At Rathke Family Dentistry in Huntsville, TX, Dr. Rathke provides comprehensive general dentistry services to ensure optimal oral health for our patients. As a general dentistry practice, we offer a wide variety of services to maintain and restore the oral health of our patients. Such general dentistry services include periodic exams, dental cleanings, x-rays, fillings, crowns, bridges, and removable prosthetics.
One of the reasons we enjoy general dentistry is we delight in the relationships we build with our patients. Over the years we forge strong friendships and are often allowed the privilege of seeing our patients' children grow up!
GENERAL DENTISTRY
GENERAL DENTISTRY
GENERAL DENTISTRY
EXAMS, CLEANINGS, X-RAYS
We see patients every day for exams, cleanings, and diagnostic x-rays. This is the cornerstone of everything we do in general dentistry!
Your initial visit will most likely be with one of our doctors. We will first address any concerns you have with your oral health, comfort, and smile. We will closely inspect each tooth, evaluate the health of your gums and soft tissue, examine your teeth and jawbones with diagnostic x-rays, screen for oral cancer, evaluate your chewing muscles and jaw joints, and more. Options for any needed treatment will be discussed and a personalized treatment plan will be presented to you. This plan outlines how we can help you accomplish your goals and maintain your oral health.
During your cleaning, one of our hygienists will thoroughly clean and polish your teeth, which is routinely followed by a short fluoride treatment. They will also discuss with you any recommendations for you to improve your home care.
Dental Cleaning
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FILLINGS
Fillings are one of the most common procedures performed in general dentistry. While we work hard to prevent the decay process, it often becomes necessary to intervene with restorative dental treatment. With a filling, the dentist removes the decayed tooth structure and replaces it with a bonded resin composite material. These filling materials come in various shades to match the natural color of your teeth. Fillings can be used as described above to restore decayed tooth structure, or are also often used to restore tooth structure that has been fractured by trauma.
Composite Dental Filling
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CROWN & BRIDGE
Sometimes extensive decay or fracture of a tooth will inhibit the long-term success of a filling. In such cases, the solution is to restore the tooth with a dental crown. A dental crown (or cap) is a shell that covers and protects what remains of the damaged tooth. Crowns serve to restore the strength, function, and esthetics of extensively damaged teeth. They have traditionally been made using gold alloys, but modern dentistry allows us to use specially designed ceramics to achieve wonderful natural-looking outcomes!
A dental bridge is a procedure that uses the concept of crowns to replace missing teeth. If a patient wants to replace a missing tooth, the dentist will reshape the two neighboring teeth for dental crowns. The dental lab will bond a false tooth in between the two crowns to “bridge” the space left by the missing tooth.
Digital impression with iTero scanner
Ceramic Dental Crown
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Traditional Dental Bridge
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REMOVABLE PROSTHETICS
Our teeth not only allow us to smile with confidence, but serve to properly chew the food required for a healthy and balanced diet. Therefore, missing numerous teeth can be a very handicapping condition. Removable prosthetics are a field of general dentistry that includes partials and dentures which serve to replace multiple missing teeth.
Complete dentures restore all of the missing teeth in a jaw and are entirely supported by the soft tissues. Partial dentures replace multiple missing teeth in an arch and use both the remaining teeth and soft tissues for support. Removable prosthetics are generally a very cost-efficient way to replace multiple missing teeth. They are not without complication, as the soft tissues and natural tooth anchors have limitations.
In addition to making new dentures and partials, we are also happy to offer reline and repair services for our patients wearing removable prosthetics!
SEDATION
It is no secret that visits to the dentist, for some people, can be an anxiety-inducing experience. That’s why Rathke Family Dentistry offers sedation options to facilitate patient comfort. Sedation options include nitrous oxide inhalation and oral sedation.
Nitrous oxide sedation is minimal but effective, and has the distinct advantage of rapid recovery. If patients feel the need for a deeper level of sedation, we can prescribe oral sedatives to be taken before treatment appointments. Oral sedation can also be used in combination with nitrous oxide. We value the comfort and security of our patients!
Laughing Gas Anesthesia
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TMD
Temporomandibular Disorders (TMDs) encompass a range of conditions affecting the jaw joint and surrounding muscles, often causing symptoms like jaw pain, clicking or popping sounds, and difficulty chewing or opening the mouth. At Rathke Family Dentistry, we specialize in diagnosing and treating TMDs using a variety of approaches, including occlusal splints, physical therapy, and lifestyle modifications, to alleviate pain and restore jaw function.