, but even then, you should not normally feel pain in a single tooth when biting.
If biting hard causes pain or discomfort in the jaw joint, (you may feel it just in front of your ear), you can suspect a possible relationship between your bite and a temporomandibular joint (TMJ) problem. It may be associated with a structural disorder in your TMJ, but more often the pain is coming from certain muscles that move your jaw joints to accommodate a bite that is not in harmony with your TMJs. Your dentist should be able to diagnose the exact source of the pain.
Look for severe wear on your teeth, as this is another sign that your bite is not in harmony. If you have worn all the enamel off the biting edges of your teeth, you will see a darker colored surface. This is dentin and it will wear down seven times faster than the much harder enamel that you've already worn through. So ask your dentist to evaluate what is causing so much wear. This wear can be especially damaging when it is on your front teeth, so if you notice your lower front teeth have worn down to dentin, have your bite checked. Better yet, don't wait till all the enamel is gone. Schedule a visit to your dentist office. Correcting your bite may stop or at least slow down the wear process.
By Peter E. Dawson, DDS
