Procedures

Our team is dedicated to providing you and your family with state-of-the-art, mercury-free, mercury-safe, fluoride-free, restorative and esthetic dentistry in a modern high-tech facility designed for your comfort. We can help you achieve and maintain optimal dental health, restore problem areas, and cosmetically enhance the appearance of your smile. On the forefront of dental advances is the amazing CEREC technology we have in our office.

CEREC Dentistry (Including Crowns, Inlays & Onlays)

CEREC is an acronym for Charismatic Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics. This high-tech equipment allows us to restore damaged teeth with beautiful custom ceramic restorations in a single visit, completely eliminating the need or multiple appointments over a several week period.

The process can create a ceramic crown, inlays, onlays or veneers using 3D photography, computer-aided design and manufacturing known as CAD/CAM. Using an intra-oral camera, a photograph is taken of the tooth and the picture is loaded onto the computer. Using Computer Aided Design technology, Dr. DeGregorio designs the restoration and transforms the image into a three-dimensional model. She then calculates the appropriate shape and size to create a near perfect restoration.

When the model is ready, a milling machine then creates the restoration using a high-speed diamond bur and calculated precision. The restoration is then bonded to the tooth using a special resin bonded cement. The result is a beautiful custom designed metal-free restoration, made entirely to fit your mouth. Dr. DeGregorio has mastered this technology through extensive educational and clinical training and has adopted it as a standard of care since she introduced the technology to her dental practice.

White Composite Restorations

The longevity of white composite fillings tends to be inversely proportionate to the size. The smaller composite fillings exhibit longevity similar to that of amalgams. In fact, teeth restored with small composite fillings can reach strength approaching 98% of the original pre-decayed state because composites bond to the tooth, sealing edges. Proper bases and bonding agents provide more protection for the pulp than what is possible with mercury-amalgam restorations. Size-wise, then, a composite performs well if there is more tooth than filling. If there is more filling than tooth, composites tend to flex, lose their bond, and leak. Eventual breakdown allows for recurrent decay, making porcelain the preferred restorative material for biting surfaces, larger cavities, and fractured teeth.

Even for smaller restorations, positive points of comparison with amalgams do not mean composites are the perfect filling material for everyone. There is speculation over potential estrogen-mimicking effects of plastic chemicals like Bisphenol A contained in certain composite resins.

Any dental material made with BisGMA may contain trace amounts of Bisphenol A. Some companies strive to produce significantly less toxic materials. VOCO (www.voco.com) brand restorative materials contain 30-50% less resin than many other composite brands, proportionately reducing potential presence of trace amounts of bisphenols. Furthermore, VOCO does not add Bisphenol A or B to its composites. Because less resin is present in its products, VOCO tests high for biocompatibility (Clifford Labs: http://www.ccrlab.com), and Scientific Health Solutions classifies VOCO products (Admira, Grandio, etc.) in the Least Reactive Components category for dental restorative materials. Other brands similar to VOCO are available.

Porcelain Restorations

Porcelain is the most biocompatible, hypo-allergenic, non-metallic restorative material of which we are aware at this time. Porcelain restorations are also dramatically less effected by factors that influence longevity of both amalgams and white composite fillings: ie restorative technique, filling size, your body chemistry, and your nutritional intake. Porcelain restorations (inlays, onlays, crowns) can last 12-15 years or longer. We offer lab-processed porcelain or, for your convenience, CEREC® CAD/CAM technology for same-day on-site porcelain restorations.

Longevity

Potential longevity of dental restorations is a critical factor because every dental procedure represents trauma to the nerve of the tooth. Repeated trauma to the nerve from filling replacement during the course of a lifetime will eventually cause nerve breakdown. Porcelain restorations cost more initially than amalgams or composites, but porcelain's longevity decreases potential need for root canal therapy.

Whether the filling is of amalgam, white composite or porcelain, longevity is influenced by the amount of natural tooth structure preserved during removal of decay. An amalgam filling can not adhere to tooth surfaces, and the amalgam-placing dentist must create an undercut after removing decay, sacrificing healthy tooth structure to trap the amalgam filling in place. For composites or porcelain, the dentist strives to remove decay only. The cleaned-out space inside the tooth for a composite or porcelain prep often has relatively straight or inward-slanting walls. Healthy tooth structure is preserved.

Again, we encourage you to research safety issues surrounding amalgam restorations for yourself. When existing amalgam fillings are mechanically intact, it must be your personal choice to have them replaced with other materials, whether for health or esthetic reasons.


MyPerioPathsm and MyPerioIDsm PST

Used together, MyPerioPathsm and MyPerioIDsm PST® salivary DNA diagnostic tests can help reduce patient incidence of periodontal disease by helping identify patients with and at risk.

Product features

  • MyPerioPathsm detects the presence and quantity of specific bacteria associated with the disease
  • MyPerioIDsm PST (licensed from Interleukin Genetics) assesses an individual’s genetic risk

According to the American Dental Association, an estimated 75% of all Americans over the age of 35 have some form of periodontal disease and research conducted during the past 10 years has provided insight into the Perio / Systemic Connection and the link between chronic periodontal infections and heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and some forms of cancer.

OralDNA offers two DNA-Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests for periodontal disease diagnosis and genetic susceptibility: MyPerioPath detects the presence and quantity of specific bacteria associated with periodontal disease, while MyPerioIDsm PST® provides a means of assessing an individual’s genetic risk for periodontal disease. The company also has an oral HPV test named OraRisksm HPV for use in assessing the risks associated with certain types of oral cancer.

Used together, the new salivary DNA diagnostic tests can help reduce patient incidence of periodontal disease. MyPerioPathsm provides early and accurate diagnosis of existing periodontal disease by identifying and measuring specific types of bacteria, while MyPerioIDsm PST® assesses a patient’s genetic predisposition to developing periodontal disease well before physical symptoms occur.

Clifford Materials Reactivity Testing

Clifford Materials Reactivity Testing (CMRT) is a laboratory screening process used to help identify existing sensitivity problems to various chemical groups and families of compounds in an individual patient. This process is currently being implemented in the CMRT Dental and Orthopedic panels. After a patient's test panel has been completed, the patient's reactivity test results are compiled in a report.  Visit the Clifford Laboratory Website: Clifford Consulting & Research