As a multi-specialty group practice with a highly skilled general dentist on site, we provide a wide range of services. We put emphasis on preventive care, restoring mouths that have been damaged by dental disease and injury, and cosmetic dentistry. We are therefore almost always able to provide all the dental care services that our patients require and need on-site with very few referrals to other specialists off-site. Our primary goal for our patients is to achieve and maintain optimum oral health for them and their families. Hence our emphasis on preventative care through regular cleanings and care with our hygiene staff and when necessary with our dentist. Design Smiles Teeth Whitening Veneers White Fillings Bonding Crowns & Bridges Implants A BEAUTIFUL SMILE, LIKE A DIAMOND, IS PRICELESS AND FOREVER! It Tells “A World” About You! It Says Who You Are! It Exudes That Inner Sparkling Person….ality In You! Your Confident Self-Esteem! Are you holding back the “true you” because you are not comfortable with your smile? Have you wished you had someone else’s smile? Are you embarrassed when you speak or laugh because of: Discolored, chipped or cracked teeth? Crooked or crowded teeth? Uneven or worn teeth? Unsightly spaces in your teeth? You don’t have to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable about your smile anymore because: Today, The PERFECT SMILE CAN NOT ONLY BE EASIER THAN EVER BUT ALSO AFFORDABLE. Yes, Dr. Ault has transformed the smiles of many of our patients and is ready to work with you to: Design & Create the Smile of Your DREAMS! A Natural, beautiful and more alluring smile that can be your beginning of a more successful lifestyle. For a complimentary smile evaluation & analysis, Click Here to schedule your appointment or call us today @ (808) 322-9355. We’ll be happy to arrange a smile evaluation for you with Dr. Ault. Back to top Teeth Whitening Our teeth naturally darken over time. When we eat certain foods, consume beverages like coffee, tea, and soda or use tobacco, our teeth can get stained. Discoloration can also be the result of childhood medications or illnesses. To restore your naturally looking teeth color and brighten your smile, we provide bleaching and tooth whitening. One of the most effective and technologically advanced whitening products today that we provide is the Brite Smile teeth whitening system. It is not only an effective way to whiten your teeth. It is a fast and simple procedure that can be done in about an hour. The Brite Smile Professional Teeth whitening treatment consists of a gentle hydrogen-peroxide gel activated by a special gas plasma light. The science behind Brite-Smile is the secret to our success. The Brite Smile gas plasma light technology, combined with a proprietary new, wavelength-specific gentle bleaching gel, has created a revolutionary method of teeth whitening which quickly, safely and effectively whitens all teeth at once. Your satisfaction is guaranteed. FREE BRITE SMILE MAINTENANCE KIT & TOOTHPASTE With your Brite Smile Treatment. To welcome you to our office & help you smile brightly. CALL (808) 322-9355 today to make your appointment. NOTHING FRESHENS UP YOUR APPEARANCE LIKE A WHITER BRIGHTER SMILE!! Back to top VENEER Veneers are thin, semi-translucent facings or “shell” usually customized from porcelain and bonded permanently to one’s teeth. While not suitable for every patient, veneers are a cosmetic alternative for a variety of dental conditions of the front teeth including: Spaces between the teeth Broken or chipped teeth Unsightly, stained or discolored teeth Permanently stained or discolored teeth Crooked or misshapen teeth We can make changes to the shape, size and color of your teeth using porcelain veneers, subtle changes that can aesthetically alter or enhance your smile dramatically and change your overall social outlook. In most cases, only two visits are needed create your new and improved looks, possibly bypassing orthodontic treatment. Back to top FILLINGS The concept of “filling” is replacing and restoring tooth structure that is removed due to decay or fracture with a material. Our dentist will replace old, broken down amalgam/metal fillings that contain traces of mercury with white fillings (composites) to restore your smile to a more natural look. With today’s technology, you no longer have to suffer the embarrassment of unsightly and unhealthy silver/mercury fillings or metal margins of the past. Space-age, state-of-the-art, tooth-colored resin or porcelain adhesive materials are used to replace dark, looking amalgam fillings. White Fillings versus Silver Amalgam fillings: Because white fillings bond to the tooth, they strengthen the tooth by restoring most of its original strength. Silver amalgams on the other hand weaken the teeth and make them more susceptible to breaking. Since broken teeth are very expensive to restore, white filling composites can save a lot of money to the patient in the long run. White filling composites, unlike silver amalgams, restore the natural appearance of the tooth, and enhance your smile tremendously. Our patients prefer them because of the way they look and feel and the fact that they strengthen their teeth. Teeth restored with composites are less sensitive to hot and cold than those restored with silver/metal amalgams. Teeth restorations with composites require less removal of tooth, structure to place than those with amalgams and especially with new cavities, the size of the hole for the filling can be dramatically smaller with a composite. White fillings are healthier because they do not have any traces of mercury in them, unlike silver amalgams. Back to top C0MPOSITE BONDING Bonding is a dental technique or solution for: Repairing and fixing chipped or cracked teeth Hiding discoloration on the tooth’s surface and Reducing unsightly gaps between the teeth. It is often used to improve the appearance of your teeth and enhance your smile. As the name indicates, it refers to any composite material, either a plastic or resin that is bonded to an existing tooth. Unlike veneers or crowns, composite bonding removes little if any of the original tooth Composite bonding has many advantages over veneers or crowns namely: It is a quick process, which typically lasts less than one hour. It is a popular choice because it does not reduce the tooth’s original structure and is relatively inexpensive. Composite resins also come in many different shades, which therefore allow for matching the shades to the natural color of your original tooth. Bonds however are typically not as durable and long