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Our passion is creating healthy, beautiful smiles. The by-product of this service is that we provide excellent restorative, preventative and cosmetic dentistry. Our commitment to these goals provides our patients with unparalleled service with a high standard of care in a comfortable, pampering environment. Let us show you the ways in which exceptional dentistry can benefit you.

Services Offered: (click for more info)

Periodontal Therapy Metal-Free Restorations Zoom! Whitening Crowns Bonding Bridges

Veneers Implant Restoration Instant Orthodontics Neuromuscular Dentistry Smile Design Full-Mouth Restoration

Periodontal Therapy
Healthy gum tissue and bone is the foundation for a great smile. Affecting three out of four adults, periodontal disease is the greatest cause of adult tooth loss. At our patients’ regular maintenance appointments, we check the health of their gums and recommend procedures that will make their tissues as healthy as they can be. Using high-tech equipment such as micro-ultrasonic instruments and local antibiotic therapy, we are able to stop and sometimes actually reverse the destruction caused by periodontal disease. Once periodontal health has been stabilized, we can confidently proceed with any restorative dentistry. Our patients will now have the smile they desire, and the added benefits of gums that do not bleed, fresher breath, and better general health.

Zoom! Whitening
Tooth whitening or bleaching is one of the most popular areas of cosmetic dentistry. Even subtle changes in shading can make someone look years younger. Several factors can contribute to the darkening of teeth, including the effects of age, certain foods and drinks, smoking, and medications.

Bonding
The application of tooth colored filling material (composite) to the teeth has been a dental technique for many years. Recent advances have increased the strength, durabihty, and longevity of these restorations. Bonding material can be molded and shaped to achieve outstanding results, including tooth lightening, dosing spaces between teeth making teeth appear straighter, and repairing chips and cracks. When polished, it gives the appearance of natural tooth structure.

Veneers
Of all the methods available today for changing and improving the look of your smile, veneers are among the most popular and successful with our patients. The process involves removing a small amount of tooth structure to make room for the veneers. The dental lab then fabricates the veneers from impressions. After placement, the veneers look like natural teeth. Some advantages of porcelain veneers over bonding include increased longevity, and resistance to staining.

Smile Design
Smile Design is a conservative, non- aggressive way to rejuvenate your smile. Veneers work well for tooth reshaping and resizing. Veneers are an attractive way to improve your smile because they achieve a very natural look with a very conservative tooth preparation (shaping). Very little natural tooth structure is removed when veneers are bonded into place and the virgin strength of the tooth is recaptured as well. We have found that this is the treatment of choice for smile enhancement, if more than whitening is needed.

Metal-Free Restorations
Until recently, dental patients have been told that repairing teeth with white fillings was just for cosmetic purposes, and white fillings may not be as durable as the metal restorations. This philosophy is now passé. With the modem technologies of dental adhesion, resins, lasers, and state-of-art ceramics, the new porcelain restorations rivaling nature in strength wears function, and appearance. There are now sixteen-year studies showing that with properly administered advanced the invasiveness of full-coverage crowns. In the majority of circumstances, metal fillings or crowns can be replaced with techniques that are more conservative. It is therefore possible to preserve the healthy, remaining tooth structure, rather than whittling teeth down, as a pencil would be ground away by a pencil sharpener.

Crowns
Many restorations are fabricated using a metal lining covered with porcelain. These types of crowns are used because they are cheap and easy to place In the mouth. They are opaque or flat looking because they do not let light pass through as a natural tooth does. There is often a dark or gray hue next to the gum-line. We provide exclusively all porcelain-bonded restorations. When properly placed, they are as strong, if not stronger, than the porcelain covered metal crowns. Notice the appearance of natural teeth again. Metal-free dentistry can restore your full dentition back to natural form and beauty.

Bridges
A Bridge is a custom device anchored to neighboring teeth that replaces one or more missing teeth. When a lost tooth is replaced with bridgework, the teeth on either side of the missing one are prepared as crowns to serve as abutments to hold the prosthetic (replacement) tooth in place. Crowns and bridges are most commonly prepared from high quality materials, such as semiprecious or precious metals, porcelain, or a fused combination of the two. Aesthetics, function, and tissue compatibility are considered when selecting the material most suitable for you.

Implant Restoration
Dental implants offer an excellent alternative to the limitations of conventional dentures, bridges and missing teeth. Working in conjunction with an oral surgeon, we formulate the best treatment plan to help patients regain optimal chewing function and esthetics. Once the course of action has been finalized, the oral surgeon painlessly places one or more titanium implants into the bone. It takes a few months for the bone to grow into and around the implant, and during this time, patients wear some sort of device that replaces the missing tooth or teeth. At the end of this period, patients receive their definitive restoration, whether it is a single crown, a fixed bridge or a precision attachment denture.

Instant Orthodontics
Orthodontic braces are most desirable for people under the age of 18. At this stage in life, the bone is more malleable, teeth move easier and are more likely to stay in place once the bone remodels’ around the newly positioned teeth. Many adults also wear braces, however, they are most likely to wear them for a longer period of time, and require a permanent retainer to hold the new positioning. Braces also require numerous office visits in addition to the general hassles of wearing braces. Braces may reposition teeth but will not affect the shape and color of the teeth, which may or may not be desirable.

Neuromuscular Dentistry
Neuromuscular dentistry is the art and science of using the relaxed position of the muscles of the head and neck to place the jaw into an optimal physiological position. Thirty years of research and clinical experience have shown this technique effective in treating patients with various levels of head and neck pain. It is also used in finding the optimal jaw position before restorative dentistry and greatly increases the longevity of restorations and natural dentition. The underlying conditions that cause these signs and symptoms are structural, biochemical and emotional. Underlying structural problems are most always present and these lead to over activation of the jaw, head and neck muscles. Over a period of time, structural problems can lead to pain, tension, and spasms.

Full-Mouth Restoration
Full-mouth restoration involves restoring the teeth, bit, muscles and self-esteem back to a natural looking and youthful feeling condition. Using computerized technology and an artistic eye, full- mouth restoration may be the answer to many problems, such as broken-down restorations, heat-sensitive teeth, sore jaw muscles, and recurring headaches.

For questions about dentistry procedures, please contact Dr. Erickson today. Dr. Erickson offers a variety of cosmetic dental procedures to patients in the St. Joseph Michigan area.