StarImage Dentistry

Cosmetic dentist, Dr. Michael Spiller was born and raised in Wichita Falls, Texas. He graduated magna cum laude from Midwestern State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, Texas.

Among his other accomplishments, Dr. Spiller has completed all levels at the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies (LVI) , a state-of-the-art, training facility serving dentists from around the globe. The rigorous training at LVI focuses on the very latest in cosmetic and reconstructive dentistry and the neuromuscular treatment of TMJ disorders, a common cause of chronic headaches.

Dr. Spiller is currently pursuing advanced training in the field of Sleep Apnea Disorders.

Together with Dr. Green, Dr. Spiller is the only other LVI Neuromuscular Trained Dentist in the North Texas area.

Like more than 99% of LVI Graduates, Dr. Spiller is experiencing the same passion he felt the day he opened his Wichita Falls Practice. “It is an exciting time for our entire team of dental professionals, ” Dr. Spiller enthuses.

He lives in Wichita Falls, Texas, with his wife, Diane, and has two adult sons, Michael III and James.

A full mouth reconstruction is recommended when the cause of tooth problems relates not just to a single tooth, but to the mouth as a whole. It is intended to address current tooth problems and prevent future ones to ensure a healthy, stable bite for years to come.

A full mouth reconstruction may be recommended if you experienced a car accident or other injury to your mouth that caused extensive damage.

Another common reason why a full mouth reconstruction might be necessary is extensive disease. This may be something like oral cancer or it may be related to long-term neglect of your oral health.

Another common reason for full mouth reconstruction is a bite problem. If you have TMJ or another type of bite problem, it can be reflected in repeated injury to individual teeth. Chipped teeth, cracked teeth, and deeply worn teeth can all be signs of bite problems. Just restoring the individual teeth can lead to repeated failure. A comprehensive treatment plan is required to ensure the health and function of your bite.

One of the problems with diagnosing TMJ is that it has many potential symptoms. People often experience different combinations of symptoms. Some of the more common symptoms are:

Jaw sounds (popping, clicking, or grinding)
Jaw pain
Headaches, including migraines
Facial pain
Tooth wear
Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
Vertigo or dizziness
Neck pain
Back pain
Tingling and numbness in the fingers
If you are experiencing one or more of these symptoms and haven’t found relief with other treatments, you may have TMJ.

Dental implants are the best tooth replacement option. That’s because they offer many benefits you don’t get from other choices. Benefits include:

Enjoy all your favorite foods
Have an attractive smile
Support jawbone and healthy gums
No damage to neighboring teeth
Easy maintenance
Can last a lifetime
They are revolutionary because they are tooth replacements that are fully fixed in your jawbone. Because they’re attached to your jawbone–similar to natural teeth–they let you eat all the same foods you enjoyed with your natural teeth.

Dental implants don’t just plug the hole in your smile, they give you a completely natural-looking replacement. The implant isn’t attached to neighboring teeth or to a plastic base–they sink right into your gum tissue just like natural teeth. They can be almost indistinguishable from your natural teeth.

Unlike dentures and dental bridges–which rest on top of your gums–dental implants go into your jawbone. This not only supports the implant, it stimulates the jawbone. This prevents your body from removing bone, as it normally does after a tooth is lost. With the jawbone supported, your gums will stay at a healthy level, too.

Because they support themselves, they don’t cause any damage to neighboring teeth. Partial dentures and dental bridges rely on your natural teeth for support, and sometimes this can damage them, even lead to their loss.

Dental implants don’t require any special care. Just brush, floss, and make regular dental appointments. The flossing may be a little different, but you’ll get the hang of it after a little practice.

Like your natural teeth, they can last for a lifetime if properly cared for. Twenty- and thirty-year scientific studies report a 93-100% survival rate. The first dental implant recipient passed away over 40 years after getting his implants. They were all still in place. The second person to get dental implants still has them, more than 50 years later.

Sedation dentistry helps us give our patients a better experience at the dentist. With sedation dentistry we can help people:

Overcome dental anxiety
Get needed dental care and elective dental procedures
Get numb more easily
Avoid sore muscles at the dentist
Control a strong gag reflex
Consolidate dental visits for convenience
As an immediate treatment, sedation dentistry can help people overcome their dental anxiety and get preventive care, restorative care, and even cosmetic dentistry treatments. But over the long term it can have the even more important effect of helping to eliminate your dental anxiety. Many cases of dental anxiety are due to bad experiences at the dentist. Having positive experiences at the dentist can help you feel better and you won’t feel anxious.

