Routine dental exams and cleanings are important habits to start and maintain throughout your life.
A dental appointment should not wait until you are experiencing some tooth pain, or you accidentally chip a tooth. Instead, regular dental exams and check-ups are the best way to prevent emergency appointments resulting from cavities, gum pain or infections. While some emergencies cannot be prevented, like an unfortunate accident, dental issues like tooth decay, oral cancer and root canals can all be diagnosed at a regular dental exam and check-up and be treated before they even become a problem.
The thoughtful and conscientious staff at Northside Dental share a common philosophy and that is to treat you as a person first, as a patient second. We acknowledge the value of your time, your comfort, your anxiety level, your budget, and your lifestyle. We genuinely enjoy working together with you in the development and implementation of your personalized dental treatment plan. We also consider ourselves an important piece of your team for your overall health program. Call us today at 317-848-9838 to schedule your appointment or stop in and say hi at 15026 Greyhound Ct. Carmel, IN 46032.
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Examination and Cleaning
Cosmetic Services
Emergency Dentistry
Who is a Candidate for Regular Dental Exams and Check-ups?
Everyone in the entire family, from small children with their baby teeth to your grandparents with full sets of dentures, should see Northside Dental every six months at a minimum. This is to complement their daily oral hygiene routine of brushing twice a day and flossing once a day. Not only are your children as susceptible to cavities as any adult, but their baby teeth need supervision to make sure they are growing in correctly and without disease or decay. Even though children will eventually lose their baby teeth, those first set of teeth are just as important as their later, more permanent teeth.
As for the adult members of your family, routine dental exams and cleanings are important habits to start and maintain throughout your life. As you naturally age from young adult to adult to senior citizen, your risk for oral infection increases. As your teeth age the hard enamel exterior ages as well and weakens opening the door for cavities. At home brushing and flossing twice daily is imperative to keeping your mouth healthy, but the team at Northside Dental can perform a more thorough cleaning and screen for more serious oral issues.
Deep Teeth Cleaning at Your Dental Exam
Sometimes adults who follow a proposed preventative plan of brushing and flossing twice a day, visiting the dentist twice a year, and maintaining healthy diets will still run into problems with gum disease. When we detect gum disease in one or more areas of your mouth, we may recommend a more thorough cleaning involving cleaning below the gum line with special dental tools. This is referred to as a scaling and root planing procedure or a deep cleaning and it removes tartar buildup, debris, and bacteria from below the gums which is the source for the inflammation of the gum tissue. If this gum inflammation and infection, or gingivitis, is not addressed it will lead to more serious stages of gum disease which then can result in tooth and bone loss.
Before Northside Dental performs the deep cleaning, we will use a local anesthetic to help you stay comfortable during the procedure. After we are finished, it may be necessary to use a course of antibiotics or an antibiotic mouthwash to help your soft tissue heal properly.
What to Expect at Your Regular Dental Exam and Check-up?
During your visit with us, we will examine your mouth with various dental hand tools and small pieces of equipment. These will help us perform a thorough cleaning of your teeth and mouth and execute various examinations of different aspects of your mouth for potential disease.
- Tooth decay- we will check each tooth for weakening enamel, cracks or areas of serious plaque buildup which can be signs of decay and eventual cavities or infection.
- X-rays- these images allow us to see what is going on below the surface of your teeth. X-rays will show us how dense a tooth is, how the root looks below the gum line including potential tumors, growths, cysts, or places of decay. Once Northside Dental has more than one set of x-rays to compare from previous visits to this current visit, we can have developed a history and a more complete set of data to monitor your continued dental health.
- Gum disease – we will look closely at your gums and the teeth near the gum line to check for any indication of periodontal disease.
- Existing restorations- we will check any fillings, crowns, or other tooth restorations for signs of serious wear and tear allowing for possible infection or other future issues.
- Oral cancer screening- we can closely scrutinize your teeth, gums, tongue, lips, cheeks, and throat for any signs of cancer or abnormal growths to biopsy or further investigate.
At Home Suggestions- we can review with you the best ways to keep your mouth healthy at home from how to brush and floss to which areas of your mouth may need more attention. Northside Dental can even review with you diet tips to keep your mouth healthy that include avoiding sugar, adequate water intake and foods to eat that have the proper nutrients you need to keep a strong, healthy smile.
Your Comfort and Your Care
No one can or should avoid the dentist all together, but you can certainly keep your visits to a minimum. Brushing at home twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste and soft brush is a perfect start. Flossing as a part of your twice daily routine will help break up any food particles left behind and loosens any plaque building up between your teeth. You may also choose to rinse with a mouth wash or antibacterial rinse to help the gums stay healthy and disease free. Being mindful of eating a healthy diet, drinking plenty of water and avoiding high sugar and high acid foods will also help you and us with our preventative maintenance program.
Your preventive dental care is part of the big difference with Northside Dental. Our entire staff grasps the concept of how inconvenient and even difficult it might be to see the dentist. That is why we all do our absolute best to schedule your appointments when it is most convenient for you. We also focus on working efficiently and effectively to make sure your appointment goes both quickly and smoothly. We simply want to continue to be considered your family dentist. We will embrace the opportunity to help you and your children maintain your oral health. As you step into our clinic, we will welcome you and make you feel as if you were at home. Call us today at 317-848-9838 to schedule your appointment or stop in and say hi at 15026 Greyhound Ct. Carmel, IN 46032.