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General Dental Treatment

Comprehensive Dentistry in Short Pump, VA

You deserve a healthy, confident smile, and at Short Pump Dental, our mission is to help you achieve one. We're proud to be a comprehensive dental practice serving patients of all ages, and our expert dentists offer a variety of treatments including general dentistry, restorative & implant dentistry, and cosmetic dental treatment. Our wide range of treatments means we can care for all of your dental needs right here in our office, meaning you save the time and hassle of visiting multiple specialists for treatment – but no matter what your oral health needs, the foundation of a healthy smile is routine, general dental treatment.

Dental Exams

Routine dental exams are one of the most critical parts of maintaining a healthy smile. During your dental exam, your Short Pump dentist will carefully examine your teeth, gums, jaws, and mouth to ensure things look normal and spot any potential problems, and we may also take diagnostic records like photographs or dental x-rays. At the end of the appointment, we'll provide personalized oral hygiene advice to help you care for your teeth at home, as well as talk over any potential treatments that may be needed.

Teeth Cleaning In Short Pump

In-office teeth cleanings allow us to remove plaque and tartar that's difficult to fix at home, giving your teeth a "deep clean" to help prevent long-term build-up and cavities. One of our dental hygienists will perform a teeth cleaning after your dental exam, using specialized tools to remove plaque from areas your toothbrush can't reach. Finally, we'll apply a fluoride treatment to remineralize your teeth and strengthen them against decay.

General Dental Treatments

Dental exams and teeth cleanings are a critical part of your preventive dental care regimen, and we recommend scheduling these routine appointments twice per year to maintain a healthy smile. However, if a dental problem does develop, we're here to help – and we offer a variety of dental treatments to repair any dental issues you may develop.

Short Pump Dental Fillings

If your teeth develop a cavity or dental decay, we can repair them using a dental filling. Our office provides fillings in a variety of materials, and your dentist will help you choose the best option for your situation:

  • Silver Fillings: While silver fillings used to be the most common, they're much rarer today. This is largely because silver fillings stand out from the teeth and are fairly visible, but they can still be a cost-effective and durable option.
  • Gold Fillings: Gold fillings don't blend in with teeth and are costlier than silver fillings, but they're extremely durable. Normally, gold fillings last up to 15 years, making them a good long-term option.
  • White Fillings: Tooth-colored fillings are by far the most common option for treatment, as they effortlessly blend in with the natural color of your teeth, making it difficult to detect the filling. We offer tooth-colored fillings with a strong, long-lasting modern filler material, offering a convenient and effective option for most patients.

Short Pump Dental Crowns

If dental decay is too extensive for a filling to treat, we can also use a dental crown. A dental crown acts as a "cap" that goes over the natural tooth, replacing decayed enamel and restoring the tooth's natural shape and size. Crowns can be made from a variety of materials, but the most common are porcelain or tooth-colored acrylic resin. Placing a crown requires two separate appointments, as we'll need time to custom-manufacture your crown after preparing your natural tooth. However, crowns are still a simple, routine procedure, and they can last a lifetime with proper care.

Short Pump Dental Bridges

Dental bridges are treatments used to replace a tooth if it's missing entirely or too damaged to repair. Bridges are a dental device that uses two crowns on adjacent teeth to support one replacement tooth, and they come in three primary arrangements:

  • Fixed Bridge: This bridge uses two crowns, placed on either side of the missing tooth, to support the filler tooth.
  • Maryland Bridge: This bridge type is most often used to replace missing front teeth, as it supports the filler tooth by attaching it to tooth-colored metal bands wrapped around adjacent teeth instead of crowns.
  • Cantilever Bridge: This bridge type uses two crowns to support the filler, but instead of placing one on either side, both crowns are placed on the same side. Usually, a cantilever bridge is used to replace a rear molar.

Short Pump Root Canals

Despite common misconceptions, a root canal is a simple, routine, and virtually-painless procedure that helps us save a tooth that would otherwise be lost to dental decay. Root canals become necessary when dental decay penetrates through both the enamel and dentin of a tooth, reaching the fleshy dental pulp at the center of the tooth. During a root canal, we simply remove the damaged tooth and pulp material, then fill the tooth with a strong, biocompatible filler material. Often, we can complete root canals in just one dental appointment, and most patients feel virtually no pain during the procedure.

Short Pump Tooth Extractions

At our dental practice in Short Pump, we strive to help our patients preserve their natural teeth whenever possible, so we tend to avoid tooth extraction if we can help it. However, there are a few cases where the best way to achieve a great smile is to extract a tooth. The most common reasons for tooth extraction include:

  • Severe tooth decay or dental trauma that can't be repaired
  • Severe gum disease
  • A primary tooth that's preventing the eruption of a permanent tooth
  • A tooth that's impacted, meaning it grows in at an angle and isn't erupting properly (most common with wisdom teeth)

Contact Us Today!

General dental treatments and procedures are foundational to a healthy smile, and at Short Pump Dental, we're proud to offer world-class treatment to our patients. Our office is conveniently located in Henrico, VA, but we're proud to serve patients from a range of surrounding communities including Short Pump, Richmond, Powhatan, and more. If you'd like to find out how we can help you achieve a healthier, more beautiful smile, we'd be thrilled to speak with you: reach out to us at our contact page today!