Schoolhouse Square Dental Center offers a wide range of general and cosmetic dental services to the Schaumburg, IL area. Dr. Couston and Dr. Stamas are well-versed in many dental treatments and use state-of-the-art equipment to easily complete most procedures.
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Cleanings
Cleanings involve the use of a scaler to remove plaque and tartar (calcified plaque) from the teeth, followed by a polishing with a rubber cup and paste. Every patient over 18 years old is screened for gum disease. We use a periodontal probe that measures the “pocket” around each tooth. The larger the number, and the more build-up and plaque found, the more involved the treatment becomes. These cases may require a procedure called “root planning,” which is a deep cleaning done with local anesthetic. There may be need for antibiotic therapy or even a referral to a gum specialist (periodontist). Patients overall health can have a bearing on their gum/bone condition. Smokers can negatively affect their mouths; 90% of cases that don’t respond well to treatment are smokers. Having bad gum disease can increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and low birth-weight babies.
Maintenance Care
This service is our recall system. Basically, when we finish your initial tooth and gum treatment, we set you on a schedule for follow-up care. At that time, we check the condition of the teeth, gums, fillings and crowns, mouth tissues (including a mouth cancer screening), fluoride treatments and take any necessary X-rays. This is all a very important part of keeping your mouth (and you) healthy!
Sealants
Sealants are a coating that is applied to the grooves of the back teeth. This keeps plaque from gaining access and causing decay. We first check the grooves with a laser cavity detector. We do a second check with a special solution that stains active decay bright red. If all is well, the tooth is chemically treated and a sealant is placed and cured with a special light. Best time to place sealants in children is 6-8 yrs old for 1st molars, and 11-13 yrs for 2nd molars. On people prone to decay, we may seal the premolars also.
Fillings
Our office switched from silver to tooth-colored composite resin fillings in 1996. The resins look better, and the new materials allow for decay removal with less tooth structure involved. They bond to the tooth, thus strengthening them and making the teeth more fracture resistant. In addition, we have seen less need for nerve therapy (Root Canal) with the new fillings. They make take a bit longer to place, but we haven’t had many people want the silver after we explain the advantages of composite.
Crowns
A crown is a dental restoration that gives the tooth full coverage. The other term commonly used is a “cap.” Crowns are done if there has been severe damage to the tooth due to decay, fracture, or after a root canal. These weakened teeth need the added strength that a crown can give. Even though most of our crowns are gold overlaid with porcelain, for front teeth all ceramic crowns are available. Crowns can last a long time and protect your teeth.
Bridgework
This involves putting crowns on the teeth adjacent to the empty space and connecting the replacement teeth directly to them in one unit. Lately, the need for traditional fixed bridgework has diminished by the increasing use of dental implants to replace missing teeth. Whether on natural teeth or implants, these bridges are fixed and not removable. Implant crowns are crowns that are specially designed to fit over implant fixtures. Please see those headings for more information.
Root Canal Therapy
The vast majority of root canal (RCT) goes smoothly with little or no discomfort. This procedure is needed whenever a nerve in a tooth gets so “sick,” that it can’t recover. Decay getting into the nerve chamber and causing the infection is the most obvious, but trauma, fractures, and “overworking” the tooth are others. Do not use pain as the sole criteria for RCT! The extreme case of a constant, throbbing ache usually indicates that the infection has gone into the surrounding bone. The tooth may have needed nerve therapy long before these symptoms occurred. A nerve can become necrotic (die) and the patient is unaware until infection sets in. Chances for a successful RCT are best before the extreme symptoms present themselves. This advantage, along with putting a crown on the tooth, gives the best long-term success. If the case is complex, we may refer the patient to our endodontic (RCT) specialists. Remember, the only alternative to RCT is extraction!
Extractions
While we do our best to save teeth, sometimes teeth are still lost, due to decay, fracture, infection, trauma, or gum disease with bone loss. This office can remove some teeth. Complicated cases will be sent out to our oral surgeon referral base. Most wisdom teeth and other multiple extractions will also be referred out. In addition, any patient requiring sedation will be referred, since we only use local anesthesia. Most primary (baby) teeth can be removed by our office, depending mostly on the child’s temperament. We do have periodontist referrals if the need arises.
