Services
Services we offer at our dental office in Concord, CA
Crown
What is a crown?
It is a laboratory fabricated dental restoration to completely cover or “cap” the tooth. Therefore, it’s often called a “cap”
When do I need a crown?
Crown is often placed to protect cracked tooth, or after root canal treatment to prevent tooth from fractured, or as a restoration if carious lesion is too large for a filling. Choices for crowns are: porcelain, porcelain bonded to metal, or gold depends on position and condition of the tooth. All crowns at Concord Smile are skillfully fabricated by our local master ceramist in Concord.
Implant restored crown
After an implant is placed, a waiting period of 4-6 months is followed to allow osseointegration to occur. The implant is then uncovered & healing abutment is placed to allow healing. An impression is taken. Custom abutments and crowns are fabricated for implant. The waiting period from the time the implant is uncovered to the time the impression is taken is about two weeks, then it takes another two to three weeks for the laboratory to fabricate custom abutment and crown.
Porcelain onlay & inlay
When an old filling breaks or the cavity is too big to fill, a porcelain onlay or inlay is recommended to restore the tooth to its most natural morphology possible. At the same time to prevent further damage to tooth structure. With today's technology, we currently use 100 percent porcelain for inlay and onlay.
Bridge
A bridge is used to replace a missing tooth or teeth, and usually is done when an implant is not an option and adjacent teeth already have crowns on them.
Extraction
Extract wisdom tooth or non-restorable tooth. Don’t forget to ask us about oral sedation for your comfort.
Bone Graft
Bone graft at extraction time: after a tooth is removed, bone is grafted to the extraction socket to improve healing time, providing bone for implant placement option later.
Sinus Elevation Graft: One of the most predictable surgical techniques, the sinus membrane is lifted, bone is packed in, and provides a platform for implant placement. This is done when the maxillary sinus floor is too low and no bone is available for implant placement.
Deep Clean
Crown and root cleaning to remove calculus, usually antibiotic injection to pocket higher than 5mm is highly recommended as an additional therapy to help gum heal. Once a deep cleaning is done, the patient is scheduled on a 3-month recall so periodontal health is closely monitored.
Crown Lengthening
Sometimes due to a fracture or cavity, more tooth structure needs to be exposed to provide structure for the crown to help with crown retention and prevent gum irritation. Gum & bone are recontoured and more natural tooth structure is exposed.
Dentures
Partial denture: replace one to a few missing teeth where an implant or bridge is not an option. A partial denture has a chrome metal framework attached to teeth. The metal framework provides the retention and stability for partial dentures.
Complete denture: replace all missing teeth in one arch.
Implant over denture: when all teeth in the same arch are lost, 2 to 4 implants are placed, the denture is fabricated with locators to clip on the denture, providing retention and stability for the denture.
Immediate denture: Impression is taken before extraction and the denture will be fabricated before teeth are extracted. At extraction time, after all teeth are removed, the denture is delivered. This is a temporary denture for the first year. After 6 months to a year, a denture reline or a new denture should be made to provide a better fit.
Dental Implant Surgery
An implant is the best option to replace tooth loss. It is the most natural replacement for missing teeth. After a titanium implant is placed, a period of 4-6 months is waited for osseointegration to occur. Then impression is taken and custom abutment and crown are made.
Why dental implant? A dental implant replaces the missing tooth without the expense of adjacent teeth. This saves healthy tooth structure and the high cost of maintaining, and replacing the bridge in the future and possible loss of adjacent teeth that were used as anchor teeth for the bridge
The success rate of dental implants ranges from 90-98% depending on the health and oral hygiene condition of the patient.
Am I a candidate for dental implants?
Do I have enough bone for implants? An exam, with an x-ray or cone beam CT scan, will help to determine. Many bone graft options are also available to make implants possible. Please contact us for a consultation appointment.
What types of implant do I need?
Single tooth implant
Most often done to replace one missing tooth.
Multiple teeth replacement with implants
Two or more implants are placed and used as an anchor for a bridge.
Implant over denture
Two or more implants are placed and used as anchors to help with denture retention.
Cosmetic Dentistry
Teeth Whitening:
Zoom bleaching: in the office, 45 min bleaching using the zoom technique.
In-office Opalescent bleaching: an affordable way to have your teeth whitening done in 1hr in-office procedure.
Take-home bleaching tray: a custom-made tray is fabricated and used at home. We provide bleaching gel. All you need to do is put bleaching gel in the tray, wear the tray for 15 min. each day
Tooth Color Filling:
Tooth color (white) filling material is used instead of the traditional silver filling. It’s safe and aesthetically pleasing. We spend time matching color and contouring your tooth so your filling will look and feel just like your normal tooth
Veneers:
Porcelain veneer is used to cover defects of natural teeth and mask dark tooth color Porcelain veneer gives the most natural look and feel and esthetically enhanced color that mother nature fails to provide.
Mouth Guard
Also called night guard, occlusal guard, occlusal splint, bite guard, mouthpiece, etc is a protective device that covers the teeth to prevent and/or reduce injury
to protect teeth from grinding (bruxing) habit at night while sleeping. A night guard is also used to protect teeth when one has numerous porcelain crowns to protect the porcelain from fractured
Sport Guard:
American Academy for Sports Dentistry recommends athletes wear sports guards when playing football & basketball to protect their teeth from injuries. Our office fabricates a 2 layer sport guard, one layer is a color of your choice (usually the team color), second layer is a clear layer. We can put your team sticker in between 2 layers if you can provide us with one.
Laser Treatment:
Gum Contouring: Overgrowth gum can be contoured for a more aesthetically pleasing look without surgery and stitches.
Cold Sore Treatment: we prefer to treat cold sores as soon as it starts. It takes 15 minutes of treatment to get the newly started cold sore lesion to go away. Please come as soon as you notice a tingling sensation on your lips. We will be happy to help you.
Exam
We provide comprehensive exams which include oral cancer screening, periodontal exam, cavity diagnosis, and treatment options will be provided after the exam.
Sealants
Sealants seal the tooth’s biting surface, which anatomically has lots of grooves. Sealants protect teeth from cavities.
Fluoride Treatment
We believe in Fluoride treatment, not only because it reduces dental caries in children, but it also reduces caries in adults. Especially in older adults taking many medications or at-risk immunocompromised adults, as well as cancer patients who have gone through chemo, radiation therapy, and bone marrow transplant.
What our customers are saying
Such a great dentist.
"Dr. Gigi is great with my family. I love the personal attention she spends with patients. She makes us feel very comfortable. It’s great that even my kids like coming here. I never had such a great dentist."
-Enrique D.
Keep up the great work!!!
"Dr. Gigi is nearly part of our family now working with myself my wife and our 2-year-old. She is an artist when it comes to crowns/ veneers. She gave my self and my wife a brand new smile and we couldn’t be happier!! Thank you Dr. Gigi keep up the great work!!!"
-B.S.
Best Dentist I've Ever Been To
"Dr. GiGi is the best. Very professional. Best dentist I’ve ever been to. Last time in I had a crown installed and it feels and looks even better than ever. Defiantly recommend everyone to see Dr. GiGi."
-Jeffrey J.