Restoring Health and Beautiful Smiles Restoring Health and Beautiful Smiles

Restorative dentistry involves the restoration of damaged or decaying teeth and the replacement of missing teeth. At our practice, we offer a wide range of state-of-the-art restorative dental services to enhance smiles and improve oral health. If you are missing teeth or have teeth that are damaged, you may want to consider dental implants, bridges or one of our other quality restorative dental services.

To schedule a consultation with Dr. Garrison, contact our office today. We can get you back in good oral health in no time.

Dental Implants

The Next Best Thing to Natural Teeth

If you're missing a tooth or several teeth, you'll be glad to know that dentures are not your only option. Nowadays we can replace teeth using dental implants, probably the greatest advancement in dentistry since anesthesia. With implants you can laugh, bite, and chew with the same confidence you had with your natural teeth.

A dental implant is an artificial tooth root that is surgically implanted into the jaw to hold a prosthetic tooth in place. Dental implants can be used to replace a single missing tooth, a few missing teeth, or all teeth.

Our role in the dental implant process is to prepare and place the visible part of the tooth once a specialist has placed the titanium implant.

If you think you may be a good candidate for dental implants, contact our office today.

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Benefits of Dental Implants

  • The benefits of dental implants are many. Implants allow you to chew, speak and eat with the same confidence you had with your natural teeth.
  • Dental implants do not rely on your natural teeth for support and, therefore, do not add additional stress to remaining teeth.
  • Dental implants are natural looking and attractive - virtually undetectable.

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Full/Partial Dentures

At our dental facility, we offer a variety of esthetically pleasing, well-fitted and comfortable dentures. Dr. Garrison has many years of experience fitting quality dentures so that his patients can regain the ability to chew, eat, speak and smile with confidence.

  • Full dentures are dental appliances designed to replace all of the teeth.
  • Partial dentures are used when only a few teeth are missing.

After a comprehensive examination, Dr. Garrison will develop a customized treatment plan for you and thoroughly discuss costs and what to expect before, during and after treatment.

Contact our office if you think dentures might be a good option for you.

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Bridges

Losing a tooth not only impacts your self-esteem, but it can also have a negative impact on surrounding teeth. When teeth are missing, the remaining teeth tend to drift out of position. This causes many residual problems such as crooked teeth, change in bite registration and possible gum disease and tooth decay. If left untreated, this could result in the loss of additional teeth.

Fixed bridges are often an excellent solution to the problem. Fixed bridges are non-removable restorations made of one or more replacement teeth. These artificial teeth are anchored by one or more crowns on each side or are cemented to adjacent teeth. Bridges can include up to four replacement teeth (with natural teeth on either side of the gap to act as anchors), and they look very natural.

During the procedure, the doctor will first prepare the support teeth by removing a portion of the tooth’s outer surface to accommodate for the thickness of the crown. An impression is then taken of the area to send to lab technicians who will create your new bridge. When the bridge is returned from the lab, the dentist will adjust and fit your new bridge into place.

If you are missing one or more teeth, contact our office to learn more about dental bridges.

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Family Dental CareLighting the Way with Beautiful Smiles

Orthodontics is the area of dentistry that involves the diagnosis and treatment of malocclusion, or the misalignment of teeth. At Dr. Garrison’s office, we provide orthodontic care for both children and adults.

Dr. Garrison and his well-trained staff are professionals experienced in caring for the dental health of children during the delicate growth process. A good dentist knows the opportune time for orthodontic treatment. Developmental problems that appear during childhood are relatively easy to correct while the bone and supporting structures are in their growth phase. Crowded, crooked teeth, overbites, and cross bites can all distort the features and have a negative impact on self-esteem, particularly in children.

The best time for children to receive orthodontic care is between the ages of three and twelve. Straighten crooked teeth, correct bite problems, improve the smile and facial features, and feel healthier and happier about your appearance.

Benefits of Orthodontic Treatment Include:

  • Improved esthetics
  • Improved self-esteem
  • Elimination of pain from a bad bite
  • Relieves the stress of crowded teeth

Contact the office of Dr. Garrison to schedule your orthodontic appointment today.

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Snoring

Snoring is more common than you might think — more than a third of adults snore at least a few times a week. When snoring is too loud and/or too frequent, it can be more than simply an annoyance for people nearby; it may be a sign of a serious health condition. If you have concerns about the frequency and intensity of your own snoring or that of someone in your family, please feel free to contact Dr. Garrison about it. He can help you discern whether the snoring should be looked into further.

What Makes Someone Snore?

