 Contact Us
Starwhite Dental
40250 Murrieta Hot Springs Road
Suite #119
Murrieta • CA • 92563
(951) 698-4426
info@starwhitedental.com
Our Goal
We only have one goal-- to provide our patient friends with the absolutely best cosmetic and general dental care available, anywhere.
Meet Our Staff
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COSMETIC DENTISTRY
Cosmetic dentistry can help you gain that winning smile that you've always dreamed of. There are many reasons to smile, when you greet someone, when you take a picture and various other opportunities. Through various cosmetic dentistry procedures such as teeth whitening, or porcelain veneers, Dr. Brown and Dr. Atiga can help you show off a bright and wonderful smile.
Dental Bonding (Composite Bonding)
Teeth Whitening
Porcelain Veneers
Crowns & Bridges
Dental Implants
Dental Bonding (Composite Bonding):
A very mild etching solution is applied to your teeth to create very small crevices in the tooth's enamel structure. These small crevices provide a slightly rough surface permitting a durable resin to bond materials to your teeth. The resin is then placed on your tooth and high-intensity light cures the resins onto your tooth's surface - with each individual layer of resin hardening in just minutes. When the last coat has been applied to your tooth, the bonded material is then sculpted to fit your tooth and finely polished. The resin comes in many shades so that we can match it to your natural teeth. Due to the layers involved, this procedure will take slightly longer than traditional silver fillings because multiple layers of the bonding material are applied. Typically bonding takes an hour to two hours depending on your particular case.
While the traditional silver fillings last about seven years, these composites should last about seven to eleven years
Teeth Whitening
Everybody loves a bright white smile, and Starwhite Dental can help you improve the look of yours.
If you are a candidate for bleaching, your dentist may suggest a procedure that can be done in his or her office. This procedure is called chairside bleaching and may require more than one office visit. Each visit may take from 30 minutes to one hour. During chairside bleaching, the dentist will apply either a protective gel to your gums or a rubber shield to protect the oral soft tissues. A bleaching agent is then applied to the teeth, and a special light may be used to enhance the action of the agent.
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Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain veneers, often alternatively termed dental veneers or dental porcelain laminates, are wafer-thin shells of porcelain which are bonded onto the front side of teeth so to make a cosmetic improvement in their appearance. Porcelain veneers are routinely used to idealize teeth that are discolored, worn, chipped, or misaligned.
Two of the greatest advantages of porcelain veneers over other types of cosmetic dental bonding are:
A) Porcelain veneers create a very life-like tooth appearance. You might be surprised to learn that while yes, a major component of teeth is enamel, they are not solid enamel. The enamel component of a tooth is actually only an outer shell.
B) Porcelain veneers resist staining. Cosmetic dental bonding materials utilized in the past had the shortcoming of being susceptible to staining and discoloring. This was especially a problem for those people whose teeth had excessive exposure to tea, coffee, red wine, or cigarette smoking.
A significant advantage of porcelain veneers over other types of cosmetic dental bonding is related to the fact that a porcelain veneer's surface is just that, porcelain. Since porcelain is a ceramic, and therefore glass-like, its surface is extremely smooth and impervious. This means that the surface of a porcelain veneer will not pick up permanent stains.
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Crowns & Bridges
Both crowns and most bridges are fixed prosthetic devices. Unlike removable devices such as dentures, which you can take out and clean daily, crowns and bridges are cemented onto existing teeth or implants, and can only be removed by a dentist.
A crown is used to entirely cover or "cap" a damaged tooth. Besides strengthening a damaged tooth, a crown can be used to improve its appearance, shape or alignment. A crown can also be placed on top of an implant to provide a tooth-like shape and structure for function. Porcelain or ceramic crowns can be matched to the color of your natural teeth. Other materials include gold and metal alloys, acrylic and ceramic. These alloys are generally stronger than porcelain and may be recommended for back teeth. Porcelain bonded to a metal shell is often used because it is both strong and attractive.
A bridge may be recommended if you're missing one or more teeth. Gaps left by missing teeth eventually cause the remaining teeth to rotate or shift into the empty spaces, resulting in a bad bite. The imbalance caused by missing teeth can also lead to gum disease and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders.
Bridges are commonly used to replace one or more missing teeth. They span the space where the teeth are missing. Bridges are cemented to the natural teeth or implants surrounding the empty space. These teeth, called abutments, serve as anchors for the bridge. A replacement tooth, called a pontic, is attached to the crowns that cover the abutments. As with crowns, you have a choice of materials for bridges. Your dentist can help you decide which to use, based on the location of the missing tooth (or teeth), its function, aesthetic considerations and cost. Porcelain or ceramic bridges can be matched to the color of your natural teeth.
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Dental Implants
Implants have been around for many years and with new innovations have become a revolutionary aspect of tooth replacement.
Implants are separate, fully functional teeth, that feel and look like your natural teeth and promote healthy bone retention. Bridges require the degradation of surrounding healthy teeth and full and partial dentures wear on the surrounding gums causing bone loss, sore spots and discomfort.
Today many implants can be done in far less time than you think, some even on the same day!
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