Perio Protect® mouth tray
As the body tries to destroy the bacteria under the gum, it also destroys the bone around the teeth. This bone loss around the teeth is called periodontal (gum) disease. The best way to prevent it is to brush and floss, get professional dental cleanings every 3-4 months, and avoid harmful habits such as smoking and chewing tobacco. Some people, such as diabetics, are more susceptible to gum disease than others.
Currently, Dr. Maron's office uses the following methods to help fight gum disease:
- Ultrasonic scalers—The hygienists use these instruments to clean the teeth and rinse below the gum with different medications such as chlorhexidine.
- 10-day time-released antibiotic—We place this painless medication, called Arrestin, in localized areas of gum disease.
- Perio Protect®—Our Perio Protect treatment is an at-home technique that uses a set of mouth trays to deliver a peroxide gel beneath the gum.You wear the mouth trays twice a day for 10-15 minutes each treatment. Research shows that using Perio Protect eliminates more than 99 percent of the bacteria under the gum. The treatment is easy, does not involve surgery, and offers the additional benefits of lightening the teeth and decreasing bad breath.
For more information, see our FAQs on tooth and gum problems.
Patient's teeth before Invisalign orthodontics
Patient's teeth after Invisalign expanded the arch to fit the teeth
- Invisalign clear braces—A virtually invisible method for repositioning your teeth, Invisalign orthodontics uses clear plastic aligners that you can remove before eating and before cleaning the teeth. Dr. Maron, together with Invisalign specialists, designs a comprehensive computerized treatment plan that shows the gradual changes in your tooth position and the expected outcome. Before beginning the procedure, you can view the plan. The Invisalign lab creates a series of aligners that you wear in 7-14 day increments. Each set of aligners moves the teeth only a small distance (.25 mm). Typically, the treatment lasts 6 months-1 year.
For more information, see our FAQs on Invisalign orthodontics.
Patient’s teeth before having porcelain veneers
Patient’s teeth after having porcelain veneers to change the shape of the teeth
Having a healthy, bright, beautiful smile enhances your appearance and allows you to smile with confidence. Dr. Maron can help you improve your teeth and smile with painless and affordable treatments. He uses plastic fillings, porcelain veneers, or crowns to fix misshaped teeth and bleaches teeth to whiten them.
- Plastic fillings—We now use the Bioclear method for our cosmetic plastic fillings. We are able to repair fractured teeth or misshapen teeth and restore teeth that would have required crowns years ago. Using the Bioclear technique involves injection molding of heated composite to shape teeth and restore large cavities. Heating the plastic (composite) makes it stronger. It also decreases porosity that can cause staining and decreases future breakage and chipping, giving restorations that last more years.
- Porcelain veneers—These custom-made semi-translucent shells cover the front side of teeth. They are appropriate for treating spaces between teeth and for masking teeth that are chipped or worn, permanently stained, poorly shaped, or slightly crooked. In situations where the tooth is too badly broken down for a plastic filling, using a porcelain veneer is a more conservative treatment than using a crown because we only need to remove a minimal amount of tooth. We use our Easyshade® spectrophotometer to help select a color that will match the adjacent teeth.
- Porcelain crowns—Also known as caps, these custom-made translucent shells match your tooth color and surround and support the entire tooth. They are appropriate for protecting teeth from breaking; and for teeth that are already broken, discolored or badly shaped. Porcelain crowns are natural looking and bond well to teeth. To have the crowns blend in with the adjacent teeth, our office uses the Easyshade spectrophotometer to help determine the proper tooth color.
- Zirconium crowns—Fabricated using CAD/CAM computer-generated technology, these crowns are made of the same hard material as artificial diamonds. They are very strong and natural looking. We use zirconium crowns in areas of the mouth where strength is important. We use gold crowns where strength is a primary concern.
- Bleaching—If teeth are intact, but do not have a pleasing color, our choice is to whiten the teeth using a peroxide solution. The patient performs this treatment at home by filling customized mouth trays and wearing them for an hour a day until the teeth lighten. We offer an in-office version of bleaching, but this treatment is no more effective and is more expensive.
Implant (not visible) with white zirconium abutment
Implant restored with zirconium crown
Missing teeth cause many problems including movement of adjacent teeth, difficulty speaking and eating, and low self-esteem. If you are missing one or more teeth, Dr. Maron offers several affordable options for durable, attractive replacement teeth to rejuvenate your smile and increase your chewing function. He custom designs a tooth replacement using one of these options:
- Implants—This treatment option involves anchoring a titanium screw in the jawbone. Implants are 90-95 per cent successful as long as as long as enough bone is available.
Implants are of two kinds, conventional and mini, and have two main uses. Conventional dental implants are wider than mini dental implants and might require bone grafts. Both types of Implants have two main uses. The first use is to replace a tooth or missing teeth. The implant is placed and a crown or bridge is cemented on the implant. The second use is to help retain loose dentures. Nylon rings in thimbles are inserted in a denture. The nylon rings snap onto the implants and give retention to the loose denture.
- Bridges—This treatment option consists of a prosthetic tooth (or teeth) that attaches to crowns on the adjacent teeth. Like an implant, a bridge is not removable; however, unlike an implant, which stands alone, a bridge depends on adjacent teeth to secure it.
- Full dentures—This custom-fitted removable appliance replaces all of the upper or lower teeth and consists of false teeth mounted in a plastic gum-colored base. The full denture relies on the coordination of your muscles for retention. Another option is to use several implants to retain the denture.
- Partial dentures—This custom-fitted removable appliance replaces a few missing teeth and consists of multiple teeth on a gum-colored base. Usually the appliance attaches to the mouth with metal clasps or brackets.
- Baby teeth—If a baby tooth gets knocked out, it should not be put back in the socket. Wait for the adult tooth to erupt.
News flash
Dr. Maron is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine (ABDSM), which is the highest credential a dentist can earn in dental sleep medicine.