Experience Exceptional Dental Care

Also known as periodontal disease or gum disease, periodontitis is an inflammatory oral condition around the teeth, driven by bacteria and microorganisms living in dental plaque. The dental plaque leads to tartar, bone loss and gum loss around the teeth. Left untreated, this can lead to tooth loss.

A similar disease around dental implants is called peri-implantitis.

Treatments include professional dental hygiene (root planing), antimicrobial therapy, and surgical options such as pocket reduction surgery and periodontal regeneration. 

No matter what treatment is chosen, impeccable care of your teeth at home always improves the results. Our team is happy to help you refine your oral hygiene strategies to make your plaque control more effective and efficient.

Gum grafting is a procedure performed to restore or augment gum tissue that has been lost, damaged, is too thin, or is prone to inflammation and other problems. Often the main goal is to thicken the tissue so the gum line is more stable and comfortable.

In many cases where gum recession is present, we can cover a portion of the exposed root so that it looks and feels better.

A dental implant is a small titanium post that is surgically placed in the jawbone to replace a failing tooth, a missing tooth or multiple missing teeth. It can support a dental crown, bridge, or denture.

At our practice, we provide precise treatment planning for dental implants, followed by surgical implant placement and any surgical add-ons that will boost the success of the implant. At this stage, the implant will not yet look like a tooth, but will be healing under the gum line. 

Once the area has healed and the bone has fused against the implant, your dentist, prosthodontist, or denturist will create the restoration that goes on top. The restoration is the part that looks and feels like replacement teeth.

Intravenous (IV) procedural sedation, also known as conscious sedation, is a medical procedure in which sedative medications are administered through a vein (usually in the arm or hand) to induce a state of relaxation, drowsiness, and reduced awareness during a dental procedure.

At our practice, Dr. Wintermute provides moderate sedation and a team of anesthesiologists provide deep sedation. The type of sedation that will suit you best depends on the type of dental procedure and your own comfort level with dental surgery. 

 When IV sedation is provided and the dental treatment is complete, you will rest for 20-30 minutes in the office while supervised by a specially-trained Certified Dental Assistant or Registered Nurse. This period is called “recovery”. Then you will need a ride home with a responsible adult who can stay with you overnight. The person escorting you needs to be present at our practice when you check-in for the procedure.

At your initial consultation, our team will inform you of the options in your particular case, so you can decide what type of sedation is best for you.

Third molars are commonly referred to as wisdom teeth. They are usually the last teeth to develop and are located in the back of your mouth. Their development is usually completed between the middle teenage years and early twenties. When inadequate space prevents the teeth from erupting they are called impacted wisdom teeth.

With an oral examination and x-rays of the mouth, Dr. Wintermute and Dr. Gumplinger can evaluate the position of the wisdom teeth and assess for present or potential future problems. If removal of the wisdom teeth is advised, it is performed at our office, typically with IV sedation along with local anesthetic (“freezing”) so you are as comfortable as possible. 

Bone grafting is done in the jawbone to get ready for dental implant therapy, or at teeth in select cases where the bone has been destroyed and we can save the tooth by adding some bone back.

Bone grafts are often needed to prepare an area for a dental implant, and are done at the time of tooth extraction, after tooth extraction as a stand-alone procedure, or at the same time as dental implant placement. The timing that will best suit you depends on your anatomy and the expected healing of the area. 

Usually the graft is protected and kept in place with a membrane or protein gel, then your own gum is placed back over top with stitches that stay for approximately one month. There are several different types of grafts, and they all eventually integrate with your own bone once healed. 

At your consultation, Dr. Wintermute and Dr. Gumplinger will discuss with you the different options for your particular situation.

An impacted tooth simply means that it is “stuck” and cannot erupt into functional position. For people having orthodontic treatment, we can surgically uncover an impacted tooth and, as needed, bond an attachment onto the tooth so your orthodontist can “pull” it into its proper position.

The teeth that commonly require this procedure are canines or “eye teeth” (usually the upper ones), or the lower second molars. 

Your dentist may refer you to our practice to assess an area in your mouth that has an unusual appearance. We often call these unusual spots “lesions”, which is a term that includes abnormalities such as lumps, patches, sores, and nodules that your dentist can see or feel, which you may not have been aware of yourself. Sometimes the lesions are painful, and sometimes they feel totally fine but still need to be investigated. It’s also possible that you could be referred for an unexpected finding on an X-ray.

We will diagnose the issue and perform a biopsy as needed, which typically involves local anesthetic, removing a small piece of tissue, and applying stitches that dissolve in a few days. That small piece of tissue is sent to a lab to be examined with a microscope. Biopsies are routinely recommended if we suspect cancer or pre-cancer, but often they are needed to diagnose non-cancerous issues too. Based on the diagnosis, we would let you and your dentist know the treatment plan and follow-up plan.