In all cases our goal is to keep our patients comfortable. We will make sure your child’s mouth is thoroughly numb using local anesthesia and topical anesthesia prior to completing procedures. We now have the Isolite isolating system, or the “whale’s tale.” The Isolite is a soft, flexible “mouth pillow” that acts as a suction, light, and helps the child keep his or her mouth open comfortably – whenever possible we use the Isolite in place of the rubber dam to avoid any mild gingival discomfort after the procedure. We also now have the Electrosurge capabilities; the electrosurge allows Dr. Hardin to perform biopsies and surgical procedures while minimizing tissue trauma, lessening pain in the area after the procedure.

Alternative Restorative Technique (ART)
Alternative (atraumatic) restorative technique (ART) may be used in very young patients, uncooperative patients, or patients with special needs for whom traditional cavity preparation and/or placement of traditional dental restorations are not feasible or need to be postponed. The procedure involves the removal of soft tooth tissue using hand instruments with caution to not expose the pulp when the cavity is deep. Following preparation, the tooth is restored with an adhesive restorative material, such as self-setting, fluoride releasing glass ionomer. This technique has been shown to reduce the levels of oral bacteria in the mouth.

Fillings
Depending on the size of the cavity, we will numb the area using local anesthesia and place a rubber dam or the Isolite, whale’s tale, to protect your child’s airway and keep the teeth dry. We then remove the cavity, clean the tooth, and fill the tooth with a tooth colored composite material.

Stainless Steel Crowns
Crowns are used in cases where a cavity has affected so much tooth structure that filling material cannot be used to repair the tooth. We offer several types of crowns depending on the location of the cavity. For the front teeth we have white crowns and silver crowns with a white facing. We choose which crown based on the patient’s bite and the extent of the cavity. For the back teeth we have stainless steel crowns.

Nerve Treatment
Very large cavities can result in tooth aches and nerve irritation or infection. If a cavity has affected the nerve, we will clean out the infected part of the nerve, place an antibacterial medicine on the remaining nerve structure and finally place a protective filling over the nerve. Once a tooth has had nerve treatment it is weakened and must have a crown placed over it to protect it.