Many bad experiences at the dentist are caused by anxiety. Difficulty getting numb is often caused by anxiety, which causes your body to metabolize anesthetic faster.

Sore muscles at the dentist or after an appointment are often because you are tense during your appointment. You may not even be aware of the tension until you leave the office and experience how sore your muscles are.

Similarly, dental anxiety often makes you hyperaware of objects in your mouth, causing you to gag more often.

Sedation dentistry can make large procedures more convenient. That’s because we can better consolidate your treatment into longer appointments since you’re able to sit for longer while under sedation.

For the right candidate, sedation dentistry is a great way to get your dental care.

When the temporomandibular joint isn’t functioning properly, it may experience pain. The jaw joint consists of two bones (the temporal bone and the mandibular bone) separated by a cushioning disc.

In TMJ, the disc is often pulled out of place. When this happens, you’ll notice that your jaw gains an irregular motion. At a certain point as you’re opening your jaw, the disc will slip back into place, disrupting the motion and causing a popping or clicking sound. Over time, the disc will stop slipping back into place, which means the sound stops, but it also means the jaw may start becoming locked.

The cushioning disc is built to withstand the pressures of the joint, but when it’s out of place, the pressure gets put on ligaments that can’t handle the pressure. They hurt and swell. The ligaments are also not adequate to cushion the bones in the jaw joint, so the joints may begin to grind together painfully.

He exact cause of migraines is mysterious, but many migraines seem to be triggered by the trigeminal nerve. The trigeminal nerve is a large nerve that emerges from the brain stem and carries sensations to and from most of the face, including the jaw muscles.

TMJ can cause overstimulation of the trigeminal nerve in many ways. Overactive jaw muscles may jam the trigeminal nerve with information, including pain signals. The trigeminal nerve also weaves under and around the jaw muscles. Sometimes a branch of the nerve may be pinched by one of these jaw muscles. That pressure can cause the trigeminal nerve to be overwhelmed. As a result, it may release the stress proteins that can trigger migraines.

Studies have shown that cutting away nerves or the muscles that pressure them can stop migraines. Other migraines respond to muscle-relaxing injections in the jaw. TMJ treatment can help relax these muscles and deliver migraine relief without surgery or drugs.

After earning his B. A. from Ohio State University, Dr. Blumenfeld entered dental school at Temple University where he received his D. D. S. degree. He immediately entered the United States Air Force Dental Corps. The Air Force sent him to Tufts University to complete a residency in Periodontics.

He served as Chief Periodontal Officer at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; Randolph Air Force Base, Texas; Upper Heyford Air Force Base, England; and again at Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, Texas, where he was responsible for a periodontal residency program. He retired at the rank of Colonel in 1982.

Dr. Blumenfeld was in full-time private practice in Wichita Falls from 1982 to 1995. Since 1995 he has practiced part-time and as a consultant. He currently practices periodontics at the office of Dr. James Green.

Dr. Blumenfeld is married to Freddie, a well known artist, and resides in South Lake, Texas.

Teeth-in-a-Day allows us to give you a full set of replacement teeth in just one procedure. And we can perform that procedure the same day your natural teeth are extracted. That means you’ll never be without teeth. With traditional dental implants, you are more likely to need bone grafts to build up the jawbone to support the implant. But with Teeth-in-a-Day, the implant bridge is thoroughly engineered to balance the forces and support the bridge without the need for a bone graft. That means a shorter treatment time: you’ll probably be fully healed within six months, unlike 18 months or more for traditional treatments with bone grafting.

And these replacement teeth aren’t ill-fitting dentures: they are fully functional teeth that will allow you to eat all your favorite foods, speak with clarity, and smile with confidence, though you may have to limit your diet during the recovery period.

With shorter treatment time and fewer implants comes a lower cost. You’ll pay less for your replacement teeth than you would for a procedure involving more implants and bone graft.

