A healthy mouth helps maintain a healthy body, and research has proven that dental problems can lead to more physical conditions than you may think. This is why medical and dental professionals constantly remind people about the link between oral and overall health.
In our practice, we strive to keep you healthy. We encourage you to come in for regular checkups and cleaning – let’s work together to keep you healthy and smiling for many years to come.
Oral Sedation
As much as 50 percent of the population experiences some form of dental anxiety, making it hard for them to get the dental care they deserve.
If you belong to this group, it’s time to relax — our office offers sedation dentistry! We have a variety of options to give you a calm, comfortable experience on every visit.
Don’t neglect your dental care due to nerves. If you put off dental appointments because of dental anxiety, and your mouth is paying the price, come in today. Imagine being able to smile with confidence and chew your food without pain, all because you were able to get the dental care you need through sedation dentistry.
Dental Exam
If you have dental problems like tooth decay, gum disease or even oral cancer, regular dental visits give your dentist a chance to catch these maladies early on. That’s key. The earlier your dentist diagnoses a problem the easier it is to treat. For example, if you have gum disease and let it go unchecked (and untreated) for too long, you may need extensive — and expensive — gum disease treatment. Regular dental checkups allow you and your dentist to stay ahead of problems, which can translate into thousands saved.
Professional Dental Cleaning
A professional dental cleaning is also a must because it’s the only way to effectively remove tartar (hardened plaque). Even if you brush and floss regularly, that’s not enough. Besides looking unsightly (tartar is a “stain magnet” and often has a brown or yellowish tint), tartar also contains cavity-causing bacteria. Preventing the need for a mouthful of fillings every year easily adds up to thousands saved in the long run.
Fluoride Treatment
Fluoride is a fantastic material that helps combat tooth decay by strengthening enamel which prevents decay and disease. Our office offers fluoride treatment options.
Dental X-Rays
Dental X-rays have come a long way. Todays dental X-rays are safer, faster, more comfortable and more informative than the X-rays of years past. Digital X-rays, one of the latest and most advanced dental technologies, produce high-quality images of your teeth that can be viewed instantly by you and your dentist on a LCD monitor. Digital X-rays reduce radiation by up to 90% and provide exceptional diagnostic information to ensure that potential problems are caught in their earliest stages. Intraoral photography is another alternative to traditional dental X-rays. With intraoral photography, problems such as cavities, fractures and discolorations in the teeth are captured through clear and sharp photographic images that are taken with a 35mm or digital camera. One of the best tools in our practice is the digital x-ray. The state-of-the-art machine allows us to capture x-rays of your teeth to look for some of the previously mentioned conditions.
Visilite Oral Cancer Screening
Oral cancer affects nearly 35,000 Americans every year. The keys to surviving oral cancer are early detection and early treatment. This starts with a regular oral cancer screening. An oral cancer screening takes just minutes, is pain-free and can be performed during regular dental exams. If you are male, a regular oral cancer screening is especially critical: Oral cancer is more than twice as common in men as it is in women. Other people at high risk of oral cancer include people over the age of 60, tobacco smokers and heavy drinkers.
Endodontics
Root canals get a bad rap. But don’t believe the rumors; the dreaded root canal isn’t dreadful at all! Root canals are needed when either decay or an injury infects the inner tooth (the pulp). In the earliest stages of infection, you may not feel any pain at all. But when it progresses, you could have a toothache and swelling, or a dental abscess might form. Root canals remove the infection and prevent it from spreading. Thanks to laser root canals, this process is faster, more comfortable and, in many cases, more thorough than conventional root canals. Pulp capping is an alternative to root canals that is used when the infection has yet to penetrate the pulp. Pulp capping can also prevent a large dental filling from getting too close to the nerve.
TMJ Treatment
TMJ is shorthand for temporomandibular jaw disorder and is characterized by pain in the face and jaw. While there are several reasons the condition may have started, including misaligned teeth and an overly strong bite, to name but a couple, TMJ may affect one’s quality of life. If you suffer from this kind of pain, we will happy to make a diagnosis and discuss available treatments.
Gum Disease Treatment
Red, swollen gums are a red flag for one thing: gum disease. If you have the symptoms, you’re not alone. More than 80% of adults have some form of gum disease. Fortunately, there are many effective and pain-free gum disease treatments. For gingivitis, the mildest form of gum disease, treatment typically involves a thorough dental cleaning, followed by daily brushing and flossing. Advanced gum disease, also known as periodontal disease, requires scaling and root planning to remove stubborn deposits below the gum line. Laser gum surgery, a new alternative to scaling and root planning, uses beams of high-speed light to remove plaque and tartar buildup. If non-surgical methods of gum disease treatment are ineffective, a gingivectomy, or periodontal surgery, may be necessary.
