Crown: Some teeth can be very weak or badly discolored. A crown can make your tooth stronger and improve its appearance. The crown can be made by one of our experienced technicians to match the shade of your natural teeth.

A crown usually covers the whole tooth. It will protect a weak tooth from breaking or restore one that's already broken. A crown is a good way to cover teeth that are discolored or badly shaped. It's also used to cover a dental implant.

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Onlay: An onlay serves a similar function as a crown. It protects the tooth from breaking or replaces a portion of a broken tooth. The difference is the onlay is much more conservative and only replaces the missing or damaged part of tooth.

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Veneers: If you dislike how your front teeth look then veneers may be the answer. Veneers are thin custom made porcelain shells that are bonded to the front side of the teeth. They can cover dark teeth, cover chipped teeth, close gaps, and sometime make crooked teeth look straight.

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White Fillings: Composite fillings are a mixture of glass or quartz filler in a resin medium that produces a tooth-colored filling. The color of the material is chosen to match your tooth so that it looks very natural. Composite filling are best place in small to medium sized cavities.

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Orthodontics: It is possible to straighten teeth at any age. Using braces, appliances, or a series of clear trays you can have straight teeth. Treatment on average takes 2-3 years. It is possible to have clear braces that are very difficult to see or metal braces with colorful elastic bands around them.

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Prophylaxis (Cleaning): The hygienists at Ellettsville Dental Center are trained to treat patients of all ages. Their goal is to work with you in preventing gum disease. Our hygienists remove the sticky film of bacteria called plaque that can eventually harden into calculus or tartar. This plaque and tartar irritate the gums and allow bacteria to damage the gums and bone. In some cases this damage can lead to loss of bone around the teeth. This loss of bone, called periodontal disease can cause the teeth to become loose and sometimes they have to be removed. Prevention is key in avoiding periodontal disease.

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DIAGNOdent: The DIAGNOdent is another tool that the doctors at the Ellettsville Dental Center use to find cavities (carious lesions) in teeth. The DIAGNOdent is a diode laser that painlessly and quickly measures laser fluorescence within tooth structure. Carious tooth structure will exhibit fluorescence differently than healthy but stained tooth structure. The light reflects back and the instrument will measure the light.

The DIAGNOdent can distinguish between dark stained teeth and true carious lesions, taking the guess work out of diagnosing cavities.

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