Family Dentistry

At Naper Dental Center we believe that all phases of dentistry are important. We strive to provide excellent care for all ages. Continuing education and new technology aids us in providing the best care possible. We believe that every patient is special and we will work to accommodate and place our patients' needs first. We strive to maximize our patients' investment in their health and will not compromise our treatment.

Children

Good dental habits can never be started too soon. We recommend starting your child in our office by his or her first birthday. We believe that early and often visits to the dentist are important to protect your child's teeth now and in the future. Children with healthy teeth chew food easily, are better able to learn to speak clearly, and smile with confidence. We support regular fluoride applications to help prevent dental decay. Children who primarily drink bottle water may not be getting the fluoride they need to keep their teeth healthy. With early interaction, our doctors can help monitor and maintain your child's smile for proper development. We believe in early intervention using orthopedic expanders for proper arch development. This early interaction can reduce the time your child may need to be in braces, reduce or eliminate the need for extractions, and may even eliminate the need for braces all together.

Special Concerns for Growing Children:

1. Baby Bottle Tooth Decay or Nursing Caries: Children risk severe decay from using a bottle during naps or at night or when they nurse continuously from the breast. Children should never fall asleep with a bottle. At-will nighttime breast-feeding should be avoided once the first teeth begin to erupt. Drinking juice from a bottle should be avoided. When juice is offered, it should be in a cup and in limited quantities. If you choose to give your child juice, it can be watered down to help reduce the amount of sugar.
2. Children should be weaned from the bottle at 12-14 months of age. Encourage children to drink from a cup as they approach their first birthday.
3. Thumb sucking and pacifier use is perfectly normal for infants. Most children stop by age 2 and it should be discouraged after age 4. Prolonged thumb sucking or pacifier use can create crowded, crooked teeth or bite problems.
4. Children's baby teeth usually begin to come in around 6 months of age and usually complete erupting around age 3. Your child may experience sore gums during this process. Many parents find a teething ring, cool spoon, or cold wet washcloth help to reduce their child's discomfort.
5. Parents and caregivers need to take care of their own teeth so that cavity-causing bacteria are not transmitted to children. Do not clean pacifiers and utensils with your own mouth before giving them to your child to help avoid transmission of this bacteria.

Teenagers

During the teenage years, the mouth is developing into what become the smile that will stay with them into their golden years. The doctors understand that this is an important time and they want to make sure to help develop a smile you will love. We continue to educate your teenager and help establish healthy routines that will keep their smile healthy. What ever the treatment may be, we want your teens' smile to be the best it can be.

Adults

Just because you are an adult does not mean you cannot improve your smile or help maintain the one you have. At Naper Dental Center, we have many different options for you. Be it straighten those not so perfect teeth, dental implants to replace those missing teeth, or minor cosmetic changes all the way to full mouth rehabilitation to give you that perfect smile, Naper Dental Center can help provide the perfect solution to meet your needs and budget.

Seniors

Are those dentures not fitting properly or just uncomfortable? Is your past dental work in need of an update? Our doctors have many different solutions to help you maintain your mouth into your golden years. We offer implant based dentures to help stabilize that loose denture and make it easier to use. We also offer more comfortable alternatives to the traditional metal partial.

Technology

Technology is an ever present occurrence in our daily lives and has made its way into the dental field. With Laser cavity detectors, Joint Vibration Analysis devices, Acoustical Airway Measuring tools, or state of the art implant machines, the doctors feel that it is important to embrace new technology and incorporate it into our practice. Technology does not replace the education that the doctors have achieved or continue to obtain but helps enhance their abilities. The doctors now have the tools to detect, diagnose, and treat many situations that may not have been detectable or treatable before.

Our doctors are continuously evaluating the newest and latest technologies and will be integrating them more and more into the dental practice. We work very hard to bring the best possible care to our patients and want to make sure that we continue to provide excellent care. We understand that these new technologies can be scary or confusing, so we encourage our patients to ask our staff and doctors about these new technologies and how they can help you maintain a beautiful smile.

Specialties

Our doctors are very passionate about their profession and enjoy learning more about the field of dentistry. This continued drive to further educate themselves has lead our doctors into areas which go beyond the area of general dentistry. This specialized knowledge can greatly aid in your dental visit and can help provide answers and solutions to questions or problems you may have. With our diverse understanding of these extended areas of dentistry and our close working relationship with other medical professions that complement dentistry, we strive to provide our patients the absolute best diagnosis and comprehensive treatment of all dental and health needs.