As society turns the corner from the pandemic, life is starting to return to normal. We are all attempting to get back to the things we miss doing and attending to our personal needs, including going back to the dentist. Many have put their dental needs on a complete hold during the last year. Unfortunately, dental cavities did not get the Covid-19 memo, and they just continued to get bigger and compromise teeth. Some cavities became so large that patients were given the grim diagnosis from their dentist that they need a root canal. Luckily, there may be another way.
The dental “Pulp Cap” is not a new dental procedure. The earliest pulp caps were performed with gold foil in the mid 1700’s. In the 1920’s zinc oxide and calcium hydroxide were used. These early materials were very irritating to the live pulp of the tooth, and would cause “irritative” healing, a very unpredictable procedure with mixed results. In the 1990’s came a breakthrough, a dental-grade Portland cement called Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (MTA), the precursor to today’s modern dental bioceramics. Think of a pulp cap as a biological bandage for the dental pulp. With proper isolation and preparation, the appropriate dental bioceramic can be applied to the tooth and aid the tooth in regenerating new dentin over the damaged, exposed pulp. These highly biocompatible bioceramics are antimicrobial and are biologically active to induce your pulp’s stem cells to form NEW dentin. Remember, it is not only about what material is used, it is how that material is used. Dr. Etess has been performing dental pulp caps with great success for over fifteen years, and his success rate continues to climb as he incorporates new materials with updated techniques. These include dental ozone, laser, and biomimetic dentistry, all implemented in his proven proprietary dental pulp capping procedure with the ultimate goal to prevent the need for root canals.
Regrettably, not every tooth is a candidate for a pulp cap. At Integrative Dental Specialists, Dr. Etess and his team pride themselves on delivering cutting edge dental care to save your teeth. Every patient receives the professional attention they deserve, along with the highest level of dental expertise, performed methodically with great skill and accuracy and without sacrifice. We set the highest treatment standard to achieve phenomenal results for our patients. Implementing leading-edge dental protocols allows our practice to do what other dentists are unable to offer. There is nothing superior to the teeth that are biologically your own, therefore you should do all that you can to ensure that they are maintained. Using exclusive rehabilitative and dental biomimetic restorative procedures, along with the ultimate best disinfection protocols including laser and ozone, problematic teeth can be restored and rejuvenated back to normal healthy function. When dental pulp capping is not a treatment option, and when conventional root canals are not desirable, pioneering therapies such as root canal alternative therapy are available to our patients.
ToothRegenesis™ is a procedure which reestablishes the blood supply to the tooth, even an infected tooth or a tooth that has previously had root canal therapy, revitalizing it and making the tooth “alive” again. If you have to lose a natural tooth, zirconium and titanium implants are the best options today to replace the missing teeth. But implants are not teeth, and the bone necessary to surgically place implants is not always readily available. Commonly, I see patients that have been told by another dentist they are not a candidate for implants because they do not have enough bone. Fortunately, our practice has the technology to harvest your own living bone for Khoury® self-bone grafts along with Platelet Rich Fibrin (PRF) from your blood to allow the placement of zirconium or titanium implants where they were not once possible.
Remaining on the cutting edge of the newest dental advancements is a full-time task and a top priority for Dr. Etess. In order to provide our patients with the most sanitary environment possible, we employ ENHANCED proactive air and surface office disinfection protocols. Do not assume all dentistry is the same. Dr. Etess prides himself on bringing you first-class, unmatched care. When considering your dental needs, why settle for anything less than the best? We work toward one standard, the HIGHEST standard! The time for excuses has passed. If you are looking for the finest, safest, healthiest and most predictable results to correct your dental issues and would like to learn more about the best ideas in modern dentistry available to you, please contact Integrative Dental Specialists to make an appointment with Dr. Etess today.
Jeffrey Etess, DMD, NMD, IBDM, is an IVY LEAGUE trained Certified Endodontic Specialist/Implant Specialty Surgeon with a dual degree in Dentistry and Board Certified in Naturopathic & Integrative medicine & certified in biomimetic cosmetic dentistry, providing a broad array of biological dentistry covering all facets of restorative, prosthetic, surgical, endodontic, pediatric, periodontal, and implant dentistry for his patients for over 24 years.
