• Undergraduate: Tulane University
• Doctorates of Dental Surgery in Louisiana State University
• Served in the National Health Service Corporation to provide dental needs for the under-served
• In practice for over 15 years 

If infection has set in...YES!. Postponing a route canal can kill the infected tooth and leave you with exactly one option...EXTRACTION! Antibiotics cannot treat infections in teeth. They alleviate symptoms for about 5 to 6 weeks but the inflammation caused by the infection in the tooth prevents the medication from effectively "curing" your tooth. You would have to take antibiotics until the infection is completely gone. This is not feasible as infections in the gums can take years to heal and your body would become resistant to antibiotics in that time. Root canals are performed in an attempt to "save" your tooth that would otherwise need to eventually be extracted. Many root canals can be restored with just a filling, but a crown is always a better choice if strength is needed. Added strength to tooth structure is only necessary when there is already significant existing decay or fracture in the root canaled tooth. Although, statistically crowned root canaled teeth have a higher survival rating due to root canaled teeth becoming brittle over time and chipping or fracturing. Its your choice if you want to take the risk with just a filling. Our offices do offer flexible payment plans if cost is the only thing holding you back from following a recommeded treatment plan from your dentist. 

Yes, but none offer the same added protection that a crown will. 3/4 crowns, onlays, veneers, and core buildups are all alternative options if your tooth structure will support a less drastic restoration. The reason a crown is usually automatically recommended is because we look at the amount of time versus cost of a restoration when developing treatment plans. A crown may cost more but has a chance to last 5 to 30 years. Depending on how well you care for your crown. The alternatives can give you anywhere from 2 to 10 years. There is a shorter difinitive time frame we can offer for anything other than a crown when over 50 percent of a tooth structure or a cusp of a tooth is missing. This is not to say you will not get many years with the alternatives, and sometimes crowns are not possible. We develop your treatment plan based on one question: "what will predicatbly last the logest?".

We can try but this one of the hardest things a dentist can try to do. The tooth will match your existing teeth in color but the way the light reflects and the translucency of the crown will differ from your exisitng teeth in certain lights. This is why when a crown is necessary on a front tooth we recommend placing veners or contouring and bonding on the surface of atleast 4 adjecent teeth at the same time as your crowns. With this option you have a garuntee of matching front teeth that are indistinguishable from your real teeth. If cosmetic perfection is not a concern then a crown on the front tooth will certainly look real. It will just look like a healthier tooth next to your original teeth that arent shiny and new. This is also why we recommend whitening prior to crowning front teeth. Whitening teeth can revive a dull smile and offer a predicatable color for your crown to remain matched to in the future as long as you perform monthly whitening maintenance at least once a month. Without whitening your natural teeth may darken next to your crown, and it can be difficult to ever get the color to match the crown again.

Yes, we offer in house payment plans and we accept medicaid, PPO insurance, and carecredit.

Yes, no appointment is necessary but is highly recommended due to wait times.