Keeping Teeth Clean

We'll help you keep your smile beautiful and healthy.

You may not know it, but there's more to cleaning teeth than brushing and flossing. We evaluate each patient individually to determine which treatment best suits their periodontal health.

There are three types of cleaning procedures used at NSDG:

Adult Prophylaxis In dental terms, this familiar procedure is called prophylaxis and is described as: "scaling and polishing to remove coronal plaque, calculus and stains above the gums." We call it good maintenance for patients who have a healthy mouth with no gum or bone problems. Other procedures exist for patients who have any bone loss, periodontal disease, or infection around their teeth. If you have mobility of your teeth, bleeding, receded areas where your gums have pulled away from your teeth, or gaps where the spaces around the roots of your teeth are exposed, regular/standard cleaning is not the best method of cleaning for you.

Root Planing

The procedure removes bacteria, toxins and diseased deposits from the surfaces of tooth roots. It is one of the first steps in treating gum and bone disease, otherwise known as periodontal disease.

Periodontal disease is very common, but doesn't always have distinct symptoms. It is an inflammation and infection of the supporting structures of the teeth (gums, bone, ligaments, root surfaces) that eventually results in the loss of your teeth. If your gums bleed easily, are red or swollen, or your teeth appear longer or have shifter, this may be the appropriate treatment for you.

Periodontal Maintenance

If you have periodontal disease and we use root planing to remove deposits from the roots of your teeth, regular or standard cleaning treatments are no longer appropriate. Instead, you will require on-going gum and bone care procedures to keep your mouth healthy.

If you are treated for periodontal disease (through surgery or root planing), we will consult with you and explain the components of an on-going periodontal maintenance program. Typically, an interval of three months between appointments is most effective.

Pediatric Prophylaxis

For our youngest patients, we create a positive experience and focus on teaching good oral hygiene and dietary habits. A fluoride treatment is included to keep developing teeth strong.

If you feel you may benefit from tooth whitening, come talk with us about it. At North Seattle Dental Group, we use the Zoom! Chairside Whitening System procedure for patients looking for immediate results.

In just over an hour, your teeth become dramatically whiter.

Is it safe? Whitening is one of the safest cosmetic dental procedures available, but we do NOT recommend this procedure for women who are pregnant or lactating); and any whitening procedures are unsuitable for children under 13.

Is it easy? The procedure is simple. It begins with a short preparation to cover your lips and gums, leaving only your teeth exposed. We then apply a whitening gel and use a specially-designed light on the gel. This causes it to gently penetrate your teeth, breaking up stains and discoloration.

How does it work? The light-activated whitening gel's active ingredient is Hydrogen Peroxide. As the gel is broken down by the light, oxygen enters the enamel and dentin-bleaching colored substances while unchanging the structure of your teeth.

How does it take? The complete procedure takes approximately three hours from start to finish.

How long does it last? With proper care, your teeth will always be lighter than they were before and your smile will sparkle for years. To keep your teeth looking their best, we recommend flossing, brushing twice daily, and occasional touch-ups with the included take-home bleaching trays.

* Light sensitive individuals, anyone undergoing photochemotherapy or PUVA therapy, or those with melanoma should not undergo the Zoom! procedure. The degree of whiteness will vary from patient to patient, depending on the structure of your teeth.

Breath easier with night guards designed to combat sleep apnea.

If you are a heavy or chronic snorer, you may have heard mention of "sleep apnea" from friends or loved ones. It's a treatable disorder in which a person stops breathing during sleep (often hundreds of times during the night). Help is available in custom-fit mouth guards designed just for you.

It is estimated that at least 10 million Americans have unrecognized sleep apnea. The most common type is known as "obstructive" sleep apnea where the soft tissue in the rear of the throat collapses and closes the airway-stopping the sleeper from breathing repeatedly during the night.

