Other Services

At Chemung Family Dental, we offer our patients a comprehensive array of dental services. Our thorough annual exams include dental and periodontal exams, diagnostic x-rays, oral cancer and soft tissue exams, TMJ analysis, doctor exam, and professional cleaning. Make an appointment in our office in Elmira, NY, for your routine dental care.

Children’s Dentistry

We are here to help and make your child’s dental experiences go smoothly and be a positive one! Child visits will be somewhat similar with a great emphasis on prevention, growth and development, decay detection, sealants, and fluoride treatments to prevent decay, orthodontic and wisdom teeth (third molars) evaluation with appropriate referrals as needed.

What age groups do you treat?

We see children of all ages at Chemung Family Dental. Generally, your child’s first “official dental visit” for a check-up and cleaning is between 2-3 years of age. We encourage you to bring your child in before their first visit, perhaps with one of your appointments, so that we may introduce ourselves to them. This tends to make their 1st visit go easier.

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s care, do not hesitate to contact our office at 607-734-2045.

Computerized Dentistry

We offer CEREC same-day restorative services (crowns, inlays, onlays) at our office.

CEREC Scan

We are pleased to offer our patients CEREC restoration services – a superior method of creating precisely-designed, color-matched and highly durable ceramic restorations right in our practice.

From simple fillings to full crowns to veneers, CEREC delivers the results you need in a single appointment.

Computer Aided Design (CAD)

State-of-the-art CAD software allows us to design every precise detail of your restoration with the accuracy you’ve come to expect from us. The software allows us to customize the shape of the restoration to exactly fit your specific clinical needs.

Digital Impression

After examining the tooth and determining the course of treatment, we will prepare your tooth for restoration, similarly to traditional treatment methods.

Your prepared tooth will be coated with a safe, tasteless powder. CEREC then uses a state-of-the-art digital 3D camera to create an optical impression.

This digital image replaces the physical impression required in traditional procedures. No more long waits while a tray of impression goop hardens in your mouth.

Mill and Place

While you wait, exact design specifications are sent to our on-site milling machine to create your restoration. About 15 minutes later, your all-ceramic, color matched restoration is ready for placement. Your new restoration is then fitted, polished and bonded for permanence. Your tooth is restored back to its natural form, function, and beauty.

Cosmetic Dentistry

Today everyone wants a beautiful smile. When a person feels and looks good, they have a strong self-image. People who feel good about themselves interact positively with family, friends, and business contacts. A beautiful, confident smile plays a significant role in your self-image.

Many adults live with smile problems simply because they don’t know how easy it is to get an attractive smile! Advances in modern dentistry make it easy to restore a life-like beauty to teeth that are stained, chipped, crooked, missing, or separated by a wide space. Cosmetic dentistry is no longer just for the front teeth. Those old silver fillings that have made your back teeth dark and unattractive can now be replaced with state-of-the-art materials that will make your teeth stronger, healthier, and much more attractive.

Invisalign

Do you dislike your crooked teeth and think that the only solution is lengthy orthodontic treatment with braces? Now you have a choice. Thanks to improved technology and materials, your dentist can now skillfully and quickly change those crowded and crooked teeth into beautiful smiles.

Invisalign takes a modern approach to straightening teeth, using a custom-made series of aligners created for you and only you. These aligners are made of smooth, comfortable, and virtually invisible plastic that you simply wear over your teeth.

What are the benefits of Invisalign?

The best part about the whole process is that most people won’t even know you’re straightening your teeth.
Wearing the aligners will gradually and gently shift your teeth into place, based on the exact movements your dentist or orthodontist plans out for you.
There are no metal brackets to attach and no wires to tighten.

How long do I wear my Invisalign aligners for?

You simply pop in a new set of aligners approximately every two weeks, until your treatment is complete and you achieve the confident smile that you’ve always wanted.

How Much Does Invisalign Cost?

In most cases, Invisalign treatment is comparable to the cost of traditional braces. However, as with other medical treatments, only your doctor can determine the cost, based on your specific needs.

Oral Cancer & Oral Disease

There were over 34,000 new cases of oral and oropharyngeal cancer diagnosed last year in the United States. Tobacco use, both non-smoking and smoking is associated with 75% of all cases. People who drink alcohol are six times more likely to develop oral cancer than people who do not drink alcohol. This HPV virus, when present in the oral tissues, results in an increased rick even if the person does not use alcohol or tobacco.

Early Detection is KEY

What to Look For

A sore that bleeds easily or does not heal
A color change of the oral tissues
A lump, thickening or rough spot on the tissue
Pain, tenderness or numbness in the mouth or lips
Difficulty chewing, swallowing or moving the tongue
A sore throat that does not go away
A feeling that something is caught in the throat

More Facts…

Oral cancer is more common than leukemia, skin melanoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and cancers of the brain, liver, bone, thyroid gland, stomach, ovaries, and cervix. It is typically, but not necessarily, caused by long term use of tobacco products and alcohol.

Oral Disease

Oral disease can have serious repercussions for both physical and psychological health. Oral-facial pain can be crippling, interfering with such basic activities as chewing, swallowing, talking, working, and sleeping. Conditions that change or distort our facial features can make us feel less attractive, leading to social withdrawal and depression.

For more information on oral cancer, please visit the Oral Cancer Foundation.

Wisdom Teeth

Wisdom teeth are your third set of molars. Your first molars come in around age six. Your second set comes in around age twelve. Your third set or wisdom teeth generally erupt between ages sixteen and twenty. There are usually four wisdom teeth but some people don’t have any and some only have one, two, or three. The dentist will track the development of your wisdom teeth on a special type of x-ray called a panorex.

A few notes from your friends at Chemung Family Dental …

At age 13 – 15 we will recommend a panorex x-ray to evaluate the growth and development of the wisdom teeth.
If it is warranted, a referral may be made to the Oral surgeon for removal of the wisdom teeth.
Our office will help you set up an appointment with the Oral Surgeon and send a copy of your x-ray to them.

Why do wisdom teeth need to be extracted?

You may be told that your wisdom teeth need to be extracted. This may be necessary for a few reasons.

The wisdom tooth may be partially erupted and infected or decayed.
A cyst may have formed around an unerupted wisdom tooth. This destroys the bone surrounding the tooth.
A poorly positioned wisdom tooth may crowd or damage the tooth in front of it.

If any of these conditions exist, you will be given a referral to the Oral Surgeon for treatment.

What is an oral surgeon?

An Oral Surgeon is a Dentist who is specially trained in surgery of the mouth. We can help you set up an appointment with the Oral Surgeon. We can also send a copy of your panorex x-ray to their office. It is important to tell your dentist, as well as the Oral Surgeon, about any medical conditions you have or medications you take.

Most Oral Surgeons will have you come in for a consultation before the actual extraction appointment. At the consultation, you can discuss the procedure and options for anesthesia. It is a good time to ask the Oral Surgeon any questions you have.

What can I expect after wisdom tooth extractions?

After the surgery, you will be given post-operative instructions. It is very important to read, understand, and follow these instructions in order to prevent any post-operative problems. It is normal to experience swelling and discomfort. Also, it is not uncommon to feel a numbness or tingling sensation in the jaw or face.

These symptoms should last only a few days. The Oral Surgeon can prescribe medication (link to premedication page) to alleviate the discomfort. If you do experience postoperative problems that last longer than a few days, call either the Oral Surgeon or our office.

Should you have any questions or require additional information, please feel free to call us at 607-734-2045 or click to contact us directly.