Invisalign or Clear Braces?

Straight teeth go a long way toward creating a beautiful smile, but they also play an important role in maintaining your overall oral health. If you have crooked, crowded or misaligned teeth, correcting them can prevent dental issues from developing in the future. We offer several options at Prairie Hawk Dental in Castle Rock, CO, and both our Invisalign and clear braces options offer correction without the noticeable appearance of tradition metal brackets and wire.

While metallic, contemporary braces offer some customization with different colored bands that can be added, if a mouth full of metal doesn’t appeal to you, Dr. Aaron Goodman offers both Invisalign and clear braces. Clear braces are as effective as metal braces but less eye-catching. They are made of translucent ceramic and are specifically designed to not stain or wear over time.

If you are in need of a mild to moderate correction, Invisalign may be a great option for you. Using a series of virtually invisible aligners, Invisalign adjusts your teeth bit by bit with a new aligner used approximately every two weeks. Made of a thin, comfortable plastic, unlike traditional braces, Invisalign aligners are removable, which allows for convenient cleaning and eating. Because the aligners are removable, your teeth will not experience the same discoloration and plaque buildup that can occur with brackets and wire. In addition, you will not have the same diet restrictions that you would have with traditional braces. You will still be able to eat all the foods you like, including popcorn, chips, pretzels, apples, nuts and corn.

To schedule a consultation on orthodontic options at our office, call 720-515-1801. For more information, visit www.prairiehawkdental.com.

What Is a Frenectomy and Do You Need One?

A frenulum is a small fold or ridge of tissue that either supports or prevents the motion of that to which it is attached. In the mouth, there are two frenulums: the one that connects the upper lip to the gums above your two front teeth and the one that connects the tongue to the base of your mouth. If a frenulum is too short or thick, it can cause speech impediments and gaps between teeth, so corrective action is necessary to resolve the situation.

At Prairie Hawk Dental in Castle Rock, CO, Dr. Aaron Goodman performs frenectomies to resolve frenulums that have proven troublesome. A frenectomy is a safe and effective surgical procedure to remove this fold of skin. Frenectomies are performed with either a scalpel or a laser, but at our office, we use a laser, which causes very little bleeding and doesn’t require stiches. The laser is also preferable to the scalpel method because there is less discomfort and healing time after the procedure. If performed on a young child, a conscious anesthesia is used to relax and numb the child, while adults receive just a local anesthesia numb the area while the fold is removed. A typical frenectomy takes less than 15 minutes.

If your frenulum is causing problems for your smile, schedule an appointment with our office by calling 720-515-1801. For more information, visit www.prairiehawkdental.com.

Invisalign

At Prairie Hawk Dental, we offer Invisalign aligners so that you can straighten your teeth without a mouth full of metal. Using a series of clear plastic aligners, our doctors will guide your teeth into a smile you will be proud of.

While regular braces are still best for more serious cases of teeth straightening, Invisalign is great for cases of mild to moderate spacing or crowding. For these cases, Invisalign provides teeth correction that bypasses the discomfort, soreness and restrictive diet that those who have traditional braces must face.

With a computer program that generates a series of aligners with small changes in each, Invisalign will allow you to straighten your teeth without anyone even knowing. Virtually invisible, the aligners are made of thin, comfortable plastic, and unlike traditional braces, they are removable. Therefore, your teeth will not experience the same discoloration and plaque buildup that can normally occur with metal brackets and wire. In addition, you will be able to eat all the foods you like, such as popcorn, chips, pretzels, nuts, apples, carrots and corn.

If you think Invisalign might be the best option for you to achieve the smile you’ve been dreaming of, call us at 720-515-1801 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Aaron Goodman. For more information, visitwww.PrairieHawkDental.com.

Snap-On Smile

Snap On Smile

For patients that want to improve their smile but not go through years of orthodontic treatment, we provide snap-on smile here at Prairie Hawk Dental. This is a wonderful product that helps provide a full mouth makeover with teeth that literally snap into place.

 

Good candidates for snap-on smile are patients who have severely stained or discolored teeth, missing teeth, cracks or chips in their teeth, or misaligned teeth, and who are not interested in dental implants, veneers, or orthodontic treatment. All of those procedures take time and money, and can remedied with snap-on smile.

 

Patients benefit in many ways when they choose to beautify their smile with snap-on smile from our dentist Dr. Aaron Goodman, including the following:

• No drilling or oral surgery required, as the snap-on smile is created in a lab then snaps right onto the teeth.
• No chemicals are needed for whitening the teeth.
• It lasts about 3-5 years with proper care.
• It is relatively painless, as the only procedure needed is taking impressions of the teeth.
• The entire treatment is done in as little as two visits.

To face the world with a new smile, visit Prairie Hawk Dental in Castle Rock, CO for a snap-on smile.