Mouth Guards

Does your child play a sport?  Whether they play a sport for fun or for a school team, mouth guards are an essential piece of equipment.  Mouth guards are used to protect your teeth when playing football, hockey, lacrosse, wrestling, basketball, baseball, soccer, and other contact sports.  Athletes of all ages who participate in contact sports should wear a mouth guard.  This dental appliance helps to prevent:

• Tooth damage
•  Jaw damage
• Concussions
• Lacerations to the checks, tongue and lips

We offer custom mouth guards at Garrison Family Dentistry.  We encourage parents to bring their children in for a mouth guard fitting for the best level of protection for your smile!

Dental Crowns

Crowns are used to protect and strengthen teeth that have become extremely weak, decayed or fractured. Covering your affected tooth and restoring it to its original shape and size, dental crowns (sometimes called caps) can help reduce pain, save your tooth from needing to be extracted and keep your smile beautiful and functional. At our office in Smithville, MO, we can see if a crown is necessary to save your smile.

 

Over time, as your teeth begin to weaken, they become more susceptible to problems, including decay, cracks and discoloration. Crowns are usually only necessary if decay has reached the point where the tooth structure is compromised. When a crown is installed, the decay is removed from the tooth and a core build-up is used to insulate the nerve and create a surface to bond the crown to. An impression is then made of this surface so that crown can be custom fitted. Usually made of porcelain, gold or porcelain fused to metal, the crown is fabricated in a lab and then cemented onto the current tooth. This fabrication process can take between two to three weeks.

 

Crowns are made incredibly strong to protect the remaining tooth structure, and the custom fit ensures that the seam between tooth and crown is miniscule, which helps protect the tooth from further decay.

 

If you’re experiencing pain in one of your teeth, stop by our office to see if a crown can save your smile. Schedule an appointment with us at Garrison Family Dental by calling 816-532-8778 or visit www.garrisondentistry.com. 

Planmeca CT 3D Dental Imaging

Advanced technology is paving the way toward more effective dental procedures, including the use of the Planmeca CT 3D dental imaging software. Here at Garrison Family Dentistry, we use this technology to add to digital x-rays and provide better treatment planning and higher definition x-rays for our patients.

 

The Planmeca CT dental imaging machine is a multi-purpose machine that utilizes computer technology like computer aided design (CAD). With the imaging machine, we can get three-dimensional images to look more closely at the patient’s teeth and provide he or she with a more accurate diagnosis.

 

The Planmeca CT 3D dental imaging machine is used for everything from diagnosis to treatment planning for restorations, including dental implants, crowns, and bridges. We connect it to a medical-grade computer with CAD programming to be able to manipulate and view the images. It does not take the place of our digital x-rays, but is used alongside them for many of its benefits. With digital models of restorations, we can provide the highest quality restoration for our patients.

 

Visit Dr. Matthew Garrison in Smithville, MO to learn more about how the Planmeca CT 3D dental imaging technology can benefit you.