How Can Bonding Improve Your Smile?

Dental bonding is one of the easiest and most affordable cosmetic and restorative procedures. Called bonding because tooth-colored resin is bonded to your teeth, this process is used to repair chipped, unevenly shaped or discolored teeth. It can even be used as an alternative to amalgam fillings in situations where only a small filling is required.

Bonding is achieved by applying incredibly strong resin to the tooth that you would like restored. Then the resin is shaped and polished until it matches your surrounding teeth. Not only can this procedure be accomplished in only one visit, but this process also allows you to keep most of your tooth’s original enamel, making bonding preferable to veneers or crowns in many cases. Once the right color resin has been chosen for your smile, your teeth will be slightly abraded to roughen the surface. Then a conditioning liquid will be applied to help the bonding material adhere.

The putty-like resin is then applied to the tooth and molded and smoothed until it is in the proper shape. It is hardened with an ultraviolet light or laser. After the bonding material has hardened, Dr. Alan Dilsaver will trim and shape it even more and then polish until it shines like a tooth. Altogether, the procedure usually takes between 30 minutes to an hour for one tooth.

If you’re unhappy with your teeth but unwilling to go as far as veneers, bonding can be used to improve your smile quickly and effectively. To schedule an appointment with our office in Easton, PA, call (610) 252-7414. For more information on our services at Lehigh Valley Smiles, visit www.LehighValleySmiles.net.

Do You Need Your Wisdom Teeth Removed?

Wisdom teeth are your last set of molars to come in and usually emerge when you are between 17 and 21 years old. Since wisdom teeth can often become impacted, which means they come in at an angle rather than straight through the gums, it is often necessary to remove them before they cause pain or begin to push on your other teeth. Dr. Alan Dilsaver commonly performs wisdom teeth extractions at Lehigh Valley Smiles in Easton, PA.

If a wisdom tooth is impacted and can only emerge partially, it is possible for an operculum to form over the tooth. Once this flap of skin forms, the tooth will be hard to clean and can become infected. This infection is called pericoronitis.

When a wisdom tooth is in danger of causing such problems, Dr. Dilsaver will extract the tooth. Many times all four are removed at once. This is done either by using a local anesthetic to numb the area or a general anesthetic to sedate the patient. It depends on the preference of the doctor and patient, as well as how far the wisdom tooth has emerged. After an anesthetic is applied, the gum tissue around the wisdom tooth is cut and the tooth is loosened and pulled out. If necessary, the gums will be sutured.

After the surgery, rest is required, and you will need to change the gauze applied to the incision every couple hours. To see if your wisdom teeth may need to be removed, schedule an appointment with us in Easton, PA by calling (610) 252-7414. For more information, visit www.LehighValleySmiles.net.

Bridges

If you have had a tooth extracted due to damage, decay or disease, it is important to have the resulting gap filled or else your remaining teeth can shift out of position. When this happens, your teeth become more susceptible to disease and decay. At Lehigh Valley Smiles, we can help keep your smile beautiful and functional with dental bridges.

Called a bridge because it literally creates a bridge to cross the area where your 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, Dr. Alan Dilsaver 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 Easton, PA at (610) 252-7414. You can also visit www.LehighValleySmiles.net.