Oral Examinations
Regular oral exams, ideally twice a year, give your dentist the opportunity to identify any oral health issues and make a plan to treat them accordingly.
During your exam, your dentist will take a close look at the health of your teeth, gums, jaw, and bite. Exams may also include dental x-rays, oral cancer screening, and other diagnostic procedures.
Oral Cancer Screening
Oral cancer can affect any part of the mouth or surrounding tissues. During your exam, your dentist will check the face, neck, lips, tongue, throat, tissues, and gums for any signs of oral cancer which are difficult to detect with the naked eye using a VelScope intraoral scanner.
Oral Health Care at Home
To keep your smile healthy between dental appointments, be sure to brush your teeth twice a day for two minutes each time, and floss at least once a day.
Dental Hygiene Cleaning
Your dental hygienist will perform a deep cleaning of your teeth and gums to prevent and treat disease.
To begin, a scaler is used to remove any tartar and plaque build-up. Next they will use a polisher and coarse toothpaste to remove any leftover stains or plaque, followed by a thorough flossing of your teeth and gums.
Fluoride Treatment
If you or your child has a high risk of tooth decay, your dentist may also recommend a fluoride treatment. Fluoride is a natural mineral that can help to rebuild the minerals in your tooth enamel to prevent or reverse tooth decay.
- Silver Diamine Fluoride
This type of fluoride treatment is used to prevent dental caries and helps to relieve dentinal hypersensitivity. While the ideal way to treat teeth with decay is to remove the decay and place a restoration, this alternative allows us to stop decay with noninvasive methods, particularly with young children that have baby teeth.
- Fissure Restorations
Fissure restorations are clear or white-shaded coatings that protect the grooved and pitted surfaces of the teeth, especially the chewing surfaces of back teeth where most cavities are found. These coatings protect the teeth against decay.
