General Dentistry encompasses examinations, x-rays, cleanings, and filling restorations.

We recommend everyone to have check-ups and cleanings every 6 months with x-rays taken at least once every year. Depending on your insurance, we take full mouth series of x-rays once every couple of years in order to rule out any potential issues such as infections or cavities. We also do a thorough oral cancer screening at this time to detect any malignancies or abnormalities. Please inform us if there are any problems such as pain, swelling, or sensitivity.

Cavities are bacteria that have penetrated through the outer enamel layer of teeth and are burrowing deeper inside. Once the cavity starts to break into the inner dentinal layer of the tooth, we recommend a filling. The process may involve local anesthesia and consists of drilling out the cavity and restoring the space with a white composite resin that matches your tooth shade. We always check your bite afterward to ensure you are comfortable before you leave.

Prosthodontics is divided into fixed prosth which consists of crowns and bridges that stay "fixed" onto your teeth and removable prosth which are complete or partial dentures that you use during the day and take out at night.

Crowns are metal-ceramic inserted onto a prepared tooth when much of the outer tooth structure has been compromised or when a root canal has been performed on a tooth. Bridges are 3 crowns fused together and placed over two adjacent teeth surrounding an area where one or more teeth are missing.

Another option for missing teeth is implants which are metal screws placed into your bone with a crown attached that acts just like a normal tooth. Currently, we refer out the implant surgery portion (placing the metal screw) and restore the implant crown once the surgery is completed.

Dentures are a more affordable alternative to fixed prosthodontics. If all of your teeth are missing, we would fabricate a complete denture although we highly recommend asking for implants with "button attachments" placed in your gums that click into your denture in order to create more stability for chewing. Partial dentures replace several teeth that are missing onto a framework with acrylic teeth in those missing locations.

Endodontics is the field of root canals. If a cavity has advanced too far into the tooth past the outer enamel and inner dentin, it then invades into the center of the tooth where the pulp chamber lies. This contains the tooth's blood and nerve supply and is the reason why people feel "toothaches" or "tooth pain".

Once this has occurred, the only options are extraction or a root canal. If the doctor determines there is enough tooth structure, then a root canal can be performed and a crown would be placed afterward.

In this procedure, the patient is given local anesthesia, then the nerve of the tooth is removed and cleaned and a filling material called gutta-percha is placed inside the root(s) of the tooth in order to seal off and prevent infection from occurring.

Dr. Naik performs root canals on all teeth given they are good candidates. If a case is determined to have complications, we refer to an endodontic specialist.

Orthodontics is the field of braces, Invisalign, and straightening teeth.

We currently participate in a program called Candid Pro, a less invasive and more interactive alternative to both braces and Invisalign. For any other cases, we refer to an orthodontic specialist.

Oral surgery involves extractions, implants, and other procedures that require surgery in the mouth.

Currently, we perform simple extractions in the office and refer more complicated extractions as well as implant surgery to an oral surgeon.