Smile Gallery

Although Fluoride is great at preventing cavities too much can stain your teeth. This patient was exposed to higher levels of fluoride when her teeth were developing as a child. These higher levels caused internal staining of her teeth. This staining cannot be corrected with whitening of the teeth because of the stain on the inside. Whitening can only correct staining on outside of teeth such as coffees, teas, or wines. The only way to correct internal staining is to cover the teeth with either crowns, veneers, or composite bonding. This patient elected to have veneers placed as they ...

The tooth in the Before photo has a silver filling with quite a few cracks in the tooth. All back teeth have peaks (cusps) and valleys (grooves) allowing to chew your food. Cracks often occur in the valleys of these teeth and around the peaks. These cracks increase the potential for these peaks to break off over time. On this tooth we monitored the cracks and when they began increasing in size, we recommended a crown. A crown (sometimes referred to as a cap) surrounds the tooth 360 degrees. This prevents any part of the tooth or the peaks ...

A deep cleaning is needed when tarter buildup is in excess throughout the mouth. Often times the bone levels are lower and gum tissues are swollen and bleed more easily. This is due to the abundance of bacteria present that is concentrated in the tarter. Deep cleanings remove not only the tarter (seem in the before photo), but also the bacteria that prevents your mouth to be healthy. Usually because of the amount of tarter buildup the dental hygienist need to numb the area for the patients comfort.

For more information, our office in Mitchell, SD can answer your ...

This patient presented with moderate discoloration on their teeth due to high fluoride levels as a child. Fluoride is excellent at helping one not get cavities. However, too much fluoride consumed before the age of six years can result in stained teeth. There were two options to correct this staining: Veneers or tooth colored bonding. The patient chose tooth colored bonding and the procedure was completed in about an hour and a half.

Pictured is “before” with gum recession and “after” following a gum graft treated here at DHP. One of the main reasons this patient needed a graft was due to a baby tooth that did not come out when the permanent tooth erupted. Due to this, the permanent tooth was in front of the baby tooth causing very little bone around the front of the permanent tooth. When this happens, gum recession occurs. During routine child exams, Cody and Melissa assess the alignment and eruption of baby teeth and compare it to the child’s development to help prevent these and ...

This patient had gum recession (gingival recession) that exposed the underlying root structure. Enamel is the strongest structure in the body and makes the crown of the tooth. However, the material that makes up the root is not very strong. When we have recession and exposing the root, we can see notching of the root known as "abfraction." This patient was in the beginning stages of abfraction. Along with abfraction, sometimes this recession can cause the teeth to be very sensitive to cold. The before and after photo are three weeks apart and the patient had very minimal sensitivity.

During a regular dental cleaning plaque and tarter are removed from the teeth. Having this slight buildup that occurs every 6 months removed from the teeth, helps keep the gums and the surrounding bone healthy and strong. If left for too long, this plaque and tarter will form under the gum tissue and a deeper cleaning will be needed.

This patient had trauma to their two front teeth. Dr. Melissa met this patient later in the evening and repaired the broken teeth with tooth colored filling material.

Gum grafting is a great procedure for the chronic "scrubbers" who essentially wear the gum tissue away by brushing. Along with a Sonicare, we can repair this lost or receded gum tissue. To learn more about the procedure of gum grafting, read more in our Services tab.

We like to use the white filling material for a few reasons. First we like them because they blend in very nice and look better. Second, we like them because these white fillings act like glue and hold the tooth together. This is known as "bonding." Even if we bond a booth together with a tooth colored filling, overtime this tooth can still breakdown if the filling is large enough. The before photo show a piece of tooth that has broken away from the tooth colored filling. In the same photo, the brown part of the tooth is where ...

Please refer to this link to see why a fully seated crown is so important: Here

Here is a patient’s molar with a large silver filling with multiple cracks throughout. The patient was beginning to have sensitivity when chewing food. We suspected there was a crack in the tooth. Because the filling was showing such wear and because the tooth was becoming sensitive, we recommended a crown (cap). When we removed the old silver filling, we noticed the crack (noted by the red arrows). Given enough time this crack would have propagated (similar to a crack in a windshield) and the tooth would have broken in half down to the nerve. After placing the tooth-colored ...

One really nice thing about modern dentistry is the dental filling materials. These materials look so lifelike and natural. This patient chipped their left front tooth on a four-wheeler accident. We got him right in and had the tooth fixed in about 30 minutes.