• (727) 586-2681
  • 1472 Jordan Hills Court, Clearwater, FL 33756

clearwater periodontist

Relax, We Got This! Sedation Dentistry in Clearwater, Florida

SEDATION
Dental anxiety affects many patients and can hinder them from taking the next step to achieve their oral health care goals. Dr. Britten is highly trained and certified in both IV conscious sedation and oral sedation.
He is one of the few Periodontists in the Tampa Bay area who offers IV sedation. Sedation dentistry can provide a calming experience for patients who have experienced high
levels of anxiety related to dental treatment.

IV CONSCIOUS SEDATION
Intravenous (IV) Sedation helps even our most anxious patients remain relaxed and comfortable during procedures. Many patients feel as though they, “went to sleep” during the sedation.
The goal of IV conscious sedation is not to provide general anesthesia but instead to allow our patients to remain conscious and relaxed with minimal risk during the procedure.

ORAL SEDATION
Is a prescription medication that can relieve anxiety patients feel before and during their dental exam. It allows patients to respond verbally and physically to directions all while in a very “restful” state.
Patients using oral sedation will need to be driven to and from the procedure.
You may be a candidate for Sedation Dentistry if you have experienced any of the following:
High Fear
Had traumatic dental experiences
Difficulty getting numb
A bad gag reflex
Very sensitive teeth
A fear of needles and shots
Aversion to the noises, smells, and tastes associated with dental care

LOCAL ANESTHETIC
For most periodontal procedures, a local anesthetic is utilized to numb the area being treated.
Some anesthetics are short acting and others last several hours. Dr. Britten will determine which local anesthetics are best for the procedure.

Questions? Contact:

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COVID 19 UPDATE 4/28/20

Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety.

Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and you may have seen this during your visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe
and comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to
keep patients and staff safe.

Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA) www.ada.org, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/infection-control.html and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/covid-19/standards.html. We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued. We do this to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to each agencies’ recommendations.

You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help
protect our patients and staff. For example:

• Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You’ll be
asked those same questions again when you are in the office.
• We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office. You will also find
some in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.
• You may see that our reception area will no longer offer magazines or other reading materials,
since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
• Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean
that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.
• We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well
as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.

We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice. To make an appointment, please call our office at 727-586-2681.

Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.

Sincerely,
Dr. Todd Britten and Team

Easy Ways to Protect Your Smile During Quarantine

  1. Clean BETWEEN your teeth daily – gum disease and deep pocketing often starts BETWEEN the teeth!
  2. Brush your teeth gently to avoid dental abrasion to the teeth and gum recession. 4 minutes with a manual brush, 2 minutes with a powerbrush such as the Sonicare Powerbrush.
  3. Prevent Dental Erosion by limiting acidic beverages such as soda (even Diet soda is highly acidic).
  4. Avoid eating VERY hard foods to avoid fracturing or chipping teeth.

COVID-19: Your Health is Our Top Priority

To Our Dear Patients and Community,

Your health is our top priority, and we appreciate the trust you place in us. The COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on our daily lives is rapidly evolving. Dr. Britten and his team are keeping up to date with the most current information and resources from the Centers for Disease Control, American Dental Association, Florida Dental Association, Florida Department of Health, OSHA, National Institute of Health and Florida legislature. We await their guidance to help navigate our patients and practice through this unprecedented time.

The American Dental Association (ADA) recommended on March 16 that dentists restrict their practices to all but urgent and emergency care. On March 20th, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ordered all dental offices in our state to postpone all elective dental procedures until May 8th. Our expectations are that this may extend further, and we are rescheduling patients into June at this time.

Conditions that would be considered urgent/emergent would include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Moderate to severe pain and/or soreness
  • Swelling of your gums, face, or neck
  • Uncontrolled bleeding
  • Signs of infection
  • Trauma
  • Medically necessary procedures to treat pain, infection, disease, or the likely potential thereof

If you experience a dental emergency, Dr. Britten is readily available to take care of any dental advice or emergency care. You can reach us via phone at 727-586-2681 on Monday and Thursday, and after hours and all other days at 813-493-1250 (text or call).

The safety of  our patients and all dental team members has been and always will be always be our greatest concern. We are eagerly awaiting any reopening protocols from the experts and authorities for our office. We will continue to update and educate our staff, patients and community on any and all safety guidelines and treatment protocols as they become established.

Thank you

Britten Periodontics & Implant Dentistry

Getting a beautiful smile with cosmetic crown lengthening

Unhappy with the appearance of a “gummy” smile? You may be a good candidate for a procedure called cosmetic crown lengthening.

This periodontal procedure is designed to expose more tooth structure prior to restorative and cosmetic dentistry and/or to improve the esthetics of your gum line. A frequently asked question is whether we can change the esthetics of a gummy smile because the teeth appear somewhat short. Your teeth can actually be of proper length and just covered with excessive gum tissue. In such circumstances, a crown lengthening procedure will correct this by exposing the shape of your natural teeth.

Crown lengthening can also be done to single teeth to “even out” your gum line and create a more symmetrical smile.

If your teeth are decayed, fractured at or below the gum line or have insufficient tooth structure for new crown retention, a “Clinical crown lengthening” procedure may be recommended by Dr. Britten to enable your general dentist to perform a restorative and/or cosmetic dental procedure.

How tissue grating can protect and save your teeth

When recession of the gum tissue occurs, the body loses a natural defense against both bacterial penetration and trauma. When gum recession is a problem, gum reconstruction using grafting techniques is an excellent option.
When there is only minor recession, some healthy gum tissue often remains and protects the tooth, so that no treatment other than modifying home care practices is necessary. However, when no firm gum tissue remains, this leaves the roots of the teeth and the underlying bone relatively unprotected, which could result in root sensitivity, bacterial penetration, decay and even loss of teeth.

