Services
Cosmetic, Restorative, & Neuromuscular Dentistry
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Your New Patient Experience
As a new patient, you will have ample time to talk with Dr. Barge about your goals, expectations, and challenges. She’ll give you her full attention, not rushing, but certainly not wasting your time, either. Dr. Barge will review your paperwork with you and ask questions to determine how we can customize an excellent dental experience to make you healthy, comfortable, and satisfied. Save time by completing your new patient registration forms at home. Click here.
Gathering Records and Your Comprehensive Checkup
We take digital X-rays, which emit up to 80% less radiation than traditional radiographs. In addition, we will capture intraoral images of your teeth to review with you on a chairside monitor. Your checkup will include an oral cancer screening, periodontal evaluation, and an assessment of your temporomandibular joints (TMJ) and occlusion (how upper and lower teeth fit together). If you would like to discuss improving your smile’s appearance, ask Dr. Barge about cosmetic dentistry. Should you have headaches, grind your teeth, or suffer with sensitive teeth, be sure to let her know.
Planning Your Dental Care
After your visit with Dr. Barge, the two of you will discuss her concerns and potential solutions. You’ll see photos of your mouth and have an opportunity to ask as many questions as you like. The more you know and understand about your mouth’s condition, the better equipped you’ll be to make wise decisions for care. Dr. Barge and our team want you to regain and maintain optimal oral health and a beautiful smile for years to come!
Preventive Dental Care
If you do not show signs of gum disease and time allows, you’ll meet with our hygienist for a dental cleaning after your exam. Every six months, healthy patients should visit the dentist for a checkup and cleaning. This allows us to remove harmful plaque, tartar, decaying food particles, and bacteria from your mouth, which deters tooth decay and disease. The hygienist will be happy to answer your questions about daily oral homecare and oral health products. Other services we offer to keep your teeth, gums, and mouth healthy for life include:
Cosmetic Services
When it comes to worn, damaged, or unsightly teeth, quick fixes won’t help for long. Dr. Barge emphasizes comprehensive, proactive, restorative care, using quality dental materials and advanced techniques to design an optimal smile. She will listen, recommend the most favorable solution, and seek to dramatically impact your smile for years to come. In fact, we think you'll find your view of yourself improves as well! Explore our cosmetic dentistry services here:
Restorative Services
Dr. Barge explains our philosophy for restorative dentistry:
“Everything we do is ultimately cosmetic. If you’re going to do something, you should do it right and make it look nice. You might as well make a tooth look like a tooth instead of some silver block or a piece of jewelry. We don’t do metal fillings. We don’t do silver crowns. Everything we do is ceramic or bonding. It looks much better and it is more environmentally friendly because you aren’t dealing with the number of potentially toxic chemicals that a lot of dentists have to.”
Read these articles to learn about our esthetic restorative dental procedures:
Neuromuscular Dentistry
Neuromuscular dentistry differs from "traditional" dentistry in that the emphasis is placed upon the activity of muscles that move the jaw. Unlike neuromuscular dentistry, traditional dentistry subscribes to the philosophy that how upper and lower teeth come together, with the position of the jaw joint as the reference point for building proper restorations. Neuromuscular dentistry is based on the belief that that the jaw must be in a comfortable, relaxed position to prevent conflict with teeth and related muscles and nerves.
Having trained in neuromuscular dentistry at LVI, Dr. Barge’s philosophy is that of whole mouth harmony. The jaw joints must be in proper alignment for the teeth, muscles, and nerves to function comfortably and optimally. People with misaligned jaw joints may suffer from:
- Clenching or grinding
- Crowded teeth
- Difficulty swallowing
- Ditched root grooves
- Facial pain
- Headaches
- Loose teeth
- Numbness in arms and fingers
- Pain and sensitivity in teeth
- Pain behind the eyes
- Pain or clicking and popping in joints
- Receding gums
- Ringing or congestion in the ears
- Shoulder, neck, and back pain
- Worn, chipped, or cracked teeth or fillings
Dr. Barge uses many non-invasive, high-tech instruments to find the correct position of the jaw so that the joints, teeth, muscles, and nerves operate in harmony.
The first goal of neuromuscular dentistry is to find the position of the jaw where the muscles are relaxed and at rest. This is a three-dimensional position in space and is often irrespective to the position of the teeth.
Our Myo-Monitor to is a low frequency TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Neural Stimulation) unit that delivers a mild electrical impulse to the muscles that move the jaw. The rhythmic pulsing (once every 1.5 seconds) relaxes the muscles and promotes ideal muscle function by increasing blood flow, which flushes out toxins. We often find that after 45 minutes of TENS stimulation, the muscles are in their ideal position.
Once we have verified the comfortable position of the lower jaw, we can create a mouthpiece that allows the jaw to close to this ideal position. In this position, the muscles are at an ideal length and will not go into spasm. Muscles will heal and reprogram to the new position, pain trigger points will go away, and joint capsules will recover from the trauma of misalignment. The oral orthotic is left in place for three months to stabilize the bite and insure that all symptoms are gone.
At this point, a decision is made to wear the orthotic indefinitely, wear braces to move the teeth to this ideal position in relation to the jaw position, or have one or two arches of teeth restored (equilibration) to adjust the bite to this ideal position. Dr. Barge will review your progress after you undergo TMJ therapy. She’ll share her professional opinion and help you determine which option is best for your lifestyle and goals.
State-of-the-Art Technology
Contemporary dental technology allows Dr. Barge and our team to offer a more comfortable experience, more precise diagnostics, and faster healing time. For example, our in-office computer network allows us to review diagnostic and treatment details with you, while you relax in the dental chair. Our intraoral camera allows us to observe, diagnose, and clearly communicate what’s going on inside your mouth.
Learn more here:
- Digital Radiographs or X-Rays
- Diode/Soft Tissue Laser
- Intraoral Camera
- Loupes/Microscopes
- Nitrous Oxide
Also available:
Non-IV, Conscious Oral Sedation
Does the thought of going to the dentist give you the chills? Would you rather suffer from dental pain for years before stepping foot in a dental office? We understand not everyone is comfortable receiving dental treatment, fortunately Dr. Barge is a DOCS member, trained in conscious oral sedation.
We now offer a logical solution to your dental fear: oral conscious sedation dentistry. Before your appointment, you will swallow a small sedative. You’ll need a ride to and from your appointment because you’ll not be able to drive under the sedative’s influence. When you arrive at our office, we will make you completely comfortable. Rest assured, we will monitor you closely while you are under sedation. Most patients feel no discomfort during or after the treatment, and often have little or no memory of their procedure.