lasting as veneers and crowns and may need to be re-touched or replaced every five to ten years. In order to insure the longest possible duration of the bonding, proper care of the bonded tooth is recommended. This means, like the rest of your teeth, it should be brushed and flossed daily especially if you drink coffee, tea, or smoke tobacco, all of which stain composite bonds. Back to top CROWNS & BRIDGES A crown is a permanent covering that fits over an original tooth that is decayed, damaged or cracked. Crowns are generally made of porcelain, gold and other metals, acrylic resin or an amalgam or mix of these materials. Porcelains typically have the most natural appearance although they tend to be less durable than the other materials. For a patient qualifying for a crown, the treatment plan generally involves: Numbing the tooth to be crowned to remove the decay in or around it. Re-sculpturing the tooth to provide an easy fit for the crown. Making an impression of your teeth to send to a dental laboratory where custom-made crowns will be created (usually takes one to two weeks). Making a temporary crown out of acrylic resin and fitting them onto the teeth during the interim period when the permanent custom-made crowns are being created. Applying the permanent crown (when received from the lab) by removing the temporary crown and fitting the permanent one onto the tooth. The dentist makes sure the crown has the proper look and fit and then cements it into place. A minimum of 2-3 trips or visits over a three to four week period is what it takes for the treatment to be completed. Again, once the procedure is completed, proper dental hygiene care including daily brushing and flossing is required to maintain your teeth, gums and crown healthy and free from the bacteria that can cause gum disease. Given proper care, your crowns can last a long time including a lifetime. A bridge is a dental device that is used to fill a space where a tooth has fallen out or has been removed. A bridge may be necessary where spaces exist in the mouth to prevent: Multiple shifting of the teeth that can lead to biting (occlusion) problems and/or Jaw problems and resultant periodontal disease. Bridges safeguard the integrity of existing teeth and help maintain a healthy vibrant smile. There are 3 main types of bridges namely: Fixed bridge- the most popular among the three, consists of a filler tooth that is attached to two crowns, which fits over the existing teeth to hold the bridge in place. “Maryland” bridge-commonly used to replace missing front teeth, consists of a filler that is attached to metal bands that are bonded to the abutment teeth and the metal bands are hidden with a white colored composite resin. Cantilever bridge- a type often used when there are teeth on only one side of the span. A typical 3 unit cantilever bridge consists of 2 crowned teeth positioned next to each other on the same side of the missing tooth space. The filler tooth is then connected to the two crowned teeth, which extend into the missing tooth space or end. Back to top IMPLANTS Dental Implants are artificial tooth replacements that were first developed about half a century ago by a Swedish scientist named Per-Ingvar Branemark out of a real need of patients to secure their loose-fitting dentures. Since then, the knowledge and engineering of implants has enabled dentists and their patients to expand their usefulness in many ways that was once not possible including replacing missing or lost tooth. Today, the implant techniques provide a wide range of tooth replacement solutions including: Single Tooth Replacement Anterior Replacement Posterior Replacement and Full Upper Replacement Types of Implants There are three main types of implants namely: The root implant The plate form implant and The subperiosteal implant The root implant, which is by far the most popular, is also the most effective because it mirrors the size and shape of a patient’s natural tooth. And many times, this implant will be as strong structurally as the patient’s original tooth’s root. The implant or artificial root is placed with precision and care into the jawbone under local anesthesia, then allowed to heal and integrate with the bone. Once the healing process, which takes from three to eight months, is complete and the jawbone is completely attached to the implant, the patient returns to the dental office where the implant is fitted with the new tooth. The plate form implant is generally ideal in situations where the jawbone is not wide enough to properly support a root implant. The plate form implant is long and thin, unlike the root implant, and anchors into thin jawbones. It is inserted the same way as a root implant, but in certain cases, they are immediately fitted with the restoration without waiting for the healing process to be completed. The subperiosteal implant is used when the jawbone has receded to the point where it no longer supports a permanent implant. IMPLANT AS A MORE APPROPRIATE TREATMENT OPTION If the missing tooth space has no surrounding teeth, as is always the case with a cantilever bridge and sometimes with the “Maryland” bridge, the dentist may decide an implant as the most appropriate treatment choice or option. The treatment plan for a bridge which usually require 2 trips to your dentist generally involves: Numbing the surrounding teeth with a local anesthesia and cleaning any plaque or decay that remains. Reducing the teeth so that the crowns can be fitted. Making a mold or impression of the teeth and sending it off to a dental laboratory where the customized permanent impression is prepared (generally takes 1-2 weeks to return to the office). Fitting patient with a temporary bridge made of acrylic resin until the permanent bridge is returned from the laboratory. Removing the temporary bridge and replacing it with the permanent one. Adjusting the bridge for the proper bite and fit and permanently bonding it into the mouth. POST IMPLANT CARE Although proper dental hygiene care is always recommended for maintaining good dental health care, this is especially true once a patient has received a dental implant. Bacteria can easily attack sensitive areas in the mouth when teeth and gums are not properly cleaned causing gums to swell and jaw bones to gradually recede. Continued recession of the jawbone will weaken implants and eventually make it necessary for the implant to be removed. Patients are advised to visit their dentists at least twice a year to ensue the health of their teeth and implants. Dental implants can last 25 years or longer if given proper care.