If you need dental bonding, tooth-colored fillings, or gum disease treatment, contact our general dentist, Dr. Catrise L. Austin, in Manhattan, New York.
Catrise L. Austin, D.D.S.
119 W. 57th Street, Suite 512
New York, New York 10019
TEL: 866-377-3123
Dr. Austin on Aquafresh WHITE TRAYS, CLICK HERE
If you're in need of a general dentist and you live in Manhattan or the surrounding New York metropolitan area, Dr. Catrise Austin at VIP Smiles can address all of your dental needs. VIP Smiles offers a full range of general and restorative dentistry services, including dental bonding, tooth-colored fillings, gum disease treatment, and Invisalign® clear braces. Our Manhattan practice has been serving New York residents for more than a decade, helping them to achieve and maintain healthy and attractive smiles.
Dental bonding is used to address a variety of cosmetic and restorative dental issues. Our general dentist in Manhattan, Dr. Catrise Austin, can restore your teeth and improve the appearance of your smile with dental bonding. For tooth repairs leading to a more dramatic transformation, Dr. Catrise Austin also recommends porcelain veneers.
Whether your teeth are chipped, cracked, discolored, or decayed, or you are concerned about gaps between teeth or receding gums, dental bonding can provide a long-lasting solution to many of your dental problems. Dental bonding, available at our practice in New York, is typically the quickest, easiest, and least expensive way to repair minor cosmetic imperfections in your smile.
During the dental bonding procedure, a tooth-colored composite resin much like plastic is applied to the affected area and hardened with light so that it bonds firmly to the tooth or teeth. The resin can be used to reshape your teeth, cover chips or cracks, repair decay, or protect exposed roots caused by receding gums. Since there are several different resin combinations, we can match the dental bonding material to the color of your teeth to ensure that your smile continues to look natural.
If your teeth have cosmetic imperfections or need minor restorative repairs, dental bonding at our practice in New York may make all the difference. With it, Dr. Austin can greatly improve the health, well-being, and beauty of your smile.
Dentistry has come a long way since the time when metal amalgam fillings were the norm. Advanced materials give today's dental professionals more freedom to create natural-looking reconstructions that are both aesthetically and structurally superior to their predecessors.
Advances in modern dental materials have enabled doctors to treat teeth that are decayed, damaged, or worn with tooth-colored fillings. At our Manhattan office, our general dentist, Dr. Catrise Austin, can repair teeth and replace old fillings using a natural-looking composite resin carefully matched to the color of your existing teeth.
Because metal fillings can be noticeable, distracting, and generally unattractive, our general dentist in Manhattan offers tooth-colored fillings that provide the same protection while remaining virtually invisible. Patients no longer need to have their teeth repaired with metal fillings, and they can easily replace the old metal fillings they've had for years.
Tooth-colored fillings are actually stronger than metal fillings, and they adhere tightly to teeth, protecting against further damage and decay. Since the composite materials used today are so durable, they can even be used to repair back teeth, where pressure from chewing is greatest. Tooth-colored fillings also support the remaining tooth structure, helping to prevent breaks and cracks and insulating the tooth from extreme temperature changes. Additionally, because they contain no mercury, tooth-colored fillings eliminate the health risks associated with metal fillings.
You can be sure that when you talk, laugh, eat, and smile nobody will notice that you've had fillings. That's because everyone at VIP Smiles is meticulous about the dental work that they do. For strong, beautiful, and natural-looking tooth-colored fillings, contact our Manhattan general and cosmetic dentistry office today.
If you have gum disease or unattractive receding gums, our general dentist in Manhattan, Dr. Catrise Austin, offers tooth-saving periodontal services to help. Gum disease treatment at our New York practice entails a thorough exam of your teeth and gums. Using a periodontal probe, Dr. Austin can determine if you have any breakdown in gum tissue or if any pockets have developed between your teeth and gums. Dr. Austin may also take X-rays to determine if there has been any bone loss below the surface of the gums.
The type of gum disease treatment used will depend on the stage and type of gum disease you have. A thorough, deep cleaning or "scaling" below the gum line can remove microbial plaque and calculus deposits that often cause bacterial growth and bone loss. If gum pockets are deep, surgery may be required. Dr. Austin also uses antibiotic therapy to treat certain forms of gum disease.
Early detection of gum problems is important and can help you to avoid the need for periodontal surgery. Symptoms to look for include mouth pain, persistent bad breath, shifts in the way your teeth fit together, and bleeding, receding, or swollen gums. If you have any of these symptoms, start gum disease treatment right away. Contact our office in New York to arrange a periodontal exam.
Teeth in the back of the mouth that have cracks and deep grooves are particularly susceptible to decay. Sealants can be bonded to teeth to create smoother surfaces and prevent cavity-causing bacteria from getting trapped in these spaces.
Because sealants are made out of tooth-colored composite resin, they are virtually undetectable and will therefore not interfere with the appearance of your smile. Dr. Austin recommends that children and teens get sealants, since grooves and fissures tend to form while a person is young. Many adults, however, are also candidates for sealants, especially those that are more susceptible to tooth decay or who have developed fissures in their teeth.
Crowns are made of metal, porcelain, or composite resin and are designed to cover teeth, strengthening them and restoring their original size and shape. For cavities that require large fillings, a crown can be used to support the affected teeth. They are also often used to restore fractured teeth or to prevent week teeth from cracking. In root canal therapy, crowns are placed to strengthen and support the treated tooth. Also an integral component in dental bridges, they help to restore beauty to smiles affected by missing teeth.
