Purpose of Treatment

Regular dental cleanings and dental disease prevention will reduce oral bacteria that are associated with gum disease and tooth decay and also heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Nathan Anderson DMD’s purpose is to promote, restore, and maintain your oral health. Practicing prevention with regular cleanings will help you avoid severe and costly dental problems and lead to a healthy, confident, and beautiful smile.

Symptoms of Issue

If you haven’t been going to a dentist regularly for teeth cleanings and preventive visits, you may be experiencing swollen and bleeding gums as well as bone loss or decay. Often, these symptoms occur without any discomfort to the patient. If these conditions are not addressed in a timely manner, they can become symptomatic or painful. When care has been delayed until these symptoms arise, both the level of discomfort and the cost of care increase significantly.

What this Treatment Involves

Regular visits to our office include a regular set of screenings to evaluate your comprehensive oral and systemic health.

Each checkup visit includes the following:

• Digital X-Rays: We recommend a full series of 3-D X-rays every three to five years and flossing X-rays at checkups twice a year. The 3-D X-ray, in particular, allows a much more comprehensive look at the health of the structures of the head and neck. Many serious problems would go undetected without this incredible technology.
• Evaluation of TMJ: We evaluate not only the TM joint but also the supporting soft tissue and muscles that allow your jaws to work without pain. We especially check for clicking or popping which can be signs of dysfunction and degeneration in the joint.
• Oral Cancer Screening: We check your face, neck, lips, tongue, throat, tissues, and gums for any sign of oral cancer. One person dies of oral cancer every hour, and we are committed to doing our part to help lower that number.
• Obstructive Sleep Apnea: We screen for signs of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a particularly silent disease that affects almost every organ of the body in a negative way. If you constantly wake up exhausted or fall asleep during the day, you may be one of the many Americans affected by this silent killer.
• Gum Disease Evaluation: We check your gums and the bone around your teeth for signs of the bacteria that cause periodontal disease. This bacteria is linked to many systemic diseases.
• Examination for Tooth Decay: We check all tooth surfaces for decay. Our goal is to catch and stop decay while it is still relatively small. The larger it gets due to delay, the more painful and costly the treatment becomes.
• Check of Existing Dental Restorations: We examine your crowns, fillings, etc. Many patients are surprised to hear that the fillings or crowns they had done decades ago will not last forever. With careful attention to these old restorations, we can update them and prevent larger, more costly care.
• Removal of Tartar: We clear out hardened plaque that can only be removed with special instruments.
• Plaque Removal: We remove the sticky, almost invisible film on teeth that is the root of periodontal disease.
• Teeth Polishing: We remove stains and plaque, resulting in a brighter smile.