We are constantly striving to provide our patients with the finest dental care available. Our investment in advanced technology means a long-term investment in your future, because state-of-the-art technology invites informed decision-making and enables patients to make wise choices concerning their oral health.

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Sedation

There's so much dentistry can do these days to make your mouth healthier and your smile more beautiful. Yet many people don't take advantage of this because of a long-standing fear of dental treatment. If you are one of these people, rest assured that we can provide an experience that's free of anxiety and pain. We can do this by blocking your sensations of pain with local anesthetics or by giving you medication that can help you relax. Sometimes both are needed to ensure maximum comfort, especially if you are someone for whom the injections that deliver local anesthetics are themselves a major source of anxiety.


When you are afraid of dental treatment, your guard goes up and your pain threshold goes down; anticipating that something will hurt makes you hypersensitive to every sensation — even sound. If this describes your experience in the dental chair, then you should talk to us about sedatives we can give you during your visit to make that anxiety melt away.


Before recommending any particular sedative to you, we will first need to obtain your complete health history, including any medications you are currently taking — both prescription strength and over-the-counter. It is also important for us to know if you smoke or drink. On the day of your treatment, you may need to have someone drive you to and from your appointment as certain medications take time to wear off.


Oral Sedation

Oral sedation (given by mouth) is a popular option for many people precisely because it does not require the use of needles. Oral sedatives are either swallowed whole in pill form or can be dissolved under the tongue. Both methods work in a matter of minutes. A variety of oral sedative and anxiolytic (anxiety-dissolving) medications have been developed through extensive research and testing to make your experience of dental treatment as comfortable and relaxing as possible.

All have long safety records after decades of use, and several even have “amnesic” properties, meaning you will remember little to nothing, even though you are conscious throughout the treatment. Commonly prescribed medications include Valium®, Halcion®, Sonata®, Ativan®, Vistaril®, and Versed®.



Inhalation Conscious Sedation

Nitrous oxide (also known as laughing gas), a sedative you inhale, has been used in dental offices for nearly 100 years. It is an excellent pain reliever that can be used by itself or in conjunction with anti-anxiety medication taken by mouth. It is administered through a nasal hood, which resembles a small cup that is placed over your nose. The oxygen mixed with nitrous oxide provides a light-headed or even euphoric feeling, which is quick to wear off so there is no “hangover” effect. All bodily functions remain essentially normal during the use of this sedative, which is very safe.


IV Conscious Sedation

Sedatives delivered directly into the bloodstream intravenously (into the vein) are more potent than when taken orally, and the amnesic effects may be more profound. Because IV sedation has an almost immediate effect on the body and its functions — including heart rate, blood pressure and breathing — there is a higher degree of risk associated with it than with other types of sedatives. There is also a higher level of training required for those who administer it. As with all sedation (except nitrous oxide), you must be monitored with specialized equipment throughout your IV sedation treatment. The main advantage is that drugs administered this way work immediately and the level of sedation can be adjusted more quickly and easily. And with most sedatives, you won't remember a thing about your dental procedure after the sedative wears off.

Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Pain Therapy

If you experience ongoing pain in the area near your ear, your jaw or the muscles on the side of your face, possibly accompanied by a clicking or popping sound or restricted jaw movement, you may be suffering from TMD — an abbreviation for Temporomandibular disorders. Sometimes people incorrectly use the term TMJ to refer to these problems, when in fact TMJ is the abbreviation for the temporomandibular joint — or jaw joint — itself. So while you definitely have a TMJ (two of them in fact), you may or may not have TMD.


TMD, then, describes a group of conditions characterized by pain and dysfunction of the TMJ and/or the muscles surrounding it. It's not always so easy to figure out exactly what's causing these symptoms, but the good news is that most TMD cases resolve themselves with the help of conservative remedies we will recommend for you to do at home. In fact, it's important to exhaust all such reversible remedies before moving on to anything irreversible, such as bridgework or surgery.


The two TMJs that connect your lower jaw, the mandible, to the temporal bone of the skull on either side, are actually very complex joints that allow movement in three dimensions. The lower jaw and temporal bone fit together as a ball and socket, with a cushioning disk in between. Large pairs of muscles in the cheeks and temples move the lower jaw. Any of these parts — the disk, the muscles or the joint itself — can become the source of a TMD problem. If you are in pain, or are having difficulty opening or closing your jaw, we will do a thorough examination to try to pinpoint the problem area and suggest appropriate remedies.


Causes of TMD

As with any other joint, the TMJ can be subject to orthopedic problems including inflammation, sore muscles, strained tendons and ligaments, and disk problems. We also know that TMD is influenced by genes, gender (women appear to be more prone to it), and age. Physical and psychological stress can also be a factor. In some cases, jaw pain may be related to a more widespread, pain-inducing medical condition such as fibromyalgia (“fibro” – connective tissues; “myo” – muscle; “algia” – pain).


