Emergency Dentistry in St. Louis, MO

White Fillings

Tooth-colored fillings, also called composite fillings, are used to restore and repair natural teeth after they are damaged due to tooth decay or trauma. These fillings are custom-shaded to match the color of your teeth, so they blend seamlessly with your real enamel. Unlike amalgam fillings, composite restorations are completely metal and mercury-free.

Root Canals

Root canal therapy is an indispensable, sometimes smile-saving, restorative dental treatment. A root canal becomes necessary when the pulp of a tooth is inflamed or infected from bacteria from a deep cavity or compromised from a fractured tooth or other trauma. Our skilled dental team goes into the damaged tooth and clears out any infection. Once we have cleaned the remaining healthy dental structure, we fill the root canal with medicine and restore the tooth.

Although root canal therapy has developed a bit of a reputation over the years, the truth is that, thanks to technological advancements and our ability to achieve profound anesthesia, saving an infected tooth with root canal therapy should be completely painless.

And since we are also restorative dentists, if a crown is also necessary on the tooth we can complete that procedure at the same appointment as the root canal saving you time and unnecessary appointments.

Crowns and Bridges

Crowns and bridges are cemented restorations used to rebuild and replace compromised or missing teeth that have been damaged due to decay, trauma, or wear that is too extensive for a composite filling to correct. Our dental team meticulously crafts crowns and bridges from porcelain or zirconia so that they blend seamlessly with your natural smile. These restorations are simple to care for, and durable enough to last a lifetime.

Dental Bonding

Dental bonding treatment allows our team to cover unsightly or damaged dental enamel with a thin layer of dental resin in just one appointment. While dental resin starts off as a soft, malleable material that we sculpt onto your teeth that is hardened with a polymerization light and bonds to the natural tooth structure.

Our team custom-shades resin to ensure that it matches the patient’s natural smile. This is a quick and effective treatment option for repairing cracked or chipped teeth, improving minor bite alignment issues, and lightening teeth for which dental whitening is not effective.

Partial Dentures and Dentures

Partial dentures are removable appliances to replace missing teeth and are held in place with rests and clasps that attach on any remaining teeth. Complete or Full dentures replace all of the teeth and are held in place via suction, adhesives or one of our implant options.

Our dental team customizes partials and dentures to look exceptionally natural for the patient. You’ll be able to speak and eat comfortably with these replacement teeth in place.

Masterpiece Veneers and Cosmetic Crowns

Porcelain veneers and cosmetic crowns are restorations that are permanently bonded or cemented over a patient’s natural dental structure. We can completely transform your smile in just two or three dental appointments.

Every veneer or crown is custom-shaped and shaded to suit the patient’s unique smile. We will design the case together and we can cover cracked and chipped enamel, close gaps between teeth, resurface dark enamel, and make misaligned teeth appear straighter. Our vast experience and technology, step by step method and partnership with some of the best master ceramists in the county help us deliver unparalleled results.

Nitrous Oxide

Also, called “laughing gas,” nitrous oxide is a short-acting inhaled sedative. Patients breathe in this colorless, faintly sweet-smelling gas through a nosepiece prior to beginning treatment. Nitrous oxide slows down the patient’s nervous system and induces a sense of calm and euphoria. Because the effects of nitrous oxide wear off quickly, patients are able to drive themselves home post-treatment.

Xanax or Valium. For the patients that want something to help them relax but are not requiring more profound levels such as conscious sedation or I.V. sedation. We sometimes will do a combination of xanax or Valium along with Nitrous Oxide gas as well.

Oral Conscious Sedation

Did you know that only 1% of the dentists in the country are qualified to administer oral conscious sedation dentistry? Our team at St. Louis County Dental has completed extensive specialized training in relaxation dentistry, so that we can bring you the comfortable, safe, and effective care that you deserve.

These types of sedatives are administered as small dentist-prescribed pills that the patient ingests about an hour before their appointment. Additional sedatives are administered during the appointment to keep you comfortable and in a twilight state until treatment is complete.

Oral conscious sedation causes many patients to feel extremely calm and groggy. Conscious sedation patients will often be in and out of sleep, but never completely unconscious so that we can get the patient’s participation when needed (like checking the bite for example). Our sedation dentist continually monitors the patient’s heart rate, oxygen levels, and blood pressure. Because oral conscious sedation has amnesic properties, many patients do not remember the treatment process once the effects of the medication wear off. Conscious sedation has helped more than a thousand patients in our office and we find it an incredibly safe, effective and affordable way to help even the most fearful of patients.

Keep in mind that because oral sedation temporarily affects memory and motor skills, patients will require a friend or family member to drive them home after treatment.

IV Sedation

IV sedation is delivered directly to the patient’s bloodstream through an intravenous line. This is the deepest form of sedation available at St. Louis County Dental.

Patients who use IV sedation generally fall asleep and have little to no memory of the treatment process once they wake up. Patients using IV sedation will require a friend or family member to drive them home after treatment.