At Advanced Care Dentistry, we provide preventive and general dentistry for the entire family. Our goal is to help you keep a healthy smile for life. To help you achieve that goal, we recommend regular periodic exams and cleaning. Your doctor and hygienist will perform a thorough exam of your mouth, teeth, cheeks, tongue and gums. We will also perform a comprehensive oral cancer exam using new technology that helps us to detect oral cancer in its early stages. LEARN MORE

REGULAR CHECKUPS

Don’t brush off regular visits to the dentist! Regular dental checkups are essential to maintaining a healthy mouth and a healthy body. Your regular checkup will last about an hour. During a routine dental exam you can expect:

• Teeth Cleaning: Your hygienist will use special dental tools to perform a thorough cleaning of your teeth.
• Exam: After your teeth are cleaned, your dentist will perform a thorough exam of your mouth, teeth, cheeks, gums and tongue to make sure you don’t have any signs of decay or gum disease. Your dentist will also check any old fillings or restorations for chips, cracks, or wear from pressure and grinding.
• Oral Cancer Exam: Many of our patients are surprised to discover that oral cancer is diagnosed in over 30,000 people each year in the United States and that half of those diagnosed die within 5 years. That is more than many other types of cancer that receive more attention in the media and in medicine. Oral cancer’s biggest threat is that it is not detected early enough.
  In the past, a traditional oral cancer exam consisted of looking at and feeling the tissue in and around the mouth. Modern technology has given us a better way to detect oral cancer in its earliest stages. The exam is performed using an instrument with 3 special lights, takes about ten minutes and is painless.

Sealants

Sometimes brushing is not enough. Everyone has hard-to-reach spots in their mouth and brushing doesn’t always fully clean those difficult places. When that happens, you are at risk of tooth decay. Using sealants on your teeth gives you an extra line of defense against tooth decay.

A dental sealant is a plastic resin that bonds to the deep grooves in your tooth’s chewing surface. When sealing a tooth, the grooves of your teeth are filled and the tooth surface becomes smoother – and less likely to harbor plaque. With sealants, tooth brushing becomes easier and more effective against tooth decay.

Sealants are usually applied to children’s teeth as a preventative measure during the years of most likely tooth decay. However, adults’ teeth can also be sealed. It is more common to seal “permanent” teeth rather than “baby” teeth, but every person has unique needs. Your dentist will recommend sealants on a case by case basis.

Sealants generally last from 3 to 5 years. However, it is fairly common to see adults with sealants still intact from their childhood. A dental sealant only provides protections when it is fully intact – so if your sealant comes off, you must let your dentist know.

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