• teeth whitening
• veneers
• bonding
• mini implants
• NTI appliance
• crowns and bridges
• root canals
• dentures
• restoration of implants
• thorough cleanings
• preventive care.

Dr. Watts also does mini implants and NTI appliance to help people who brux, clinch and who get migraines. At our practice we try to be as attentive and caring as possible to not only your dental needs, but anything that will make your visit more comfortable. We treat each patient, both adults and children, with personal attention in a relaxed atmosphere in a state of the art modern setting. We have computers in our operatories with the intra-oral camera so you can see just what the doctor sees. We have a micro abrasion as well as digital x-rays. Our main objective is to make your dental experience a positive one and we'll go to any lengths to do so. We look forward to helping you and your family achieve optimum dental health.

MORE ABOUT NTI APPLIANCE:

NTI-tss dental devise prevents migraine pain and is indicated for patients who grind or clinch their teeth. The NTI-tss device is a small, removable, prefabricated, clear resin matrix oral insert which a dentist fits to the patient's front teeth to be worn while sleeping. With the NTI-tss device in place, the intense activity of the temporal muscle is suppressed to less than 1/3 of maximum by preventing any intense occlusal contact. By reducing this neuromuscular activity, migraine headache pain and associated tension-type headaches is reduced or prevented. this same reduction in the contraction of the temporal muscle also benefits the patient who grinds or clinches their teeth, especially while sleeping. This reduction in grinding protects the teeth from wear. Mini implants are 1.8mm in size and are used to help stabilize a lower or upper denture. Four implants are required on the lower and a minimum of six on the upper. These are 1/3 the cost of regular implants. A free consult is available to see if enough bone is present in order to place the implants.

MINI DENTAL IMPLANTS:

Mini dental implants are ultra-small diameter (1.8 millimeter width), biocompatible titanium alloy implant screws, conceived and developed over 20 years ago. As a revolutionary departure from routine implant methods, mini implants are so narrow they are typically inserted directly through the overlying gum tissue and into the bone underneath. Consequently the need to surgically cut and "flap" open the gum tissue, routinely required for standard dental implant systems, is avoided in most MDI applications. As a result, post-insertion patient irritation and soreness is significantly reduced. Due to these facts, the implant can be loaded right away and the patient will leave with a tight fitting denture that will no longer slip and slide. Four to six mini-implants are used to stabilize a denture. Fractures are extremely rare, but as is the case with a person's normal teeth, can certainly occur. In those rare instances, a dentist can quickly remove the fractured implant and replace it. Cost is $500 each. More information can be obtained at www.imtec.com.

THE LIGHT THAT MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE-VELSCOPE

The VelScope is ground-breaking new technology created by a team of scientists at the British Columbia Cancer Agency in Canada and it is showing 100% specificity and 98 % sensitivity in detecting oral cancers at an early stage.  Called a Visually Enhanced Lesion Scope (VelScope), this simple, hand-held device emits a cone of blue light into the mouth that excites various molecules within our cells, causing them to absorb the light energy and re-emit it as visible fluorescence. Remove the light, and the fluorescence of the tissue is no longer visible. 

Because changes in the natural fluorescence of healthy tissue generally reflect light-scattering biochemical or structural changes indicative of developing tumor cells, the VelScope allows dentists to shine a light into a suspicious sore in the mouth, look through an attached eyepiece, and watch directly for changes in color.  Normal oral tissue emits a pale green fluorescence, while potentially early tumor, or dysplastic, cells appear dark green to black.

Oral cancer kills one person every hour, 24 hours a day in the United States. 50% of patients diagnosed with oral cancer are expected to die within 5 years.  If caught early, 90% of cases are curable.  Oral cancer is often curable when detection, diagnosis, and treatment are performed early.  This means detecting mucosal abnormalities at or before Stage 1 cancer.  Early detection of potentially malignant lesions and accurate identification of biopsy locations are significant factors in decreasing morbidity and mortality rates associated with oral cancer.                

 The mortality rates associated with oral cancer have not changed in over 30 years due in part to the limitations of white light inspection of the oral cavity.  Traditional oral cancer screening using white light is best at detecting readily apparent changes at the tissue surface.  Unfortunately, the tissue changes that lead to oral cancer actually start below the surface at the basal membrane.  These changes may not be visible to the naked eye until the disease progresses to the surface.

In the past three decades there has been a 60% increase in oral cancer in adults under the age of 40.  Risk factors for oral cancer include tobacco use, frequent alcohol consumption, a compromised immune system, a past history of cancer, and the presence of the Human Papillion Virus (HPV).  Alarmingly, 25% of newly diagnosed cases of oral cancer do not fit the high-risk profile.  Therefore, all patients over the age of 18 should be screened annually for oral cancer. 

Oral cancer is the sixth most common diagnosed cancer in the United States.  Early screening, diagnosis, and treatment planning for oral cancer will save lives.  The ideal process of screening for oral cancer would make it possible for clinicians to accurately identify tissue changes below the surface at the basal membrane before mucosal abnormalities become visible under white light examination.  It has to be simple, easy to incorporate into routine preventive hygiene appointments, complimentary with other treatments, and noninvasive. 

The VelScope is this new technology and was approved by the FDA and released for sale in late August of this year.  This technology if used widely will begin to increase the early detection of tissue changes below the tissue and will lower the death rate associated with oral cancer.