General Dentistry
Helping our patients maintain a healthy mouth and smile is the main goal of general dentistry. We prefer to provide more minor, preventive care than to see patients suffer with more intensive treatments from a problem that was not managed in time. We want to ensure that your oral health is in its optimal state and positively contributing to the health of your entire body. We are here to brighten your smile and pave the way for a brighter life.
Preventative Dentistry
It is important to brush your teeth at least twice daily to help remove plaque and food particles that get stuck to your teeth. It is recommended that you brush your teeth for two minutes (or longer), though most people rush through this time. You need to make sure that you reach every side of each tooth, including the inside and outside. To help keep your breath fresh, you should also brush your tongue. Then, you can begin flossing.
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Cleanings And Exams
One of the most important things you can do for your mouth is to attend a dental exam and cleaning each and every year, twice a year. Regular exams and cleanings are a key recommendation to our patients in every age group and demographic. These go far beyond simply getting a cleaner mouth; they help you have a healthier mouth. Regular exams and cleanings help you preserve your tooth structure, raise awareness of potential damage & disease, and most importantly: help prevent costly dental problems in the future through education.
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Teeth Whitening
One of the most sought-out services in dental tends to be teeth whitening and Somerville, MA is no different. At West Somerville Dental Associates, we understand that a healthy, white smile is highly desirable for our patients. White teeth signify cleanliness and confidence, and there’s nothing better than giving a presentation at work or visiting family with an enviously-white smile.
Coffee: Enemy of White Teeth
One of the biggest reasons teeth may become stained in today’s world is due to coffee. We don’t blame you- coffee is a great way to ensure productivity, alertness, and keep yourself awake during those long shifts. Unfortunately, this also means all that coffee may leave you with stains that need to be cleaned.
Though coffee is a major contributor, there’s also a multitude of other reasons teeth may become discolored. Age, smoking, medication, and even food are all major players in teeth discoloration. No matter what’s causing your discolored teeth, we can work together to get the customized teeth whitening solution you desire.
Don’t Have Time for In-office Teeth Whitening? We Can Help!
West Somerville Dental is proud to offer not just one, but two teeth whitening options in Somerville, MA. Our first option is traditional: you come in and we’ll get you a drastically whiter smile after an hour in our chair. If you are one of our busier customers with a less flexible schedule, our second option is perfect for you.
For those with a less flexible schedule, we have an awesome take-home option. Though the results aren’t as immediate as an in-office teeth whitening, this option offers the luxury of doing it on your own time and pace. Together, we’ll work with you to determine the time and length of your whitening needs, and afterward, you get total control. This is not just time-efficient, it’s a way to treat yourself. Sure, we can do it professionally in an hour, but there’s just something pleasant about whitening in your own home and on your own schedule. Whether you choose in-office or at-home teeth whitening, we can assure you results.
If you are ready for a whiter, brighter smile, call or schedule an appointment online today. All you have to do is choose which option you like better.
Fillings
Fillings are a common practice for cavity repair, and West Somerville Dental Associates has years of experience with this basic procedure. Fillings aren’t just placed inside of a cavity contrary to common belief. Instead, cavity repair is started when fillings are inserted after the dentist removes all damaged sections of your teeth and cleans out the decayed area. After the decayed sections are taken care of, a clean cavity is left behind in your tooth which is then replaced with a filling to prevent future damage.
This cavity repair procedure ensures that we remove the damaged sections so that the tooth is no longer at risk of getting worse. Remember this one tip: your tooth will never regrow, and fillings won’t prevent future decay if you don’t take proper care of your teeth. So, while fillings are an excellent solution to repair the current damage, you must take care of your teeth or else you’ll need larger and larger fillings.
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Root Canals
Here’s a fun fact: root canals aren’t just a dental procedure. In fact, the procedure is technically referred to as root canal therapy, among other more technical terms. They are actually small channels inside your teeth that allow absorption of nutrients for a mouth full of healthy teeth. Unfortunately, they can become infected for varying reasons. Infection, gum disease, and tooth trauma are all serious reasons they may become infected and require an inspection from a dentist.
These infections can lead to abscessed teeth, which are very dangerous and require treatment to repair. Whether the cause be gum disease, trauma or something else, teeth abscesses occur when bacteria invade the exposed canals due to these issues. That’s where we come in: our treatment will clean out the canals in your teeth, and then reseal your teeth to save you any further pain.
Infected Root Canals Can Cause Tooth Loss or Damage
The not-so-fun fact is allowing your root canal to remain damaged or inflamed too long after injury or infection can cause damage beyond simple pain. You could lose your tooth if the infection is bad enough, and West Somerville Dental Associates wants to help stop that before it ever happens.
If you are experiencing tooth pain, it could very well be because of an infection and you shouldn’t hesitate to contact us for a consultation on the next steps to take. A toothache may have a simple solution, but it may require serious treatment, and you don’t want to risk losing your teeth.
Tooth Aches May Signal Root Canal Issues: Schedule an Appointment Today!
If you’re experiencing tooth pain, you should be concerned. It may signal issues that require treatment from professionals. Even if the problem is small, we want to help you be certain it’s nothing serious. West Somerville Dental Associates in MA is here for all your dental needs, so call or schedule online today- we can’t wait to help you smile.
Extractions
An extraction is performed to remove a tooth, whether because of disease, crowding, or damage. When extractions are required, the area around the tooth will be numbed and your dentist will remove the tooth. A small amount of bleeding is normal, as your mouth will replace the removed tooth root by forming a blood clot in the area.
