Crowns and Bridges

Restorative dentistry is a service dentists offer to repair and/or replace a damaged tooth. At the Holmdel, NJ dentist office of Dr. Dipika Shah, she offers restorative dentistry procedures that include customized dental crowns and bridges. Through these interventions, she can improve your smile, while ensuring your teeth's lasting health.

Dental crowns are a dental restoration that involves removing a portion of your dental enamel and placing a protective crown over the tooth. Crowns are a tooth-saving option that can be used if you have a large cavity, chipped, broken or highly stained tooth. Dr. Shah can first repair the tooth, then prepare it for the crown at her Holmdel, NJ dentist office. She will take a mold of your tooth and place a temporary crown over the tooth until your new crown arrives from a dental laboratory. Dr. Shah only offers porcelain crowns as the highest esthetic standards and providing you take excellent care of your dental crown, it should last anywhere from ten to fifteen years.

Bridges are an option to replace a lost or missing tooth. Dr. Shah will use your surrounding healthy teeth to anchor the new tooth. This process involves placing a crown on the teeth on either side of your missing tooth and creating a customized replacement tooth known as a pontic. Using a bridge not only restores your smile, it also prevents your teeth from shifting due to the missing tooth.

For more information on dental restoration services Dr. Shah offers at her Holmdel, NJ dentist office, call 732-264-8180.To learn about additional services Dr. Dipika Shah offers, visit her dental practice website at www.dentistnj.com.

Dr. Dipika Shah Provides Invisalign and Traditional Braces to Straighten Teeth

Crooked or crowded teeth are not only unattractive but conducive to the development of dental caries and temporomandibular joint disorder due to abnormal bite dimensions. Specializing in Family Care, Orthodontics and TMJ, Dr. Dipika Shah can also provide procedures that may be necessary to implement prior to fitting a patient with Invisalign tray aligners or traditional metal braces.

Traditional metal braces are more applicable to preteens and teenagers because they do not require the daily consideration that removable Invisalign trays need. When Dr. Shah fits a patient with metal braces, she bonds the brackets to teeth with dental adhesive and threads each bracket with a thin, flexible wire. Patients wearing traditional braces will need to visit Dr. Shah every few weeks to have wires tightened so that movement of teeth is induced gradually. Generally worn for at least two years, metal braces are necessary for moderately to severely crooked teeth because they initiate a biomechanical process called bone remodeling that promotes growth of new bone for the support of repositioned teeth.

Alternately, Invisalign represents a new type of teeth straightening technology that incorporates the use of customized plastic trays to induce movement of crooked teeth. Dr. Shah relies on computer CAD/CAM software to determine where adjustments for relocating teeth should be made and plans a series of Invisalign aligner trays to initiate these movements. Each tray is distinct from other trays, constructed by laboratory technicians following dimensions prescribed by Dr. Shah. Patients are then instructed to wear a different tray every two weeks so that teeth follow a pattern of movement which eventually culminates in the desired results.

For more information about Invisalign and traditional braces, visit www.dentistnj.com or call 732-264-8180 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Dipika Shah in Holmdel, NJ.

Sleep Apnea

Dentists play an important role in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. Specific therapy for sleep apnea is tailored to the individual needs of each patient based on their medical history, physical examination and results from different testing. Dr. Dipika Shah, located in Holmdel, NJ has trained extensively in the management and treatment of sleep apnea and offers innovative treatment options to her patients.

Sleep apnea is a very common condition that is treatable. There are different types of sleep apnea, but obstructive sleep apnea is the most commonly diagnosed and treated by dentists. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the soft tissue in the back of the throat relaxes during sleep and blocks the airways. If left untreated, breathing becomes interrupted or very slow during sleep. Sleep apnea is a serious condition that can lead to heart attack, stroke, mental confusion, rise in blood pressure and sleepiness during daytime.

Patients suffering from sleep apnea will often report the following symptoms: waking up with a sore or dry mouth, loud snoring, sleepiness or lack of energy, morning headaches and restless sleep. There are many different treatment options for those suffering from sleep apnea. Dr. Shah treats her patients using oral appliances  Oral appliances have been proven to be a highly effective treatment for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. Oral appliances are only available through prescription and are completely custom, molded and created for each individual patient. These devices will reposition the jaw in order to prevent snoring, helping discontinue any sleep apnea side effects.

If you would like to make an appointment with Dr. Dipika Shah in Holmdel, NJ, you can call 732-264-8180. For more information about sleep apnea treatment or any other services offered at Dipika Shah, DDS,LLC, visit www.dentistnj.com.

Mouth Guards

Mouth guards are a necessary piece of equipment for athletes of any age. Whether you play football, soccer, basketball, hockey, lacrosse, wrestling or even baseball, if contact is possible, you should wear a mouth guard. They can prevent your teeth and jaw from suffering structural damage and can save your tongue and lips from lacerations. Mouth guards can even decrease the risk of concussions, and Dr. Dipika Shah  can provide you with one in Holmdel, NJ to protect your jaw, cheeks, teeth, tongue and lips during sports.

While you can buy mouth guards in most sporting goods stores, you should be wary of these. They can be ill-fitting and uncomfortable and unlikely to offer you the best level of protection. If you really want to protect your mouth during sports, a custom mouth guard from the dentists offers the highest level of protection. Created specifically for you, the mouth guard is made with a thin plastic that is hardened after being custom fit to your mouth. Its thinness allows you to breathe easier, which is important when playing team sports.

While they are available in most sporting goods stores, you should be wary of buying a mouth guard there. To ensure that you perform at your best and are protected on the field, rink or court, schedule an appointment with Dr. Dipika Shah for your custom mouth guard. To schedule an appointment at Gentle Dental in Holmdel, NJ, call 732-264-8180. For more information about the dentist and his services, visit www.dentistnj.com.