A tooth may need to be restored because of either damage or tooth loss. Restoring your tooth is an important step toward not only maintaining your good oral health, but your appearance as well. Obviously, decaying and missing teeth degrade your smile. At Hill Avenue Dental, Dr. Doug Clark, Jr. and Dr. Doug Clark, III, specialize in tooth restoration Superior residents depend on for whole and attractive smiles.
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At Hill Avenue Dental, we are a father-and-son team who are committed to being the superior dentist in Superior WI & Duluth MN Area. With a mission to provide excellent dental care and comfort, we are always accepting new patients to help with your oral health needs. Our friendly and professional dental practice offers everything you need for general dentistry. From the moment you step into our office, we’ll work to build a lasting bond with you to create generations of healthy, beautiful smiles.
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You’ve probably had doctors or dentists recommend changes to your diet for various reasons: high blood pressure, weight loss, too much sugar, too much caffeine, etc. What many patients haven’t heard is how certain common foods help whiten their teeth. At Hill Avenue Dental of Superior, WI, our dentists recommend taking a look at your diet before you consider our outstanding teeth whitening services. To find out more, call your Superior dentist to schedule an appointment today.
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Think of all the steps you take to keep your family safe. Car seats, boosters and seatbelts for everyone in the car? Check. A working smoke detector in every room of your house? Check. Vaccinations up-to-date? Check. Mouthguards for all of the sports enthusiasts in your family? Uh-oh. A mouthguard is critical to protecting your teeth, gums, lips and tongues during any kind of athletic activity, including both contact and non-contact sports. Dr. Doug Clark, Jr. or Dr. Doug Clark III, the dentists at Hill Avenue Dental in Superior, WI, can fabricate a customize sports mouthguard for you and all of the members of your family who are actively involved in athletics.
Sports injuries are responsible for more than five million lost teeth every year, and the American Dental Association states that one-third of all dental injuries are sports related. Wearing a mouthguard, however, can prevent more than 200,000 mouth injuries every year. Besides a knocked out tooth, other types of dental injuries that may occur as a result of not using a mouthguard include:
In addition to these oral injuries, mouthguards may also reduce the risk and severity of a concussion that can happen as a result of a hard blow to the head, face or jaw. A study of high school athletes showed that 56 percent of all concussions were suffered when mouthguards were not worn. But when you wear a mouthguard, you’re wearing a shock absorber between your upper and lower jaw to help prevent concussions as well as neck injuries, too.
When you’re playing to win, you want every psychological advantage you can get. Research shows that if you’re wearing proper protection, including a custom mouthguard, then you play more confidently and aggressively. Furthermore, wearing a mouthguard offers a tremendous economic advantage: replacing a tooth lost because of a sports injury can cost 20 times more than the cost of a custom-fitted mouthguard.
If you or anyone in your family needs a customized mouthguard before heading out to play, practice or compete, then call Hill Avenue Dental. We serve patients in Superior, WI, as well as from Duluth, Douglas County, Northern Wisconsin and Northeastern Minnesota.
Just because you get a cavity doesn’t mean the world is ending. We understand that there are tempting foods and snacks out there. Carbonated drinks can sometimes sound much more quenching than plain water. Though we can try our best to steer you away from sugary drinks and other foods that wreak havoc on your teeth, the decision is left to you. Cavities, unfortunately, are most often the result. If you are currently dealing with a cavity issue, Drs. Doug Clark Jr. and Douglas Clark III would like you to come in for a checkup and determine how best to treat your cavity issues. The warning signs of cavities are easily felt, and can be corrected if caught early enough.
Cavities are permanently damaged areas in the hard surface of your teeth that turn into tiny openings or holes. Also referred to as tooth decay or caries, cavities are caused by a combination of factors, including bacteria in your mouth, frequent snacking, sipping sugary drinks and so much more. It’s among the world’s most common health problems, especially in children and teens. If they aren’t treated, they get larger and affect deeper layers of your teeth not visible to the eye. Severe toothaches, infection and tooth loss have resulted from patients who didn’t treat their cavity.
