FAQs
What payment options are available?
We proudly offer a variety of payment options to our patients. We accept cash, check, American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa and CareCredit. As a courtesy to our patients, we also accept dental insurance. However, dental insurance often does not cover all treatment costs, so we also ask for additional financial information in such an event.
I had a filling done a few weeks ago and that tooth is sensitive. Is that normal?
Sometimes when a tooth is worked on, it can create some temporary sensitivity that hopefully ultimately goes away. There are many variables that determine whether or not this happens, how long the sensitivity lasts, and whether or not it returns to normal after enough time passes. The depth of the decay or old restorative material is one big factor. The closer those things are to the nerve of the tooth, the more likely you are to have residual sensitivity. In most cases, time will resolve these issues but if you experience pain that is spontaneous (waking you from sleep, etc.), that is usually a sign that there may be more serious problems with the nerve. If you feel like you are hitting that tooth first (it is high in your bite), a simple adjustment will almost always fix the problem. Please let us know if you feel like there is a problem.
One of my front teeth looks like it is getting darker. Why is that?
This is a common question that gets asked in a frequent basis and unfortunately the answer usually lies in an event that happened years before. Any time a tooth has a traumatic event (getting hit with a softball, the handlebars of a bicycle, the bottom of a swimming pool, by an overzealous pet, etc.) there is a good chance that the nerve in that tooth may actually die over a period of time. That period of time can sometimes be decades long and in most cases there will never be any pain or swelling associated with this event. As the nerve dies, the tooth begins to slowly darken and it is so gradual that it isn't even noticed at first. Typically if this starts occurring the tooth will need a root canal and then should be restored appropriately, usually with a crown. Sometimes an internal bleaching procedure can buy you some time in that it will lighten the tooth structure from the inside out after the root canal is completed and thus delaying the immediate need for a crown.