General Dentistry Services

Preventative Care and Dental Restoration

Louis Napolitano DMD can provide a wide range of dental services. We can typically provide every type of dental service without having to refer you to other specialists. This flexibility saves you time and keeps your total dental care within one practice. Our emphasis is on total preventive care for our patients. Total care begins with regular hygiene visits, regular checkups, and continued home oral health routines.

Our practice also provides the highest-quality services for restoring mouths that have been damaged by dental disease and injury and common problems that require cosmetic dentistry. Our primary goal for our patients is to achieve and maintain optimum oral health through advances in techniques and technologies and by maintaining their scheduled dental exams.

Contact Louis Napolitano DMD to schedule your appointment for general dentistry services. We accept most insurance plans, and we also take CareCredit. We always try to accommodate new patients if there is a problem with scheduling an appointment. We also offer specialty appointments for emergency service.

With the latest advances in dental technology, we can now take a look at your teeth and your dental health with much more detail and precision. A panoramic x-ray gives us the opportunity to take one full picture of our whole mouth and instantly see things that we could never see before.

More and more orthodontists, oral surgeons, and other dental specialists are using a new dental imaging technology called 3D cone beam scans — and for good reason. 3D cone beam scans produce high-quality 3D images of teeth, teeth roots, jaws, and even the skull. 

These 3D images allow dental professionals to identify potential problems that oftentimes go unnoticed with traditional dental images. 3D cone beam scans have benefits for patients, too: they emit far less radiation than traditional dental X-rays!

Oral cancer affects nearly 35,000 Americans every year. The keys to surviving oral cancer are early detection and early treatment. This starts with a regular oral cancer screening — at least once every six months. At Dr. Louis Napolitano's office, we use VELscope® for our oral cancer screening. VELscope is a revolutionary hand-held device that provides dentists and hygienists with an easy-to-use adjunctive mucosal examination system for the early detection of abnormal tissue. 

An oral cancer screening takes just minutes, is pain-free, and can be performed during regular dental exams. If you are male, a regular oral cancer screening is especially critical: oral cancer is more than twice as common in men as it is in women. Other people at high risk of oral cancer include people over the age of 60, tobacco smokers, and heavy drinkers.

Dr. Napolitano is proud to offer the Wand STA® Single Tooth Anesthesia System. The Wand is a computer-controlled dental-injection. The flow rate of the anesthetic is controlled and slowed down by a computer. It means that the injection is guaranteed to be slow and steady and more comfortable than traditional injections. Our goal is always to provide you with a pleasant dental experience.

The Ezlase™ 940 is an FDA-approved technique for laser periodontal and gum surgery. This is the modern way to fight gum disease and avoid unnecessary gum surgery. Lasers are used to remove bacteria below the gum line. Gum tissue may be removed without bleeding and swelling because the laser will seal blood vessels and nerve endings, saving your teeth and natural smile.

Ezlase™ 940 is also an ideal teeth-whitening tool.

A crown is a permanent covering that fits over an original tooth that is decayed, damaged, or cracked. Crowns are made of a variety of different materials such as porcelain, gold, acrylic resin, or a mix of these materials. Porcelain generally has the most natural appearance, although it is often less durable.

The treatment plan for a patient receiving a crown involves the following:

• Numbing the tooth to remove the decay in or around it
• Resculpting the tooth to provide an ideal fit for the crown
• Making an impression of your teeth in order to create a custom-made crown (usually takes one to two weeks)
• Making a temporary crown out of acrylic resin and fitting it onto the tooth during the interim period when the permanent custom-made crown is being created
• Applying the permanent crown (when received from the lab) by removing the temporary crown and fitting the permanent one onto the tooth
• After ensuring that the crown has the proper look and fit, the dentist cements it into place
• This process generally consists of a minimum of two to three visits over three to four weeks

Once the procedure is completed, proper dental hygiene, including daily brushing and flossing, is required to maintain healthy, bacteria-free teeth, gums, and crowns. This helps in the prevention of gum disease. Given proper care, your crowns can last a lifetime. Call Louis Napolitano DMD to learn more.

A bridge is a dental device that fills a space that a tooth previously occupied. A bridge may be necessary to prevent certain consequences:

• Shifting of the teeth can lead to bite problems (occlusion) and/or jaw problems and resultant periodontal disease
• Bridges safeguard the integrity of existing teeth and help maintain a healthy, vibrant smile
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There are three main types of dental bridges:

• Fixed bridge — This is the most popular and consists of a filler tooth that is attached to two crowns, which fit over the existing teeth and hold the bridge in place
• The “Maryland” bridge — This style is commonly used to replace missing front teeth and consists of a filler that is attached to metal bands that are bonded to the abutment teeth. The metal bands consist of a white-colored composite resin that matches the existing tooth color.
• The cantilever bridge — This technique is often used when there are teeth on only one side of the span. A typical three-unit cantilever bridge consists of two crowned teeth positioned next to each other on the same side of the missing tooth space. The filler tooth is then connected to the two crowned teeth, which extend into the missing tooth space or end.

The concept of a “filling” is replacing and restoring your tooth structure that is damaged due to decay or fracture with a material. We will replace old, broken-down amalgam/metal fillings that contain traces of mercury with white fillings (composites) to restore your smile and teeth to a more natural look and feel.

With today’s advancements, no longer will you have to suffer the embarrassment of unsightly and unhealthy silver/mercury fillings or metal margins of the past. Eliminate the dark, black appearance in your teeth with new-age, state-of-the-art, tooth-colored resin or porcelain materials.

Periodontal disease, injury, and tooth decay can all cause a loss of your natural teeth. However, we can bring back the smile on your face with dentures to restore your missing teeth. With improved technology and updated materials, dentists can now make them appear more natural and more comfortable for the patient.

There are two types of dentures:

• Complete dentures — Complete dentures cover the patient’s entire jaw
• Partial Dentures — Partial dentures, with their metal framework, replace multiple missing teeth.

Ask our doctors to see which type would be right for you.

It may take some time to adjust to your dentures. Speaking and eating may feel different at first, but these regular activities will resume normally once you are accustomed to your dentures.

The secret to a bright, healthy smile is actually no secret at all: brush, floss, and get a professional dental exam at least once every six months. Professional dental exams are all about prevention — preventing existing problems from getting worse and preventing dental problems from developing in the future. Regular dental exams make it possible to identify and treat a problem in its earliest stage — which is not only good for your oral health but also good for your budget!

There's nothing to fear with a dental exam. Your teeth will be visually examined for signs of plaque, tartar, and tooth decay. Your gums will also be examined for puffiness or discoloration, which are signs of gum disease. A full set of dental x-rays may also be taken during your dental exam to enable your dentist to see below the surfaces of your teeth. Dental exams typically end with a dental cleaning to remove surface stains and buildup. To schedule your exam, please call Louis Napolitano DMD today.