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As a general practice, we provide a broad range of dental services. Dr. McCoy has 30 years of
experience in providing care for decayed and missing teeth, gum disease, traumatic bites and
smile enhancements. When he first started into private practice, he became a disciple of the
Dawson Philosophy of Comprehensive Patient Care. In essence this approach to each patient is
to thoroughly examination and diagnosis of the entire masticatory system - the soft tissues
of the mouth, the bite and related muscles, bacterial and stress damage to the teeth and gums,
and finally the ability to optimize each patients smile.
- Diagnostics and Treatment Planning
- TMJ and Bite Related Assessment
- Periodontal Health Assessment
- Restore and Repair Teeth
- Smile Enhancement
After a tour of our office, one of our staff will sit down with you to review any of your
concerns as well as your medical and dental history. Only necessary and appropriate xrays
will be taken with our state-of-the-art digitized intra-oral and panoramic systems. Digital
photography, an intra-oral camera and doctor magnifying loops are used to capture these
magnified details to enhance our diagnostic insights and to allow for better patient
understanding. Our comprehensive data collection includes:
- an oral cancer screening and an assessment of the soft tissues in the mouth.
- a TMJ and bite assessment
- a periodontal health assessment
- an assessment of the condition of your teeth
- the effect of missing teeth
- a discussion of the esthetics of your smile.
In complicated situations more advanced analyses maybe necessary to understand the complexity
of the pathology. However, when Dr. McCoy has diagnosed your dental health problems, a
separate consultation appointment will be provided to discuss your oral health and what
treatment(s) is/are necessary and/or elective.
The stability of healthy and comfortable jaw function begins in the temporomandibular joints
(TMJ). There must be a harmony of function between the TMJ, chewing muscles and ligaments
and the teeth(bite). The degree of harmony needed for any person to be comfortable is
effected by that patient's dental condition and their stress management profile. An
intuitive and caring practitioner is required to diagnose and manage these difficult
problems. It is generally agreed that before restorative care can be provided, the
chewing muscles should be in their most relaxed and unstrained positions(comfortable).
Occluso-muscle problems can manifest themselves as headaches, neck aches, discomfort
and/or mobility in teeth, worn of fractured teeth. With a careful advanced bite analysis,
some commom treatments may be recommended:
- Nightguard/Biteplane/NTI Appliances
- Reshaping or Restoring the tooth surfaces
- Orthodontic treatment with Invisalign
- Replacement of missing teeth with implants, fixed bridges or dentures
Recent evidence in the study of migraine headaches indicate that this vascular disease can
be intensified by teeth clenching and grinding. This complicated pathway is nicely
illustrated and explained at migraineprevention.com by James P. Boyd, D.D.S. Dr. Boyd
has developed a dental appliance (NTI Plus) that helps manage the pain associated with
migraines. The NTI deprograms the overactive chewing muscles and in turn helps lessen
the frequency and intensity of these episodes.This NTI appliance is worn on the upper
front teeth mostly at night when the majority of clenching and grinding damage occurs.
This is an FDA approved appliance for the management of migraine pain.
With regular professional attention and guidance, we are able to manage problems that might
develop; we can stop small problems from developing into large ones. Our program for gum
disease management is an effective non-surgical approach for treating early and moderate
levels of periodontal disease. Our non-surgical effective approach is generally pain free
and accomplished WITHOUT dental injections by using a new topical product called Oraqix.
After a gentle deep scaling and prophylaxis with skilled hands, antimicrobial (Arestin)
pastes are placed in the deeper, more infected periodontal pockets to kill the harmful
bacteria. Hopefully, these treatments will allow a secondary reattachment of the gum to
the tooth surface so the gum pocketing around teeth is reduced. Necessary oral hygiene
techniques and protocols are recommended as needed. These may include routine brushing
and flossing techniques, an ultrasonic toothbrush, Oxyfresh (chlorine dioxide) products
and other new fluoride tooth sealant products to help arrest sensitivity, decay and gum
re-infection.
This is certainly the area of treatment requiring the most direct clinical expertise and
judgement by Dr. McCoy. He has 30 years of experience in treating simple problems to very
complex of issues. The type of restorations placed on a single tooth can vary from a
tooth-colored resin, porcelain veneer laminate, a porcelain crown or a porcelain on
metal/non-metal substrate. Amalgams (silver-mercury) have NOT been used in this office since 1997.
Cosmetic Dentistry is very popular today. A beautiful smile can enhance one's self-esteem as
well as provide one with stronger teeth. Improving the smile may be a simple tooth whitening
approach with either ZOOM II or Rembrandt Sapphire or more complicated and costly procedures
like porcelain veneers. Lumineers are also provided in certain situationsto change tooth shade
and contours; these are very thin porcelain veneers that may be fabricated over the unprepared
or lightly prepared enamel. This usually means no needles or temporaries are needed!
Teeth that have been compromised over a lifetime with large fillings often need full coverage
(crown) for predictable long term success. Cerec
crowns(complete in one visit), porcelain-on-gold, porcelain-on-zirconium or cast gold are all
commonly used materials.
Complex restorative treatment is necessary when biting trauma, malaligned teeth, periodontal
disease, missing teeth and damaged teeth need a comprehensive gameplan to improve dental
health, function and appearance. These rehabilitations or reconstructions may be completed
with a variety of options from dental implants to fixed bridges or even some form of partial
or complete denture. Many times pre-existing pathology such as, periodontal disease, bite
problems or malaligned teeth must be corrected prior to the restorative phase.
Most people associate root canal therapy with pain; it doesn't have to be that way. Generally
speaking the more infected a tooth is the more difficult, and possibly painful, the root canal
treatment may be. Teeth with large old fillings may eventually need root canal therapy.
Dr. McCoy uses a modified Sargenti technique that is a simplified yet effective method
for providing root canal therapy. Most of the time the treated teeth are quite comfortable
during and after root canal therapy.
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