Preventive Dental Services

There's nothing to fear with a dental exam. Your teeth will be visually examined for signs of plaque, tartar and tooth decay. Your gums will also be examined for puffiness or discoloration, which are signs of gum disease. A full set of dental X-rays may also be taken during your dental exam, to enable your dentist to see below the surfaces of your teeth. Dental exams typically end with a dental cleaning, to remove surface stains and buildup.

No matter how often you brush and floss, plaque and tartar deposits can still build up on your teeth. A professional teeth cleaning is the single most effective way to remove these deposits and prevent them from causing more serious problems in the future. While a traditional teeth cleaning involves manually scraping away these deposits with special dental tools, advances in dental technologies now give you more options for teeth cleanings.

A deep cleaning may be recommended if excessive plaque and tartar deposits have developed below the gum line. Deep cleanings, also known as scaling and root planing, involve a two-part process: first, the stubborn deposits are removed, and then the root surfaces are smoothened. A deep cleaning helps prevent periodontal disease and restores gum tissues to a healthy state.

According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), children should visit the dentist by their first birthday. It is important that your child's newly-erupted teeth (erupting at 6-12 months of age) receive proper dental care and benefit from proper oral hygiene habits right from the beginning.

Your child should visit the dentist every 6 months for regular dental cleanings and checkups. We recommend fluoride treatments twice a year along with cleanings to keep teeth their strongest. Tooth sealants are also recommended because they "seal" the deep grooves in your child's teeth, preventing decay from forming in these hard-to-reach areas. Sealants last for several years, but will be monitored at your regular checkups.

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 – at least once every six months. 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.

Athletic mouth guards are generally used to protect the teeth from injury during sport activities. There are different types of guards: stock mouth protectors, boil and bite mouth protectors and custom-fitted mouth protectors.

Boil and bite mouth guards can also be purchased in a sporting goods store and may offer a better fit than the stock guards. This version of mouth guard is made out of thermoplastic material can be placed in hot water to soften up and then placed in the mouth and shaped around the teeth using fingers or tongue pressure.

Custom- fitted mouth guards are the designed for the individual patient and can be obtained from your dentist. An impression of your mouth is made and sent to a lab to be created. This form of mouth guard provides the most protection and is highly recommended.

The Perio Tray® requires a doctor's prescription, and patients follow usage instructions at home. For most patients, treatment is just minutes each day. Re-evaluation visits are scheduled to monitor the patient's health, and doctors modify wearing times as conditions improve.

With Perio Tray® delivery you can treat the full-arch in all stages of disease, from early signs of gingivitis through advanced periodontitis. Intervening at the earliest stages gives you a pro-active approach to improve your health and prevent tissue destruction. Patients with more severe cases may reduce the scope of invasive procedures and the risks of bactermia associated with mechanical intervention. 

If you've been living with persistent jaw pain, ear pain and headaches, you could have TMJ – temporomandibular jaw disorder. TMJ can often be traced back to an improper bite, misaligned jaw joints, or an injury to the jaw or face. TMJ treatment from a dentist can relieve the discomfort. Although TMJ treatment varies from patient to patient, it typically involves one or several procedures, including the use of an orthotic splint, enamel reshaping, dental crowns, dental braces or night guards. The goal of TMJ treatment is to stabilize your bite so that your teeth, jaw muscles and jaw joints work properly together without strain – and without pain!

Sleep apnea can be treated in a number of ways. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is one of the most common treatments, but many patients have a difficult time adapting to the bulky CPAP mask. If this sounds like you, you’ve come to the right place. Sleep apnea dentists offer comfortable and effective alternatives minus the bulk. Our dental devices open the airway to ensure that you breathe properly while sleeping and can, finally, get a good night’s rest.