Dental Masters of Alexandria

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Dental Masters of Alexandria Transforming smiles with personalized care. Offering Implants, Full mouth solutions & more. Visit us in Alexandria! Your input matters here.

When you step into Dental Masters of Alexandria, you enter a different kind of healthcare experience. Our team sets an uncompromising standard for personalized service and optimal dentistry. You become part of a patient family that benefits from our dedication to excellence. Dr. Jamie LaViola’s commitment to advanced clinical skills brings solutions for every concern. But we customize plans to match your goals, in your time. Even the most complex care has a way forward when we set a direction together. And don’t let anxiety stop you from exploring our innovative approach. Regardless of your challenges, we offer the finest sedation options in the comfort of our soothing environment. A board-certified anesthesiologist fills a vital role on our support team, opening doors for even the most fearful patients. At Dental Masters of Alexandria, your vision for your health becomes reality. Let’s sit down and consider your goals together. We look forward to welcoming you to our valued patient family.

10/17/2026

Front teeth that used to be straight and are now flaring forward, or developing new gaps, are telling you something about the foundation underneath. This doesn’t happen for no reason.

The usual causes:

1. Bone loss from gum disease. The front teeth lose support and start to drift outward.
2. Missing back teeth. When molars are gone, the front teeth take chewing force they weren’t built for, and they get pushed forward.
3. Grinding or clenching, which adds force on top of everything else.
4. The tongue pressing on the back of the front teeth.
Why it’s worth catching early: once teeth start moving, they rarely stop on their own. The spaces trap food, gums get irritated, and the movement speeds up.

What fixes it depends on the cause:

1. Treating gum disease first, always.
2. Replacing missing back teeth, so the front teeth stop carrying the load.
3. Sometimes aligners to move the teeth back, followed by a retainer.
4. A night guard if you grind.

The part people don’t expect: the fix is often in the back of the mouth, not the front.

If yours are moving, bring an older photo to your next visit. Seeing how far they’ve drifted helps us find the cause.

10/17/2026

It happens all the time, and it’s easy to fix. The mistake is waiting until the next appointment to deal with it.

Why it matters: when a tooth is prepared for a crown, it’s shaped smaller. The temporary holds the space. Without it, the teeth beside and across from it can start to shift within days, and the final crown that’s being made for you may not fit when it arrives.

The tooth underneath is also more sensitive without its cover.

What to do:
1. Keep the temporary. Rinse it off.
2. Put it back on. Temporary dental cement from the
pharmacy works. In a pinch, a small dab of
toothpaste or denture adhesive can hold it for a day.
3. Call the office the next business day so they can re-
cement it properly.
4. Chew on the other side until it’s secure.

What not to do: don’t use household glue, and don’t leave the tooth uncovered for a week.

The part people don’t expect: temporaries are designed to come off easily, so they can be removed without damaging the tooth. That’s why they sometimes come off with sticky foods like caramel or gum.

If yours keeps coming off, mention it. The temporary may need to be remade

10/17/2026

It’s a real step, it’s often needed, and it’s one of the most confusing lines on a dental estimate. You’re allowed to ask why it’s there.

What it is: before a crown goes on, the tooth has to be a certain shape and height for the crown to hold. When a big piece of the tooth is missing, from a break or a large old filling, we rebuild that part with a strong filling material first. That rebuilt base is the core buildup. The crown then sits on top of it.

When it’s needed:
1. A large part of the tooth broke off.
2. An old filling came out and left a big hole.
3. Decay removed a lot of the tooth.

When it may not be:
1. Most of the tooth is solid and only needs shaping.
2. The old filling is small and sound.

The part people don’t expect: a crown placed on a tooth that’s too short or hollow is the main reason crowns come loose later. The buildup protects the investment you’re making in the crown.

The honest answer is that it varies tooth to tooth. If it’s on your estimate, ask to see the x-ray or a photo of the tooth. It should be obvious why it’s needed.

10/15/2026

Those small wedge-shaped dents right where the tooth meets the gum are very common after 40. They aren’t cavities, and not every one needs a filling.

What causes them:
1. Brushing hard, especially side to side with a firm brush. Over decades it wears into the softer root surface.
2. Grinding and clenching. Teeth flex slightly under heavy force, and the stress concentrates right at the neck of the tooth.
3. Acid, from reflux or sipping acidic drinks, which softens the surface and makes it wear faster.