At StarImage Dentistry, we utilize iCAT Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) scans. This offers many benefits for our patients, including:

Quick scans
Detailed scans
Open environment–no claustrophobic enclosure
Cheaper than hospital CT scans
No exploratory surgery
Comprehensive treatment planning
Quicker procedure
With iCAT CBCT, we can get a scan in less than a minute. Hospital CT scanners take longer because they are looking at larger structures. iCAT also has the benefit of being a cone beam, which allows it to take very detailed images. iCAT creates an image whose pixels can be as little as 1/200th of an inch!

iCAT is designed as an open platform–you don’t have to go inside the tube environment like with hospital CT scans.

Because we do the CT scans in our office, you are saved additional fees. We can keep costs down for you.

With no exploratory surgery or complicated manual measurements, we can plan and perform your procedure more efficiently. With our software, we can move from a precise scan to a precise treatment plan that includes all stages of treatment, from your implants to your restorations.

This gives us the opportunity to perform a faster, better procedure with lower risks of complications.

FOY® Dentures are designed to be cosmetic dentures. The teeth are made with material that is often used in veneers to give people a smile makeover. They look natural and attractive. Plus, they’re stain resistant so you can enjoy them for longer.

While the base is made of the same material as traditional dentures, it’s made differently. It’s made with a layered technique that gives it the translucence of natural gum tissue. If you look closely, you can even see the tiny inclusions that mimic blood vessels. As a side benefit, the density of the base helps the dentures avoid picking up stains and odors.

With FOY® Dentures, many people find they have the best smile of their lives.

OraVerse is injected after your dental work is complete. The injection is performed in your numbed area, so you won’t feel it at all.

The length of time it takes for numbness to wear off depends on your body’s ability to eliminate the anesthesia molecules from the injection site. The drug in OraVerse is known to expand the blood vessels in a local area. This helps your body remove anesthesia from the affected site.

OraVerse may also help your body break down the anesthesia molecules or interfere with their action.

Gum disease is an infection of the area around your teeth, which is why it’s also called periodontal disease (“perio” means around and “dont” means tooth) . As bacteria (and, rarely, viruses or fungi) grow in the area around your teeth, they destroy the gums, bones, and other support structures for your teeth.

Initially, your body will try to fight the infection, and it will send immune cells to the area, causing inflammation (redness and swelling) . As the infection grows, many bacteria have the power to corrupt the immune response, turning your body against itself. This can speed the loss of support around your teeth.

As the infection continues to worsen, your body may even intentionally begin destroying its own tissue as part of its attempt to eliminate what it sees as a dangerous invasion by harmful bacteria.

The progress of gum disease may be slow at first, but, if left untreated, it can sometimes become very rapid.

We describe the first stages of gum disease as gingivitis. This is not serious and won’t necessarily lead to tooth loss. As gum disease becomes more serious, it is called periodontitis. Periodontitis can lead to tooth loss. Gingivitis doesn’t always become periodontitis. The transition depends on your oral hygiene, the types of bacteria involved in your infection, and your genetic susceptibility.

Dental crowns can be used in many situations to repair teeth or restore their appearance. Dental crowns are used when a tooth needs repair that provides beautification, protection, and support. They are commonly used for:

Decayed teeth repair
Cracked teeth repair
Worn teeth restoration
Small tooth augmentation
Bite reconstruction
Dental bridge support
Dental implant completion
Dental crowns are often used to repair teeth that have been weakened. Commonly, this is caused by tooth decay. Sometimes a dental crown is the first restoration for a badly decayed tooth. Other times, a crown is used when secondary cavities or other damage develops around large cavities. Dental crowns can even be used to protect a tooth after root canal therapy.

When trauma causes a tooth to crack in a way that jeopardizes the integrity of a tooth, a dental crown can hold it together.

When your teeth get worn down through normal use or because of a bad bite, dental crowns can help restore teeth to their former height, and provide the built up tooth with needed support.

If your teeth are naturally small, porcelain veneers are often used to build them up to an attractive height, but sometimes the tooth needs more support, so a dental crown is used.

If we have determined that bite reconstruction is the best approach for treating TMJ or other bite problems, dental crowns are often called on to support back teeth where pressure is greatest.

Dental crowns can even help replace a missing tooth. A dental bridge is supported by dental crowns over neighboring teeth. A dental implant is completely covered up by the gums and bone: it’s the attractive dental crown we see.

VELscope is a great choice for an oral cancer screening technology. You will be happy with this technology because it:

Is painless and completely safe
Requires no special rinses
Is quick: less than two minutes
Isn’t invasive: a small hand piece easily shines light throughout the mouth
Is highly sensitive and specific, giving fewer false positives and negatives
These advantages make VELscope one of the most effective and least disruptive technologies available. There’s really no reason not to get screening with VELscope, and it’s easy to add into your next routine checkup.

