With general dentistry, our team wants to help protect the oral health of kids and adults alike. Checkups and cleanings, and treatment for issues like TMJ disorder, can help you and your loved ones avoid poor oral health, preventing issues like tooth decay. In today’s blog, your Celina, TX, dentist talks about helping smiles stay bright and healthy with general dentistry.
Our Dental Checkups
We urge people and their families to undergo a routine checkup every six months. When you arrive, we will take a close look at your teeth, gums, and oral structures with advanced imaging technology, making a diagnosis with precision and accuracy. With this information, we can access your oral health and plan treatment to improve your oral health and keep your smile intact. For kids, these visits can be very helpful, so they avoid the onset of dental anxiety and gain a better understanding of the importance of caring for their smiles. They may be more likely to seek care on their own as adults! Speaking of adults, in addition to looking for issues like tooth decay and gum disease, we can also screen for oral cancer.
Cleaning Your Teeth
An essential part of our approach to general dentistry, our team can conduct a dental cleaning in the same visit as your dental exam. The cleaning uses an ultrasonic scaling device that emits gentle vibrations, which we employ to remove all plaque and tartar from the surfaces of your teeth and from along the gumline. We also have a pick to remove the more stubborn portions of tartar. Doing so not only fights bad breath and teeth stains, but helps lower the risk of cavities and even periodontal disease. The process only takes a short time, and we complete it by polishing your teeth. The polishing process brightens your teeth and also helps make it more difficult for plaque and tartar to cling to the surfaces of your teeth before we see you again before your next general dental visit.
Treating TMJ Disorder
General dentistry also allows us to provide a noninvasive and comfortable solution to issues like TMJ disorder and even bruxism (teeth grinding). When your jaw joints undergo excess strain and stress, often due to tooth loss, misalignment, injury, or issues with the eruption of your teeth or the growth of your jaw, then you could develop painful symptoms and even have issues opening and closing your mouth. If you grind your teeth, this could wear down and damage enamel to make painful cavities and infection more likely. Often, TMJ disorder can lead to bruxism and vice-versa.
We can help with an oral appliance. The device is custom-mad efor your smile and fits like a mouthguard, worn while you sleep at night. When in place, this helps shift your jaw to ensure
proper bite balance and no strain on your joints. The device also places a soft barrier between your upper and lower sets of teeth to prevent damage from bruxism.
Children’s Dentistry
We offer checkups and cleanings for kids, but we also have treatments designed to help prevent the onset of cavities. For kids, an essential part of our general dentistry approach often includes fluoride treatments and dental sealants. Fluoride is applied to the teeth during your exam and cleaning visit, and helps strengthen the outer enamel to prevent decay from forming, even in the surfaces of the teeth that have already been weakened. We could also place dental sealants on the rear teeth, which are hard for kids to reach when they brush and floss, which makes them a focal point for cavities. Sealants coat these teeth and stay in place for years to come, helping lower the risk of cavities for as long as a decade in some cases. For both, application only takes a few seconds and kids just need to avoid food and drink for a half hour as they cure fully.
Dental Sedation
To ensure the visit is comfortable for kids and adults alike even if they have dental anxiety or special needs, we can offer dental sedation. With options like nitrous oxide, oral conscious sedation, and IV sedation, we can help you enter a deep state of calm and relaxation, with little to no memory of the procedure at all. You enjoy a positive experience in our office!
If you have any questions about general dentistry, or about how we safeguard your smile, then contact our team today to learn more.
Celina Family Dentistry Provides General Dental Care
Our team wants to help you and your family maintain good oral health. To find out more about preventive dental care, call Celina Family Dentistry in Celina, TX at (214) 851-0130 today.