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Emergency Care
Sometimes, inconvenient and painful dental emergencies like a chipped tooth can require an emergency dentist to resolve. We get it- not everything involving dental health can be solved by scheduling an appointment ahead of time. These incidents happen without warning, are surprising, and very hard to prepare for. There truly isn’t anything fun about a dental emergency, and that’s why we’re here to offer services in the Somerville area.
Make no mistake: no one is immune to accidents. Dental accidents happen at the worst and most unexpected times. Perhaps you’re a construction worker and get hit in the mouth with a pipe, or maybe you slipped on a puddle of water in the kitchen and hit your mouth on the counter. Whatever the case may be, accidents happen and we will do our best to help you fix your problem with the utmost care.
Simply get in touch with us and we’ll bring you in as soon as we possibly can.
A Quality Emergency Dentist
West Somerville Dental Associates encourages you to get your issue fixed as soon as possible. The faster you get to us, the faster and easier we’ll be able to solve your problem. There are plenty of examples of situations that can end in painful, costly procedures if you wait too long. Take knocked out teeth for example- they have a chance to be saved if you get to us soon enough. Wait too long, however, and you may have to get a replacement tooth on top of a root canal.
When something happens that requires emergency dentist services; we are on the case. We have years of experience treating toothaches, chipped teeth, tooth loss, and more. We can help you relieve the pain and get you back to a happy smile in no time. That’s our promise: providing the best emergency dental care to the Somerville, MA area.
Oral Cancer Screenings
Oral cancer is a scary thing that isn’t talked about often enough. It’s not a minor issue that should go on undiagnosed. It’s a major, life-threatening disease that deserves to be taken seriously. Depending on the location, time of diagnosis, and more, survival rates can vary. Here are some stats from www.cancer.org regarding the survival issues of varying oral cancers over five years.
Key:
Local: Cancer is still an area of origin and likely caught early.
Regional: Cancer has spread to areas surrounding origin.
Distant: Cancer spread to varying locations far from the original origin.
| Stage | Lip | Tongue | Floor Of the Mouth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local: | 93% | 48% | 52% |
| Regional: | 78% | 63% | 36% |
| Distant: | 75% | 38% | 20% |
We provide these stats not to scare you, but to show you how important it is to detect oral cancer early. The sooner you catch the cancer, the higher your chances of survival. Unfortunately, this also means the longer it takes to be detected, the higher the risk of fatality. Therefore, West Somerville Dental actively performs oral cancer screenings in Sudbury, MA, at all regular check-ups for our patients. You are important to us, and we want to help you get the care you deserve through early detection.
At West Somerville Dental, you are our key focus. If it’s been a while since your last dental check-up, you should get in touch. It’s always better have an oral cancer screening performed early rather than too late. We’re here for you – all you must do is give us a call or schedule online today!
Sealants
When we apply a dental sealant, we paint a plastic coating on top of your teeth. This makes your teeth smooth getting rid of the rough edges, depressions, and grooves that are commonly found on teeth. It is essentially a protective coating against tooth decay and cavities.
The most common place to paint sealants is on back teeth since they are often irregular. They can also be very hard to reach, even if you brush your teeth regularly. We use it more on children though we do perform sealants on adults too!
Night Guards
It can be beneficial to use a guard, or covering, to protect your teeth from grinding while sleeping. Similar to how a mouthguard protects teeth during sports, this layer prevents damage to the teeth that can occur naturally.
There are a wide variety of different types of mouthguards, ranging from pre-formed pieces to ones that are custom fitted to your teeth and jaws. Some of these can even be formed at home through a boil-and-bite process.
Sports Mouth Guards
As dentists, we are determined to make sure your mouth and teeth are well protected during sports activities, no matter what your passion is. To do this, we offer many different types of mouth guards, depending on the types of activities in which you are involved. There are some mouth guards for low-impact sports and others for high-impact sports.
Mouth guards not only protect your mouth and teeth, but also have other purposes. Mouth guards will help decrease the impact if you get hit in the jaw. They have also been shown to increase an athlete’s performance.
Many people clench their teeth while playing, which can give them temporomandibular joint syndrome (TMJ). Clenching your jaw the whole time can be quite exhausting. Mouth guards help to relax your jaw, allowing you to completely focus on the game!
TMJ Treatment
At West Somerville Dental Associates, we are proud to offer temporomandibular joint dysfunction, otherwise known as TMJ, treatments to provide relief for our patients. TMJ is caused by an inflammation in the temporomandibular joint, which acts as a sliding hinge that connects your jawbone to your skull.
What are the symptoms of TMJ?
TMJ causes pain and discomfort along the jawbone and can make it painful to even move your jaw. While jaw pain and discomfort don’t always equate to TMJ, if you are also experiencing headaches, trouble chewing, or pain in the face, jaw, and ear, you’re more than likely experiencing TMJ.
Wisdom Teeth Extractions
Wisdom teeth are the last set of molars. Most people start to get their wisdom teeth when they are teenagers, though some teeth don’t come in until you are in your early twenties.
Wisdom teeth have a purpose. They are another set of molars, but more often than not they cause more problems than they are worth. Wisdom teeth can come in misaligned, facing any direction. They can even try to come in horizontally, growing into your other teeth. This can damage your nerves and even your jawbone.
Since wisdom teeth are often harmful, most dentists recommend their removal. The surgery goes much better if you get the teeth removed before any signs of problem. The recovery is easier also. Surgery and recovery are also easier when you are younger.