Most people in the US don’t feel they’re getting enough sleep. But even if you’re getting enough sleep, you might not be getting enough rest. If you are waking up tired in the morning and feel sleepy all day no matter how long you sleep, you may have sleep apnea. Or maybe you just snore. Snoring is the most common warning sign of sleep apnea, but it’s also a dangerous condition on its own.

If you are looking for effective treatment of snoring or sleep apnea in Wichita Falls, TX, please call (940) 322-2252 today for an appointment with a sleep dentist at StarImage Dentistry.

Oral health is the foundation of a beautiful smile and your overall health. Oral health problems like tooth decay can damage teeth, threaten cosmetic dentistry, and even lead to lost teeth. Gum disease is not only a threat to your teeth, but to your life, since it’s been linked to diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and many other serious health conditions. At StarImage Dentistry, we want to make sure, first and foremost, that every one of our patients is healthy.

If you are in Wichita Falls, TX or surrounding areas and looking for a dentist to protect the health and beauty of your smile, please call (940) 322-2252 today for an appointment at StarImage Dentistry.

Tooth decay affects almost everyone. About 96% of American adults experience some tooth decay in the past. The most common treatment for tooth decay, also called cavities, is a filling. In the past, fillings were made of metal: gold, or, more commonly metal amalgam, which is a mix of metal powders held together with toxic mercury. These fillings stood out on your teeth and could be very unattractive. Nowadays, we offer white or tooth-colored fillings that repair your teeth subtly and attractively

If you are looking to repair damage to your teeth and maintain the beauty of your smile, please call (940) 322-2252 today for an appointment with a Wichita Falls dentist at StarImage Dentistry.

When it comes to your smile, appearance shouldn’t just be an afterthought. Smiling is one of the most basic human expressions, and it’s vital for virtually every human interaction. When you first meet a person, they are more likely to remember your smile than your words. An attractive smile is the most desired feature in a potential date, and studies of online dating apps shows that smiling profile pictures get the most likes.

In a professional context, people with straight, white teeth are more likely to be offered a job over someone with similar qualifications but crooked, discolored teeth. And they’re more likely to be offered a higher salary. An attractive smile makes people think you are healthy, compassionate, and smart.

When we think of all the functions of your teeth, it’s clear that making an attractive smile is as vital as the others. That’s why we consider all dentistry we perform cosmetic dentistry–if it doesn’t help your smile look more attractive, it’s not a success.

We take a smile makeover in several steps to make sure we get the results you’re looking for. Typically, we will:

Discuss your goals and limitations
Propose options and make a digital mock-up (sometimes a wax mock-up, too)
Perform treatments in appropriate sequence
Confirm proper bite
During your consultation, we will always start by listening to your cosmetic goals. You can start by talking about the aspects of your smile that you don’t like, or you can tell us first about what you’re trying to achieve.

It’s also important that you discuss any limitations you may have on your smile makeover. Some people have a certain budget that they are restricted to. We can often use less expensive alternatives to get the results you want. And we can help you understand financing options that may help you fit the smile makeover you desire into your budget. Other people may have time limitations: they need to get it done completed before a certain date. We can take that into account and use procedures that will allow you to get the results you want, often in less than a month–sometimes even on the same day!

Once we have discussed your cosmetic goals, we will design one or more digital mock-ups to help you see the endpoint of your treatment. This can help you decide between some treatment options and give you a visual aid when discussing the procedures with friends and family.

Depending on the combination of procedures we are using, we will design a logical sequence to complete your smile makeover. We can also decide to perform your smile makeover in phases to help your budget. It can also help you decide whether you want all or only some of the procedures you are considering.

As a final step, we will confirm that your restorations fit harmoniously in your healthy bite. Using T-Scan, we will measure the bite forces on all your teeth. This confirms that none of the restorations are being subjected to excess force that could cause them to chip, wear, or break. This helps ensure that your smile makeover will feel comfortable and that the results will last for a long time.

