Dr. West is a native Houstonian, he attended high school at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory and attended college at the University of Texas at Austin, where he attained a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology. He earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston ranking in the top ten of his class. Dr. West continued on to a two year postgraduate Pediatric Dental Specialty program where he was Chief Resident. The program allowed him training opportunities at Texas Children’s Hospital, MD Anderson Hospital, Shriners’ Burn Institute, Hermann Hospital for Pediatric Medicine and Anesthesiology and Richmond State School for Citizens with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as, the dental service at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Upon completion of the Program at the University of Texas Dental Branch, he was awarded a Certificate in Pediatric Dentistry. One of Dr. West’s proudest accomplishments is being the first Pediatric Dentist in Houston to achieve American Board of Pediatric Dentistry Certification and becoming a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. He successfully completed the more rigorous FOUR PART examination process which included a written examination, an oral examination, presentation of treated cases and a ”site visit” during which 2 board examiners were present in his office to question and critique his work and the work of his staff. With his successful completion of the certification process he is allowed to say he is a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry.
X-rays
Oral Cancer Screening
Maintain routine oral health/oral cancer screenings – it may be recommended that these visits occur more frequently than every six months. For those patients who also receive their routine oral health/oral cancer screenings in Dr. West’s office, these visits will be coordinated with your orthodontic visit.
It is very important that you continue your routine dental visits once every six months, even during orthodontic treatment, for teeth cleaning and routine dental checkups. With braces, food may be caught in places that your tooth brush cannot reach. This causes bacteria to build up that can lead to cavities, gingivitis, and gum disease. Sometimes it is recommended that these visits are more frequent than every six months. If you routinely receive oral health evaluations in Dr. West office these appointment s will be coordinated with your orthodontic visits for your convenience.
Fluoride Treatment
The purpose of a professional dental cleaning is to remove the pellicle and stains that form on the enamel surface of teeth. The pellicle is a biofilm composed of several different kinds of bacteria and their products. This pellicle is known as plaque! The prescription toothpaste used by the dentist during a cleaning is abrasive; it microscopically removes this pellicle from the teeth. Following the removal of the enamel pellicle, a prescription fluoride treatment is applied. The fluoride applied after a thorough dental cleaning is a stronger concentration than found in toothpaste. Following a dental prophylaxis, the surface readily absorbs fluoride; the fluoride binds to the surface, making the tooth harder and more resistant to decay. The advantage of the “fluoride treatment” is that in addition to making the tooth harder and more resistant to decay, it also makes it more difficult for the decay-causing bacteria to stick to the tooth surface. Long term benefits of fluoride treatment can last three to six (3 – 6) months. Clinical trials confirm the anti-caries effect (prevention of decay) of professional topical fluoride treatments is highly effective. Fluoride can prevent or reverse enamel demineralization (beginning of a cavity).
Dental Sealants
Just as adults should have regular dental oral health examinations approximately every six (6) months, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends children receive a periodic oral evaluation every six (6) months beginning with the child’s first birthday. Routine and regular visits will start your child on a lifetime of good dental health. During the periodic visits Dr. West may recommend the application of fluoride in the form of a gel or varnish, additional he may suggest home fluoride products, and protective sealants.
Space Maintainers
A lower lingual arch is a space maintainer for the lower teeth. It maintains lower molar position. Molar bands are placed on the right and left molar connecting them using a wire that fits up against the inside of the lower teeth; this keeps the molars from migrating forward. By holding the molars in the correct position the space needed for the permanent cuspid and bicuspid is protected allowing them to erupt correctly. This is used when baby teeth are lost early, or when lower teeth are slightly crowded in a growing child and you want to avoid removing any permanent teeth to correct the crowding.
Although tooth colored fillings are high quality restorations and the material used for some restorative cases, a crown is the more appropriate restoration in cases where a cavity has affected so much tooth structure that the composite filling material cannot be used to repair a tooth. Pediatric Dental training programs stress the importance of the primary teeth. An important function of the baby teeth is to hold adequate space for the adult tooth that will follow each primary tooth. When a child needs to have a primary tooth repaired the Pediatric Dentist draws on his or her training to provide the proper restoration for the involved tooth. The indications for a crown on a primary tooth are...
