Restorative Dentistry to Enhance Your Smile and Ease Your Pain in Woodland Hills, CA
Various life situations can leave you with damaged or decaying teeth, which can affect the way your smile looks and cause discomfort. You don’t have to live with oral health problems; whether you have functional or aesthetic problems, Dr. Dan P. Hilton and Dr. Pariksha Gunnala can help.
If you are looking to improve your smile, from color to alignment of your teeth, to a full-mouth restoration, our Woodland Hills, CA, dental team is ready to help. We offer a wide range of restorative services to cover all your dental needs. We use unique comfort techniques and modern methods of anesthesia to help ease any dental anxiety you might have. Reach out to us today to schedule your appointment.
CALL US: (818) 347-3971 REQUEST APPOINTMENT
Save Your Smile with a Range of Restorations
We take a conservative approach to your dental treatment. Should your teeth ever require restorative treatment, we will always discuss your available options and recommend what we believe to be the most comfortable and least invasive treatment.
We believe that the quality of restorations matter, so we use high-quality restorative material and master technicians to create custom-fitted ceramic restorations and dental appliances. Our restorative treatments include:
How Do I Know I Have Sleep Apnea?
Does your sleep partner say you snore when you sleep? Do you wake up sometimes in the middle of your sleep suffering from shortness of breath? If your sleep quality is affecting your overall performance and making you feel tired, you probably need to be checked for sleep apnea!
Sleep Apnea is a serious condition that needs your attention. If your breathing is interrupted during sleep, this means your brain, and the rest of your body may not get enough oxygen. If left untreated, there is an increased risk of health problems such as high blood pressure, stroke, depression, and heart failure.
Can You Detect and Treat Sleep Apnea?
Yes, one of the most important services we provide is sleep apnea detection and treatment. Dr. Hilton and Dr. Gunnala are both residency trained in detecting the root cause for your sleep apnea and treating it to help you get better sleep and regain your energetic life back. Often time dental devices can effectively aid in this treatment. Check our sleep apnea page for more details.
What are Dental Implants?
A dental implant is a restoration that replaces a missing or damaged tooth. Our implant surgeon specialist places a titanium implant post in the jawbone to serve as the root for an artificial tooth. The titanium implant fuses with your jawbone, which creates a strong support for the final restoration completed in our practice. Implants are safe from decay and thus can last for decades when properly cared for.
5 Important Advantages of Dental Implants
- Great Natural Appearance - Dental implants are shaded to match your teeth, they look and feel exactly like your natural teeth.
- Improved Comfort and Functionality - They function exactly like your teeth, so you don’t have to take special care when eating or cleaning them. Eat your favorite foods with confidence, and brush and floss the same way you used to.
- Improved Speech - Since they become your permanent teeth, there is no worry that they will slip while talking or cause you to slur your words.
- Improved Oral Health and Facial Structure - Implants stimulate the jawbone where your missing teeth used to be, helping you to avoid bone loss and protect your youthful facial structure. This means you retain your beautiful smile and feel confident. We carefully fabricate the Implant-supported restorations so they are easy to clean and do not interfere with neighboring teeth, improving your overall oral hygiene.
- Durability - Dental implants are built to last; if properly cared for, they last a lifetime. If the restoration becomes worn, a new one can easily and comfortably be placed on the implant post.
What to Expect During the Dental Implant Process
How fast you go through the stages of this treatment depends on the type of implant and the condition of your jawbone. Since this treatment requires the bone to heal tightly around the implant, we usually allow our patients all the time they need for their jawbone to heal. During your initial exam, we will determine if you need pre-treatment, such as a bone graft to improve the density of your jawbone structure. We utilize our skilled surgical team to assist us in Steps 2,3,4 as listed below.
What is an Implant Surgery Procedure Like?
During your consultation, your dentist will determine if you qualify for implants. Next is a discussion about your options, how many implants are needed, and what kind of restorations to use.
This step involves the extraction of the damaged tooth. If the tooth is already missing, you won’t need this step.
Based on the condition of your jawbone, we will prepare it for implant placement. If your jawbone is not strong enough or too soft, you will need a procedure called bone grafting.
Bone grafting adds new material to your jaw to strengthen it. A bone graft may use your own transplanted bone or a synthetic material designed specifically for grafting.
After your jawbone is given time to heal, the implant post is placed with precision to serve as a strong base for your new restoration.
Before you receive your final restoration, we will allow enough time for your jaw to heal. A temporary restoration is worn during the healing process.
Our dentists will ensure your jaw has healed beautifully before securing the abutment to the implant post. An abutment is a piece that screws into the dental implant, to which the artificial tooth will attach later. This procedure is minor and most of the time is done with only local anesthesia.
Once again, our dentists will make sure your jaw has healed and is ready before proceeding with any other step. During this final step, we will take impressions of your mouth to create your restoration. The replacement teeth will complete the implant process. You bite will be fully functionally and will look natural.
