GENERAL DENTISTRY

Regular Exams & Cleanings Promote Excellent Dental Hygiene

We recommend every member of your family visit us at least every three to six months for a dental hygiene visit including other health screenings. These visits are the base of your dental treatment plan and help keep your teeth bright, prevent tooth decay, and reveal any early dental problems before they become more serious. At each of our examinations, our team will also spend extra time with you to ensure we’re all on the path to helping you maintain optimal oral health.

 Explore Our General Dental Services Below 

Regular Dental Exams and Cleanings

We recommend regular dental examinations and cleanings to determine and maintain your dental health and oral hygiene. Typically, every six months will achieve this goal. 

During your dental examination, the doctor and/or hygienist may…

  • Check for signs of decay or periodontal disease
  • Ask you about any medications you take
  • Take diagnostic dental x-rays
  • Evaluate your bite
  • Evaluate your jaw
  • Discuss proper teeth and gum cleaning techniques and habits
  • Remove stains or debris from your teeth
  • Take a dental impression of your mouth if needed

One of our dentists or your hygienist may also perform an oral cancer exam. This involves feeling around the cheeks, gums, and tongue, under the jaw, and the sides of the neck for signs of oral cancer.

​Our dental cleanings remove all the plaque and tartar (calculus), which is built up on your teeth. These deposits are removed without damaging your teeth. We typically use an ultrasonic instrument using vibration and water to loosen and remove the tartar. We also use hand teeth cleaning instruments to manually remove tartar as well as smooth your teeth’s surfaces. The last phase of the clean is polishing your teeth to achieve a bright smile!

Digital X-rays

Complementing our cleaning and examination schedule, we use digital radiography machines that are both safer and more comfortable than older, outdated equipment. 

Our digital diagnostic x-rays can help detect early problems
within your teeth, including under the gum line and between your teeth that will not be seen by the trained eye alone.

Custom Oral Appliances

Mouth Guards

We create custom fitted mouth guards to protect in sports activities when needed. These mouth guards protect not only your teeth, but your gums, lips and arches as well. Our ultimate goal is to avoid or greatly reduce any dental injuries you may have.

Many contact sports require you to wear a custom mouth guard to participate in practice and games.

Our custom fitted mouth guards are the preferred alternative to those you can buy at a sporting goods store. We’ll create your custom mouth guard with an impression of your teeth. This will ensure a guard that perfectly fits your mouth and provides you the best comfort and protection. If you wear braces, it is even more important to wear a custom mouth guard.

Bite Guards to Treat Teeth Grinding

We also create custom fitted, removable acrylic appliances which will help relieve temporomandibular joint pain and the affects of teeth grinding known as bruxism. The purpose of these mouth guards is to prevent you from grinding your teeth while sleeping, so they are worn at night.

Periodontal Care

Periodontal, or gum, disease can range in severity from inflammation to critical damage that leads to bone damage and tooth loss. Our team will tailor a periodontal treatment plan to your dental health, helping minimize or even prevent further damage, while restoring your smile to its former beauty.

Root Canals

We perform root canals only under two conditions: tooth decay reaches into the nerve of your tooth, or your tooth is infected. Root canal therapy removes infected or inflamed area from your tooth. Then we clean and disinfect the inside of the tooth. Next, we fill and seal the tooth to prevent infection. The next step is to restore your tooth with either a filling or crown. This will not only provide protection, but also maintain the function of your tooth.

Extractions

If we are unable to save your tooth with our restoration treatments, we may need to remove it. We numb the area with our special anesthesia technique, so you’ll feel no pain. After it’s removed, you may get stitches if needed.

If we cannot restore your tooth, it may need to be extracted.

Broken teeth or teeth with advanced decay may be saved with our restoration treatments. These include fillings, crowns as well as other treatments. If restoration is not possible, we may advise removing the tooth. Our goal is to not only to avoid infection, but restoring your optimal oral health.