When you fall asleep, your tongue, the muscles in the roof of your mouth, and your throat all gradually relax. If the fleshy tissue in your throat relaxes too much, your airway becomes narrower, and the tissue vibrates as you breathe. The more narrow your airway, the more forceful the air passing through it becomes, and the louder the snoring. Contributing factors are:

  • Your anatomy — Enlarged tonsils, a low or thick palate, an elongated uvula (that fleshy bit hanging in the back of your mouth), and adenoids can all narrow the airway.
  • Being overweight — contributes to a narrow airway.
  • Nasal problems — Nasal congestion or a deviated septum can worsen snoring.
  • Alcohol or sedative use — These relax the throat muscles in many people.
  • Sleep apnea — A serious medical condition in which a person actually stops breathing for brief periods many times in his or her sleep. Not everyone who has sleep apnea snores, however.

What Can Be Done About Problem Snoring?

Making some changes in your lifestyle such as sleeping on your side, losing weight, and cutting back on alcohol may be enough to lessen or eliminate problem snoring. When these actions aren't enough, it's advisable to review the details of the snoring with a dental professional such as Dr. Garrison.

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Sleep Apnea

It's important to note that not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, and not everyone who has sleep apnea snores. Sleep apnea is more serious than the snoring produced by a narrow airway, in that the breathing of a person with sleep apnea literally stops (for about ten seconds to two minutes), many times a night. This can occur 20 to 30 times or more an hour, and the constant interruption of breathing and oxygen flow can cause extremely fragmented, poor-quality sleep and severe daytime fatigue. This condition can be life-threatening.

The most common signs of sleep apnea are:

  • Choking, snorting, or gasping during sleep
  • Loud snoring
  • Severe sleepiness during the day (even at work or while driving)

Left untreated, sleep apnea can cause high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, memory loss, weight gain, depression, headaches, and impotence. According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, at least twelve million Americans suffer from sleep apnea — which makes it as prevalent in our society as diabetes. The most common profile for a sleep apnea patient is an overweight male over the age of 40, but this condition affects both genders, of all ages, and even children.

Causes of Sleep Apnea

There are three categories of sleep apnea, based on their causes:

  • Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) — caused by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue at the back of the throat collapses during sleep, closing the airway. This is the most common form of sleep apnea.
  • Central sleep apnea — the airway is not blocked; the brain repeatedly fails to tell the muscles to breathe.
  • Complex (or "mixed") sleep apnea — a combination of OSA and central sleep apnea.

Each time a person with sleep apnea stops breathing, the brain sends a signal to wake up enough to start breathing again. A period of silence followed by loud snoring or snorting is associated with untreated sleep apnea, but as stated earlier, not everyone who has sleep apnea snores.

The great majority of people with sleep apnea are undiagnosed. However, several effective treatment options are available, among them:

  • Behavioral changes — Losing excess weight, changing one's sleep position, and reducing sedative and alcohol use, where appropriate.
  • Dental and oral appliances.
  • Sleep-aid devices — For example, nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), in which an appliance forces air at positive pressure into the patient's airway during sleep.
  • Surgery — Several surgical techniques have been quite successful.

No medication has been found to be effective in treating sleep apnea.

If you think that you or someone in your household might have sleep apnea, schedule a consultation with Dr. Garrison to discuss your questions and concerns. Don't suffer any longer!

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Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Disorders

Two hinge joints and several muscles in your jaw make it possible for you to open and close your mouth. The joints connect your temporal bones (the bones of your skull on the sides that encase your inner ears) and your lower jaw (your mandible), which is why they're called the temporomandibular joints (TMJ). Each TMJ is one of the most complicated joints in the human body, with muscles, ligaments, discs, and bones all working together to enable your jaw to move up and down, forward and backward, and to the sides, and even to rotate, glide, and grind.

TMJ Problems, TMD Symptoms

If injury, illness, or an unidentified condition interferes with the proper working of your TMJs, you may experience one or several of the following symptoms:

  • clicking or popping noises when opening your mouth
  • jaw tenderness
  • facial pain
  • dental pain
  • pain and/or pressure in or around your ear(s)
  • headaches
  • neck aches
  • back, shoulder, chest pain

Signs that your TMJs may be malfunctioning include:

  • Jaw joints — locked or dislocated jaw
  • Jaw movement — slow or irregular, limited
  • Ears — clicking, dizziness, muffled feeling
  • Throat — difficulty swallowing, prolonged speech
  • Head movement — a limited range of motion

There are many possible causes of TMJ disorders (also known as TMDs). In addition, the symptoms of TMDs can mimic symptoms of other medical conditions (such as chronic headaches or arthritis), or they may indicate more than one condition existing at the same time.

The complexity of TMD diagnosis and the variety of treatments for these disorders merit a consultation with a dental professional with experience and knowledge in this area. If you are experiencing any of the TMD symptoms listed above, contact Dr. Garrison to arrange for testing and treatment alternatives.

The good news is that, according to the U.S. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, pain in the TMJs or jaw muscles is not a sign of a serious problem for most people. Generally, TMD pain is temporary, often cyclical, and frequently goes away with little or no treatment. Only a small number of people with TMD pain develop long-term medical problems.






Robert E. Garrison Jr., DDS
4589 Kenny Road
Columbus, Ohio 43220
Phone:(614) 372-6012