Every day Dr. Scott is trying to help patients avoid needing onlays, crowns, and bridges. In fact, most of the time, if Dr. Scott is doing a crown for a patient, he’s actually replacing an existing crown. In the case where a tooth has significant damage, cracks, or a root canal, then a lab-fabricated restoration is the best way to restore and protect the tooth. We employ the very best dental labs to create porcelain onlays (which only replaces the damaged part of the tooth), gold or porcelain crowns (wich completely covers the entire tooth), and porcelain bridges (to fill the space where a tooth is missing).
Dr. Scott is a master-skilled artisan with composite filling material, and his composite veneers are proving to be an excellent alternative to porcelain veneers when making smile improvements. Composite veneers are hand-crafted in the office, so patients don’t need to wear temporaries, and they rarely require any removal of the patient’s enamel. Instead of relying on a lab technician in another state, Dr. Scott spends hours doing his own pre-treatment wax-ups and then meticulously transfers that work to the patient’s mouth. It’s a tedious process, but it gives him complete control of the finished product, which results in a more customized and natural looking smile.
If you are the patient with any of these unfortunate symptoms—jaw pain or popping, headaches, limited opening, neck and shoulder pain, ear stuffiness, numbness or tingling in your hands, difficulty swallowing, a habit of grinding your teeth, worn down or broken teeth, among others—consider yourself fortunate to have found a highly trained and experienced dentist with a method that actually treats the cause of TMJ/head and neck problems. Dr. Scott has patients who have lived with pain for years, tried a multitude of other TMJ treatments, and have now found lasting relief with his unique method. Here’s what makes Dr. Scott’s treatment unique:
Dr. Scott graduated among the top 10 students in his class of 1999 at The University of Texas San Antonio Dental School, known as the #1 dental school in the United States. He was inducted into a prestigious honor society, and the recipient of many awards. His desire to learn about the best dental techniques, materials, and patient care continues today. In the state of Texas, dentists are only required to have 12 hours of continuing education per year, but Dr. Scott earns hundreds of hours of credits, studying with the most respected clinicians in the world in order to provide his patients with the best treatment options possible. Here are just a couple of examples:
All of these endeavors have afforded him the ability to provide comprehensive dental care, complete complex full mouth reconstructions, treat moderate to severe cases of TMD (jaw joint disorder), provide exceptional dental restorations, and achieve beautiful results on cosmetic dentistry cases.
Dr. Scott is a man of faith and regularly attends First Baptist Church in Lubbock. He is a member of Sonrisas Siempre, a group of dentists who travel to Comayagua, Honduras every January to serve those who would otherwise not have dental care. He volunteers his time and provides dental care for the clients of Lubbock Impact, a local mission which provides free dental services to those in need in our community. He is a member of and has served as an officer in the South Plains District Dental Society since 2002. Other professional associations include being a member of:
Dr. Scott is a general dentist providing services to patients of all ages, including
Our office is outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment, digital radiography (much less radiation than conventional x-rays), digital photography, and electronic records.
We take great pride in our strict infection control procedures; use a closed-circuit distilled water system, superior high volume suction, and barriers whenever possible. Although not required, we do have a mercury separator to prevent harmful materials from going back into our public water system, and we have a special ventilation system designed to remove even more of the trace amounts of mercury from the air. It’s important for our patients to know how dedicated we are to protecting their health.
The patient’s comfort is a top priority. We offer nitrous oxide gas and oral sedation (“dentistry while you nap”). Other amenities include flat screen television in the ceiling, headphones, neck pillows, and blankets. Bring your favorite playlist, and we will take care of the rest. Our patients tell us that going to the dentist office has never before been so comfortable.
Dr. Scott is only as good as his amazing staff makes him. We hand pick our employees based on personality and character first. Our patients appreciate being known by name when they walk in the front doors, and they notice the unique personal service we provide. We know there are many options to choose from when it comes to selecting a dental care team, and we will not take for granted that you’ve chosen Scott Dentistry.
“The best way to predict your future health is to create it.”
Did you know that there are a growing number of dentists nationwide that are committed to a mission that is best captured by the quote, “The best dentistry is no dentistry”? These dental teams are focused on ensuring you have less time in the dental chair over your lifetime—not more.