A gingival graft is designed to address these problems. A thin piece of tissue is taken from the roof of the mouth or gently moved over from adjacent areas to provide a stable band of attached gum tissue around the tooth. The gingival graft may be placed in such a way as to cover the exposed portion of the root, however, the main objective is to re­establish the protective barrier or layer of the gum around the tooth. Occasionally, the patient may need multiple procedures to achieve the ideal amount of root coverage.
Dr. Britten has trained in the latest minimally invasive techniques of gum grafting and can often perform the entire procedure through a pinhole incision.

Questions? Contact us

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What are the stages of gum disease?

Gingivitis
The first stage of periodontal disease is gingivitis. It is an inflammation of the gingiva or gums and is characterized by red, tender, swollen gums, and halitosis or bad breath. It is a mild form of gum disease that can usually be reversed with daily brushing and flossing, cleaning by a dentist or dental hygienist, healthy nutrition and the cessation of smoking. This form of gum disease does not involve any loss of bone and tissue that hold the teeth in place. Untreated gingivitis can lead to periodontitis.

Periodontitis
The next stage of periodontal disease is periodontitis. It causes irreversible damage to the bone and connective tissue that support the teeth in the mouth. As it progresses the pockets deepen and the body’s immune system initiates an inflammatory response in which the body in essence turns on itself and the bone and connective tissue that hold the teeth in place are broken down and destroyed. If not treated the teeth may eventually become loose and need to be removed. While the initial cause of gum disease is bacterial plaque, there are other risk factors making one susceptible to periodontal disease:

Risk Factors
Smoking
Smoking is one of the most significant risk factors associated with the development of gum disease, and can lower the chances for successful treatment.
Hormonal changes
Hormonal changes in girls and women can make the tissue more sensitive and make it easier for gingivitis to develop. This includes puberty, menopause, and pregnancy.
Diabetes
Diabetes lowers the body’s immune system, making it easier for people to develop infections including gum disease.
Medications
Medications can affect the flow of the saliva which makes the oral tissues vulnerable to infections. Some medications can cause abnormal overgrowth of the gum tissue which makes it difficult to keep the teeth and gum tissue clean.

For more information, visit: https://brittenperio.com/oral-health/periodontal-disease/

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What you Need to Know About Periodontal Flap Surgery

When you have periodontal disease, the supporting tissue and bone is destroyed, forming “pockets” around the teeth. Over time, these pockets become deeper, providing a larger space for bacteria to live. Traditionally, gum disease is treated by eliminating these gum pockets and creating a clean environment around the tooth so that the tooth or teeth can be retained rather than lost. The infected gum tissue is trimmed away and uneven bone tissue re¬contoured. Periodontal flap surgical therapy remains one of the most effective ways of treating gum disease.

For more information on the surgical procedures performed in our office, visit our website at:

Surgical Procedures

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Fifth Annual Veteran’s Day of Care at Britten Perio

On November 1st, Dr. Todd M. Britten and the team at Britten Periodontics & Implant Dentistry held their 5th annual Day of Care for Veterans. Dr. Britten and his team are aware that dental coverage for veterans for major dental surgery can be very hard to attain, so they “hit the ground running” in 2015 trying to deliver periodontal care to as many veterans as they could. Dr. Britten says he owes the success of the event for the last 5 years to the help of local dentists, Clearwater Dental Associates (Dr. Nolan Allen, Dr. Matt Burton, Dr. Jim Hayslett and Dr. Keith Kiskaddon), Dr. Jeffrey Ellenberg, Dr. Ira Berger, Dr. Michael Podlusky and the local Community Dental Clinic.

Dr. Britten provides advanced periodontal surgical treatment and dental implant care for veterans in his Clearwater, Florida based periodontal practice. He offers sedation options and high-tech treatment, which can be very helpful to veterans that suffer from PTSD.

For Britten and his team this event is something they look forward to all year long. They keep in touch with veterans from previous events and this year they were able to provide follow up exams, x-rays and periodontal maintenance procedures, which help prevent reinfection of the gums following treatment. “It is always great to see them again and the progress they have made in their oral health. It is touching to be a part of something that has changed someone’s life in such a positive way,” said one of Dr. Britten’s volunteers.

Dr. Britten explained that local restorative dentists and their teams have volunteered each year to help provide comprehensive dental care to our veterans. As a periodontist, Dr. Britten’s specialty is the surrounding structures of the teeth; roots, gum and bone; i.e., the foundation. The restorative specialists have done fillings, crowns, and even full sets of dentures for veterans at no cost each year. “Our practice alone has provided over $50,000 in periodontal procedures for patient,” said a dental hygienist at Britten Periodontics who has helped to coordinate the event each year.

Dr. Britten says he would like to continue this event for the entirety of his career. “I have always respected the sacrifices that our veterans and their whole families had to make to ensure our safety and freedom. The sacrifices are really innumerable.”

A video of last year’s event:

What does it mean to have healthy gums

The best way to prevent periodontal disease is to brush and clean between your teeth effectively every day. Regular dental checkups and professional cleanings every 3 or 4 or 6 months are also an important part of maintaining periodontal health; the instruments and techniques used in these cleanings can reach into areas that your toothbrush and floss can’t.

It is also possible to detect early forms of gum disease by evaluating your gingival (gum) tissues, both visually and by examining their attachment levels to the teeth. And the health of your tooth-supporting bone can be assessed by taking dental radiographs (x-rays pictures).

There are other steps you can take: Eating right, reducing stress in your life, and giving up unhealthy habits like smoking will also help ensure that you keep your teeth for a lifetime.

Watch this video about Healthy Gums from Spear Education

https://spearedu.co/gWHjot0

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