General Dentistry

Dental x-rays have come a long way in the past few decades. Smiles by Holsinger and Higgins uses digital x-rays to provide almost immediate, crisp images to aid with the diagnosis of a number of dental conditions. As if those reasons alone aren’t good enough, digital x-rays can reduce radiation exposure by up to 90%. Intraoral photography is another example of how digital dentistry allows us to offer unparalleled dental care. With intraoral photography, cavities, fractures, and tooth discolorations are captured through sharp photographic images taken with a 35mm or digital camera.

Brush and floss all you want: Because you possess neither the equipment nor education required to perform a professional teeth cleaning, plaque and tartar deposits can still build up on your teeth. While traditional teeth cleaning involves manually scraping away these deposits, advances in dental technologies now give us more options for teeth cleanings.  Ultrasonic cleanings provide a popular alternative to traditional cleanings, using ultrasonic technology to remove deposits, kill harmful microbes, and eliminate bacteria around the teeth and gums. Because they are quicker, quieter, and less painful than traditional cleanings, many patients find laser teeth cleanings to be more comfortable.

The keys to surviving oral cancer — which affects nearly 35,000 Americans each year — are early detection and early treatment. An oral cancer screening, which takes place at your semi-annual appointments, takes just minutes and is pain-free.

If your silver fillings take away from the natural beauty of your smile, or it’s simply time to replace them, we may suggest using white fillings instead of traditional amalgam (silver) fillings. The composite resin used to make your white fillings can be precisely matched to the color of your natural teeth; they are also strong, stain resistant, and require less tooth surface removal than amalgam fillings.

Our transillumination decay detection device uses infrared light to provide radiation-free cavity detection. Used with digital x-rays and intraoral photography, Doctors Holsinger and Higgins can get a more accurate picture of the health of our patients’ teeth.

Crowns in a single visit? That’s right! With CEREC crowns you’ll avoid goopy and messy impression materials, temporary crowns, and even multiple visits to the dentist. When your porcelain crowns are placed, they will look and feel like your natural teeth.

Porcelain onlays fall somewhere between a filling and a crown. These onlays can repair a tooth without removing too much tooth structure, damaging the tooth structure, or causing the need for root canals.

Gum disease, which affects more than 80% of American adults, is the leading cause of toothlessness in adults. The first sign of gum disease is red and swollen gums. It is vital to receive treatment at this time, as your gums can still be saved. Once advanced gum disease sets in, gum surgery may be necessary.

Smiles by Holsinger & Higgins offers a full spectrum of oral surgeries. From wisdom tooth extractions to implant surgeries, we have all of your oral surgery needs covered.

There is no need to dread the root canal! Thanks to laser dentistry, we can perform a root canal that is faster, more comfortable, and more thorough than conventional root canal.

There is no need to live with jaw pain when Smiles by Holsinger & Higgins can help you find relief. Regardless of the cause of your TMJ, or temporomandibular joint disorder, we can provide treatments and relief through the use of orthotic splints, enamel reshaping, orthodontics, or night guards.

3D Cone Beam Scans are favored by many dentists because they produce high-quality images of all oral structures — including the skull. These images are used to diagnose potential problems before they become complicated and costly, all with less radiation exposure.

Goopy impression materials are a thing of the past thanks to digital impressions. Designed to reduce the number of office visits and time in the dental chair, as well as increase impression accuracy, our iTero digital scanner allows us yet another way to provide comfort to our patients.

When you have bite imbalances that cause fractured restorations, teeth sensitivity, TMJ pain, and headaches, the T-Scan system allows us to quickly and accurately diagnose the source of your pain. Not only does this provide you with relief, it reduces the need for multiple appointments, saving you both time and money.

Pain-free fillings without needles. Minimally invasive restorations with no bleeding and fast healing. Laser technology has made it possible. Dental lasers allow us to perform many procedures without anesthesia, such as novocaine, and without making a single incision. That means no bleeding, minimal discomfort, and faster healing for the patient.