Porcelain Fixed Bridges
Living with missing teeth can be difficult. In addition to reducing your ability to chew your food properly and causing digestion issues, the gaps between your teeth can cause your healthy teeth to shift and create an unhealthy bite. It might also affect your confidence changing the way you talk or smile.
Bridges are another option for helping you solve this issue. A bridge is a type of fixed dental appliance used to replace your missing teeth by attaching prosthetic teeth to adjacent healthy teeth or on dental implants. Porcelain bridges are the most popular type of bridge since they look exactly like your natural teeth.
How Many Teeth Can Be in a Dental Bridge?
You can replace up to 3 teeth with a dental bridge comfortably. With more than three, the pressure to your adjacent healthy teeth can pose a risk to their integrity. If you have more than three missing teeth in the same area, consider asking about a partial denture or an implant-supported bridge (above photo) or denture.
Is a Bridge or an Implant Right for Me?
Each option has its advantages, so the right choice is based on your specific need and the amount of damage to your teeth and jawbone. The bridge is a much faster process, but you must have healthy adjacent teeth to support it. With good care, a bridge can last 10 to 15 years.
While an implant process takes longer, it doesn’t put any strain on adjacent teeth and can last for decades. However, you need substantial jaw strength to support an implant, so a conventional bridge may be more appropriate for those with bone loss. Dr. Hilton and Dr. Gunnala will work with you to help you decide which treatment is best for you.
When Do I Consider Dentures as an Option?
If you are missing multiple teeth, dentures will likely be a good option. The choice of full or partial dentures will depend entirely on how many teeth are missing and where the gaps are located, and what condition your remaining teeth are in. Always note implants be used in combination with dentures to improve stability.
Full Dentures
Full dentures are used when all your teeth are missing, and you need a full set of teeth. They are made of an acrylic base designed to comfortably fit in your mouth. The base is colored pink to resemble your natural gum tissue and supports a full set of acrylic or porcelain teeth.
Partial Dentures
Like full dentures, partial dentures consist of replacement teeth attached to an acrylic base. You can use a partial denture when natural teeth remain in your upper or lower jaw. Partial dentures are anchored by remaining teeth using metal or acrylic clasps that fit around your teeth. This makes them more stable and improves your ability to speak and eat.
Both full and partial dentures can be fixed or removable.
Can a Partial Denture Be Made into a Full Denture?
No, you cannot modify a denture. A denture is either created as a partial denture to replace some of your missing teeth or full to replace all of your teeth. If your remaining teeth need to be removed, a new denture will be made based on new impressions to ensure the best possible fit and function.
Is It Okay to Sleep with Partial Dentures?
Yes, you can wear your dentures at night, but we recommend you remove them at night to give your gums and bone a chance to relax from the pressure of the denture during the day. This is also a good time to clean your dentures in a special solution.
Porcelain Lava Crowns
If you have a broken or cracked tooth, a crown can help you protect it. We are proud to offer high-quality crowns that are durable and provide ideal protection for your teeth while also looking beautiful.
We recommend Lava™ zirconia crowns, which are made of durable zirconia, resulting in less chipping or aesthetic deterioration than that you would see with a porcelain-on-metal crown. These crowns will provide you with great function and are long-lasting.
Composite Fillings
Fillings restore teeth with a small amount of damage or decay. They are used to repair teeth by removing the affected portion and filling it, restoring its structure.
There are many types of filling materials available; each has its advantages and disadvantages. Our team chooses amalgam free composite fillings which look very natural since they are shaded to match your enamel and are more aesthetically suited for use in front teeth or the more visible areas of your smile.
Inlay and Onlay Restorations
When your teeth are moderately decayed or fractured, you may not need a full crown, so we use inlays and onlays to keep more of your natural tooth when possible. An inlay mainly encompasses the chewing surface between the cusps (points). An onlay will involve covering one or more of the cusps.
How Long Do Inlays and Onlays Last?
Inlays and onlays, with good surrounding tooth support can last many years.
What is The Difference Between Fillings, Inlays, Onlays, and Crowns?
Fillings are the simplest form of restoration; they are used when the damage to your tooth is small.
Inlays are used when the cavity is too large for a simple filling. It is created as a single solid piece to fill the cavity.
Onlays are more than an inlay and less than a crown. For a bigger cavity than an inlay can handle, we fabricate an onlay to the exact size and shape of your cavity.
Crowns become necessary in the case of serious tooth decay or damage. They cover the entire biting surface of the tooth, as well as the tooth structure above the gum line.
Get Quality Restorations with Personalized Service
At the Woodland Hills, CA, dental office of Dan P. Hilton, DDS, we provide restorative treatments using the most durable and aesthetically-pleasing material. Our goal is to help you achieve a smile that’s healthy, pain-free, and fills you with confidence. Call us today to schedule your consultation!
CALL US: (818) 347-3971 REQUEST APPOINTMENT