Patient Resources

One of the most important aspects of good dental health is regular dental check-ups and cleanings. A highly competent registered dental hygienist is the only way to consistently receive the quality of hygiene care for your long term dental health.

Hygienists are specifically trained in hygiene procedures at approved schools. They graduate with degrees and must pass state regional board exams similar to dentists. They are the most qualified to provide dental cleanings and hygiene care.

Unfortunately one of the most popular practices among other dental practices is hiring dental assistants to provide hygiene care. Many pediatric dental practices do not provide adequate hygiene care either. And many general dentists also provide dental hygiene themselves. In our experience all of these options never provide the level of care or consistency a hygienist does.

I am very confident you will not receive better hygiene care anywhere than here at Sandy Family Dentistry. Nor will you find more qualified and experienced hygienists.

Yes, in some cases.

No. They can be the same type of crown and only differ in the method the crown is made. Traditional crowns are where an impression is taken, digital or with impression material, and then sent to a lab. The same day crowns are milled in the dental office.

Dr. Lewis had the opportunity to evaluate the first CAD-CAM crown milling machines and software back in the early 1990’s long before they became public. Obviously at that time they had years of work yet to do to get them accurate enough for clinical use. Over the years we have kept up with the technology which is often referred to as “same day crowns”.

In the right hands same day crowns can be accurate. However, there is still a human element that can ruin the fit and longevity of the crown despite the technology. A dentist that produced poor traditional crowns will most likely still produce poor same day crowns.

The brand of the toothbrush is not as critical as the type of bristle and the size of the head. A soft toothbrush with a small head is recommended because medium and hard brushes tend to cause irritation and contribute to recession of the gums, and a small head allows you to get around each tooth more completely and is less likely to injure your gums. It’s unnecessary to “scrub” the teeth as long as you are brushing at least twice a day and visiting your dentist at least twice a year for cleanings.

Generally, no. However, it’s advisable to use a fluoride containing toothpaste to decrease the incidence of dental decay. We recommend our patients use what tastes good to them as long as it contains fluoride.

Flossing of the teeth once per day helps to prevent cavities from forming between the teeth where your toothbrush can’t reach. Flossing also helps to keep your gums healthy.

These are restorations to repair a severely broken tooth by covering all or most of the tooth after removing old fillings, fractured tooth structure, and all decay. The restoration material is made of gold, porcelain, composites, or even stainless steel. Dentists refer to all of these restorations as “crowns”. However, patients often refer to the tooth-colored ones as “caps” and the gold or stainless steel ones as “crowns”.

Both bridges and partial dentures replace missing teeth. A bridge is permanently attached to abutment teeth or, in some cases, implants. A partial denture is attached by clasps to the teeth and is easily removed by the patient. Patients are usually more satisfied with bridges than with partial dentures.

No. While most teeth that have had root canal treatments do need crowns to strengthen the teeth and to return the teeth to normal form and function, not every tooth needing a crown also needs to have a root canal.