Untreated sleep apnea can cause high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and weight gain. Custom-fitted night guards can often treat sleep apnea, keeping the airway open and unobstructed for airflow and normal breathing during sleep. The bonus? Besides better health and better sleep, it reduces your snoring so your neighbors sleep easier, too!

A medical exam and sleep study by a doctor specializing in sleep disorders is needed prior to fabricating a snore-guard to ensure proper treatment.

Feel like you're eating too much? There's a good chance the problem isn't just what you eat, but how you eat. When we eat too fast, we often ingest more than we really need. You can learn new eating habits to eat slower and notice more easily when you are full.

The DDS System works through a discreet, oral insert that is custom-made to fit you comfortably and reduce the size of your oral cavity-training you to take smaller bites. It is a behavior modification system that slows down your consumption of food. By eating slower, you notice that you are satiated or feeling full before eating more than you need.

Dental injuries are the most common type of oro-facial injury caused by sports. More than 200,000 are prevented annually in the U.S. by athletes who wear mouth guards, yet more than 5 million teeth will be knocked out in sporting activities this year alone. At NSDG, we hope to change those statistics.

We encourage youth, high school, and college athletes to be fitted for custom mouth guards and protect their teeth. Invented in 1982, PLAYSAFE has become the top choice in custom fabricated mouth guards for athletes in Europe, Australia, and the US. At NSDG, we can custom fit guards for children and adults and have a variety of levels of protection depending on your sport.

You may be grinding your teeth in your sleep and have a condition called "bruxism"-a habit of grinding or clenching your teeth that can be treated by correcting your bite or with a custom-fit night guard.

In addition to causing discomfort, bruxism can wear away or fracture tooth enamel and may loosen your teeth. A form-fitting, night-guard is made of hard material that slips over the upper teeth. It provides cushioning and relieves some of the pressure that can damage your jaw joints and teeth.

Teeth grinding can also be caused by an abnormal bite, so if you are experiencing pain or find yourself clenching your teeth often, come in for a consultation.

Enhance Your Smile

Restorative dentistry is designed to enhance your smile's aesthetics.

Veneers: Porcelain veneers are ultra-thin shells of ceramic material, which are bonded to the front of teeth. This procedure requires little or no anesthesia, and can be the ideal choice for improving the appearance of the front teeth. Porcelain veneers are placed to mask discolorations, to brighten teeth, and to improve a smile. Highly resistant to permanent staining from coffee, tea or even cigarettes, the wafer-thin porcelain veneers can achieve a tenacious bond to the tooth, resulting in n esthetically pleasing naturalness.

Bonding: Bonding is used commonly to describe placement of composite fillings. A composite resin is a tooth-colored plastic mixture filled with glass (silicon dioxide). Introduced in the 1960s, dental composites were confined to the front teeth because they were not strong enough to withstand the pressure and wear generated by the back teeth. Since then, composites have been significantly improved and are now used on back teeth as well. They are not only used to restore decayed areas, but composite resins are also used for cosmetic improvements of the smile by changing the color of the teeth or reshaping disfigured teeth.

Implants: Implant technology has improved so significantly that most people who undergo the implant procedure don't feel a difference between their implants and their reel teeth. What they do notice is the remarkable difference between implants and dentures and the ability to brush their teeth, enjoy crunchy, crispy foods, smile with confidence, laugh without fear, speak freely and enjoy healthy mouths. Come in to discuss how modern implants can be used to replace just a few missing teeth or a whole set.

Crowns: A crown is a restoration that covers or "caps" a tooth to restore it to its normal shape and size, strengthening and improving the appearance of a tooth. Crowns are necessary when a tooth is generally broken down and fillings won't solve the problem. If a tooth is cracked, a crown holds the tooth together to seal the cracks so the damage doesn't worsen. Crowns are also used to support a large filling when there isn't enough of the tooth remaining, attach a bridge, protect weak teeth from fracturing, restore fractured teeth, or cover badly shaped or discolored teeth.