It is not hard to imagine that people want to avoid being worked on if they can help it. This is true for most—from operating tables to dental chairs. When we experience our bodies breaking down from disease processes and experience discomfort, pain or don’t have pride in our appearance, we turn to the medical branches to fix us. In which, state-of-the-art treatments are available and serve their purpose.
However, it is often difficult to find the rare health-centered professionals who seek to help you create health and avoid breakdown in the future. You should know that there are two different ways to deliver treatment:
These highly committed teams focus on serving a lower volume of people more carefully and comprehensively to put them in a position of avoiding unplanned consequences of dental disease. These teams are committed to the Dental Health Coach model of putting patients in control and serving patient driven plans. Have you experienced the “medical / dental charts” of the past and present that are designed for the professional to monitor your breakdown and repair? Dental Health Coach Teams utilize specialized tools and technology designed to create charts for you to monitor your health creation and movement towards creating your own future. DHC teams actually pursue coaching courses to learn to partner with patients, because fixing teeth is the only skill set taught in dental school. Health creation is a wholly different process.
To the Scott Dentistry team, coaching means getting into partnership and pursuing what matters to the patient. This coaching model is the truly professional model of coaching—one in which you, the patient, decide what is important, and the Scott Dentistry team wraps ourselves around that clearly established target. Together we will create a healthier future for you!
When damage is severe, but still restorable, a full mouth ceramic reconstruction may be the best option for the patient. These cases are thoughtfully planned by Dr. Scott to the extent that he averages 8-10 hours doing his own pre-treatment wax-ups and then gives the dental lab ceramists very specific instructions. The goal is to provide the patient with restorations that are not only beautiful, but also made to last.
For the patient who wants whiter teeth, please stay away from the whitening toothpastes which are basically “liquid sandpaper” and harmful to your enamel! Instead, our patients benefit from wearing high-quality, custom-made whitening trays with low-sensitivity carbomide peroxide gel. And no longer do we take messy goopy impressions to make your trays! Instead, we have a digital scanner that takes hundreds of pictures of your teeth, gums, and mouth and then stitches them together, so we can print your models on our 3-D printer. The process is “so cool” according to our patients, but most importantly, it’s very accurate. Finally, we make your whitening trays in our office, so you get to start whitening within a couple of days. Most patients are satisfied with their results within 2-3 weeks.
Porcelain veneers are the traditional way to make dramatic changes to smiles. These veneers are made by a lab technician by layering ceramic material to create a beautiful high gloss surface. The preparation does require the doctor to remove some enamel from the tooth, and the patient must wear temporaries for a couple of weeks, but porcelain veneers deliver when strength and esthetics are the primary goal.
Under high magnification, Dr. Scott isolates the tooth with a dental shield, carefully removes decay from a tooth, uses cavity-detecting dye to make sure all decay is gone, uses air-abrasion to clean the tooth and remove biofilms, uses the best adhesives, places the highest quality composite fillings, and polishes them to a smooth finish. For cavities between teeth, Dr. Scott uses the Bioclear Matrix system which ensures optimal contacts, no snagging of floss, and no food traps. What traditional dentistry would say needs a crown (expensive, invasive, removes all enamel, and increases the risk of needing a root canal), Dr. Scott is able to restore with a beautifully contoured, bonded composite filling (less expensive, saves healthy enamel, and minimizes the risk of irreversible nerve damage in the tooth).
Amalgam fillings contain harmful mercury and other metals. They also expand and contract, resulting in cracks in teeth. Dr. Scott routinely removes amalgam fillings using safe practices to greatly reduce exposure for the patient and for our staff. Dental shields are placed so amalgam is not swallowed. Nostrils are covered so amalgam is not inhaled. In addition to using high-volume suction in the mouth, he also uses an iQ Air suction unit to catch harmful aerosols, and a Surgically Clean Air Filtration system to purify the air in every treatment room.
