General & cosmetic dentistry.

Proper dental hygiene, including regular professional cleanings, is the key to a healthy, happy smile. A hygiene appointment is more than cleaning your teeth — it's a complete oral wellness exam.

What to expect at your visit

• Oral cancer screening
• Periodontal risk assessment
• Full dental charting
• Complete cleaning & polishing
• Personalized hygiene instructions
• Oral product recommendations

A dental crown is a tooth-shaped shell that fits over the entire tooth, covering and protecting it. Each crown is made individually to blend beautifully with your other teeth — strong, durable and natural-looking.

Crowns can help with

• Teeth worn down by grinding
• Badly stained or oddly shaped teeth
• Teeth weakened by a root canal
• Cracked or broken teeth
• Teeth damaged by decay
• Replacing a missing tooth with an implant

Dental bridges

Bridges combine crowns and artificial teeth to replace one or more missing teeth. Crowns on the neighboring teeth (or dental implants) hold replacement teeth — called pontics — in the gap, restoring your smile and your ability to chew with ease.

Porcelain veneers are thin shells of ceramic bonded directly to the front surfaces of your teeth. Once placed, they blend beautifully with your natural smile and are highly resistant to coffee and tea stains.

Don't let stains and discoloration dim your smile. Professional whitening safely lifts the stains left behind by coffee, tea and other everyday culprits.

1. Consultation. Dr. Prater checks the health of your teeth and gums to confirm whitening is right for you.
2. Custom trays. We take a mold of your teeth to create thin, comfortable trays made just for you.
3. At-home whitening. You'll use your trays with professional whitening gel for about a month.
4. Follow-up. A final visit with Dr. Prater to review and finalize your results.

When decay goes beyond what a filling can handle, porcelain inlays and onlays offer a stronger, longer-lasting option than fillings — and a more conservative one than crowns. Because they're bonded directly to your tooth and color-matched, they restore both strength and beauty.

The process

1. Decay is gently removed from the tooth.
2. An impression is taken so your custom inlay or onlay can be crafted.
3. A temporary filling protects the tooth in the meantime.
4. At your second visit, the porcelain restoration is permanently bonded in place.

Gaps from missing teeth can make eating and speaking difficult and lead to jaw bone loss over time. We create full and partial dentures designed specifically for you — so they look and feel like your natural teeth.

Gum disease is a silent condition that often begins without symptoms — many people have it and don't realize it. Left untreated, it harms not only your teeth and gums but your overall health. We offer modern, non-surgical periodontal treatment to stop it early.

• Periodontal scaling — removing buildup below the gumline.
• Root planing — smoothing root surfaces so gums can reattach and heal.
• Arestin — localized antibiotic therapy placed directly where it's needed.

Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ) occurs when the joint connecting your jaw and skull stops working smoothly. Symptoms can include jaw pain, migraine headaches and clicking or popping. Treatment depends on the cause and intensity of your symptoms, and may include:

• A custom mouth or bite guard
• Bite adjustments to relieve pressure
• Physical therapy
• Prescription pain relief

We love seeing kids! To keep little smiles healthy, we recommend a child's first dental visit at about age two. Our team works hard to make every child's introduction to dentistry a happy one — whether they need a cleaning or a filling.

Dr. Prater is certified by the American Academy of Facial Esthetics to administer Botox and dermal filler treatments — a natural complement to a beautiful smile.

Botox

A simple, non-surgical treatment that temporarily smooths moderate to severe frown lines between the brows, as well as crow's feet and forehead lines. One quick, roughly 10-minute treatment can show noticeable improvement within days, lasting up to four months. Dr. Prater examines how you move the muscles of your brow, then places several tiny injections precisely where they're needed.

Dermal fillers (Juvéderm)

Juvéderm is a smooth gel made of hyaluronic acid, a substance that occurs naturally in your skin and helps it stay hydrated and full. Injected beneath the skin, it instantly restores volume and smooths wrinkles and folds — no allergy testing required.