We want to help you avoid issues that could threaten your smile, such as tooth decay and gum disease. To do so, our team can provide preventive dentistry. With this approach, we can help you avoid these issues, sparing you uncomfortable symptoms! In today’s blog, your Kansas City, MO, dentist talks about how to avoid poor oral health and safeguard teeth and gums with preventive dentistry.
The Need for Your Dental Checkup
When was the last time you had a dental exam? We urge our patients to have one every six months, so that we can keep a close eye on your smile. Our team can then identify areas of concern, such as developing tooth decay or gum disease, in the early stages and provide solutions to handle them before they threaten the stability of your smile. This is helpful for not only adults, but kids as young as age two and everyone in between! To make a diagnosis with precision and accuracy, our team will use advanced digital imaging technology, which provides high-definition images instantly chairside, and uses much less radiation too.
Cleaning Your Teeth
Even if you brush and floss daily, plaque and tartar could still cling to your teeth. The buildup then increases the risk of bad breath, stained teeth, cavities, and even gingivitis and gum disease. To help protect smiles of all ages, we can offer preventive dentistry. With a dental cleaning, our team can use an ultrasonic scaling device and a manual tool to gently and thoroughly break up and remove the buildup from the teeth. This only takes a few minutes, but can help protect oral health and also brighten teeth! If you have high-risk factors for gum disease or begin to experience symptoms, such as sore, red, and bleeding gums, we could offer a periodontal cleaning, which is more involved and helps manage the disease so you avoid the periodontitis stage, which is linked to adult tooth loss.
Treatment for Bruxism
If you suffer from chronic teeth grinding, also known as bruxism, then you grind or clench your teeth nightly, and this pressure could lead to painful symptoms, such as jaw and facial pain, headaches and migraines, and toothaches and tooth sensitivity. Over time, this also damages teeth to increase the risk of cavities and infection, and could lead to negative changes to your smile’s appearance. Our team can offer a noninvasive and comfortable solution with a custom oral appliance, which is made for your smile and fits like a mouthguard. Worn as you sleep, this helps prevent further damage from grinding and clenching teeth, and could ease underlying jaw joint strain too. The appliance could also help ease TMD if this disorder is present too. If you have damaged teeth, then we could repair them with bonding or even a custom crown.
Children’s Dental Care
As we mentioned above, kids need to undergo a routine six month checkup and cleaning starting at age two. But along with these preventive treatments, we also have two options to help strengthen outer enamel and lower the risk of tooth decay. As part of their routine exam visit, we can apply fluoride to the teeth directly in a varnish form. This helps strengthen the outer enamel, even portions that have been weakened, so kids avoid tooth decay.
We also have dental sealants, a thin acrylic layer we add to the rear teeth, the molars kids often have trouble reaching when they brush and floss. The sealants mean food and drink particles cannot be trapped there, so the risk of cavities in the vulnerable area is lower. Applying the sealants takes seconds and for some, they could remain in place for up to ten years!
Counseling Services
Our team can also offer counseling services to help you better understand your oral health and what care you need to maintain your smile from home each day to protect your teeth and gums from serious oral health threats. If you have any questions about how we protect your oral health, or if you would like to schedule an appointment with our office today to begin the process, then let us know. Now is also a great time to see us, as you could use your remaining dental insurance benefits and health savings account funds before they expire at the end of the year!
Delightful Dental Care Wants to Safeguard Your Smile
We want to help you enjoy good oral health and avoid issues that threaten your teeth and gums. To find out more about our approach to preventive dentistry, call Delightful Dental Care in Kansas City, MO at (816) 942-7669.