DEEP CLEANING

Scaling and root planing are often referred to as deep cleaning, and may be performed using a number of dental tools, including ultrasonic instruments and hand instruments, such as periodontal scalers and curettes¹

FLUORIDE CLEANING

Fluoride therapy is the delivery of fluoride to the teeth topically or systemically in order to prevent tooth decay (dental caries) which results in cavities. Most commonly, fluoride is applied topically to the teeth using gels, varnishes, toothpaste/dentifrices or mouth rinse.²

EXTRACTION

A dental extraction (also referred to as exodontia) is the removal of a tooth from the mouth. Extractions are performed for a wide variety of reasons, including tooth decay that has destroyed enough tooth structure to prevent restoration.³

WISDOM TEETH EXTRACTION OR SURGERY

Extractions of impacted or problematic wisdom teeth are routinely performed, as are extractions of some permanent teeth to make space for orthodontic treatment.⁴

FILLING

A dental restoration or dental filling is a dental restorative material used to restore the function, integrity and morphology of missing tooth structure. The structural loss typically results from caries or external trauma. It is also lost intentionally during tooth preparation to improve the aesthetics or the physical integrity of the intended restorative material.⁵

  Amalgam filling

SEALING

Dental sealants are a dental treatment consisting of applying a plastic material to one or more teeth, for the intended purpose of preventing dental caries (cavities) or other forms of tooth decay⁶

POST

A post and core is a dental restoration used to sufficiently build-up tooth structure for future restoration with a crown when there is not enough tooth structure to properly retain the crown, due to loss of tooth structure to either decay or fracture.⁷

CROWNS (CAPTEK, METAL PORCELAIN, CEREC, GOLD)

A crown is a type of dental restoration which completely caps or encircles a tooth or dental implant and is typically bonded to the tooth using a dental cement. Crowns can be made from many materials, which are usually fabricated using indirect methods.  Inlays, onlays, porcelain veneers, crownlays and all varieties of crowns can also be fabricated out of ceramic materials, such as in CAD/CAM Dentistry or traditionally in a dental laboratory setting.⁸

  A porcelain-fused-to-metal crown

BRIDGE

A bridge, also known as a fixed partial denture, is a dental restoration used to replace a missing tooth by joining permanently to adjacent teeth or dental implants.  The materials used for the bridges include gold, porcelain fused to metal, or in the correct situation porcelain alone.⁹

METAL ACRYLIC PARTIAL

A removable partial denture (RPD) is for a partially edentulous dental patient who desires to have replacement teeth for functional or aesthetic reasons, and who cannot have a bridge (a fixed partial denture) for any number of reasons, such as a lack of required teeth to serve as support for a bridge (i.e. distal abutments) or due to financial limitations.¹⁰

TEMPORARY PARTIAL AND DENTURES

Dentures are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and which are supported by surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable, however there are many different denture designs, some which rely on bonding or clasping onto teeth or dental implants.¹¹

  A maxillary denture

TOTAL LOWER AND UPPER PLATE  (TEETH MADE OF ACRYLIC OR PORCELAIN)

Complete dentures or full dentures are worn by patients who are missing all of the teeth in a single arch (i.e. the maxillary (upper) or mandibular (lower) arch). There are two main categories of dentures, depending on whether they are used to replace missing teeth on the mandibular arch or the maxillary arch.  The first porcelain dentures were made around 1770.  Problems with dentures include the fact that patients are not used to having something in their mouth that is not food, and salivary glands work overtime during the first few days, as well as the development of sore spots as they compress the soft tissues mucosa – soft bearing soft tissue.¹²

ROOT CANAL

A root canal is the space within the root of a tooth. It is part of a naturally occurring space within a tooth that consists of the pulp chamber (within the coronal part of the tooth), the main canal(s), and more intricate anatomical branches that may connect the root canals to each other or to the surface of the root.

Root canal is also a colloquial term for a dental operation, endodontic therapy, wherein the pulp is cleaned out, the space disinfected and then filled.

Root canal procedure: unhealthy or injured tooth, drilling and cleaning, filing with endofile, rubber filling and crown.¹³

APICOECTOMY

A root end surgery, also known as apicoectomy, is an endodontic surgical procedure whereby a tooth's root tip is removed and a root end cavity is prepared and filled with a biocompatible material.¹⁴

  Lower molar after root end surgery

OPEN FLAP SURGERY

Open flap surgery is more effective than non-surgical periodontal therapy in deep pocketing : "Both scaling and root planing alone and scaling and root planing combined with flap procedure are effective methods for the treatment of chronic periodontitis in terms of attachment level gain and reduction in gingival inflammation. In the treatment of deep pockets open flap debridement results in greater PPD reduction and clinical attachment gain."¹⁵

ALVELOPLASTY

The surgical shaping and smoothing of the margins of the tooth socket after extraction of the tooth, generally in preparation for the placement of a prosthesis.¹⁶

BONDINGS

Dental bonding is a dental procedure in which a dentist applies a tooth-colored resin material (a durable plastic material) and hardens it with a special light. This ultimately "bonds" the material to the tooth and improves the overall appearance of teeth.¹⁷

RELINE

To resurface the tissue side (basal surface) of a denture with new base material so that it will fit more accurately, which does not change the occlusal relations of the teeth.¹⁸

LUMINEERS

Similar to veneers are thin porcelain shields that are bonded to the front of the teeth to improve the appearance of a smile. Lumineers do not require the reduction of teeth structure, unlike veneers.¹⁹

VENEERS

Ultra-thin, custom-made porcelain laminates that are bonded directly to the teeth. They are an option for closing gaps or disguising discolored teeth that do not respond well to whitening procedures.²⁰

HOME BLEACHING

Traditionally, at-home whitening is done with bleaching gel which is applied to the teeth using thin guard trays. At-home whitening can also be done by applying small strips that go over the front teeth. Oxidizing agents such as hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide are used to lighten the shade of the tooth.²¹

PROCERA CROWNS

Procera AllCeram, owned by Nobel Biocare, is a CAD/CAM based method which produces a crown by overlaying a very durable ceramic coping of either alumina or zirconia, referred to as a "core", with Vitadur Alpha porcelain. Introduced in 1991, Procera can now be used to produce crowns, bridges and veneers.²²

FRENILECTOMY

A frenectomy (also known as a frenulectomy or frenotomy) is the removal of a frenulum, a small fold of tissue that prevents an organ in the body from moving too far. It can refer to frenula in several places on the human body. It is related to frenuloplasty, a surgical alteration in a frenulum.  A frenectomy can also be performed to remove a section of tissue (the frenulum) that attached to the gingival tissue between two teeth.²³