Implant Crowns
Our office restores implants placed by the surgeon. Implants are man-made “tooth roots,” formed from titanium alloy, that are placed in the upper or lower jawbone. After three to six months, the bone grows around these implants. At this point, impressions are made so that crowns, bridges, or even dentures can be placed on the implants. Please see the headings of Crowns, Bridgework, and Dentures for more information. As a final comment, implant success is over 90%, and is becoming the number one choice for tooth replacement!
Partials
A removable partial denture (RPD) is made to replace teeth when there are some teeth left. It involves a framework, usually metal, that fits and clasps the natural teeth at strategic points. There are different designs that may involve crowns and special attachments that will help to hide the metal and strengthen the case. Generally, these RPDs are a second choice to implants or fixed bridgework
Dentures
At the start, impressions are made of the ridges in the mouth, and wax rims are fashioned to establish the bite. The size, shape, and color of denture teeth are selected, and set in the wax for a try-in. If the try- in is acceptable for both the patient and the doctor, the dentures are send to the lab to be processed and finished. At the delivery appointed, the dentures are placed and adjustments made. There will be a period of time for the patient to become accustomed to the new teeth, especially if they are new wearers. We offer in-house repairs and relines for most cases. Relines should be done by a professional, not with OTC products or a wad of adhesive! Ill-fitting dentures can cause sore spots, fractures, and broken teeth. Most denture problems occur on the lower jaw. If the patient with this situation is in good health and has adequate bone, we suggest an implant-supported lower denture. The implants could be used to clip in the denture and keep it stable, or more implants could be placed to support a fixed bridge. See the heading Implant Crowns for more information.
Emergency Care
We make every attempt to get an emergency patient in the same working day, or within 24 hrs. Our office will try to get the “chief complaint” resolved and/or the proper medication dispensed, if needed. A referral to a specialist may be given. An emergency constitutes: severe pain and/or swelling, fractured front tooth or loss of a front crown, broken upper denture or one that will not stay in by any means (and no spare), broken back tooth or filling with severe pain, or recently done work that the patient can’t eat on at all.
Cosmetic Dentistry
Bonding
Bonding is adding a tooth-colored resin to the outside of a tooth, after first chemically treating the surface. The procedure is usually done on the front six upper teeth. Bonding can help correct chips, spaces, enamel defects, and minor crowding or rotations. It can even help change the smile color. The advantages are that little or no tooth structure is removed and the change can be done in one visit. The disadvantages are that the bondings can chip with certain foods or hard bite contact, and they can pick up stain over time, especially in smokers and heavy coffee/tea drinkers.
Veneers
Porcelain veneers have similar applications as bonding. They are very thin shells of porcelain chemically bonded to the teeth. Veneers are more color stable and stain-resistant than bondings. One visit involves shaping the teeth and making impressions, then one visit to cement the veneers in place.
Crowns
We can achieve some good results in more complex cases with full coverage, called crowns or “caps”. See the Crowns heading for more detail about crowns and bridges.
Bleaching/Whitening
There are two ways to bleach: in house or home bleaching. The in-house, done at the office, uses a more powerful peroxide solution that is applied directly to the teeth. Advantages are that immediate results can happen in one visit. Disadvantages include the possibility of sensitivity due to the higher concentration, and that it may take 2-5 applications to get a desired result. The home kit starts with mouth impressions after which bleaching trays are made. The patient applies the solution from a syringe into the trays and wears them on the teeth. Results usually take 2-3 weeks. In both scenarios, some results can be dramatic, but most cases improve slightly to moderately, with the home kit being generally more predictable.
Schoolhouse Square Dental Center has been serving the Schaumburg, IL area for over 25 years. We proudly serve residents of Schaumburg, Roselle, Medinah, Hoffman Estates, Elk Grove and neighboring areas. Dr. Couston, Dr. Stamas and the entire Schoolhouse Square Dental staff believe in providing the best patient care possible.
Contact Schoolhouse Square Dental Center today at 847-519-1711, schoolhousesqdntl@sbcglobal.net or browse our website for more information about dental appointments and insurance or to learn more about Schoolhouse Square Dental Center.
