Preventive dental care is extremely important in maintaining a healthy mouth and beautiful teeth. Having regular preventive care is the best way to make sure your teeth last your entire lifetime. Preventive dental saves money by helping you avoid having to undergo major dental procedures because problems will be caught early. Preventative actions keep your teeth, gums and mouth healthier. On your own you can regularly brush and floss your teeth as well as clean your tongue to keep your smile bright and healthy between visits to the dentist.
Scheduling regular dental check ups with us is vital so that problems can be found early and gum disease can be prevented. Parents should teach their children at an early age how to take care of their teeth and get them used to visiting the dentist on a regular basis. This will allow our staff to find any potential problems and take care of them early so that children and teens can develop a beautiful smile and have healthy teeth and gums as they grow into adulthood.
Prophylaxis involves a thorough professional teeth cleaning removing tartar build up in hard to reach areas of your mouth as well as diagnosis of potential gum disease. This is a preventive measure to maintain the health of your teeth and gums. The latest equipment is used to provide scaling, polishing and debridement when needed. Our dentist recommends very strongly that patients have their teeth professionally cleaned every three to six months depending on the current oral health of the patient.
A dental sealant is a very thin invisible plastic coating applied in the grooves on the surface of the back teeth where chewing occurs. This sealant helps to protect them from decay. Some teeth have very deep crevices and grooves, which tend to collect germs and food particles. The sealant acts as a barrier by blocking the harmful debris from collecting in those areas and potentially causing decay. Most kids and teenagers are advised to get sealants in order to prevent decay in baby teeth or newly erupted permanent molars.
When our dentist applies the dental sealant it takes very little time, is easy and pain free. First the tooth is thoroughly cleaned with a flavorless polish then a gel which gets the tooth ready to bond with the sealant material is applied on the chewing surface of the tooth for just a few seconds. The tooth is washed of the gel then the sealant is simply painted on the surface of the tooth. To help the sealant to harden a light is shined on it. This is a very simple and pain free procedure that requires no injections and the result is a shield that will protect the tooth for many years to come
- Sore that doesn’t heal in 2-3 weeks
- Red, white or blue patch
- Lump or thickening in cheek
- Numbness in mouth that didn’t used to be there
- Swelling that causes dentures to fit poorly (not to be confused with a denture sore)
These symptoms could be caused by problems which are less serious but should be checked to rule out oral cancer.
- Alcohol and tobacco use
- Human Papilloma Virus
- Unknown (5%) — Genetics suspected
- Check face for assymetry, swelling, discoloration, ulceration
- Palpate lymphatic chains
- Evaluate lips (inside and out)
- Evaluate cheeks (inside and out)
- Evaluate tongue (both sides, and underneath)
- Evaluate floor of mouth
- Evaluate soft palate
- Check tonsils