Dental Exams & Teeth Cleaning in Alpharetta

What Are the Benefits of a Dental Exam in Alpharetta?

Having a dental exam every six months is essential for maintaining your overall oral health. We want you to have an attractive, healthy smile, free of pain. Our practice offers a full range of treatments and procedures to take care of your dental needs here at our convenient office. You will notice that our team is warm and caring; we really do care about making your visit a pleasant experience. To determine what treatments you may need to achieve optimal oral health, our dentist will look for the following dental diseases and issues during your dental exam:

• Decay in the crown or root of the tooth
• Cracked, chipped or broken teeth
• Tooth movement from having missing teeth in your mouth
• Worn down teeth from grinding them while you sleep
• A bad bite
• Gum disease
• Oral cancer

After your dental exam, our dentist will discuss what he or she found. Feel free to ask questions and bring up any concerns you have. If you’ve noticed that your gums bleed when you floss, a tooth is darker or your gum is swollen, be sure to mention these concerns before your exam so your dentist can pay special attention to these areas. Phone us to arrange an appointment for an exam and we will make you feel welcome here.

Where Can I Find Dental Teeth Cleaning and Gum Disease Treatment in Alpharetta?

We urge our patients to have a dental cleaning twice a year, which is also the frequency recommended by the Academy of General Dentistry and the American Dental Association. Cleanings help prevent tooth decay by removing plaque, which builds up and hardens at the gum line. Removing the hardened plaque (tartar) from the gum line also treats gingivitis, which is gum inflammation. You will also have your teeth polished with a slightly gritty paste that removes stains and leaves your teeth smooth. While a dental cleaning is usually painless, you may feel mild discomfort if you haven’t had a cleaning in a year or more. Our dentist can administer a topical anesthetic to ease your discomfort. Expect your cleaning to take up to an hour.

Gingivitis is easily treated with a dental cleaning, but if you ignore inflamed gums, gingivitis can turn into periodontal disease, where the inflammation spreads to underneath the gum line. You would need periodontal treatment to avoid tooth loss as the bacteria can eat away at a tooth’s support structure, making the tooth loose. The number one reason adults lose teeth is from periodontal disease. Over 10 percent of adults ages 35 to 49 years have periodontal disease and every one of them had gingivitis first. Call us right away if you have gingivitis so we can get your gums back to their healthy pink state so the disease does not progress. We can also provide nonsurgical treatments for periodontal disease.

Should I See a Dentist If I am Concerned About Bad Breath?

Smelly foods, such as tuna or onions, can cause bad breath for up to 24 hours. If your bad breath isn’t the result of the food you’ve recently eaten, make an appointment to see one of our dentists. You most likely have halitosis, which means you have bad breath most of the time. Your dentist will see if plaque is the problem, which is remedied with a dental cleaning and an antibacterial mouthwash. Our dentist may also suggest you scrape or gently brush your tongue. Having a dry mouth can also cause bad breath. Morning breath comes from sleeping with your mouth open, which dries out your mouth. When you don’t produce enough saliva, there isn’t enough to wash away bits of food left in your mouth. Smoking and certain medications also make your mouth dry. Untreated decay and loose fillings can also cause chronic bad breath. Phone our office to have a dentist find the reason for your embarrassing bad breath so you can stop avoiding close contact with others.

Am I Too Young for an Oral Cancer Screening?

While traditionally, oral cancer was most often seen in older men who drank large amounts of alcohol and used tobacco products, others are more at risk now. The human papillomavirus is now thought to be responsible for oral cancer in younger non-smokers, which are the largest newly diagnosed segment of the population now. Our dentists perform the quick, painless screening during your dental check-up. It takes less than five minutes. If you are over age 17 or you use tobacco, you should get screened for oral cancer. Early detection is associated with better treatment results by nearly 50 percent. If caught in its later stages, oral cancer is potentially disfiguring and life-threatening.

To make an appointment for a dental exam in Alpharetta that includes a screening for oral cancer, contact our office.