Tooth Issues

Over the past 35 years, we have helped thousands of Tucsonans recover the full use of their mouth and overcome the physical and psychological challenges of tooth decay. Most dental issues start small, remain ignored or undetected for a while, only to worsen over time and require major treatment. Discover some of these issues. We address them all.

Tooth Pain

Tooth pain is a very broad term, but we’ll do our best to summarize. The most important thing to understand is tooth pain is not something you should have to live with. We are committed to helping our patients live free of dental pain.

Pain is usually a sign that something is wrong, and requires immediate attention. The best way to treat dental pain is to prevent it, and the best way to prevent it, is to see your dentist and hygienist routinely.

Tooth Decay

Tooth decay or cavities – in the dental world, “caries” – are the silent killers of teeth. Decay can be present in a single tooth or many teeth, slowly growing and destroying healthy tooth structure without any signs or symptoms. Tooth decay, once initiated, is often irreversible without dental intervention.

Worse, once pain and sensitivity make you aware of the presence of tooth decay, the damage to your tooth is often extensive, and a simple filling is no longer an option. Instead, your tooth may need a root canal and crown, or if there is no other option, an extraction.

On ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Good dental health involves:

Prevention

Sealants

Regular dental visits

Hygiene

Fluoride

Addressing dental issues sooner than later help you keep your teeth without additional expenses, and avoid suffering from dental pain.

Broken Teeth

This video demonstrates how a crack in a tooth can spread, much like a crack in a windshield. Untreated cracks produce pain, tooth decay, fractures and, ultimately, the loss of the tooth.

If you notice a crack in a tooth, take action early. Don’t wait until it requires extensive dental care. Early action usually keeps the treatment light.

Tooth Loss

Did you know that most Americans have lost 1 or more teeth? And yet, most conditions that lead to losing a tooth are preventable – when treated early.

Among the most common conditions, we find advanced periodontal disease, deep cavities, and fractured/broken-down teeth.

The good news is Dental Care on Golf Links can help you. Missing teeth can be replaced with dental implants, dental bridges, removable partial dentures, and various combination therapies. Don’t hesitate to call us to schedule a first evaluation.

Staining & Discoloration

Darkly stained teeth can generally be improved with whitening/bleaching treatments. White or brown spots on teeth need to be evaluated to determine the cause of discoloration, and may require more advance procedures like microabrasion or resin infiltration.

These two videos demonstrate two of the many products and techniques that can be used to treat discolorations.

Oftentimes, individual discolored teeth can’t be improved by whitening/bleaching. In fact, the condition can be made worse by whitening as this procedure lightens the shade of the surrounding teeth, further accentuating color discrepancies.

The root cause of individual tooth discoloration must first be determined by your dentist. As may be the case, we can use bonding or veneers to mask the individual tooth with the discoloration problem.