Did you know when a tooth is removed, the jaw bone naturally resorbs and shrinks away? This can lead to boney defects and limits options for tooth replacement. Early in his career, Dr. Scott was trained by renowned surgeons on the process of tooth removal followed by bone preservation—also known as bone grafting. After the tooth is removed, the open socket is filled with a granular material and covered with a bio-compatible membrane. Simply stated, “the hole is filled and covered with a band-aid.” Over the next few months, the body will replace the granular material with its own bone cells that preserve the level (depth and width) of the jaw bone. Post-op complications (especially dry-socket) are essentially eliminated, and patients have a much easier recovery. After 3-4 months, the grafted site is healed. Now, the patient is ready for tooth replacement with a dental implant or prosthetic.
Yes, Dr. Scott can surgically place dental implants and restore them with screw-retained implant crowns. This process typically requires 6-9 months to complete. He uses CBCT imaging and a surgical software to plan the surgery. Then, he prints a guide on his 3-D printer. All of these steps are done in our office, with our equipment, and designed to ensure proper placement of the implant, so patients get the very best results.
For the patient with conventional dentures, the transition to implant-supported dentures can be life-changing. Typically, Dr. Scott recommends a minimum of 4 implants for the upper arch and 2 implants for the lower arch. Once the implants have healed, then the process begins to make new dentures which “snap” onto the implants. These dentures are removable, which means patients can keep them cleaner. This also keeps the implants and gum tissue clean and healthy. By the time the process is completed, patients with implant-supported dentures report significantly more stability when chewing, an improved sense of security when laughing and speaking, and a much bigger smile.
In certain cases, Dr. Scott does remove wisdom teeth for our young adult patients. Most of these patients opt to use an oral sedation medicine (or Nitrous Oxide gas) for the surgery in our office. If the patient would benefit from having IV sedation, then a referral is made to one of our very competent local oral surgeons.
For our adult patients with some minor crowding or spaces to close, Dr. Scott is able to straighten teeth through the use of Clear Aligners. A digital scan is taken (instead of those old gooey impressions) and loaded into treatment planning software that Dr. Scott uses to thoughtfully plan each case. We use our 3-D printer to create custom aligners (clear plastic devices) which straighten teeth over time. In most cases, treatment is completed within 6-9 months, and our patients are also able to whiten their teeth while wearing their aligners. Patients love the results… straight teeth and a whiter, brighter smile!
Did you know gum disease is the most common disease known to man? It’s also the most under-diagnosed and under-treated. Gum disease is simply an infection in your mouth that can result in bad breath, bleeding, swollen, or inflamed gums. If left untreated, it can result in bone loss or even tooth loss. The “Bad Bugs” (periodontal pathogens/bacteria) that cause gum disease are highly contagious and very harmful to your overall health. This is why we screen every patient, regardless of age. There are varying degrees of gum disease, so Dr. Scott and his hygienists offer customized treatment plans based on the needs of the individual patient. Periodontal Therapy (also known as Gum Therapy) is done in our office by our highly skilled dental hygienists. Our methods are more gentle and effective than traditional scaling and root planing (deep cleanings). Most patients require no anesthetic. The teeth are cleaned, and soft tissues are irrigated with an antibacterial rinse. Then, patients are invited to participate in the maintenance of health and given instructions to use specific tools and rinses at home. The goal is to treat this infection at its earliest stages with hopes the patient can halt the disease cycle and learn how to maintain a healthy mouth. Healthy Mouth = Healthy Body, and that’s the desire we have for every patient.
Many suffer with chipped worn teeth, chronic headaches, TMJ pain and other symptoms without realizing an unstable bite is the cause. BioRejuvenation is a biology-based treatment that restores the alignment of your teeth and jaw to their natural position. It is a comprehensive process resulting in
BioRejuvenation Dentistry is different from Cosmetic Dentistry. While both can make teeth look more beautiful, BioRejuvenation Dentistry involves the joint, muscles, and the teeth. The ultimate goal is to restore the chewing system to its optimal functioning position before restoring the teeth so that the jaw joint muscles are relaxed to reduce stress on the joint. This also causes other facial muscles to relax causing less visible facial stress and making one look more refreshed and youthful.
Another unique part of BioRejuvenation is its focus on giving the teeth ideal shape or form in a minimally-invasive way. Most of the time, natural tooth form is restored without removing any enamel from the patient’s teeth. Unlike traditional full mouth rehabilitations which require removal of enamel from all your teeth so crowns can be placed, BioRejuvenation restorations
