How often should you see the dentist? With visits for general dentistry every six months, you can help protect your teeth and gums throughout the year! In today’s blog, your Lake Orion, MI, dentist explains how our approach to general dentistry can protect every smile in your family.
Dental Checkups
A key part of our approach to general dentistry is the dental exam. We want patients of all ages to undergo a checkup every six months, so we can keep an eye on your smile and catch problems that could threaten it in their earliest stages. For example, we will likely look for the early signs of tooth decay, infection, gingivitis, and gum disease. We also screen for oral cancer and look for signs of TMJ disorder and even bruxism (teeth grinding).
For kids, we make sure baby teeth erupt and fall out on schedule, and that permanent teeth have a clear path to eruption to prevent misalignment. These visits help kids become accustomed to seeing us, and lower their risk of dental anxiety. We can instill good oral hygiene habits, and they may be more likely to continue seeing the dentist as adults!
Cleaning Your Teeth
General dentistry also involves a dental cleaning, a procedure we offer in the same sitting as your dental exam. While brushing and flossing daily can control harmful plaque and tartar buildup, only a professional cleaning can remove these layers completely. Using an ultrasonic scaling device and a manual tool we will gently but thoroughly remove all layers from the teeth, and then polish them for a brighter smile and to make it more difficult for plaque and tartar to accumulate again. This helps fight gingivitis and gum disease, lower the risk of tooth decay, and prevents bad breath and even limits teeth stains. All ages benefit from a cleaning, so be sure you schedule your checkup visit today!
Treating Bruxism
General dentistry also allows our team to treat serious issues like bruxism. Chronic teeth grinding can happen due to imbalance in the bite, such as misalignment, injury, missing teeth, or issues with the growth of the jaw or eruption of the teeth, including the arrival of wisdom teeth. Untreated TMJ disorder could also lead to chronic teeth grinding, as could high stress levels.
When this happens, you may experience pain in the face and jaw, headaches and migraines and even toothaches and tooth sensitivity that don’t pass after a day or two. Our team can examine your smile and often, provide relief with an oral appliance. Custom-fitted for your smile, this is worn like a mouthguard at night and helps shift the jaw to ease underlying strain. This also places a soft barrier between the upper and lower sets of teeth to prevent damage to them. The appliance is also easy to use and clean, and it can travel with you too!
Helping Little Smiles
As we mentioned above, we like to help little smiles with a checkup and cleaning. But we also have two unique preventive treatments to help lower their risk of tooth decay! For example, as part of their checkup and cleaning visit, we can apply fluoride to the teeth in a varnish form, which helps strengthen the outer enamel to make cavities less likely to form. We also recommend a fluoride toothpaste for daily use for this reason too!
Our team could also apply dental sealants to the rear teeth. These molars are often hard for kids to reach when they brush and floss, so food and drink particles can remain trapped there to cause tooth decay. But with sealants, we coat the teeth in a thin acrylic layer, which hardens and prevents food and drink particles from being trapped there. The sealants stay in place for years to come often as long as ten, to help fight the risk of cavities. But fluoride and sealants only take seconds to apply, and kids need to avoid food and drink for about a half hour as the materials properly cure.
If you have any questions about general dentistry, or if you would like to schedule your first checkup and cleaning visit of 2026 with our team, then reach out today to learn more and get started! We want to help you and your family enjoy your best possible smiles, with a gentle and holistic approach to dental care using metal-free and lifelike materials!
Lake Orion Family Dentistry Provides General Dental Care
Our team wants to help protect your smile with general dentistry, so you and your whole family can continue to enjoy good oral health and beautiful smiles. To find out more about our exams and cleanings, or to schedule an appointment, call Lake Orion Family Dentistry in Lake Orion, MI at (248)693-6213.
