The care that keeps small problems small

A professional cleaning removes the hardened plaque that brushing and flossing cannot reach, particularly along the gumline and between teeth. Most people do well with a visit every six months, though we may suggest more often if you are prone to gum problems.

The exam that goes with it is where we catch things early. A cavity found at the right moment is a small filling. The same cavity two years later can mean a root canal and a crown.

If it has been years since your last cleaning, you are not going to get a lecture. Plenty of our patients come in after a long gap and we simply start from where you are.

Digital x-rays use significantly less radiation than the older film type and show up instantly on screen, which means we can point at exactly what we are seeing and explain it to you.

They reveal what an eye cannot: decay between teeth, bone loss below the gumline, infection at a root tip, and the position of teeth that have not come through yet.

A panoramic image captures your whole jaw in one pass. It is what we use to assess wisdom teeth, plan implants, and check the jaw joints.

Gum disease is the leading cause of tooth loss in adults, and the early stage is usually painless, which is exactly why it goes unnoticed. Bleeding when you brush is the signal most people ignore.

Caught early, gingivitis often reverses with a thorough cleaning and better habits at home. Further along, we use deep cleaning below the gumline to remove bacteria from the root surfaces and let the tissue reattach.

Healthy gums matter beyond your mouth. Gum inflammation is associated with heart disease and complications in diabetes, so treating it is worth doing on its own merits.

Fluoride strengthens enamel and can reverse very early decay before it becomes a cavity. A quick professional application delivers far more than toothpaste alone.

Sealants are a thin protective coating painted into the grooves of back teeth, where most childhood cavities start. They take minutes, involve no drilling, and dramatically reduce decay in those surfaces.

Both are most valuable for children and teenagers, though adults prone to decay benefit too.

We check the soft tissues of your mouth, tongue, throat, and neck at every exam. It takes a couple of minutes and you may not even notice it happening.

Oral cancer is very treatable when found early and far less so when found late, and the early signs are usually painless. That combination is what makes routine screening worth doing.

If we see anything worth a second look, we will tell you plainly and help you get it properly assessed. Most findings turn out to be harmless.

A custom athletic mouth guard fits properly, stays put, and protects far better than a boil and bite version from a sports shop. If your child plays contact sports, this is cheap insurance against a knocked out front tooth.

Night guards address a different problem. Grinding and clenching wear enamel down, crack teeth, and cause morning jaw pain and headaches. Many people do it in their sleep without knowing.

Both are made from impressions of your own teeth, so they are comfortable enough that you will actually wear them.