Dental Services Palo Alto

Preventative Dentistry Palo Alto

Preventative dentistry is the area of dentistry aimed to help people prevent oral disease and its further development. Preventative dentistry includes not just in-office dental care, but at-home treatments as well.
Some examples of at-home treatments include:

• Regular brushing
  – the American Dental Association (ADA) recommends brushing two times a day and directly after meals, when possible.
• Regular flossing
  – the ADA recommends flossing at least once a day.
• Rinsing with anti-bacterial mouth wash
  – recommended after each brushing

Some examples of preventative dentistry you might receive in-office include:

• Prophylaxis (cleaning of the teeth- removes built up calculus (plaque).
• Inspection of the teeth, mouth, and gums- using visual and tactile exams, x-rays, and oral cancer screening, the overall health and presence of oral cancer can be revealed.

Restorative Dentistry Palo Alto

Restorative dentistry serves to restore teeth that may have been damaged through common oral health problems or more serious dental issues. Tooth decay, wear, and damage are a natural result from the intense workout and bacterial influx our mouths get every day. As a cosmetic dentist, Dr. Hansen in Palo Alto can restore your damaged teeth with natural-looking materials, like composite resin fillings and porcelain crowns, inlays, onlays, grafting and implants. This means that you can retain an all-white smile. The benefit of restorative dentistry is that many of the procedures overlap with cosmetic dentistry procedures allowing for modern restorations that are designed to improve the look and feel of your smile and enhance your overall appearance.
Often time’s restorative dental procedures are a result of a patient who either has overlooked the necessity of routine dental care or has a dental problem that was not visible by the naked eye. This is why we recommend visiting our Palo Alto Dental Office every six months to check for signs of tooth decay, gum disease or other dental health issues that may be prevented before they become costly or more serious. Below is a list of the common restorative dentistry procedures that we provide to help you with issues that may affect your teeth, gums or smile.

Cosmetic Dentistry Palo Alto

Cosmetic dentistry includes dental procedures that improve a person’s teeth and gums, resulting in a better, more noticeable smile. Although the term cosmetic dentistry is commonly referred to as redundant, since general dentistry is aimed at improving the look and feel of a patient’s teeth; the term focuses more of an emphasis on improving the smile and overall appearance of the teeth.

We offer the following cosmetic dentistry procedures in our Palo Alto Dentist Office:

• Dental Implants 
  – a cosmetic dentistry procedure that is used to replace missing teeth. Dental implants are a long-term solution that results in a healthy, natural looking, and natural feeling smile. Dental implants are surgically implanted into the jawbone and can be a solution for almost anyone. If required this procedure can also include grafting over bone loss. Dental implants are an ideal solution when looking to fill in the gaps created by missing teeth and create a brilliant smile.
• CEREC Same Day Crowns
  – CEREC is the company that is foremost in the technology of ‘Computer assisted design-Computer assisted manufacture’ crowns. The crown is designed by Dr. Hansen and milled by a computer to fit your tooth precisely, thus eliminating the need for a temporary crown and a second visit. Once these details are accomplished, your new porcelain crown will be carefully placed to ensure the spacing and bite are accurate.
• Dental Bonding 
  – the application of a tooth-colored resin material to improve the appearance of discolored or chipped teeth, to close the gaps between teeth, to change the shape of a tooth, or to make a tooth look longer. Tooth bonding is performed by using adhesives and a high intensity curing light. Another use for dental bonding is as a substitute for amalgam fillings and to protect a portion of a tooth that has exposed nerves or exposed root from receding gums.
• Tooth Colored Fillings 
  – A silicon dioxide-filled, tooth-colored plastic mixture, composite resins can restore teeth to an attractive, healthy state. Composite resins represent several advantages over traditional silver, or amalgam,dental fillings.
• Sinsational Smile® Whitening 
  – Sinsational Smile® uses a fast and effective technology with our patented pre-filled silicone tray. This allows the jaw to remain relaxed and the person comfortable throughout the 20 minute procedure. This procedure includes the use of an LED accelerating light that helps to activate the gel’s whitening ingredients at a faster rate, resulting in a brighter smile and whiter teeth in less time.
• Lumineers & No-prep Veneers 
  – Lumineers and “no prep” veneers are very thin veneers that be used with little or no preparation of the teeth and have the ability to completely transform the appearance of permanently stained, chipped, discolored, or misaligned teeth.
• Dental Bridges
  – A dental bridge is used when a missing tooth must be replaced, as a missing tooth can cause a variety of problems and affect the appearance of your smile.

Orthodontics Palo Alto

An orthodontist prevents and treats alignment problems in the mouth, teeth, and jaw. Using braces, retainers, and other devices, an orthodontist helps straighten a person’s teeth and correct the way the jaws line up. At our Palo Alto Dental practice we offer Invisalign®. Invisalign® is a series of clear, removable teeth aligners that Dr. Hansen uses as an alternative to traditional metal dental braces.

For further information please contact your Palo Alto Dentist Dr. Hansen Today at 650.326.3290.