Services we offer
Routine Dentistry
We have a great hygienist who is thorough with a soft touch. Irina will gently and fully inspect your teeth as she removes calculus and notifies the Doctor of any impurities, thus insuring there’s two sets of eyes checking for any cavities before they become an issue. Depending on your gum health, you will see Irina every 3-6 months (6 months being most common), and Dr. Ricks will regularly evaluate you every 6 months.
When it comes to actual dental treatment, Dr. Ricks does a great job with his work. He takes pride in being detail oriented, and truly cares about the appearance of your teeth, and how happy you are with the results of treatment.
Routine Dentistry with Dr. Ricks involves replacing old amalgam fillings, new fillings, build-ups, chipped teeth, build-ups, crowns, bridges, and whitening (we offer whitening trays with Opalescense syringes, as well as Opalescense whitening strips).
This photo represents a patient who has old amalgam fillings as well as missing teeth. Decay has grown beneath these fillings, and will continue to do so if not removed.
This photo represents what the patient’s teeth look like following routine dental work. We removed the amalgam filings, decay, placed a build up on the tooth needed, crowns, and a bridge as well.
Cosmetic Dentistry
Many people want to improve their smile for personal reasons: They don’t like their smile because a few teeth are out of alignment; they don’t appreciate the shape of their teeth; they feel when they smile, too much gum shows and their teeth appear too small. Not too many people are aware that all of these are actual issues that have the potential to be successfully resolved.
Dr. Ricks will evaluate you and your teeth to see if you’re a possible candidate for braces, Invisalign, veneers, crown lengthening (gingivectomy). It is his goal to ensure you are happy with your new smile.
This photo represents a patient who has severe wear, with grinding and chipping of their teeth. This patient also has receding gum line with crowns that do not fit properly.
This photo is after that same patient has had crown lengthening’s, build ups, and crowns. Patient still has ongoing treatment, but as you can see, they already have a brand new smile.
Dental Emergency
So, you were eating some popcorn and bit into a kernel and are now currently in pain, or woke up with a swollen face from a tooth, or fractured it, call our office and we will see what we can do to get you onto our schedule. It’s our goal to get you out of pain.
Depending on your visit, we can possibly get you on antibiotics, may need to do an incise and drain, perform emergency extractions or emergency pulpotomy (removing the nerve from a tooth). We will do what we can to help you, even if that means we need to refer you to a specialist who can do treatment same day when needed.
Oral Surgery
Dr. Ricks is skilled in Oral Surgery, so he does extractions, depending on your health and in some cases he can also do bone grafts, implants, and so much more.
Dentures and Partials
We work with a fantastic lab that makes amazing dentures, partials, & flippers. As a team, we insure we take the proper steps in the creation process, that way you leave with a piece that fits perfectly, and looks natural. It must be noted that this process requires multiple visits until you are pleased with the final fit and appearance. Because we pride ourselves in perfect fit and looks with our appliances, we do not offer same day dentures. This is the only process we offer, ensuring you’re leaving with the best product possible.
Dr. Ricks also tries to help save your current dentures or Partial denture if you don’t want to part with them yet. He does everything he can to make the ones you currently have useful with maintenance efforts until replacement is actually necessary.
Orthodontics
Dr. Ricks also enjoys orthodontic work. If all you need is some simple alignment, we offer traditional silver brackets, clear brackets, and depending on the case, we also offer Invisalign as an option.
Dr. Ricks offers a free consultation to see if you’re a candidate for our office. The consultation is a quick ten minute discussion where he will look at your bite and crowding, define what Class your bite is in, to see if it’s treatment we can do here, or if you need a referral to a specialist. After the Consultation appointment, we will get you scheduled for X-rays, photos, impressions, and discuss the cost of treatment.
Perio Protect Method®
At your regular cleaning appointments, we have seen great in-office results from Perio Protect® treatments. Customized trays can gently seal a 1.7% hydrogen peroxide gel medication right on your gum line to fight bacteria and inflammation. The peroxide gel then breaks down into water and oxygen right where the gums need it.
If you already have been diagnoses with some form of pyorrhea (gum disease), customized trays worn for 15 minutes twice daily can significantly improve your gum health even if you are already receiving periodontal cleanings every 3 or 4 months. (One interesting side effect of the gel placed in the custom trays, is that your teeth will get whiter too!)