Signs and Symptoms of TMD

  • Clicking Sounds: Some people with TMD hear a clicking, popping or grating sound coming from the TMJ when opening or closing the mouth. This is usually caused by a shifting of the disk inside the joint. Someone standing next to you might even be able to hear it. Clicking by itself is actually not a significant symptom because one third of all people have jaw joints that click, studies show. However, if the clicking is accompanied by pain or limited jaw function — the jaw getting “stuck” in an open or closed position, for example — this would indicate TMD.
  • Muscle Pain: This can be felt in the cheeks (masseter muscles) and temples (temporalis muscles), where the two big pairs of jaw-closing muscles are located. If you feel soreness and stiffness upon waking up in the morning, it's often related to habits such as clenching and/or grinding the teeth at night. If you have this type of nocturnal habit, we can have a nightguard custom-made for you that should be very helpful in decreasing the force applied to your teeth, which will in turn allow your muscles to relax and relieve pressure on your jaw joints. Other self-care remedies are discussed below (please see Relieving the Pain).
  • Joint Pain: Pain that's actually coming from one or both jaw joints technically would be described as arthritis (“arth” – joint; “itis” – inflammation) of the TMJ. When we look at radiographs (x-ray pictures) we find that some people have arthritic-looking TMJs but no symptoms of pain or dysfunction; others have significant symptoms of pain and dysfunction but their joints look normal on radiographs. There is no cure for arthritis anywhere in the body, but medication can sometimes help relieve arthritic symptoms.


Relieving the Pain

Once we examine you, we will come up with a strategy for treating your condition and managing your pain. Sometimes a temporary change to a softer diet can reduce stress on the muscles and joints. Ice and/or moist heat can help relieve soreness and inflammation. Muscles in spasm can also be helped with gentle stretching exercises. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications and muscle relaxants can also provide relief.


Other Treatment Options

Severe TMD cases may require more complex forms of treatment, which might include orthodontics, dental restorations like bridgework, or minor procedures inside the joint such as cortisone injections or lavage (flushing) of the joint. It's rare for major surgery ever to be necessary in a case of TMD. Again, it's important to try the wide range of conservative, reversible treatments available, and give them enough time to work as they almost always prove effective. The first step is an examination here at our dental office. We don't want you to be in pain, so please come in and see us.

Sleep Apnea

At Fleetwood Dental, we provide comprehensive, effective dental sleep medicine through oral appliance therapy. Snoring affects millions of people of all ages, both male and female. Oral appliance therapy is the most common treatment for the most severe snoring problems. Treatment procedures range from changing your sleep patterns to utilizing customized oral appliances that help open the airways during sleep.


Common Causes of Snoring

Snoring is caused by the vibrations of your soft and/or hard tissue palates; these vibrations occur because of increasingly narrow air passages. When air passes through these passages, a “flapping” sound occurs because the tissue is soft in nature. Surgery (to alleviate the snoring) is not always successful, however, because the sound may not originate from the soft palate; the snoring sometimes originates from tissues in the upper airway.


Loud snorers may have a more serious case of blocked air passages, known as obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). In these cases, the blockage of air is so great that no air can get through, causing repeated awakenings throughout the night. Obstructive sleep apnea can contribute or lead to many other conditions, such as high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack and depression, so it is important to be diagnosed by a medical professional if you experience any sleep-related symptoms.

Common causes:

  • Smoking
  • Alcohol
  • Health problems 
  • Obesity
  • Obstructed nasal passages (deviated septum)
  • Poor muscle tone of the tongue
  • Daytime fatigue 
  • Sleep apnea
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Allergies
  • Sleep Apnea

Technology

Intraoral Camera

This camera allows us to quickly and easily photograph the inside of your mouth. The photographic image can be projected onto a color monitor. Because this magnification allows you to see your mouth more clearly, you are better able to participate in your treatment.


Panorex

Panorex film provides our doctors with a panoramic X-ray view of the oral cavity and provides information at a glance about existing fillings, supporting bone, sources of infection, tumors, cysts and decay. Panorex film shows more of the mouth and surrounding structures, but with less detail of individual teeth than small films.


High-tech Curing Lights

Unlike most medical lasers that cut or vaporize tissue, new systems have been specifically designed for curing dental composites. Composites are tooth-colored filling materials sometimes used in place of amalgam (silver) fillings. Composites are hard, durable materials that bond well to teeth and can be shaded to match the natural tooth color. Until recently, it could take several minutes to completely cure (or harden) a filling using a conventional curing light. With laser, plasma arc and LED technologies, a stronger and more durable filling is created in less time. Our patients find these to be comfortable treatment options for composite restorations, tooth bonding, ceramic inlays and veneers.


DIAGNOdent

This electronic diagnostic tool can detect cavities earlier in a more conservative manner.

Computers

Our computer system is designed to efficiently manage the most complex information in the dental industry. Our system handles treatment and payment options. We make sure our computer system takes care of the technicalities so that you are provided with the most up-to-date information available.


CAESY

The Clinically Advanced Education System is a wonderful dental education program. Patients can view the latest dental techniques in a step-by-step format through use of this interactive system.


ZEISS EXTARO® 300 Microscope

EXTARO 300 from ZEISS provides breakthrough visualization modes that introduce new applications to microdentistry. As the first dental microscope, it enables more efficient caries detection and a simpler tooth restoration workflow. ZEISS EXTARO 300 is especially designed to meet your needs and revolutionize your practice by leveraging microscope enhanced dentistry.


Laser Technology

At Fleetwood Dental, in striving for our mission to provide patient-centered dental care, we invest in the best dental technology on the market. Our Green CT 2 Laser scanner is no exception! This laser technology is an advanced 4-in-1 X-Ray Imaging System that incorporates PANO, CEPH, CBCT, and MODEL Scan. While providing this variety of high-quality images, perhaps more importantly, this scanner utilizes a very low x-ray dosage. It’s the new gold standard for modern dental technology!

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