Dental Exams & X-Rays
Before we begin to answer this question, you can ask yourself when was the last visit to your dentist. During each visit, a detailed and comprehensive dental exam is usually first recommended by your dentist. These initial exams come before your regular follow-up exams that help monitor your dental issues and the progression of previous treatments. These exams usually include the following:
- Review and analysis of X-Rays(Radiographs): These reviews are where the primary screening of your dental condition happens. Your dentist usually looks for cysts, decay, root infections, tumors, and bone loss. They also help the dentist review tooth and root positions.
- Evaluation of gum diseases: Dental exams help identify signs of periodontal diseases around tooth bones and gums.
- Dental cancer screens: Your dentist reviews the face, lips, tongue, tissues, gums, throat, and neck for visible signs of oral cancer.
- Tooth decay examinations: Special instruments and lighting enable the dentist to check for decay around all teeth and gums.
- Review of existing cosmetic and surgical corrections: Your dentist will check the status of filings, crown positions, overbites issues, bridges and implant conditions, etc.
DIGITAL X-RAYS Explained.
Digital X-Rays use a form of Digital Radiography to help detect issues with your teeth. An electronic sensor rather than an x-ray film captures and stores the digital image. The image can be reviewed at leisure by the dentist and helps them detect issues faster. There is evidently a significant reduction of 80-90% radiation in digital x-rays compared to conventional x-rays. Dental x-rays play a pivotal role in detecting hidden dental abnormalities and help the dentist design and implement an accurate treatment case. They are considered an essential diagnostic tool that highlights valuable information about the teeth that may not be visible during a regular visual dental exam.
- Dental x-rays may reveal the following conditions.
- Bone loss/infections.
- Cysts and Abscesses.
- Tooth decay.
- Gum decay.
- Developmental issues.
- Cancerous and benign tumors.
- Abnormalities in Teeth and root positions.
- Detect severe infections below the gum line and inside the tooth.
- Bone loss.
The early detection and treatment of your oral issues save your family tons of money and unnecessary pain while securing all your teeth’s future!
Teeth Cleaning
Understanding the various types of teeth cleaning helps you strategize them and continue to live a dental worry-free lifestyle and keep smiling.
Prophylaxis cleaning
A generally healthy oral situation warrants prophylaxis cleaning. This treatment can be advised for routine maintenance such as the removal of tartar, plaque, and stains from the surface of teeth.
Scaling and root planing
This procedure is non-surgical and includes an in-depth cleaning of the gum line, teeth-supporting structures, and gums in general.
Gross debridement
When an individual has a significant amount of plaque build-up in the gums and teeth, a gross debridement procedure is advised by the dentist. This treatment covers the entire mouth by helping remove plaque build-ups, tartar, and stains.
Periodontal maintenance
Individuals suffering from serious and recurring oral concerns are advised periodontal maintenance. Periodontal maintenance is advised for individuals with gingivitis or periodontitis.
Dental Implants
In this day and age of processed foods, marginally healthy, and hectic lives, our teeth fall victim to a general lack of maintenance. Regular brushing, flossing, and checkups allow a certain amount of security to our teeth, but they often deteriorate due to injury or disease. Here is where dental implants come to the rescue of your all-natural smile.
Dental implants are synthetic roots that are designed in the shape of a post and are inserted into the jawbone. Generally made of titanium, a metal that works very well with human bone. Once the implant is in place and the jaw bone has healed the patient is called back for an appointment that fixes a permanent tooth.
Extractions
We have all faced the much-dreaded tooth extraction situation. This procedure is inevitable for many. However, tooth extraction is a standard and routine procedure that covers all your bases and sets you on the right path to a healed lifestyle.
Preparation
X-ray analysis plays a significant role in tooth extraction. They may even refer you to a dental surgeon for the procedure. A straightforward extraction may only involve a local anesthetic. In the case of a complicated extraction, the services of an oral surgeon will be advised by your dentist. This procedure could involve a more generalized anesthetic. Your dental surgeon will ensure you are fully aware of the procedure details and help ease your worries.
Tooth Extraction Processes
In a simple tooth removal procedure, a local anesthetic is used to numb the gum tissue and tooth. The extraction then takes place using specialized tools. A surgical extraction is always recommended where a tooth or a root might have broken off, dental surgeons may be called on to perform this complicated procedure. The dental surgeon will then continue with an incision on the gum area and remove the infected or injured tooth.
After Extraction Care Tips:
- Keeping the affected area clean to prevent infection.
- Following the dentist’s detailed aftercare instructions
- No smoking, rinsing of the mouth, or cleaning of the affected area for 24 hours after the
extraction. - Painkillers are advised by the dentist for 3-5 days
- Antibiotics may also be suggested by your dentist.
- The application of ice packs helps reduce inflammation.
- Limit heavy foods and hot liquids for 48 hours.
Orthodontics / Braces
Types of Braces
Braces have come a long way from being the glitzy metal fences sported by teenagers decades ago. They are the most recommended way to help position and correct teeth and bite areas in children and teenagers.
