Staying true to his holistic philosophy, Tribeca dentist Dr. Lewis Gross also practices minimally invasive dentistry. Just as its name implies, minimally invasive dentistry is a systematic respect for the original tissue, meaning that with minimally invasive dentistry, Dr. Lewis Gross will perform all necessary dental work and procedures while keeping the largest amount of your natural teeth and tooth structure intact as possible. In addition to helping you keep your natural teeth for life, what else is involved with minimally invasive dentistry?

What’s Involved with Minimally Invasive Dentistry?

Focusing on prevention, remineralization, and the conservation of healthy tooth structure, minimally invasive dentistry is a highly technical and scientific course of treatment that allows the dentist to perform the least amount of dentistry needed while never removing more of the tooth structure than is required to restore the teeth to their normal condition. Additionally, Dr. Lewis Gross uses long-lasting and safe dental materials to reduce the need for future maintenance, maintain an attractive all-white appearance in your mouth, and promote total-body health.

Minimally invasive dentistry techniques include:

• Remineralization: As the process of restoring minerals to the teeth, remineralization can help to repair tooth enamel. In most cases, fluoride treatment plays a large role in the remineralization process.
• Air abrasion: When a tooth is past the point of remineralization and decay is present, Dr. Lewis Gross can use air abrasion to remove the decay. Air abrasion replaces the need for the traditional dental drill and often eliminates the need for anesthesia.
• Sealants: Usually made of clear plastic resin, dental sealants form a barrier between hard-to-clean teeth (molars, wisdom teeth, etc.) and decay-causing bacteria. Sealants do not require any alteration to the natural tooth structure, so Dr. Lewis Gross can place them on teeth that might be susceptible to decay at any time.
• Inlays and Onlays: Dental crowns are traditionally used to restore strength, durability, and appearance to a tooth that has been damaged, but crowns tend to require a good portion of the natural tooth be altered or removed. To avoid this, Dr. Lewis Gross places inlays and onlays to provide substantial reconstruction conservatively.
• Bite splints: Bruxism, more commonly known as teeth grinding, can cause serious damage to your teeth and contribute to TMJ (temporomandibular) dysfunction. Dr. Lewis Gross can provide you with a bite splint to wear at night or during times of high stress to limit your teeth grinding.

What are the Benefits of Minimally Invasive Dentistry?

In addition to keeping the maximum amount of your natural tooth structure intact, minimally invasive dentistry by Dr. Lewis Gross can allow for the following:

• More dental work completed in a single dental appointment, limiting the amount of time you take off from work and spend in the dental chair
• Less healing time post-procedure
• Less future dental work to maintain restorative dental measures
• More attention paid to total-body health and a working relationship between your dentist and other healthcare providers
• A new level of comfort during your procedure, decreasing the need for sedation and local anesthesia

To reserve an appointment with Dr. Lewis Gross, call Holistic Dentists, located in Tribeca, New York, at (212) 732-2200.