My practice can provide a wide range of dental services. I can typically provide every type of dental service without having to refer a patient to the other specialties. This flexibility saves patient’s time & keeps the total dental care within one practice. My emphasis is on total preventive care for my patients. Total care begins with regular hygiene visits, regular checkups & continued home oral health routines.

My practice also provides the highest-quality services for restoring mouths that have been damaged by dental disease, injury & common problems that require cosmetic dentistry. My primary goal for my patients is to achieve & maintain optimum oral health through advances in techniques, technologies & by maintaining their scheduled dental check-ups. Specifically, cavity fillings are very common in my practice.

• Tooth coloured fillings bond to the tooth; they strengthen the tooth by restoring most of its original shape. Silver amalgams, on the other hand, weaken the teeth & make them more susceptible to breaking. Broken teeth can be very expensive to replace
• Tooth coloured filling composites are preferred by most patients. This is due to the natural color, strength & overall appearance & feel. Composites are naturally more comfortable.
• Hot & cold sensitivity is greatly reduced with composite material compared to the silver/mercury amalgams.
• Restorations with composites require less removal of tooth, less structure to place than those with amalgams & especially with new cavities. Dramatically smaller holes are needed with a composite.
• Tooth coloured fillings are healthier because no traces of mercury are used, unlike silver amalgams.

The concept of a “filling” is replacing & restoring tooth structure that is damaged due to decay or fracture with an artificial material. For over a century, dentists have been using mercury amalgam as fillings for cavities. As a result of the ongoing health controversy surrounding the use of mercury, I also use white fillings. The controversy is ongoing, sometimes bitter, & confusing to many. It was once believed that if a tooth was filled with amalgam, the mercury in the amalgam would harden & become inert. Now we know that’s not true, & that low levels of mercury vapor are released over time.

Mercury is a poison that in large doses can cause brain damage, kidney malfunction, memory loss, & depression. I do not recommend replacing existing mercury amalgam fillings, because the levels of mercury vapor released have not been shown to be a health hazzard. Tooth coloured composite fillings offer many benefits other than the abscence of mercury. They are much more natural looking, & never discolor neighboring teeth or tissues as mercury fillings are prone to do. Their durability has greatly improved in recent years.

I would like to give an overview on the ultrasonic scaling here. To fight periodontal disease, there is a need to reduce plaque, tartar & the number of bacteria in the pockets in your mouth. One device used to remove calculus from teeth is an ultrasonic scaler. It consists of a wand with a small scaling tip that produces a soft ultrasonic vibration. The small, quick vibrations in combination with a water flow give us a whole new level of effectiveness in calculus removal. The benefits of ultrasonic scaling include removing of calculus & reducing the number of harmful bacteria below the gum line. It is an important tool in the prevention & treatment of periodontal disease.

I hope this gives an fair idea about ultrasonic scaling. I would touch upon more details in further blogs.

Regards
Dr. Swati Agarwal
(http://www.dentistswati.com)