The signs and symptoms of cavities vary depending on their extent and location. One thing is for sure – a cavity is not something you want to deal with. When a cavity is born, you may not experience any symptoms. However, once the decay increases in size, the signs and symptoms become more apparent.
Any or all of these symptoms can combine and result in a terrible dental experience for a patient. Any amount of pain or discomfort you feel that isn’t normal should be handled by a dentist you can trust. Our team is prepared to bring your smile back to working order.
We’re experts at treating cavities and want you to experience the type of care that you deserve. Visit us in Superior, WI and receive treatment from a superior dentist! We also serve the surrounding communities of Riverview, Oliver, Pokegama, Parkland and beyond.
When teeth become damaged or lost, it will impair the function of your mouth. It’s not great for your self-image, either. To improve both the use and look of your smile, talk to the staff at Hill Avenue Dental about our available restorative dentistry treatments. Both Drs. Doug Clark are experienced in providing viable dentistry solutions for their patients, and our staff is ready to welcome you to our Superior, WI practice.
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You have always taken very good care of your teeth and gums. Every morning and every night, you brush and floss. You schedule twice yearly dental checkups at Hill Avenue Dental in Superior, WI, so we can help you have a healthy smile. Yet despite all of this good care, you now find yourself needing to “fix a problem.” Whether you need to rebuild a tooth that has decay or replace a tooth that has been knocked out, Dr. Doug Clark, Jr. and Dr. Doug Clark III have the restorative dentistry treatment to rejuvenate your smile.
Perhaps the most frequently performed restorative treatment in dentistry is repairing a cavity with a filling. At Hill Avenue Dental, our dentists use tooth-colored composite resin materials when filling a cavity. This material offers several advantages. First and most obvious is that the filling blends in seamlessly with the color of your natural teeth; no one will see a darker spot in your smile. Secondly, a filling with composite resin necessitates less tooth preparation, which means that more of your tooth’s original structure is preserved. Once restored, your tooth will be as strong as one of your natural teeth.
Whether you have missing teeth because of severe tooth decay, advanced gum disease or a traumatic injury, replacing those teeth is imperative for your oral health as well as your general health. Dental implants are the only tooth replacement that restore a tooth from root to crown. With minor oral surgery, one of our dentists implants a titanium post in your jaw. This acts similarly to the root of a tooth, anchoring the restorative crown and stimulating bone tissue, so there is no loss of bone density or sagging facial muscles.
If your oral health requires you to have a tooth restoration procedure, then call the office Hill Avenue Dental. We serve patients in Superior, WI, as well as from Duluth, Douglas County, Northern Wisconsin and Northeastern Minnesota.
Every sport has its uniform essentials. Football players wear helmets and shoulder pads. In hockey—a Wisconsin favorite—players also wear heavy padding as well as a helmet and in the case of the goalie, a face mask, too. Tennis stars wear tennis whites. The list goes on and on. But there is one piece of equipment that every player should wear regardless of the sport and regardless of whether they play professional or amateur. A mouthguard is essential for protecting your teeth, gums, lips and tongue during any kind of athletic activity. At Hill Avenue Dental in Superior, WI, Dr. Doug Clark, Jr. or Dr. Doug Clark III will prescribe a custom-fitted mouthguard for you or any member of your family who is actively involved in sports.
Every year, more than five million teeth are lost because of sports injuries. With a mouthguard, you can prevent one of those teeth from being yours. But avoiding tooth loss is only the beginning of the advantages that wearing a mouthguard offers. The risk of other serious injuries—such as lacerations to the tongue, lips and gums—are greatly reduced. Moreover, wearing a mouthguard has been shown to reduce the risk of concussion that might otherwise result from a hard blow to the head, face or jaw. Essentially, a mouthguard acts like a shock absorber between your upper and lower jaw, thereby helping to not only prevent concussions, but neck injuries, too.