When I’d fill them:
1. They’re sensitive to cold or brushing.
2. They’re deep enough to trap plaque or catch your fingernail.
3. Decay has started in the notch.
4. They bother you when you smile.

When I’d leave them: shallow, not sensitive, and not getting deeper over time. Then the job is watching them.

The part people don’t expect: filling a notch without fixing the cause doesn’t hold. If grinding made it, the filling pops off for the same reason. So the fix usually starts with a soft brush, gentler technique, and a night guard if you clench.

Point them out at your next cleaning and ask whether yours are stable or growing.

10/15/2026

When the choice is open, I’d want mine screwed in. Most people never get asked, and it matters years later.

An implant crown attaches to the implant one of two ways:

1. Screw-retained. A small screw holds the crown to the implant. The access hole is sealed with tooth-colored filling, so you don’t see it.

2. Cement-retained. The crown is glued onto a connector, like a regular crown.

Why I lean toward screwed in:

1. It can be taken off. If the crown chips, a screw loosens, or the gum around the implant needs cleaning, it comes off and goes back on in one visit.

2. No cement under the gum. With cemented crowns, a small bit of leftover cement can hide under the gum line, and that’s a known cause of inflammation around implants.

When cement makes sense: sometimes the angle of the implant would put the screw hole somewhere it shows, like the front of a visible tooth. Then cement can look better.

The part people don’t expect: neither is a shortcut. It’s a planning choice that decides how easy the next twenty years of maintenance are.

Ask which one is planned for you before the crown is made. That’s the moment the choice is still open.

10/15/2026

This is one of the most common reasons people stop smiling fully, and one of the most fixable.

Why they stop matching:
1. Your natural teeth darkened while the crowns didn’t.
2. The gum pulled back, showing a dark edge.
3. Materials from years ago didn’t look as natural.

What I’d do:
1. Decide on your natural teeth’s color first, whitening if you want.
2. Replace the crowns to match that, with the gumline in mind.

Sometimes it’s two crowns. Sometimes it’s worth including neighboring teeth so everything matches

10/15/2026

Grinding breaks veneers. That doesn’t rule you out, but it changes the plan.

What I’d require:
1. A custom night guard, worn every night, starting the
day the veneers go on.
2. A bite check, so the veneers aren’t taking forces
they can’t handle.
3. Sometimes a stronger material on the teeth that take
the most force.
4. Veneers on a grinder with no guard is where I see
chips and cracks in the first few years.

Do you already wear a guard?

10/14/2026

When your hands hurt, cleaning your teeth well gets hard, and plaque builds up. There are easy fixes.

What helps:
1. An electric toothbrush, which does the motion for you.
2. A wider handle, either built in or added with foam grip tubing.
3. Floss holders or small brushes with handles.
4. A water flosser if string floss is too hard to manage.

Don’t let your gums pay for your joints. Small tools make a big difference.

What’s been hardest for you?

Are you caring for a parent right now?

10/14/2026

How does sedation actually make a scary extraction manageable?

Facing a difficult or terrifying extraction—like a complex molar removal—can bring up a lot of anxiety, but modern sedation dentistry is specifically designed to transform that experience completely.

* Reduces Memory and Perception: Sedation doesn’t just help manage physical discomfort; it significantly reduces your conscious memory of the procedure and alters your perception of time.

* Time-Altering Comfort: With oral conscious sedation, a 30-minute extraction can feel like it lasted only a few minutes, or it may not register in your memory at all.

* Separating Pain and Panic: By combining a local anesthetic to completely numb the area with sedation to calm your nervous system, pain and panic are handled separately so you stay both numb and deeply relaxed.

A difficult past dental experience or fear does not predict how your next visit will go. If you are feeling nervous about a procedure, ask our team what specific sedation options apply to your extraction.

10/13/2026

Adult teeth shouldn’t move. When one does, something is wrong.

Common causes:
1. Gum disease that has worn away the bone holding
the tooth.
2. Grinding, which loads the tooth heavily.
3. An infection at the root.
4. A recent blow to the mouth.

Some loose teeth can be stabilized when they’re caught early. Others have lost too much support. The difference is usually time.

Don’t wiggle it to test it. Get it checked soon.

Address

831 S Washington Street
Alexandria, VA
22314

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 1pm

Telephone

+17035493300

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