This first patient had a large deep cavity on the inside (lingual surface) of her upper lateral incisor. The decay extended under the gum-line and the pulp was necrotic. We discussed treatment options and could have extracted the tooth and placed an implant, but I felt we could save this tooth with a root canal and composite build-up.
The next patient had a cavity on his upper molar. I quickly and easily removed the decay and placed a composite restoration.
We attended the Virginia Dental Association Meeting September 15-18th in Norfolk, Virginia and learned about the latest advances in dentistry. I also was able to talk about the future of dentistry with the President of the American Dental Association, Dr. Gary Roberts, and Virginia Dental Association President, and friend, Dr. Vince Dougherty. As Virginia Dental Association Delegates we voted on issues that effect dentists and dental care in the state of Virginia.
This is what happens when you don’t brush your teeth and do not see a dentist for 10 years. Most of this 64 year old patient’s teeth looked like these two that I uploaded here. Some are just too decayed and will need to be extracted, these two teeth I was able to restore with bonded ceramic composite restorations. Here’s are his before and after photos.
This patient was playing hockey and his left front tooth was fractured by a hockey stick. I restored the tooth in 20 minutes with a ceramic composite bonded restoration. Looks great and he’s happy to get his great smile back.
This next patient fractured the her front tooth biting into a hard piece of bread. I quickly repaired this tooth too.
This patient chipped his lower tooth when he bit down hard and the tooth fractured against the upper incisor. This was a quick and easy repair.
These are 2 patients have swellings on the inner surface of the lower lip and cheek. The first is a 31 year old male, that has had it for 1 month. The second is a 27 year old female that has had it for 2 weeks. This is called a mucocele. It is caused when you bite or traumatize your lip and rupture or obstruct the small salivary gland duct. The saliva pools up and causes a small swelling. There are many small salivary glands on the inner surface of the lip and damaging the duct can cause the saliva to pool up causing a clear or bluish swelling. My treatment for this condition is to have the patient rinse with warm salt water 6 times a day for 1 week. If it is still present after 1 month have it surgically removed.
This next condition on this 55 year old female patient is called an aphthous ulcer, sometimes referred to as a canker sore. This is usually caused by stress, not eating or sleeping enough and getting run down. I see this a lot in college kids who are stressed during finals and not sleeping enough or eating well. It can also be caused by an allergic reaction. The aphthous ulcer usually resolves on it’s own in 2 weeks and can reoccur. It can sometimes be painful, and if it’s really bothering the patient, I can prescribe a Chlorohexidine mouthwash or steroid cream.
These next patients have mandibular tori, also called torus mandibularis. A torus (plural tori) is a bony growth that occurs in the lower or upper jaw in 20% of the population. Tori are normal bone covered by normal tissue. These are usually caused by genetic factors and teeth grinding causing excess bone to be deposited. No treatment is required.
This last patient has both maxillary and mandibular tori: 
This patient had a broken down, infected, non-restorable molar. Today I extracted the tooth, cleaned out the infection, and grafted the socket. Following 3 months of healing we will place an implant.