When playing competitive sports, athletes want every psychological advantage they can get. Research indicates that when they are wearing proper protection, including a mouthguard, they feel more confident and are likely to play more aggressively. Furthermore, wearing a mouthguard offers a tremendous economic advantage; replacing a tooth lost due to a sports injury can cost 20 times more than the cost of a custom-fitted mouthguard.
No matter what your sport is, call Hill Avenue Dental to schedule your appointment for a custom-fitted mouthguard. We serve patients in Superior, WI, as well as from Duluth, Douglas County, Northern Wisconsin and Northeastern Minnesota.
According to the American Dental Association, some 42,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral cancer this year. The five-year survival rate for those who are told that they have oral cancer is slightly more than 64 percent. Fortunately, there is something you can do to avoid the ravages of this disease: have an oral cancer screening. The Oral Cancer Foundation has designated April as Oral Cancer Awareness Month, so there’s no better time than now to come to Hill Avenue Dental in Superior, WI, for an oral cancer screening.
During each of your biannual dental checkups, Dr. Doug Clark, Jr. or Dr. Doug Clark III will visually examine your entire oral cavity from the tip of your tongue to the back of your throat for the early signs of oral cancer. These include:
When you come to Hill Avenue Dental for your regularly scheduled dental checkup, our dentists will conduct an oral cancer screening and talk to you about your health history to determine if you are at greater risk. Research has shown that a number of factors contribute to the development of oral cancer. People who smoke or drink excessive amounts of alcohol, especially those who are older than 50 years old, are at greater risk. Additionally, the human papilloma virus (HPV) has been connected to oral cancer. In non-smoking adults, HPV may be related to the growing number of throat cancers.
Call the office of Hill Avenue Dental to schedule your dental checkup and oral cancer screening. The saying is cliché, but the life you save may be your own. We serve patients in Superior, WI, as well as from Duluth, Douglas County, Northern Wisconsin and Northeastern Minnesota.
If you have a damaged or missing tooth, then you know the consequences are anything but pleasant. Of course, there’s the concern about the appearance of your smile, but beyond that you also may not be able to speak clearly or eat the foods that are part of a nutritious diet, such as raw fruits and vegetables. If you are contending with any of these difficulties, then consider getting a dental bridge from Hill Avenue Dental in Superior, WI.
In addition to the troubles named above, missing teeth can also bring about a change in your bite, cause other teeth to shift out of place, bring on symptoms of temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ), and increase the risk for periodontal disease and tooth decay.
Dental Bridges in Superior, WI
A bridge is a dental prosthetic that fills the space left by one to three missing teeth. This bridge is held securely in place by dental crowns, which are adhesively bonded to the teeth that are on either side of the missing teeth. In turn, these crowns support the pontic, or false tooth or teeth that replace your damaged or missing teeth.
If you are a candidate for a dental bridge, Dr. Doug Clark, Jr. or Dr. Doug Clark III will first need to prep the teeth that support the bridge. If these teeth are decayed or worn down, we may need to restore them before they can be outfitted for crowns.
Next, we’ll take impressions of your teeth in order to create model that will be used to design a bridge that fits perfectly across the gap and matches your bite. A perfect fit is critical in order to avoid any dental health problems down the road. While your bridge is fabricated in our trustworthy dental lab, you’ll wear a temporary bridge so the teeth and gums are protected from damage. When the permanent bridge is ready, simply return to Hill Avenue Dental for one more visit when we’ll fit and cement the bridge in to place.
Schedule an Appointment Today
If you would like to determine whether or not a dental bridge is the right choice to mend your smile, then call Hill Avenue Dental today for a consultation. We serve patients in Superior, WI, as well as from Duluth, Douglas County, Northern Wisconsin and Northeastern Minnesota.