Before placing a crown, our general dentist uses a local anesthetic on the affected tooth and surrounding gums. She then reshapes the tooth, makes a mold of it, and has a permanent crown custom fabricated at a dental lab. In about two weeks, the permanent crown is ready for placement in the patient's mouth. In the meantime, patients wear a temporary acrylic crown until the permanent crown is placed.
A dental bridge helps to "bridge the gap" created by a missing tooth or teeth. Gaps in the mouth can adversely affect both chewing function and the appearance of your smile. With a bridge placed by our general dentist in Manhattan, your mouth can be restored to its full functioning ability and look completely healthy again.
Crowns and artificial teeth are the main components of a dental bridge. Dr. Austin begins treatment by reshaping the teeth on either side of the affected area. She then creates crowns to fit them. One or more artificial teeth are inserted between these crowns to replace those that are missing. This dental bridge effectively bridges the gap caused by missing teeth. Once the bridge is placed, Dr. Austin cements it firmly to the crowns on either side, giving you a strong, full set of natural-looking teeth.
For patients with missing teeth, dentures provide a flexible and inexpensive solution. A removable dental appliance, dentures consist of either a full or partial set of replacement teeth, depending on each patient's needs. Dentures rest on top of the gums to help return the patient's mouth to normal chewing function.
Dr. Austin can fabricate dentures that have natural-looking porcelain teeth or less-expensive plastic teeth. Either way, dentures will restore chewing function, enable patients to speak with greater ease, and produce a more aesthetically pleasing smile.
Patients with missing teeth are vulnerable to gum disease, loss of bone, and potentially negative changes in facial structure. Dental implants provide an innovative way to minimize or eliminate these and other problems, while restoring function and beauty to patients' smiles. Unlike traditional treatments for tooth loss, such as dentures and bridges, dental implants are actually fused to the jawbone, providing the most durable, long-lasting way to replace missing teeth.
Getting dental implants is a multi-step process beginning with the surgical placement of titanium posts into the jawbone. After several months of healing, these posts will have permanently fused to the jaw, enabling them to function like the roots of natural teeth. Next, general dentist Catrise Austin will attach and secure metal-free artificial teeth to the titanium posts. Specially designed to match the color and appearance of the rest of your smile, dental implants look, feel, and function just like natural teeth. If you have missing teeth and think you may be a candidate for dental implants, contact our general and cosmetic dentistry office today.
The soft tissue or "dental pulp" inside each tooth consists of nerve fibers, blood vessels, and lymph vessels. When dental pulp becomes diseased, root canal therapy is the appropriate treatment, since it helps to prevent further damage to the affected tooth. When disease affecting dental pulp is allowed to progress, it can ultimately lead to tooth loss.
During root canal therapy, general dentist Catrise Austin removes the diseased dental pulp, and then cleans and reshapes the tooth chamber to prepare it for a filling. She may also apply antibiotics to fend off viruses and bacteria. Next, the chamber is filled and sealed, and a temporary crown is placed over the tooth. Once your permanent crown has been fabricated, Dr. Austin removes the temporary replacement and inserts the durable, natural-looking new crown.
Our general dentist, Dr. Austin, also performs tooth extractions at our Manhattan office. A tooth extraction is necessary when a tooth is so damaged that it threatens to adversely affect the overall health of the mouth. A severely decayed tooth, for example, often cannot be sufficiently treated with fillings or crowns and may eventually cause infection in adjacent teeth.
When the damaged portion of the tooth is located above the gum line, Dr. Austin uses a local anesthetic to perform a simple extraction. However, if tooth damage occurs below the gum line, surgical extraction is usually necessary. When Dr. Austin performs a surgical extraction, she often uses sedation to make the experience as comfortable as possible for her patients.
At VIP Smiles, general dentist Dr. Catrise Austin promotes preventive dentistry as the key to excellent dental health. She gives each patient a comprehensive exam that includes screening for cavities, bite disorders, and oral cancer. Dr. Austin uses ViziLite® Plus, the latest in oral cancer screening technology, allowing her to detect cancerous lesions that are invisible to the naked eye.
Dr. Austin uses findings from both the clinical exam and the X-rays to determine the most appropriate treatment plan for the patient's condition. Her goal is to see patients regularly so that dental disease can be caught early and treated conservatively.
As part of Dr. Austin's preventive dentistry care, she provides professional cleanings that include scaling, root planing, and polishing, as well as fluoride treatment for kids. Dr. Austin recommends that patients see her at least every six months for a comprehensive exam and professional cleaning.
Dr. Austin stays abreast of all the latest breath management products and treatments. She understands that, along with white teeth and a beautiful smile, fresh breath can increase confidence in any business or social situation. That's why she provides a number of treatments, including the Breath Rx system and the ZOOM!® teeth whitening system. With Dr. Austin's help, patients can achieve and maintain fresh breath and a bright, healthy-looking smile.
If you need a general dentist in the Manhattan area, Dr. Catrise Austin is the obvious choice. She offers full-spectrum dental care, including oral exams, professional cleanings, fresh breath management, dental bonding, tooth-colored fillings, and gum disease treatment. Contact our Manhattan office in New York today to schedule an appointment.