Address: 6917 US Highway 301 S
Riverview, 33578, Hillsborough County, Florida
General Dentistry in Riverview, FL. 33578
Your teeth are important, not just to your self-confidence but to your overall health. With healthy teeth, you can smile, talk, and eat effectively—all while feeling great. To best take care of your teeth, you must visit a dentist twice a year for general cleanings and care. Chris A. Castellano, DMD, PA, offers general dentistry services in Riverview, FL, so you can keep your beautiful smile and make the most of life.
How to Get Started: dental exam and
x-rays
Our dentist offers patient-focused services so that you can choose the treatment options that work for you. We’ll give you a preliminary exam, take X-rays, and answer any questions you have about your oral health. You’ll be able to choose from a range of treatment options to fit your budget, and we can also offer flexible payment options if you need them.
What Comes Next: dental treatment discussed!
Once you know what kind of dental care you need, we encourage you to schedule regular cleanings and exams to ensure that your oral health stays in good shape. Getting two dental cleanings per year is important because they allow your dentist to catch any problems before they get worse.
While preventive care is vital to your oral health, we recognize that some patients require further treatment. In addition to preventive care, we offer treatment for dental issues such as cavities or lost teeth, including:
- Tooth-colored, amalgam, and gold fillings.
- Standard and gold crowns.
- Dental bridges
- root canal
- Periodontal surgery
- Dentures
- Dental Implants
- Emergencies
- Zoom! tooth whitening
Pain is what generally drives people to a dentist so we address those issues first!
Our team does everything in their power to ensure each and every patient feels comfortable in our office. We discuss treatment and cost then set the appointmnets up to accomplish your goals of dental health.
If you need general dental services in Riverview, FL, schedule an appointment today!
813-672-1917
Secrets revealed on:
How do dentists fix cavities?
1-2-3
1.Locating tooth decay
Locating tooth cavities are done 2 ways: explorer examination and x-ray examination. During explorer examinations we feel for soft areas in teeth or “sticks”. If the explorer sticks in the tooth, the tooth decayed deep into the dentin indicating a cavity is there.
The second way is through x-rays. Often cavities between teeth can only be detected with x-rays. They show up as darker areas or less radio-dense.
2.Cavity preparation
Step two is drilling the decay out so all that’s left is good tooth structure. After the decay is removed, a restoration preparation can be designed to hold the filling. There are different filling materials and the ones we use are amalgam, composite, gold, and ceramic. If more than 1/3 of the tooth is destroyed by decay , it cannot be filled and the best dental restoration would be a full coverage crown. Lets now discuss the pros and cons of the dental filling materials types.
3. Cavity filling
Lets now discuss the pros and cons of the dental filling materials types: amalgam, composite, ceramic, and gold.
Dental Restoration treatment options we use and why!
Amalgam tooth fillings
Amalgam
Amalgam has been around since the turn of the century and was initially invented by GV Black. It's the most popular filling material around the world today. It contains: copper, tin, mercury, and silver. The concern people have is Mercury. Mercury is toxic but its toxicity is related to its bioavailability to react in your system. Mercury is bound up in the filing during the amalgamation reaction and becomes a solid mass, there is virtually none bioavailable to react as toxin in your body. It’s safe and still an FDA and ADA approved material despite the many unsuccessful attacks from groups trying to prove otherwise.
It has many advantages. Amalgam has an oxide that bacteria cannot tolerate so the tooth structure around a filling tends to be protected from acid demineralization from them. The preparation to retain such a filling is very minimal so more tooth structure is saved. Amalgam can potentially last a patient’s lifetime. They are inexpensive.
The newer formulations of silver 61%, Tin-26%, copper 13% (high copper) are quite dimensionally stable, strong and maintain tight sealed margins. I only use Tytin at my practice (high copper). The (low copper) amalgams with less than 5% copper are not as strong and tend to creep or expand so not all amalgam is the same. Be sure to know the difference by asking your dentist about which one high copper or low copper he uses. Avoid the low copper.
The big disadvantage of amalgam is the aesthetics. It’s a silver gray filling that can be seen. In low esthetic areas such as back teeth it really doesn’t matter much.
I like to use high copper amalgam on molars and premolars because of its strength and longevity.
Composite tooth fillings
Composite is a silicate filled resin. The tooth is etched with acid and a bonding agent applied that links the filling to the tooth structure. This composite is condensed, goes in a soft state, and is cured by light in layers. The light causes a polymerization chain reaction that hardens it. The better composites are the ones with high filler to resin ratio that contain fluoride in the silicate filler particles. Fluoride inhibits bacteria metabolism so decay caused by bacterial acid is minimal around such fillings as long as they stay bonded.
The main advantage of composite fillings is that they are very aesthetic. They are used in the front in premolars and front incisor teeth because they are tooth colored and blend in amazingly well making them virtually undetectable. The preparation for the filling is minimal so tooth structure is saved. They are inexpensive .
The disadvantage is they are not long lasting. They have an average life span of 3-7 years due to polymerization shrinkage. The filling gets smaller over time breaking free from its tooth border allowing bacteria to get in, regardless if it contains fluoride or not. They have to be carefully checked by your dentist for this inherent problem . If gone unchecked, significant decay can happen quickly under the filling leading to nerve damage.
Gold and Ceramic Inlay tooth fillings
Gold and ceramic can be used interchangeably as inlays. Since gold is astronomical in price I will focus on the more popular ceramic inlay.
The advantage of the ceramic inlay is they are stable (do not shrink). They are cemented in with fluoride releasing resin cement to resist bacteria at the tooth filling border. They are very strong. I like to use them in posterior teeth such as molars and premolars when the patient requires high esthetics. They blend in amazingly well with natural tooth structure and can last a lifetime.
The disadvantages are the preparation requires more natural tooth structure to be sacrificed. They are very expensive to do, requiring two visits. The restorations are made from impressions or scanning. They are made by dental ceramic technicians off site and sent back to the dentist for cementation in the patient’s tooth. Between visits, the tooth is temporized with an easy to remove temporary filling .
Zirconia Crowns for Lasting Performance
Zirconia restorations exhibit enhanced strength, esthetics and performance. These characteristics are engineered to last, with the earliest Zirconia restorations delivered a decade ago still serving patients excellently today. Providing a solution with both performance and patient-pleasing esthetics.
Porcelain Fused to Metal
This crown is a traditional feldspathic porcelain high temperture fire- fused to a metal coping. Great track record in dentistry dating back to the 60's. They are very durable, long lasting, can be made with a metal top for patients with strong bites and metal rest seats for partial denture applications. This crown is great in premolar to molar areas and the esthetics are acceptable in these areas.