The innermost central core of the tooth is known as the pulp of a tooth. The pulp contains nerves, blood vessels, connective tissue and reparative cells. The purpose of pulp therapy in Pediatric Dentistry is to maintain the affected tooth (so the tooth is not lost). Dental caries (cavities) and traumatic injury are the main reasons for a tooth to require pulp therapy. Pulp therapy is often referred to as a "nerve treatment", "children's root canal", “pulpotomy" or" pulpectomy".
Root Canal Treatment
A Pulpectomy is required when the entire pulp is involved (into the root canal(s) of the tooth). During this treatment, the diseased pulp tissue is completely removed from both the crown and root. The canals are cleansed, disinfected and, in the case of primary teeth, filled with a resorbable material. A permanent tooth would be filled with a non-resorbable material. Then a final restoration is placed (usually a crown).
During dental school, Dr. West enjoyed learning about the growth and development of the cranial facial structures. Although he mastered the reparative process of restoring teeth with fillings and crowns as well as and fabricating dentures, and all the other dental procedures performed in dentistry, he was much more excited about creating beautiful smiles. As he progressed through dental training he was mentored by several members of the Pediatric Dental faculty who recognized his abilities to put children at ease during the delivery of their dental care. These faculty mentors encouraged him to pursue post graduate training in Pediatric Dentistry. During this training he was able to treat multiple patients with cranial facial anomalies. Upon completion of two years of Pediatric Dental residency Dr. West entered his private practice in West Houston area. A good friend and orthodontist mentioned to him that the hardest thing about the orthodontic cases Dr. West referred to him was that they wondered why Dr. West did not do their orthodontic treatment himself. The orthodontist encouraged Dr. West to pursue further studies in orthodontics; as his passion was evident. In an effort to pursue further certifiable education in oral facial care, he applied and was accepted to post graduate training in the specialty of orthodontics and dento-facial orthopedics becoming one of the first dentists in Houston to have a dual specialty in both Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics.
When a patient is missing a front tooth because of facial trauma in which a tooth has been knocked out of the mouth it is very easy to camouflage the space so that it appears a tooth is present. If you can retrieve the tooth that has been knocked out and it is deemed inappropriate to re-implant it, the space can still be maintained esthetically during orthodontic treatment. Orthodontic brackets can be placed on the appropriate teeth; the displaced tooth is re-contoured to fit up next to the gum tissue. An orthodontic bracket is placed on the modified tooth and the tooth is attached to an arch wire and upon completion of treatment a more permanent replacement can be fabricated.
Research has shown that serious orthodontic problems can be more easily corrected when the patient’s skeleton is still growing and flexible. The orthodontist can prepare the mouth for the eventual eruption of the permanent teeth by correcting the skeletal problems at a younger age. If the permanent teeth have adequate space to erupt, the possibility of avoiding tooth extraction to accomplish orthodontic therapy and the ultimate stability of orthodontic treatment is increased.
The answer is YES! Orthodontics is not just for children and adolescents. Many patients receive orthodontic treatment as adults, in fact, it is reported that one in every five orthodontic patients are over twenty-one (21) years of age. As an Orthodontist, Dr. West is experienced in providing orthodontic care for all ages of patients.
Invisalign Orthodontics
By now everyone has heard of “Invisalign” and the process of moving teeth with clear plastic aligners. Clear aligners are an alternative for selected cases requiring minor corrections, but are not always the best treatment option for more complex cases. An advantage of clear aligners is the cosmetic appeal: however, it requires a very responsible patient because the appliances are a hard plastic and removable, if they are misplaced or broken the progression of treatment could be affected.
Braces
There are several types of braces available. Dr. West will advise you of the most efficient bracket type or appliance to straighten your teeth and improve your smile.