12927 State Line Rd., Kansas City, MO 64145

Helping Protect Smiles With Preventive Dentistry

Helping Protect Smiles With Preventive Dentistry

kansas city preventive dentistry

Our team believes in taking a preventive approach to your dental care. With this approach, we can offer care to help you and your whole family avoid the onset of issues like tooth decay and even gum disease. In today’s blog, your Kansas City, MO, dentist talks about our preventive dental treatments.

Scheduling Your Next Checkup Visit

The first step in protecting your smile with preventive dentistry involves a simple visit for a dental exam. We recommend a routine checkup for you and your family, including kids as young as age two, every six months. When you sit down for an exam, we will look closely at your teeth and gums with digital x-rays and intraoral cameras, so we can make an accurate diagnosis with precision and convenience. Our team can then create a treatment plan to address issues we discover, such as cavities or gum disease, and we can screen for oral cancer too.

For kids, we will explain the process in detail and answer their questions, so they feel comfortable and relaxed, and enjoy their time in the office and look forward to seeing us again! The exam helps ensure minor issues like a cavity don’t become an infection that threatens tooth stability, so be sure to schedule an appointment for every member of your family, from your youngest to the oldest!

The Dental Cleaning Process

In the same visit as your dental exam, our team will conduct a dental cleaning. The procedure is crucial for protecting smiles of all ages from everything from bad breath and teeth stain to cavities and even gum disease. The process involves the use of an ultrasonic scaling device, which emits gentle vibrations to remove plaque and tartar buildup from your teeth, something brushing and flossing alone cannot accomplish. We also use a manual pick to remove stubborn portions of tartar from your teeth. The process takes only a short time, and can lower the risk of serious oral health concerns. We then complete the process by polishing your teeth. This brightens your smile, but more importantly, it also limits the ability for plaque and tartar to accumulate on the surfaces of your teeth in between your routine six-month visits, helping better protect your smile. Again, kids and adults alike benefit from a dental cleaning.

Treating Bruxism

Bruxism, or chronic teeth grinding, can develop in adults for a number of reasons. Stress and poor bite balance, often caused by issues like tooth loss, injury, misalignment, or issues with the growth and development of your smile, can lead to teeth grinding and clenching. When this occurs at night, this not only creates a loud sound that irritates your significant other, but wears down and damages teeth, changing the appearance of your smile and leaving it vulnerable to issues like tooth decay and even infection.

Our team can offer help with an oral appliance. The device will be custom-fitted for your smile and worn while you sleep. This fits like a simple mouthguard, but actually repositions the jaw to ease pressure and prevent bruxism episodes. The oral appliance also places a soft barrier between the upper and lower sets of teeth to prevent further damage to them. The oral appliance is easy to use, and can travel with you too.

Protecting Little Smiles

We mentioned how we safeguard little smiles with a checkup and cleaning, but we also have preventive treatments to help lower the risk of cavities in little smiles. For example, as part of the exam and cleaning portion, we could apply a fluoride to the teeth in a varnish form. This takes seconds and kids just need to avoid food and drink for about a half hour as it cures fully. The layer of fluoride can strengthen outer enamel to make the onset of cavities less likely! We also recommend fluoride toothpaste for our patients for the same reason.

We can also apply dental sealants to the rear teeth, which are often hard for kids to reach when they brush and floss. The sealants prevent food and drink particles from being caught between these hard-to-reach teeth, lowering the risk of cavities forming there for years to come. In fact, they may stay in place for up to ten years in some cases!

If you have any questions about how we protect smiles of all ages in our community with preventive dentistry, then contact our team today to learn more!

Schedule Your Appointment With Delightful Dental Care for Preventive Dentistry

Our team wants to help safeguard teeth and gums against the onset of issues like tooth decay and periodontal disease. To find out more about general and family dental care, call Delightful Dental Care in Kansas City, MO at (816) 942-7669.

Contact Us

To learn more, get answers to questions, or schedule a consultation with us, call Delightful Dental Care in Kansas City, MO, at 816-942-7669.

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