Here are the most commonly used types of braces:
- Traditional braces: Metal braces that are primarily brackets fixed to your front teeth with support
bands around each tooth. - Ceramic braces: Brackets are now being designed and manufactured in tooth-colored ceramic
options. This greatly helps the braces from being noticed. - Lingual braces: As you can guess from the name, these braces face your tongue and are
attached to the back of your teeth. And they are much harder to notice. - Clear aligners: Sometimes called invisible braces. They are primarily clear plastic and envelop your teeth. Gentle pressure is used to move your teeth into the desired positions. They are also removable for cleaning and brushing your teeth.
Crowns & Bridges
Crowns play a major role in cosmetic restoration and provide much-needed strength and restore the original shape of your tooth. They are advised when a tooth is worn out, or partially broken off due to decay. They are fixed on top of an existing tooth and cover the tooth in its entirety.
Porcelain crowns are often preferred over metal since they reflect the natural appearance and luminosity of teeth and are considered a very strong material.
The crown is created in a lab that specializes in ceramic and porcelain work. Your tooth impression supplied by the dentist helps the crown maker to intricately design your crown to your unique bite and jaw alignment.
Veneers
Gone are the days of hiding your natural smile because you have stains, misshapen teeth, chips, and gaps. With the advent of veneers, you can now correct those teeth blemishes and get back to being your confident self again in no time.
They look completely natural and are ideal for individuals who need subtle restorations to their teeth. Veneers are custom-made shells designed using tooth-colored materials such as porcelain and ceramic. They are thin and cover your teeth like a second layer of skin.
White Fillings
Recent developments in dental cosmetics have provided us with natural-looking fillings. They primarily contain ceramic and plastic compounds and are widely accepted over traditional fillings that use silver amalgams. Composite resins are generally used to patch up the front teeth and can also be used on the back. Generally, there are two distinct categories of fillings, depending on the extent of tooth damage or decay.
- Direct fillings are usually applied and finished during your first dentist appointment. Your dentist prepares, places, and adjusts the filling all in one sitting.
- Indirect fillings generally require more than a couple of appointments. Inlays, veneers, base alloys, ceramics, and resin composites are all used during indirect filling. Hence indirect fillings may require more than a couple of visits.
Root Canals
When the roots under a tooth are infected, your dentist will recommend a root canal. The procedure aims at saving the tooth by removing the infected nerve tissue.
The procedure starts with a numbing agent or anesthetic around the infected tooth.
A tiny drill clears the top of your tooth to expose the infected pulp that needs to be cleaned. Teeth Pulp mainly constitutes tissue that houses the nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissue through the tooth canal to the jaw bone. Special tools named files are used to scrape off the decayed or infected pulp from the tooth canal. The canals are then cleaned with specialized disinfectant solutions. The canals are filled with permanent material soon after the infected area is scraped and cleaned.
The top side of the tooth may be sealed with a soft, temporary material. Once the tooth is filled with a permanent material, a final crown may be placed on top during a second visit.
You may be given antibiotics to treat and prevent infection.
Dental X-Rays
In this day and age of processed foods, marginally healthy, and hectic lives, our teeth fall victim to a general lack of maintenance. Regular brushing, flossing, and checkups allow a certain amount of security to our teeth, but they often deteriorate due to injury or disease. Here is where dental implants come to the rescue of your all-natural smile.
Dental implants are synthetic roots that are designed in the shape of a post and are inserted into the jawbone. Generally made of titanium, a metal that works very well with human bone. Once the implant is in place and the jaw bone has healed the patient is called back for an appointment that fixes a permanent tooth.
Cosmetic Dentistry
As dentistry continues to evolve technologically, a vast array of treatment options are now at your fingertips. Cosmetic dentistry helps you attain that healthy, confident, and aesthetic smile.
As more of us evolve to take better care of our teeth and ensure that we look great with that million-dollar smile, your dentist utilizes cosmetic dentistry to provide that support.
Dentures
Dentures have been around a dentist’s office as a product for a long time. They have become more aesthetic as well as natural looking. They generally come in two categories. Full and Partial dentures.
- A dentist will always recommend a full denture to a patient who has had all of their natural teeth removed. The dentures are advised to be placed soon after the gum tissues have healed completely.
- For individuals that simply prefer a removable denture over a bridge to fill in gaps in the teeth, partial dentures are recommended by the dentist.
Teeth Whitening
Teeth Whitening Solutions
As you may already know, there are a wide variety of products that advertise teeth whitening in the market. We can all get confused by the sheer number of choices available and our dilemma over choosing a product that is right for us. Therefore a dentist consultation is always recommended before starting your journey of Teeth Whitening. Your dentist can then help you choose between the two basic types of cleaning that are generally available.
IN-OFFICE TEETH WHITENING
When it comes to a professional approach to teeth whitening, an in-office whitening session is recommended. The procedure generally involves the application of a whitening gel to your teeth. An average in-office teeth whitening session is around 90 minutes, with results being evident almost immediately after the session.
AT-HOME TEETH WHITENING
- TRAY WHITENING – Your dentist may recommend at-home teeth whitening with a bleaching tray. This procedure uses custom-made trays only dispensed via your dentist. The whitening gel is applied to the custom trays that in turn fit directly onto your teeth. As soon as the peroxide gel breaks down your teeth start to whiten. At home try whitening procedures typically last ten to fourteen days, with results being observable within 4-6 days.
- TEETH-WHITENING STRIPS – Whitening strips are flexible and thin polyethylene strips with a coating of hydrogen peroxide on their side. Strips are generally worn half an hour a day, twice a day for the prescribed amount of time.