Services For Optimal Health
Invisalign®
Crooked, crowded or mis-aligned teeth? Consider a nearly invisible correction - Invisalign. Clear aligners are a great alternative to braces, especially for adults who don’t want the inconvenience, “look,” or discomfort of traditional braces … again.
Invisalign’s clear aligners are nearly invisible, allowing you to confidently show off your smile while straightening your teeth. The aligners are comfortable to wear and can be removed for eating, brushing and flossing. Conveniently keep your teeth clean and healthy without the hassle of threading floss through wires and around brackets.
We’ve been enhancing smiles while improving oral health with this simple and pain free alternative for close to two decades. Need help deciding if Invisalign is right for you? Simply schedule a consultation!
Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal Technique
Say “ah” and look in the mirror. If you see silver you’ve got silver amalgam fillings, a very common material that made its way into mouths since the mid-1800s. We’ve since learned of the health implications liquid elemental mercury poses, which these fillings contain.
The reason we recommend removal is because of the potential for off-gassing. When you drink something hot, clench or grind your teeth, chew food, or brush your teeth mercury warms. It then becomes a colorless, odorless, toxic vapor exposing the rest of your body (including and especially, the brain) to mercury’s harmful effects.
We’ve gotten SMART since these fillings first appeared. SMART is an acronym for Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal Technique, which is a set of safety measures to reduce mercury exposure during removal.
Currently, our office is the only SMART certified dentistry in the Bismarck-Mandan and surrounding areas. Dr. Maria Dwyer pioneered mercury-safe dentistry in the Midwest.
Airway Dentistry
One in two patients have airway issues. Are you one of them? Airway issues include mouth breathing, snoring, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and grinding teeth and clenching your jaw. Oftentimes, these symptoms are the result of narrow dental arches and a retruded lower jaw.
Airway dentistry is a unique approach to helping people breathe better. Personally aware of the impacts poor breathing has, Dr. Maria Dwyer’s interest in this service started when she discovered her own children struggled with sleep disordered breathing and associated symptoms.
To assist, our office can help affected patients visualize, evaluate, and measure the upper airway anatomy in 3D detail using Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT). Custom treatment is delivered based on the severity and age of the patient, and can be performed with expansion appliances and/or oral appliance therapy.
Dental Sleep Medicine
Did you know that dentists can improve your sleep? Sleep disruptors like snoring and sleep apnea have a direct connection to oral health. Our office works hand-in-hand with a company to identify your sleep patterns and problems to create a path to better rest.
Dr. Maria Dwyer partners with Sleeptest.com, a company that mails at-home sleep tests to your front door; making it easy to take the test in the comfort of your own bed. Results are shared and evaluated by board-certified sleep physicians who provide our office with a diagnosis for treatment.
Oral appliance therapy is a typical treatment for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. A custom-fit, oral appliance repositions your jaw in a forward position to keep the airway open, allowing for easier breathing and better sleep.
Craniofacial Development
The best time to ensure health and wellness through dentistry is during a child’s development. In fact, catching and correcting craniofacial growth before age 12 is essential since 90% of the face is developed by that age.
Children who suffer from small dental arches are prone to poor sleep and breathing and can experience crowding or malocclusion when their adult teeth emerge. Ensuring proper jaw growth and development can limit the need for future braces and orthodontic devices.
Our office can examine and influence craniofacial development using functional orthopedic expansion appliances that support better sleep, improves breathing and makes room for adult teeth.
Ozone Therapy
One of the most complex and perplexing problems in dentistry today is infection control. The mouth is teeming with microorganisms. Ideally, these organisms live in balance or symbiosis. Under certain conditions, pathogenic or “disease causing” microorganisms overpopulate and create infection. Imbalance or dysbiosis is what causes periodontal disease, gingivitis and cavities.
Healthy eating habits and proper oral hygiene can prevent imbalance, but when the “bad bugs” take over, our office offers a non-toxic treatment option - ozone therapy.
Ozone, when introduced into the body, creates a “transient oxidative burst.” The infective microorganisms have no defense against this reaction, and, as a result, die. Unlike antibiotics, ozone produces no unwanted side effects or antibiotic resistance.
Salivary Diagnostic
Patient success and overall health is incredibly important to us, which is why we spend time getting to know you and all about you. Salivary diagnostic testing helps us identify the exact bacteria present in the mouths of our patients.
A simple oral rinse collection reviewed by OralDNA Labs can identify risk factors for periodontal disease and harmful cavity-causing bacteria. The saliva test also identifies genetic markers related to increased risk of inflammation, cancer, joint and musculoskeletal health, dementia and brain health, metabolic health, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Salivary diagnostics ensures better preventive care and more effective treatment plans.
Biocompatibility Testing
As many as 1 in 3 patients may react to dental materials as a result of chemical sensitivities. Biocompatibility testing utilizes a small blood sample to determine the dental materials best suited to your individual biochemistry; materials that you won’t have adverse reactions to.
Dental material testing is especially important for people with existing allergies and autoimmune conditions, as well as those individuals who know they are more “chemically sensitive.” For some, certain substances, and their corrosive byproducts, can have toxic and hazardous effects.
The goal of testing prior to dental treatment is to select materials that are the least immune challenging, as shown in the Clifford Materials Reactivity Testing (CMRT). This is increasingly important when you consider our industry uses more than 2,000 materials across 16,000+ branded dental products.
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Are problems with your teeth and gums preventing you from living your fullest life?
