Non Surgical Dentistry Raleigh, NC
6 Oral Procedures That Don't Require Surgery
If you are in need of a professional dental procedure, required by your dentist, chances are the procedure may be non-surgical. Non-surgical dentistry is a multitude of dental procedures that don’t require any form of surgery (which typically means cutting into the patient’s gums). There are many ways a dental professional can perform a non-surgical procedure. Many of these forms are done to update the appearance and the function of the mouth and teeth. There are ways to perform these procedures both with and without sedation as well.
Your dental professional can perform the following procedures safely and quickly using non-surgical methods to get your smile looking stunning and working effectively. Talk to your dentist about non-surgical dentistry and the options that may work best for you.
Tooth Bleaching
When a patient is wanting to brighten up their teeth, whether it’s restoring their natural white tooth shade or simply whitening beyond that, they may decide on professional tooth whitening methods. Teeth bleaching is a very common way of whitening a patient’s smile. If a patient has tried different over the counter products to whiten teeth and nothing has worked, a professional whitening procedure might be their next step.
Plenty of people purchase extreme whitening toothpaste and whitening strips who promise a brighter whiter shade of teeth. However, many people resort to a professional whitening techniques because other methods have failed time and time again when trying to brighten up their smile. Tea, coffee, wine, tobacco are the main products that can yellow your teeth more quickly. Even the natural process of aging can have an effect on the lack of luster on your teeth.
Teeth bleaching is a very simple and easy procedure that is administered by your dental professional. No scratching, removing or damaging of the tooth enamel takes place during the bleaching process. During the bleaching process, your gums are covered with a special compound that protects it from contacting the whitening product. Next, the bleaching agent is mixed and carefully painted onto the teeth to begin the bleaching process. The bleaching compound is then cured with a special light that helps break down layers of stains and helps restore the natural whiteness of your natural teeth. This is a virtually painless procedure and is absolutely non-surgical.
Extractions
There are many reasons as to why a tooth may need to be extracted. If a tooth is badly decayed or infected and cannot be restored, your dental professional may need to remove it. If a tooth has already grown above the gum line, it won’t likely need a surgical removal. These type of tooth can usually just be loosened up and pulled straight out of the jawbone without any surgical cuts needed. A light anesthetic may be applied to allow the patient to be numb at the extraction site. A handheld tool is used to hold onto the tooth and is shifted from side to side until it has loosed up from the jawbone and can gently and easily be removed.
Call Renaissance Dental Center, located in Raleigh, to find out more information about our Non-Surgical Dentistry Options. We're always available to provide you the most comprehensive treatments available. We can be reached at (919) 786-6766. Or can be contacted through our online contact form.
Dental Crowns
Dental crowns may be inserted into a patients mouth for a number of reasons. Patients that have excessive decay, cracked or chipped teeth, need root canal therapy, or need to seal a filling could all be candidates for dental crowns. Dental crowns can be made from solid gold or other metal alloys, porcelain, or porcelain fused to a metal base. The process is fairly easy to most dental professionals. The patient is first numbed with a local anesthetic to ensure no pain is felt during the procedure. If the tooth needs a crown for appearance reasons, the tooth is first shaved down to allow room for the crown to fit snug on top. Once the tooth is contoured down to your dentist's liking, an impression of your tooth will be taken and sent to a nearby lab where your fully customized dental crown is designed and created to the size, shape, and color that your dentist recommends.
The permanent crown typically can be created within a week. A temporary crown is added in as a placeholder for the permanent one. When the permanent one is ready to be inserted, it will be cemented onto your tooth like a “cap” and adjusted to ensure the bite feels natural with your other teeth.
Root Canals
Many adults undergo root canal treatment if the “pulp” is decayed, infected or has died in a natural tooth. The pulp is the nerve ending cavity that lives inside your teeth which can cause pain if it’s infected. During a root canal treatment, the pulp is completely removed from the affected tooth from the top of the tooth. This ensures the infection doesn’t spread to the jawbone or other neighboring teeth. Once the pulp is removed, a special filling is added to ensure the spread of bacteria becomes impossible.
Periodontal Treatments
Periodontitis is a serious gum infection that can cause damage to the gum and bone. If left untreated, this type of gum infection can lead to the receding of the gums from the teeth, which can cause tooth loss, health problems, and even jawbone issues.
For a non-surgical treatment for periodontitis, your dentist will start this procedure by scaling your teeth which removes large deposits of tartar and calculus. This is done with a handheld scaler that goes just below the gum line and along the foundation of your tooth above the gum line. Once the tartar is removed, your teeth are expertly cleaned. This procedure will likely stimulate your gums to reattach to the cleaned teeth.
Tooth Contouring/Shaping
If you have teeth that are crooked, cracked, overlapped, or chipped they can affect your overall bite and can wrongly distribute the biting pressure in your mouth. This can lead to toothaches, loose teeth, pain while chewing and much more. When a tooth needs to be reshaped to help either the appearance or the function of your tooth, fine layers of the tooth’s enamel are removed to do this.
A dental carbon paper may be used to measure your bite pattern to ensure where the changes need to be made to allow your bite to feel more natural and relieve pain. This procedure is pretty painless, but an anesthetic may be used in case of tooth sensitivity. This is an extremely easy procedure and isn't considered surgical.