White Fillings

If you have a cavity that you need to fill or are hoping to replace an old filling with a newer and higher quality restoration, we can do this with white fillings. White fillings are made from composite resin, mixed to match the color of your tooth. They help fill a cavity in order to prevent further decay and destruction of the original tooth’s structure.

• Benefits to getting white fillings here at Lewelling Dental Care include:
• Preventing further damage of your tooth
• They do not contain mercury
• They match the color of your tooth
• Less of your tooth structure needs to be removed
• They don’t expand or contract in your tooth

Most often, white fillings are used to protect a tooth that has a cavity or tooth decay inside the tooth. However, it can also be used here in San Lorenzo, CA for cracked or broken teeth, as well as for teeth being worn down due to clenching and grinding the teeth. For white fillings, the tooth is first prepared by removing any possible decay, then numbing the area. The filling is prepared to match the tooth and then bonded to the tooth.

 

If you are interested in learning more about white fillings, visitwww.lewellingdental.com or call 510-276-6040 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Shital Kazi. 

TMJ

TMJ issues affect many Americans daily. This disorder causes pain in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) that connects your lower jaw to your skull at the temporal bone. This joint controls many jaw functions and any pain in this area may cause jaw joint muscle problems, known as temporamandibular disorder (TMD). At Lewelling Dental Care, Dr. Shital Kazi and her team have trained extensively in the diagnosis and treatment of TMJ and offer various treatment options to new and existing patients.

 

Symptoms of TMJ are wide-ranging. Patients will often feel pain when opening or closing their mouth, trouble chewing food, their jaw will become stuck, headaches are quite common and they will often hear a clicking or popping noise when opening or closing their mouth. These symptoms can be associated with a lot of other health problems so if you are feeling any of these symptoms, make sure to ask during your next appointment.

 

Treatment for TMJ can go many different ways. Pain relievers and hot/cold compresses are short term methods and often do not solve the problems. Another possible treatment for TMJ would be wearing a night mouth guard, this will lessen the effects of teeth grinding that can cause TMJ. More permanent solutions include possible surgery in severe cases, but behavioral treatments to change the way the jaw muscles are used can be enough to solve the problem permanently. 

Take-Home Tray Whitening

Even with consistent brushing and good oral care, teeth can lose their color. Today, patients have many options when it comes to teeth whitening that include over-the-counter options and professional options that include either in-office or take-home systems. At our San Lorenzo, CA practice, Lewelling Dental Care, we offer our patients custom tray whitening to help improve the cosmetic appearance of their teeth. Having teeth professionally whitened is an excellent way to restore the natural color of teeth quickly and effectively.

 

When it comes to whitening your smile, we will first need to determine whether your teeth are intrinsically or extrinsically stained. Intrinsic stains are on the surface, having barely penetrated the enamel. They are caused by staining agents like coffee or smoking; they can also be caused by old-age. These stains are reversible through take-home tray whitening.  Extrinsic stains develop from the inside of the teeth and are often caused by more permanent staining agents like antibiotics. With an extrinsic stain, the teeth are darkened as a result of bacteria buildup and cannot be reversed by whitening alone.

 

Traditional tray systems include a custom-fitted mouth tray that the patient wears for a period of 40-45 minutes for a few days. We will take a mold of your mouth in order to create a custom-fit mouth tray. You will apply the gel treatment to the mouth trays and wear it for approximately 45 minutes a day. The amount of days the mouth tray is worn depends on how white you want your teeth to be. This often results in a whiter smile of 4-8 shades in just a few days. 

Bridges

Bridges

If you have had a tooth extracted due to damage, decay or disease, it is important to have the resulting gap filled since gaps in your smile can cause your remaining teeth to shift out of position. When this happens, your teeth become more susceptible to disease and decay. At Lewelling Dental Care, we can help keep your smile beautiful and functional after an extraction with dental bridges.

Called a bridge because it literally creates a bridge to cross the area where you tooth is missing, this prosthetic tooth replacement is usually made from gold, metal, alloys or porcelain to ensure a strong and durable smile that can last more than a decade if properly cared for.

The process of creating a bridge takes two visits to our office. In the first, we will create abutments out of the existing teeth on both sides of your missing tooth. This is where the bridge will be attached. After the abutments are in place, a mold is made of your mouth for creating the bridge, which will fit and feel as close to your natural teeth as possible. The bridge will consist of two crowns, which will be fixed to the abutments, and a pontic, which is the prosthetic that will replace your missing tooth. We provide you with a temporary bridge while your permanent one is crafted in the lab. On the second visit, the permanent bridge will then be fixed to the abutments with an adhesive.

For more information, call our office in San Lorenzo, CA by calling (510) 276-6040. You can also visit www.LewellingDental.com.