Everything Under One Roof!

Patients who have ever had gum surgery usually have very painful experiences.  In addition to the long-term discomfort and tooth sensitivity that usually comes along for months after the surgery, patients usually do not like the way they look after the surgery.  Many feel they are left to look “longer in the tooth”, which is not only unsightly, but makes them look older. 

In 2005, Dr. Mason was one of the first 200 doctors in the world to be licensed and certified to use Periolase LANAP technology in his practice and the first one to provide it to the western portion of NC and second in the state.  Periolase technology offers an alternative to conventional gum surgery that is far better in every way.  First of all, there is no cutting and no suturing (stitches).  Second, only the damaged gum tissue is removed by inserting a small laser tip under the gumline.  Unlike conventional surgery, with the Periolase, all healthy gum tissue is conserved.  Patients who have experienced this laser assisted new attachment procedure, usually have no pain or bleeding, do not look any different, and best of all, they have far better results than conventional surgery.  If you have ever been told you have gum pockets or need gum surgery, this procedure will make you glad you put off your surgery until now.  For more information, visit the "for patients" section at http://www.lanap.com

Dr. Mason completed the Medical College of Georgia/American Academy of Implant Dentistry comprehensive training program in December of 2002.

http://www.mcg.edu/ce/dentalce/2010/compdentimplants.html

Since then Dr. Mason has placed many single tooth implants as well as multiple implants for full mouth prosthesis.  Dr. Mason prefers to both place and restore the implants for his patients in order to have full control.  Dr. Mason not only understands that surgical expertise is important, but equally important is how the implants are loaded long-term.  An improperly restored implant can receive harmful stresses than can lead to implant failure.

Dr. Mason has been using Waterlase (dental laser)  technology in patient care since 2001.  Dr. Mason was one of the first 500 doctors in the USA to adopt Waterlase technology into his practice at that time and now uses it so extensively that he has integrated a Waterlase unit into all of his treatment rooms.  Between 2002 and 2005, Dr. Mason trained and lectured in the southeastern region of the U.S. to dentists new to Waterlase technology.  For more information on Waterlase dentistry visit http://www.laserdentistry.com

While many patients seek Dr. Mason for cosmetic dentistry, Dr. Mason considers all of his dentistry to be cosmetic.  From his most simple fillings that perfectly match the color of your teeth to his complete prosthetic reconstructions with artistic beauty so natural that it defies detection by even the most trained eyes, Dr. Mason routinely gives his patients “natural” perfection.

Full mouth reconstruction (FMR) can be life changing for patients with both the esthetic appearance of their teeth as well as tremendous enhancement in their functional form (speaking and chewing).  The complexity of restoring a badly broken down dentition can be very demanding for a dentist in planning, skill, and professional judgment.  FMR  is a service not offered by all dentists.  However, Dr. Mason’s advanced training at the L.D Pankey Institute and the Dawson Center for Advanced Dental Studies has given him the expertise necessary to assure a high quality result.  Patients should understand that this level of care can take several months from the onset of treatment to the completion and involves several steps to assure success. It also involves a considerable financial investment, but the lifetime of enjoyment and quality of life enhancement gained by those who select the very best treatment possible can be measured by just pennies a day.  

To put the value in perspective, a $50,000 dental reconstruction would be considered to be quite an expensive initial investment.  However, done with exquisite attention to detail, a fine tuned dental reconstruction can have an unlimited life expectancy.  In essence, when taking inflation into consideration, dentistry done well has tremendous financial appreciation.  Most patients that Dr. Mason has reconstructed over 10 years ago have had no other treatment.  Those same patients have enjoyed their dentistry for over 10 years now and are still just as happy as the day it was placed.  Had those patients put off treatment until today, they could pay two to three times as much for the same treatment and would have missed out on the joy their dentistry has brought to them for over a decade of their lives.  What else can be used every day without a conscious thought and be at least two times as valuable 10 years later after all that use?  If one were to spend $50 thousand dollars today on a beautiful dental reconstruction, their cost per day in ten years would be less than 15 cents per day.  That is why quality dentistry is such a great value.  There is nothing that is used so much and lasts so long!

See an example of a Full Mouth Reconstruction case.

Dr. Mason performs root canal therapy for all front and back teeth.  Dr. Mason uses the latest automated technology that allows most teeth to be treated in just one visit.  For more information about specifics of the actual procedure of root canal therapy, the following link has been provided to the website of the American Association of Endodontists.

http://www.aae.org/patients/patientinfo/faqs/rootcanals.htm

TMJ is an abbreviation for the right and left jaw joints known as the Temporomandibular Joint.  While the syndrome of TMJ can involve far more structures than just the joint, such as head, neck, and facial pain, the overall debilitating condition is labeled as TMJ or TMD (Temporomandibular Dysfunction).  Dr. Mason has had many successes in helping patients regain a normal life free from pain of this potentially debilitating syndrome.  TMJ therapy involves a systematic approach that has the following sequential goals:

1. Immediate pain relief
2. Stabilization of joint and muscle function
3. Intermediate "bite guard" therapy for healing of joint and muscle structures
4. Final phase dental care for permanent results

For more detailed information see the following links from the ADA and Webmd: 

• http://www.ada.org/public/topics/tmd_tmj.asp#ar
• http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/temporomandibular-disorders

Many patients have dentures that are fake looking even to non-dentists.  Most of the time this “denture look” is not because of the materials or the type of artificial teeth that were used, but because the teeth are not in their proper positions as they can and should be.  Our smiles, the way we chew our food, and the way we speak are all dependent on a very precise position of the (incisal) edges of our upper and lower front teeth.  When making a denture, dentists can take short cuts and sometimes dentists get lucky and get close enough so that patients are able to adapt.  Other times patients do not look natural and are asked to “adapt” to their new "denture look" even though the front tooth positions are not even close to their original position.  Many times those patients have a "sunken in" lower face appearance.  Those are the cases when a denture looks like a denture and not natural teeth, and most patients have difficulty adapting to that degree.  However, with the careful "new-branching technique" a fully trained prosthetic dentist can determine precisely where your front teeth used to be.  A dentist who takes the time to get your front teeth in the proper 3-D relationship of your natural teeth, will succeed in making you a denture that looks and functions as your natural teeth.  You can look completely natural with dentures.  Don’t settle for less.  For the best, ask for a Branching Technique (Turbyfil) denture. 

 Lab work by John Zarb, Master Dental Prosthetics http://www.masterprosthetics.com/