Virginia Beach Dentures & Partials

Patients can lose teeth for a variety of reasons—an injury, gum disease, severe decay, or with an extraction procedure. But regardless of why you’ve lost one or more teeth, looking for a replacement option is important. At Smile by Design in Virginia Beach, Dr. Santos and Dr. Folck offer two excellent options for patients to consider: partial dentures and full dentures.

But first, why is it important to replace missing teeth? Because of the impact they can have on your appearance, but more importantly, the impact they can have your oral and overall health. For patients missing a complete upper or lower row of teeth, eating can be extremely difficult. For patients missing a few upper or lower teeth, it’s easy for remaining teeth to shift out of alignment. With a partial denture, you can help retain your smile’s healthy alignment, and with a full denture you can enjoy eating and smiling again.

What’s more, patients can get either of these options in an implant-supported form. Dental implants provide patients with an enormous amount of stability, because of the way implants mimic the natural structure of teeth.

Do you need a partial or full set of dentures? Dr. Santos and Dr. Folck can help you understand your needs and pinpoint a solution that will give you the best help. During a consultation visit with us, we’ll asses your oral health and create a treatment plan that can meet your needs.

Call us today to set up an appointment. We serve patients from Virginia Beach, Fort Story, Sandbridge and beyond.

Contemporary Periodontal Therapy for Virginia Beach and Beyond

Why does our team at Smile by Design encourage you to come in for checkups twice a year? Because regular care will help us protect you from a common oral health condition like periodontal disease. Caused by a buildup of plaque and bacteria, periodontal disease can lead to red or swollen gums, plus bleeding, and in more advanced cases, tooth loss.

Other symptoms of periodontal disease include:

• Persistent bad breath
• Receding gums
• A change in the way your teeth fit together
• Pockets between your teeth and gums

Through regular visits with Dr. Stephanie Santos and Dr. Virginia Folck, our Virginia Beach dental team can help you monitor your smile for any of these symptoms. Sometimes periodontal disease can slip by unnoticed in its earliest stages. It takes a trained eye to spot these symptoms early on.

If we find any signs of periodontal disease during your appointment, we’re happy to recommend a treatment plan with root planing and scaling. This deep cleaning approach is a very effective way of treating periodontal disease before it becomes too severe.

But of course, our real goal at Smile by Design is preventing the need for periodontal therapy altogether. To schedule a checkup and cleaning with our Virginia Beach office, give us a call today.  We’re happy to serve patients from Fort Story, Sandbridge, and beyond.

A Beautiful Smile for the Holidays with Porcelain Veneers

The holidays are all about getting together with family and loved ones. That means lots of catching up, smiling, and laughing. Put your best foot forward this year with a more dazzling smile. And thanks to a cosmetic dental service like porcelain veneers, you can do exactly that in just two visits.

Using porcelain veneers, Dr. Santos and Dr. Folck can:

• Close gaps
• Hide stains
• Change tooth length
• Cover cracks or chips
• Whiten teeth
• Make teeth look straighter

What’s more, the process of transforming your smile with porcelain veneers is easy. It takes just two appointments, after which you can leave our Virginia Beach with the results you’ve always wanted.

Here’s what you can expect from the porcelain veneer process. First, Dr. Santos or Dr. Folck will conduct a thorough exam and oral health assessment to make sure your smile is healthy enough for the procedure. If it is, we’ll design personalized veneers based on the shade and shape of your teeth. We’ll also talk to you about the results you’d like to see.

Once we have all the information we need, we’ll prep your teeth by removing a small amount of enamel. This will let your finished porcelain veneers lie flat with your teeth. Then, after our lab has made your veneers according to our detailed instructions, we’ll apply them, completing your procedure.

Have a whiter holiday season right now with porcelain veneers from Smile by Design. Call us today to reserve your consultation. We’re happy to provide cosmetic care to patients from Virginia Beach, Fort Story, Sandbridge, and beyond.

A Family Dentistry Checkup before the Holidays

At Smile by Design, Dr. Santos and Dr. Folck encourage their Virginia Beach patients to come in for checkups at least twice a year. Why so often? Because catching common oral health conditions like gum disease and tooth decay will lead to less invasive, more comfortable care. And with 2013 quickly coming to an end, is there a better time for your family to come in for a checkup than before the holidays start?

Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the December holidays all come with their own special treats—ones that are tasty but pose a threat to your oral health. With a family dentistry checkup at Smile by Design, our Virginia Beach dental team can assess your current health and determine if you’ll need care before the holidays arrive.

Even though you should be careful how many sweets you consume, we want you to enjoy the time you spend with friends and family, and that means being able to enjoy a few goodies over the next few months. What’s more, seeing you before the holidays begin will give us a chance to offer some nutritional advice as well.

A natural sweetener known as xylitol can be used instead of sugar in holiday treats because it’s sweet but won’t cause the same problems as regular sugar. In fact, xylitol is used in some toothpaste brands to guard against cavities. That’s because sugar leads to the creation of acid in the mouth, while xylitol creates a neutral atmosphere that makes it difficult for harmful bacteria to cling to teeth.

Learn more about xylitol by visiting Xylitol.org. And to schedule a visit for yourself or someone else in your family, call Smile by Design today for an appointment. We’re happy to serve patients from Virginia Beach and beyond.