We provide a preventive approach to family dentistry, which means treatments designed to prevent the need for fillings, crowns, and prosthetics down the road. A key part of this approach is a simple checkup and cleaning every few months. In today’s blog, your Richardson, TX, family dentist talks about our preventive treatment options.
Checkups and Cleanings
We recommend a checkup and cleaning visit for patients of all ages and their families. The checkup is a crucial part of our preventive approach, as it allows us to monitor the smile for the earliest signs of oral health concerns, enabling us to create a treatment plan to address the issue. Since problems like tooth decay and gum disease take months to form, checking in twice a year means a greater chance of an early diagnosis, so we can treat or manage the issue before you develop painful symptoms and risk problems with your bite’s stability.
In the same visit, our team will also clean the teeth. While brushing and flossing at home can limit plaque buildup, only a professional cleaning can remove all layers from the teeth. The process only takes a few minutes using an ultrasonic scaling device and a manual pick. Removing harmful buildup lowers the risk of bad breath, teeth stains, cavities, and even gingivitis and gum disease.
Exams for Children
Our team can also provide an exam for your children! Using the same advanced digital technology, we will carefully examine the smile for issues that tend to impact children, such as cavities and gingivitis. We also want to make sure that baby teeth arrive and fall out on schedule, so permanent teeth can erupt without complication and keep your child’s smile even. We also take this time to talk to your kids about their smiles and how to protect them from home. Routine visits can also lower the risk of dental anxiety in the teen and adult years.
Tooth Extraction
If we cannot treat a tooth with a filling or crown, whether due to severe decay, infection, or injury, then we may need to extract it to prevent the spread of infection. Likewise, we can extract teeth to make room for orthodontic treatment, pave the way for dentures, or to prevent wisdom tooth impaction. The entire process can take as little as 30 minutes, and we will offer anesthesia and sedation to keep you calm!
Treating TMJ Disorder and Bruxism
With a custom oral appliance, we have a convenient and noninvasive way to treat issues like TMJ disorder and bruxism (teeth grinding).
Your Richardson, TX, Dentist Offers Preventive Dentistry
Our team wants to help you and your family maintain healthy and beautiful smiles. For more information on our approach to preventive dentistry, then please schedule a consultation by calling the Viva Dental Family Dentistry office nearest you at (214) 337-7800 (Dallas) or (972) 437-6000 (Richardson).