People who have traditional dentures are usually unhappy with them. They’re uncomfortable, unattractive, fall out, and don’t allow you to eat many of the foods you used to enjoy. Dentures are an ancient technology, and, except for their materials, traditional dentures haven’t changed much since their invention. But we offer advanced dentures options that utilize the latest technologies in cosmetic and neuromuscular dentistry to create dentures that are more comfortable, very attractive, stable, and highly functional. We offer New You Neuromuscular Dentures to provide the best denture experience possible.

To learn more about the benefits of these denture options, please call (940) 322-2252 today for an appointment with a cosmetic dentist at Star Image Dentistry in Wichita Falls, TX.

A non-surgical facelift addresses the most visible signs of aging and provides the benefits of a surgical facelift without surgery. This means you won’t experience surgical complications, won’t have the lengthy recovery from cosmetic surgery, and won’t have surgical scars.

It is an easy procedure that has both health and cosmetic benefits. You will enjoy a more healthy bite, one that will function better with less grinding and wear on your teeth. Your jaw position will feel more comfortable, and you may even see a reduction or elimination of TMJ symptoms.

And you’ll get a more youthful and attractive smile, too. That’s something you won’t get from a surgical facelift.

If you have unattractive metal fillings, we can replace those for you. With new, advanced materials, essentially any metal filling can be replaced with highly attractive ceramic fillings. Now you won’t have to deal with problems related to metal fillings. No more being self-conscious about your mouth. No more sensitivity related to metal conducting heat into your tooth. No more metallic taste or galvanic currents in your mouth. Just comfortable, natural-looking restorations that are also durable.

If you want to learn more about replacing your metal fillings in Wichita Falls, TX, please call (940) 322-2252 today for an appointment with a cosmetic dentist at StarImage Dentistry.

One option for teeth whitening is Zoom! This in-office whitening procedure can dramatically whiten your teeth in just one visit.

In Zoom! teeth whitening, we will put a protective cover on your gums. Then we will paint the whitener on your teeth. Once we whitener has been painted on, we will employ a catalyst light that encourages the whitening compound to break down more stain molecules. After fifteen minutes, we will remove the whitener and apply fresh whitener. After three treatments, you’re done, and you’ll see the dramatic whitening results.

If you are looking to achieve maximum whitening for your teeth, KöR Deep Bleaching may be the best option for you. KöR Deep Bleaching is an at-home whitening system. We will manufacture custom whitening trays for your teeth. We will give you whitening compound that you will put in the whitening trays. You wear the trays overnight to whiten your teeth.

Although your teeth will not be dramatically whiter right away, over time your teeth will whiten, and, ultimately, you will achieve a brighter white than you can achieve with in-office whitening. And by wearing the trays periodically, you can maintain your results permanently.

When your teeth are uneven in size and shape, chipped, severely stained, or have other cosmetic issues, you may find yourself hiding your teeth and avoiding smiling. You may resemble the kid in high school who just got braces and keeps his or her lips down covering them for the first few weeks. But you don’t have to conceal your teeth for the rest of your life: porcelain veneers can give you a beautiful smile.

Porcelain veneers can correct most complaints you may have about the appearance of your smile. The best way to learn whether porcelain veneers can help you improve your smile is to talk to a cosmetic dentist. Please call (940) 322-2252 today for an appointment with a Wichita Falls, TX cosmetic dentist at StarImage Dentistry.

Cosmetic dentist, Dr. Green was born and raised in the Texas Panhandle. He completed his degree in chemistry at West Texas State University. He then attended the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio where he received his Doctorate of Dental Surgery with honors. Since beginning his dental practice, Dr Green has completed thousands of hours in advanced education with an emphasis on dental cosmetics, complex dental reconstruction, implants, and head, neck, and facial pain treatment. He has studied at the prestigious Las Vegas Institute of Advanced Dental Studies (LVI) for the last 18 years. He has achieved the distinction of LVI Fellow.

Dr. Green has been a pioneer in the use and integration of new technology in the areas of Full Mouth Reconstruction and treating TMJ Disorders. He has devoted the last 25 years to developing a practice that focuses on delivering dentistry that combines art, science, and technology with personalized care. He is constantly evaluating new technology and treatment approaches searching for ways to improve his patients care and make their visits to the office as pleasant as possible. Dr. Green holds himself and his team to the highest standards of EXCELLENCE, TECHNOLOGY, and RESULTS.

Dr. Green lives in Wichita Falls, Texas with his wife Sara and their 3 dogs. They have an adult son, Zachary.