MAP    2225 A1A South Suite A3    St. Augustine, Florida 32080                  Phone: (904) 471-7300    FAX: (904) 471-2708  
Frequenty Asked Questions
Comprehensive Care Comprehensive Care at St Johns Family Dentistry begins with the Comprehensive Oral Exam. We take a full series of x-rays, do a cancer screening, often take moulds of your teeth, discuss your goals and evaluate all your teeth and your oral tissues. This exam allows us to collect all of the data that we can about your mouth in order to do short term planning and to create a master plan for your mouth. We often bring in our Oral Surgeon at this point, if his services are necessary, so that our plan includes the details of any surgical needs. From this information we formulate several different plans of treatment for our patients to choose from and include long and short term plans. These plans guide our care of this patient going forward. The majority of their needs are handled in our office without having to be referred elsewhere.
Implant Dentistry See Details...
Cosmetic Dentistry Dentistry offers many more choices to patients today than ever before. It is possible for you to have the smile you always wanted and not break the bank doing it. New tooth-colored materials are invisible or can eliminate dark, unsightly fillings. Bleaching procedures, porcelain laminates, porcelain crowns and inlays, bonding, and white fillings are all available to keep you smiling. Restorative Dentistry
Missing, decayed, or fractured teeth are restored in a variety of ways. Even the most devastated mouth can be restored to dental health through properly planned treatment and is definitely a team effort between the patient and dentist. Routine fillings, crowns, bridges, endodontics(root canals) and dentures are all part of the treatment options we have available in our practice.
Implant dentistry is also available for patients who need teeth replacement. The cost is rapidly coming down for this treatment option and the reliability is now proven to be very good in most cases. Implants are artificial roots, upon which your dentist places a crown or bridge to replace any teeth that are missing. It has been a blessing to patients who had lost hope for a non-removable replacement for their teeth.
Orthodontics See Details...
I have heard about oral cancer screening. What is it? Oral cancer is a serious and deadly disease that affects millions of people. In fact, the Oral Cancer Foundation estimates that someone in the United States dies every hour of every day from oral cancer. Over 300,000 new cases of oral cancer are diagnosed every year, worldwide. This serious dental disease, which pertains to the mouth, lips or throat, is often highly curable if diagnosed and treated in the early stages.

At St Johns Family Dentistry we have the ability to detect and diagnose oral cancer before it can otherwise be seen with our Vizilite Cancer Screening. Please ask about it at your next visit or go online to www.vizilite.com
I have bad breath; do you think this is related to tooth problems? Bad breath, also called halitosis, can be downright embarrassing. According to dental studies, about 85% of people with persistent bad breath have a dental condition that is to blame. Gum disease, cavities, oral cancer, dry mouth and bacteria on the tongue are some of the dental problems that can cause bad breath. Using mouthwash to cover up bad breath when a dental problem is present will only mask the odor and not cure it. If you suffer from chronic bad breath, visit your dentist to rule out any of these problems.
My teeth are sensitive with hot and cold liquids. Tooth sensitivity is a common problem that affects millions of people. Basically, tooth sensitivity means experiencing pain or discomfort to your teeth from sweets, cold air, hot drinks, cold drinks or ice cream. Some people with sensitive teeth even experience discomfort from brushing and flossing. The good news is that sensitive teeth can be treated.
Is one toothpaste better than others? Generally, no. However, it's advisable to use a fluoride containing toothpaste to decrease the incidence of dental decay. We recommend our patients use what tastes good to them as long as it contains fluoride.

we recoomend that you look for toothpaste that has the ADA seal of approval on the back of the tube.
What's the difference between a "crown" and a "cap"? These are restorations to repair a severely broken tooth by covering all or most of the tooth after removing old fillings, fractured tooth structure, and all decay. The restoration material is made of gold, porcelain, composites, or even stainless steel. Dentists refer to all of these restorations as "crowns". However, patients often refer to the tooth-colored ones as "caps" and the gold or stainless steel ones as "crowns".
What about "silver" fillings versus "white" fillings? Although the U.S. Public Health Service issued a report in 1993 stating there is no health reason not to use amalgam (silver fillings), more patients today are requesting "white" or tooth-colored composite fillings. We also prefer tooth-colored fillings because they "bond" to the tooth structure and therefore help strengthen a tooth weakened by decay. While fillings are also usually less sensitive to temperature, and they also look better. However, "white" fillings cannot be used in every situation, and if a tooth is very badly broken-down, a crown will usually be necessary and provide better overall satisfaction for the patient.
Have more questions? Call us today! 904-471-7300