Dr. Thomas Gent, DDS Claimed

Dentistry is an amazing platform and opportunity to change people’s lives. It is also a tremendous responsibility that is founded completely on trust, and I take that very seriously. I think very few professions provide so many different ways to profoundly affect people’s health and well-being, not to mention their self-esteem. We have the ability to prevent and reverse oral disease, reduce the risk of serious health problems, and create a smile some patients have only dreamed of.

I am blessed to meet different people from all walks of life every day, which gives me lot of perspective on the community we share. Despite our different backgrounds and lifestyles, we share many of the common themes and struggles in our lives, as do our patients. We treat our patients as if they were family and want to make sure they have the opportunity to choose control over their health, well-being, and smile.

EDUCATION AND CONTINUING EDUCATION

• BBA – University of Texas at Austin
• Doctorate of Dental Surgery – University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Dentistry also entails a commitment to lifelong learning. Technology and treatment options are evolving rapidly, and it is impossible to maintain excellence without constant new training.

My patients deserve the best, so it is important that I am trained in the latest techniques, materials, and technology to provide my patients the healthiest, longest-lasting, predictable, and beautiful dental treatment available. Most recently, this has included advanced cosmetic and implant dentistry, CAD/CAM technology, Invisalign®, and biological dentistry.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• Academy of General Dentistry
• American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry
• International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology
• American Academy of Clear Aligners

OUTSIDE THE OFFICE

I have a beautiful, sweet wife named Molly, four amazing children, and a Sheepadoodle named Tucker.

Spending time with my family is the most important thing in my life. We might be relaxing at home, going for a hike, working on our house, cooking a healthy meal from scratch, or even traveling. I love to stay fit so I might be working out or gone for a run, but being snuggled-up on the couch with my family to watch a movie is hard to beat!

IN THE COMMUNITY

I believe it is important that we give back to the community that blesses my staff and me every day. I love interacting with my team and the public outside our office walls. Being a dentist is just one part of who I am, and engaging in our community enriches my life and helps us all grow as individuals while building wide-reaching relationships. You never know whom you might meet and the friends you will make!

We are an annual sponsor of the Run for the Water, and have regularly sponsored local school sports teams. In addition, we regularly donate our services to patients in need. Most recently, we spent an entire day providing care to the African Children’s Choir.

IMPLANTS

People are living longer than ever, and while regular brushing, flossing, and checkups allow many of us to maintain our natural smiles for a lifetime, sometimes our teeth just can’t keep up. If you’ve lost a tooth (or a few teeth) due to injury or disease, dental implants can rejuvenate both your smile and your oral health.

An implant is a synthetic tooth root in the shape of a post that is surgically placed into the jawbone. The “root” is usually made of titanium however we are proud to be one of the select providers of 100% metal-free zirconia implants. Both if these materials are used routinely used in the replacement of hips and knees, and are well-suited to pairing with human bone. 100% metal-free zirconia implants are ideal for patients with a history of auto-immune conditions, metal, allergies or prefer a 100% metal free treatment. After adequate, a replacement tooth or teeth are then fixed to the this artifical root. The tooth can be either permanently attached or removable. Permanent teeth are more stable and feel more like natural teeth.

The ideal candidate for implants is a non-smoker who has good oral health, including a sufficient amount of bone in the jaw, and healthy gums with no sign of gum disease.

SINGLE OR MULTIPLE IMPLANTS

Implants are versatile. If you are only missing one tooth, one implant plus one replacement tooth will do the trick. If you are missing several teeth in a row, a few strategically placed implants can support a permanent bridge (a set of replacement teeth). Similarly, if you have lost all of your teeth, a full bridge or full denture can be permanently fixed in your mouth with a strategic number of implants.

ADVANTAGES OVER DENTURES OR BRIDGES

Conventional bridges and dentures are not fixed to the bone, and can therefore be unstable. This can make it difficult to eat or smile with confidence. Implants not only look more natural, but feel and act more like normal teeth, with a stronger biting force. And because they don’t directly rely on neighboring teeth for support, implants don’t compromise the health of your natural teeth. In fact, bridges are only expected to last seven to ten years, even less with root canals, whereas implants will typically last a lifetime.

POST-TREATMENT CARE

Consider your replacement teeth to be the same as natural teeth. They require the same daily brushing and flossing, and the same amount of regular checkups. Just like your natural teeth, the better you take care of your replacements, the longer they will last.

IMPLANT SERVICES

Our implant services include:

• Sinus Lift Augmentation: Often the sinuses will enlarge following loss of the upper back teeth. This can preclude placement of dental implants in the upper back areas of the mouth, since the sinus is an air-filled space and dental implants need to be surrounded by solid bone. A sinus lift augmentation/graft is a surgical procedure that restores the sinus cavity to its original size, and replaces the bone that has been lost as a result of the enlarged sinus. This new bone graft typically takes nine to 12 months to heal before the dental implants can be placed into the grafted bone.
• Autogenous Bone Grafting: Occasionally, the ideal areas for dental implants do not have sufficient bone quantity to support the implants. In these cases, it is often necessary to “borrow” bone from another area of your mouth and graft it into the deficient area. Often, the area of choice is from the chin or in the back of the jaw where your wisdom teeth used to be.
• Implant Site Development: When a tooth needs to be removed due to infection, it is not uncommon to have lost bone around the infected tooth. In these cases, various types of bone grafting can be done at the same time the tooth is removed to facilitate the placement of a dental implant at a later date.
• Computer-Enhanced Treatment Planning: We have special software on our computer that allows us to evaluate your dental CT scan in three dimensions for bone quality, bone quantity, and bone location, enabling the best possible placement of your dental implants. This also allows us to work closely and smoothly with your restorative dentist to ensure an ideal result where your dental implants are concerned.
• Implant Maintenance: Once your dental implant restoration is completed, it is important to keep the area clean and infection-free. Dental implants can accumulate plaque and tartar just as teeth can. Whether you have just one tooth replaced by an implant or several, a professional cleaning schedule will be necessary to keep your implants healthy. The time interval for these professional cleanings will be determined by your individual needs.