A beautiful custom solution to your dental needs.

Cosmetic

Dr. Parham offers many cosmetic procedures to enhance the beauty of your smile. He is committed to informing you of your options and to providing a beautiful custom solution to your dental needs. Dr. Parham offers:

Bonding. Stained, chipped, cracked or uneven teeth can be quickly and painlessly restored with our bonding procedure. A thin coat of plastic or resin is painted on the damaged tooth. Dr. Parham will custom shade to your true tooth color for a natural look.

Crowns

Cracked, injured, chipped or discolored teeth can be supported by crowns. Dr. Parham will create a custom crown mold to fit your bite, prepare your tooth for a crown, and adjust the final crown to fit you perfectly.

Veneers. An alternative to a crown, Veneers are a thin, customized material designed to slide over a tooth. Dr. Parham will design the Veneer to correct the tooth’s appearance and to complement your face shape, lip line and smile.

Preventive Dentistry

Preventive Dentistry is our goal for every patient. It involves the daily care, good nutrition, and regular check-ups and cleanings that maintain good dental health already achieved. Preventive dentistry may not be where we are able to start with all patients, but it is our goal to finish there.

Sealants give hardhat protection for your children’s teeth. When you seal your child’s teeth, you are protecting them from possible cavities and toothaches. Two-thirds of the total cavities sustained by children are on the chewing surfaces of their teeth. Sealants are a resin material that is applied to the chewing surfaces of permanent back teeth. The sealant resin acts as a barrier, protecting the enamel from bacterial plaque in cavity prone areas.

Susan Mc Devitt and Lana Newberry are our outstanding dental hygienists. Lana is here on Wednesdays, Fridays, and some Tuesdays. Susan is with us everyday! They are both experts in oral health care and can give you tips on how to keep your teeth and gums healthy. Their goal is to help take care of your total health by starting with your mouth.

Gum disease affects over 50 million people in the United States. Are you one of them? Gum disease is the quietest disease of all. You never even know you have it, until, sometimes, it is too late. Gum disease is generally painless that is why of the 50 million people that have it most are not seeking treatment yet. According to the American Academy of Periodontology, consequences of this disease may include permanent tooth loss and higher risk of stroke and heart attack. Here is a self-evaluation test; just see how many of these periodontal disease indicators apply to you.

· Do you smoke?
· Are you pregnant?
· Do you have diabetes?
· Do you clinch or grind your teeth?
· Are you currently taking oral contraceptives?
· Are you currently taking anti depression or anxiety medications?
· Are you under a great deal of stress?
· Do you have bad breath?
· Are your gums red and swollen?
· Do your gums bleed when you brush or floss?
· Do you have teeth that appear to be loosening?
· Have you noticed a change in the way your teeth fit together?
· Have you recently lost a tooth?
· Has it been a year since your last professional cleaning?

If you answered yes to 2 or more of these questions, you may be in risk or may already have Periodontal Disease. You need to see your dentist or hygienist for a complete periodontal diagnosis. This is what SHOULD happen during you periodontal diagnosis: New and returning patients, that have not been seen in awhile, appointments consist of a very thorough examination by your dental hygienist Lana or Susan. This appointment usually lasts 1-½ hours. The hygienist will take a full mouth series of x-rays. These x-rays will help determine the status of bone around the teeth and will show where decay and plaque build-up is harvesting around your teeth. You will also be asked about your health. This is a very important step in the process. Your medical health can be directly related to your dental health, so it will be very important for you to let them know exactly what type of medications your are taking, whether you have diabetes, etc. The next step is your hygiene exam. This will let you know whether you have gum disease or not and just how involved it is. Periodontal probing will be performed to determine if you have pockets (separation between your tooth and gum tissue) how deep the pocket is and can tell you how advanced your periodontal disease is. During the probing, a tool (probe) is used to measure the pockets. The deeper the pocket, the more severe the disease. A periodontal pocket of up to 3mm is considered healthy. Anything beyond 3mm may be a sign of gum disease. Two things your highly trained hygienists are looking for in your exam are healthy gums and infected gums. In a healthy mouth, gums are firm. Firm healthy gums protect your teeth and bone. Infected gums bleed, swell, and recede (pull away) from the teeth. Teeth may loosen and become sensitive as the bone that anchors them is being eroded. In advanced stages teeth may fall out. Your hygienist here at the Art of Dentistry is committed, with your help, to work your mouth back to healthy by coming up with a treatment plan that fits your own personal needs.

A few things you may find in your treatment plan:

 

Cleaning: in healthy mouths with healthy teeth a professional cleaning is usually the way we will start. This gets small deposits of plaque and tartar off the teeth above the gumline. A polishing is also done to remove debris and light staining from the teeth.Fluoride: in healthy mouths that just need an extra kick. Fluoride would assist in a cleaning. Fluoride is a natural mineral that safely strengthens enamel and helps stop cavities from forming.

Home Fluoride Treatments: Perio Med is our prescription fluoride treatment we recommend some patients to take home to rinse with every morning. Everyone over the age of 6 can benefit from a home fluoride rinse. Used regularly, home fluoride rinses, have been proven to reduce cavities up to 40% more than brushing alone. Home fluoride treatments are added protection for cavity-prone adults and children.

FMD:Full Mouth Debridement or Periodontal Debridement is done when there is so much plaque and tartar build up above the gumline of the teeth, that a proper exam cannot be performed. There is no numbing involved in this type of cleaning. It is performed so a proper exam may be done in a few weeks. No polishing or exams are done with this visit.

Root scaling and planning: Scaling and root planning removes plaque and tartar from below your gumline. This controls the growth of harmful bacteria. It also helps the gums reattach firmly to the teeth. Because this procedure goes deeper than a regular cleaning or an FMD, your mouth will need to be numbed. These cleanings may take 1-4 or more visits to complete. Scaling is a type of cleaning that removes plaque and tartar from around and below the gumline. Root planning involves scraping and smoothing the root surfaces of the teeth. This enables the gum tissue to be able to reattach more firmly to the roots being clean and smooth. After the root scaling and planning is complete, Lana or Susan will give their patients what we call compliance kits. It is known that it takes 30 days to form a habit, so we give our patients a kit that has a 30-day supply of everything they need to promote healing with healthy gums. You will have a 30-day supply of toothpaste, floss, fluoride, and even a toothbrush to use during these 30 days.

 

Restorative

The repair of damaged teeth can go a long way in elevating your self esteem. Dr. Parham uses a wide variety of prostheses to help give you the beautiful smile you deserve. These include bridges, crowns, and veneers as well as inlays, implants, lumineers, and dentures. Teeth can be orthodontically straightened by conventional methods or Invisalign.

Pediatrics

Dr. Parham treats children ages 4 and up. Baby teeth are important in that they help you speak clearly, chew naturally, and they form a path for permanent teeth to follow.