Composite Fillings

Dr. Hillis and his staff are experts when it comes to replacing old and failing fillings. Often times older fillings contain materials, such as mercury or other metals, that are not compatible with human teeth.  These older materials can be be too hard and too rigid, and with repeated use they weaken, damage, and even crack the tooth.  The materials that were used in the past may have been the best solution available at the time, readily available and what was most affordable.

At Mason Dental Care we use only the most advanced composite materials that have been created to not only perform as original tooth material would perform, but to look exactly like your own tooth, in color and in texture.  This material is used in fillings.  It can also be used in what is known as inlays, as well as onlays that go beyond a conventional filling and serve to support a tooth that would have otherwise been lost or broken.

Restoration

Dr. Hillis believes in saving teeth, restoring oral health and giving his patients renewed confidence in their smiles. Through advanced full-mouth and partial dental restoration practices, Dr. Hillis saves teeth that many other practitioners would have removed. He has a gift for creating outcomes that other dentists either can't envision or do not want to attempt. It is a fine line between doing what is easy and doing what is right when it comes to saving a teeth and restoring a patients dental health, but when it is done right it can literally change a person's life.

This smile transformation required a multi-faceted approach including extractions, bone reconstruction, gum surgery, root canal therapy, reconstruction of teeth, and rebuilding the vertical height of teeth from years of wear and attrition.  Rebuilding an entire mouth (full mouth reconstruction) normally requires a multi-doctor approach in various specialities and can make therapy a long and complicated process.  Dentists who can perform all facets of care on complex cases such as these are known in the dental community as "Restorative Specialists".  This requires hundreds of hours of continuing education beyond doctoral training to be able to successfully complete cases such as these.  Dr Hillis was able to complete all phases of care in fewer appointments and with extraordinary results.

"While these cases can be complex in design, coordination, and detail...I find them to be the most rewarding dentistry I perform in my office.  This type of dentistry truly transforms people physically, psychologically and emotionally" - Dr. Hillis

This patient received a full mouth reconstruction from Dr. Hillis and her smile tells it all. She came to us with gum and bone disease that had left her in a great deal of pain and were robbing her of keeping her teeth for a lifetime. Using a multifaceted approach that included gum and bone surgery, we were able halt the disease, stop the decline and restore her smile using porcelain crowns.

In pain and with old and failing dentistry, this patient came to Dr. Hillis with missing teeth and little hope that much could be done to improve her smile.   As with so many patients we see, they never dream that their smiles can literally be restored along with the restoration of their confidence and even their lives!

In this particular case, our patient was put to sleep using IV sedation which allowed us to perform the large volume of work required to restore her smile.  In a traditional dental office the work would have been performed over a series of appointments over a number of weeks, but IV sedation allowed her to have her smile restored in just two days.  Not only that, but her smile restoration served as the impetus for adopting new healthy lifestyle habits such as regular exercise and better nutrition.  All of these changes have worked in concert to improve her overall health and well-being.  Simply amazing!

Gum Surgery

As seen in these before and after images, this patient suffered from gum recession that would have resulted in loss of bone and ultimately loss of tooth.  The gum recession was corrected through gum surgery that included grafting gum tissue on the effected areas which serves to preserve the foundation of the teeth, which is bone.

These images illustrate the use of gum surgery for cosmetic as well as oral health purposes. This patient had a defect on her root structure that was contributing to what is known as a "gummy smile".  Dr. Hillis and his team performed gum surgery in order to expose more of natural tooth to give this patient a more uniform and attractive smile, all while giving her a cleaner and healthier mouth that is less susceptible to trapped plaque and tartar build-up that lead to gingivitis and gum disease.

Gum Grafting

This is a great example of gum grafts and why we do them. This area was not only losing gum and bone support for this otherwise beautiful set of teeth but was also sensitive to cold and hots foods and drinks. Through a gum graft, we were not only able to help this patient with sensitivity, but also help cover the root of the tooth allowing for support for the tooth and the bone below. In addition, gum grafts give a person a whole lot more to smile about!

Porcelain Veneers

When it comes to addressing some of the most common cosmetic dental issues, patients are often offered two options; dental bonding and porcelain veneers. The differences between the two come down to aesthetic quality, price, and long-term durability. Dr. Hillis believes in providing his patients with the very best products and solutions available, and that means that most often he recommends porcelain veneers over dental bonding. At the end of the day, Dr. Hillis wants his patients to have the most aesthetically natural outcome, and he wants to see them walk out of his office with beautiful teeth that look and act like real teeth. With porcelain veneers patients are given a beautiful smile that will last.

This young lady was self conscious about her "gummy smile" and wanted to know what could be done.  We were able to work with a minimally invasive approach and reshape the gum tissue using a CO2 laser.  It allows a 'sculpting' of the gums to get the result she was looking for.  The 'after picture' was taken the same day of the surgery!  Note there is no bleeding and no stitches.  Now THAT is an example of using advancing technology in dentistry to advance patient care!

This is a broken tooth as a result of a large and old failing filling.  The fracture went down to bone and the solution would commonly be extraction in most general dental offices.  Because of the ability to view restorative options from both a general dentistry and a surgical dentistry approach, we were able to perform a procedure called Biologic Shaping which exposed the area of fracture to allow us to restore the tooth.  The result is a life like crown and one very happy patient! 

"Tongue Ties" are actually more common than most people might know. Tongue ties are simply tissue that attaches to the tongue in such a way as to impede its regular function. Difficulty breast feeding in infancy is the first sign of this condition and contribute to malnutrition and improper development....all from a small piece of muscle preventing the tongue from doing its job! The next problem we will notice with tongue ties is improper speech patterns or development. Finally, as the child grows, we notice a narrow palate and resulting crowded teeth. It is amazing how important the job of the tongue is and, through a thorough understanding of epigenetics, we have come to discover the role of the tongue in the development of the upper jaw. So what do we do to deal with this common condition? We remove this small piece of tissue in a appointment that takes less than 5 minutes using a soft tissue laser known as the CO2 laser. The photos here are of my own daughter and the pictures were taken the 'day of surgery'. You can clearly see no bleeding and no sutures are necessary. The soft tissue will 'smooth' as the next two days follow surgery. The result is immediate! Technology working to make our patient's lives better.