Our goal here at Mountain Springs Advanced Dental in Colorado Springs is to support all aspects of your dental health by providing thorough, customized dental care.

This includes keeping your smile in optimal condition both in terms of appearance and health. An important part of having a healthy set of teeth has to do with their functionality. Sometimes decay, fractures, chips or other damaging occurrences can negatively impact your tooth’s internal structure, making it difficult to chew comfortably and effectively.

If this is the case, Dr. Patterson and our team do all we can to preserve the life of your tooth, and to keep your smile complete and healthy for as long as possible. One treatment we commonly use to fortify a fractured or weakened tooth is a dental crown.

Regular dental exams help protect your oral health and general well-being.

The American Dental Association recommends that adults schedule regular dental exams at intervals determined by their dentist according to each patient’s individual needs but at a minimum of once a year. These regularly scheduled dental exams act as a premeditative treatment for any abnormal changes to your oral health.

During your exam, Dr. Patterson and our Mountain Springs Advanced Dental team of hygienists in Colorado Springs will thoroughly examine your teeth and gums for signs of tooth decay, gum disease, and other health problems. X-rays will be prescribed on an individual basis to determine if there are any concerns with your teeth or underlying bone. Periodontal charting helps to determine the current state of your gum health and preventive care needs. We may also capture intra-oral photographs to help you visualize what is happening in your mouth.

During a dental exam, we will also ask about any health problems you have or medications you’re taking and discuss how they might affect your oral health. If you have diabetes, for example, you’re at an increased risk of gum disease. Any medication that contributes to dry mouth can increase your risk of tooth decay. If arthritis or mobility issues interfere with your ability to effectively brush your teeth, your hygienist will share tips, tricks, and tools to better maintain your oral health. Dental exams might also include counseling about diet, use of tobacco products, and other lifestyle factors that can affect oral health.

If you have prosthetic replacements — such as dentures, implants or bridges — your dentist and hygienist will examine how well they fit and discuss the need for adjustments.

Even if you no longer have your natural teeth, it’s important to see our office for regular dental exams to maintain your oral health and the usefulness of your replacement teeth.

Have you ever thought of straightening your teeth but do not want to proceed with traditional braces?

Dr. Patterson is an Invisalign Provider. Invisalign is a clear aligner therapy that is started, monitored, and finished in a dental setting. Not all patients are a candidate for clear aligners. Scheduling a consultation is the best way to decide if you are.

Invisalign can be used to correct misaligned teeth, an uneven smile, spaces between teeth, and mild-to-moderate crowding. The length of treatment will vary depending on how in-depth your case is. Typically our cases last anywhere from 3-12 months.

Invisalign trays should be worn for around 23 hours a day and should only be taken out while you eat or drink. Once you are complete with your Invisalign treatment you will need retainers to keep the teeth from shifting back.

BONDING – ONE OF THE EASIEST AND MOST AFFORDABLE TREATMENTS

It’s commonly said that your smile is the first thing other people notice about you, so you want to make sure the grin you’re showing off is as attractive as possible.

At Mountain Springs Advanced Dental, our goal is to provide customized care for all aspects of your dental health, including the aesthetic appearance of your teeth. We offer a number of different treatments to alter the color, shape, texture, and spacing of your teeth to suit a variety of patient budgets and preferences.

One of the easiest and most affordable treatments is cosmetic dental bonding.

UNDERSTANDING DENTAL VENEERS

Over the years, the effects of chewing, dental fillings, or the occasional accident can have a negative impact on the appearance of your teeth, even though the overall tooth structure remains healthy.

These can lead to the formation of ridges, staining, divots, and other irregularities that may attract unwanted attention when you smile. Our goal at Mountain Springs Advanced Dental in Colorado Springs, CO is to give you a stunning, confident smile through care customized for your specific dental care needs.

If there is an aspect of your teeth you feel insecure about, Dr. Patterson and our team want to help and are eager to accommodate your individual preferences, goals, and budget.

DENTAL VENEERS EXPLAINED

When bonding and whitening treatments aren’t enough to restore your tooth’s appearance, Dr. Patterson may suggest a dental veneer.

Dental veneers are thin, tooth-colored, porcelain shells that can be cemented to your tooth’s surface to improve its color, shape, or texture. Each veneer is custom-made to fit over a tooth’s surface perfectly, so the only thing your peers will notice will be your stunning new smile.

When an implant is needed, our office will help coordinate a consultation with an oral surgeon for evaluation.  The oral surgeon will determine if a bone graft is needed. . .

If a bone graft is NOT needed, the implant can be placed immediately. If it is determined that a bone graft is needed, the surgeon will place the bone graft and cover the site with sutures to help with the initial healing process.  The bone graft takes three to four months to ensure proper integration.

After the bone graft is deemed a success by the oral surgeon, the implant can be placed.  The implant will integrate into the bone graft or the existing bone and will need three to five months to properly stabilize.

With the help of an oral surgeon to place the implant and after the healing process, Dr. Patterson completes the process with very precise records to include bite, function, shade and shape.  Dr. Patterson will then design a proper abutment to connect the crown to the implant.

Due to being the closest thing to mother nature, implants do have a lengthy healing process that is necessary for long term success and beautiful results.

Our goal here at Mountain Springs Advanced Dental is to provide precise, quality support for all of your dental needs in one convenient location. Our ideal is to help you keep your natural teeth in a healthy condition as long as possible. However, sometimes teeth are lost or cannot be saved. For those patients who are already missing teeth, or who find themselves in the situation where they will be losing teeth, we can offer solutions customized to fit their unique needs, preferences and budget. Missing teeth that are not replaced can have a significant impact on your quality of life and oral health as a whole. Common adverse effects include:

• Speech difficulties
• Shifting teeth
• An abnormal bite
• Bone loss
• Difficulty chewing
• Wear on remaining teeth
• Problems with the jaw joint

As your oral healthcare provider, we want you to stay as healthy as possible, so we make it a priority to ensure you have a complete set of functional teeth. In situations where only one or a few teeth are missing a fixed (non-removable) option is often possible. For patients who are missing all or many teeth, Dr. Patterson may recommend a removable appliance.

Occlusal guards are customized, removable oral appliances that fit over the teeth and are used to prevent damage from harmful pressure and grinding. Occlusal guards are generally designed for one of two purposes: as night guards or as athletic guards.

Night guards are used to prevent damage to the teeth from bruxism, or teeth grinding and clenching while asleep. If not treated with a night guard, bruxism can lead to tooth fracture and damaging wear of the chewing surfaces of your teeth. Unchecked, this destructive process can leave a patient in a situation where many teeth may need to be crowned or even extracted. Bruxism can be a difficult disorder to diagnose since it most commonly occurs while you are unconscious.