First Visit

Your dental care routine is important. Every six months, you should be visiting your dentist for a cleaning and a check-up. Keeping these appointments will ensure that problems are discovered quickly and resolved in a timely manner.

However, there are some problems that your family dentist can't fix—and sometimes accidents will cause injuries to your mouth or teeth that require attention from an expert in dental restoration. That expert is a prosthodontist. A prosthodontist has not only attended dental school but has received years of additional training to learn all about the best ways to restore teeth and the bones that support them.

At Pacific Northwest Prosthodontics, we're ready to take on whatever you may be dealing with, whether you've got a cosmetic issue or experienced an accident which affected your teeth or jaw. Keep reading to learn more about what to expect when you make your first visit to our Spokane, WA, office.

Why the Prosthodontist?

There are a variety of reasons you might need to visit a prosthodontist. You may have lost a tooth, cracked a tooth, or suffered damage to your jawbone. A prosthodontist can help restore your teeth and jaw, offering many options for replacement or correction. If, for example, you have had to have a tooth extracted due to an accident or an infection, a prosthodontist can install a dental implant to replace that missing tooth. Perhaps your teeth have become stained after years of drinking coffee or wine. A prosthodontist is the person to see—they offer whitening services or may suggest veneers to cover the stains.

At Pacific Northwest Prosthodontics, we provide an array of services, including:

  • Dental implants (including All-on-4)
  • Bridges
  • Crowns
  • Dentures
  • Teeth whitening
  • Veneers
  • Oral and maxillofacial surgery
  • Treatment of occlusal disease

A prosthodontist will work with you to determine what your specific situation requires.

Your First Visit

Regardless of the reason behind your visit to Pacific Northwest Prosthodontics, our expert providers will sit down with you to learn more about you. They will ask questions about your oral health and what your ultimate goals are for your mouth and for your smile. Once they are sufficiently filled in on all there is to know about you and your dental hopes and dreams, our prosthodontist will answer all your questions about our office and our treatment options, including how much each option costs.

During your first visit, your prosthodontist will conduct an initial exam of your teeth and the areas surrounding them. If it's called for in your particular situation, the prosthodontist may take a diagnostic impression of your teeth and/or x-rays to get a clearer view of what's going on. A follow-up appointment, if needed, is often complimentary. During this appointment, your prosthodontist will go over your options once again and help you solidify your choice. The time between your initial appointment and your follow-up appointment offers you time to think about your options and which will work best for you.

Common Prosthodontic Procedures

There are several procedures and treatments Pacific Northwest Prosthodontics performs which are common and may be part of a treatment plan designed for you during your first visit to our office.

Dental Implants

If you have lost a tooth (or multiple teeth) due to infection, breakage, or an accident, you may be a candidate for a dental implant. A dental implant is a post that is placed into your jawbone. After a period of healing (called osseointegration, or the process in which the implant unites with your jawbone), an abutment and a replacement tooth are attached to the top of the implant, taking the place of your missing tooth. Dental implants can be used to secure a bridge in place if you have lost multiple teeth in a row. Implants are placed at either end of the gap, and after osseointegration, a bridge is installed using the two implants as anchors.

All-on-4 dental implants allow for an entire arch of teeth (top or bottom) to be replaced with a full dental restoration. In this procedure, four dental implants are inserted into your jawbone—two in the front and two in the back. These four implants will hold first a temporary dental restoration, then, after healing, a permanent dental restoration. In all these cases, replacement teeth will feel and act like your natural teeth. No one will know you've had work done—unless you tell them and refer them to Pacific Northwest Prosthodontics!

Treatment of Occlusal Disease

Occlusal disease can occur when a bite is misaligned. This misalignment can be destructive and cause a whole host of problems which can involve your teeth, jawbone, and jaw muscles. Treatment of occlusal disease can come in a variety of forms, from reshaping your teeth to restoring or replacing teeth that have been damaged and are causing the malocclusion.

Severe cases of occlusal disease may involve orthodontics. If you have any of the symptoms of occlusal disease—excessive wear and tear of enamel, loose teeth, sensitivity to hot and/or cold, soreness, or fracturing teeth, to name a few—be sure to bring it up with your prosthodontist as soon as possible so they can solve the problem before it becomes severe.

Cosmetic Improvements

If your smile isn’t as bright as you'd like, a prosthodontist can help. If, for example, your teeth are stained, as mentioned above, there are treatment options that can brighten them back up. Professional teeth whitening done in the prosthodontist's office can be more effective and long-lasting than over-the-counter treatments. The prosthodontist can ensure that you're getting treated with the best whitening agents for the optimum amount of time. Veneers are also an option when your teeth aren't as white as they used to be. Veneers are shells that are custom-made to fit right over the front of your tooth—or multiple teeth. Once placed, veneers look completely natural, and your smile will be big and bright again.

Ready for Your First Visit?

Whether you've been referred by your dentist or you have a problem only a Spokane-area prosthodontist can solve, Pacific Northwest Prosthodontics is here for you. We stand ready to welcome you into our office to discuss what we can do to restore your smile. Don't wait. Contact us for an appointment today.