When your kids are complaining of a toothache, you know that you need to call up the children’s dentist. While maintaining regular appointments is important, so is knowing about other times when you may need to visit the local dentist office for your kids.

Car Accidents
Involvement in a car accident is frightening, and after it, you are likely focusing on how happy you are that everyone is okay. Going to the local dentist office may be far from the forefront of your mind. However, scheduling an appointment when the mouth was injured or hit in any way is an important part of dental hygiene. Even if you do not see any surface-level issues, problems may lurk under the surface that could lead to more serious issues later on.

Injuries
Whether your children are involved in sports or they have not yet quite mastered the art of climbing the stairs, you should recognize how injuries can influence their dental hygiene. Sometimes, as in the case of broken teeth or bleeding gums, the need for a dentist is obvious. However, in others, you may not recognize what is happening beyond what your eye can see.

After Emergency Room Visits
At times, you may have to visit the emergency room or the emergency dentist because an incident happens after hours. Even though the situation is likely resolved, you should still follow-up with your regular dentist. These issues could lead to other problems. Also, it is important that the regular dentist has an accurate file of what happened to your children.

Recurring Complaints
You may not always take all of your children’s complaints seriously, especially if they have become known for their excessive whining. However, you need to know when the time has come to step in. If, for example, your kids are constantly saying that parts of their mouths hurt, you need to listen to what they are saying and take them to the dentist before the problems become more serious. You can call ahead too to see if the dentist can offer any advice over the phone.

Going to the pediatric dentist is more than just regular visits. Instead, you want to make sure you see a professional whenever something isn’t right. To get started on this journey, give our office a call today!

Do you loathe going to the dentist? Goodness knows you’re not alone! There are countless people out there who are neglecting a crucial part of their dental health. A trip to your local dentist office is unlikely to be brilliantly fun, but it’s absolutely necessary from time to time. Here’s why.

Dental Exams Are Impossible To Fail

In recent years, some parts of the medical community have come clean about over-emphasizing how important they are. General practitioners no longer recommend physical exams every year the way they used to. Even obstetricians are cutting back on the amount of high-intensity care they recommend for mothers. Your friendly general dentist is different, though. When he or she says you need to come in every six months, you must obey.

A general dental check-up is of course designed to root out any signs of serious problems with your teeth. Beyond looking for new problems, though, dental exams perform a number of essential maintenance tasks you simply cannot handle on your own. Getting rid of plaque and tartar build-up is something you have to do regularly, and you’ll need a dentist’s help to do it.

Your Local Dentist Office Needs To Be Convenient

One important factor to look for when it comes to your routine dental needs is convenience. While traveling a long distance makes sense if you have a very specific dental issue to take care of, for general maintenance and check-ups convenience trumps all other factors.

Keep in mind that in this case convenience is about more than just proximity! A truly convenient dentist is one that makes you feel comfortable and puts you at ease. (The more relaxed you are during an ordinary dental inspection, the smoother everything will go!) There’s a financial component, too — a dentist office that’s fully covered by your health insurance is a lot more convenient than one that makes you pay out of pocket.

A Good General Dentist Can Draw On Other Professionals

Besides taking care of the regular maintenance and cleaning work that your teeth need, your local dentist is also your prime point of contact for every issue relating to dental health and hygiene. If you find yourself in need of some of those specialized services, there’s no one better to recommend an expert than a dentist who’s already thoroughly familiar with your teeth.

While you might not be able to solve all of your problems at your regular dentist’s office, the odds are very good that you can learn about all of them and plot an effective course of treatment there. Whether you have a specific dental issue or just need to get back into the habit of regular check-ups, talk to your local dentist today!

Many people do take great care of their teeth and gums at home. Regular brushing and flossing are the only ways to prevent cavities, plaque, and gum disease. But everyone needs to see the dentist at least twice per year. A general dentist can clean your teeth professionally and check for signs of gum disease that you can’t detect on your own.

Dental exams are vital for a healthy and happy life. You can consult a local dentist office for general dentistry as often as you like. Find a dentist that you are comfortable with. Check out these reasons for general dentistry.

1. Preventative Care

The best way to treat any problem is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Many people only seek emergency dental care when their problems reach advanced stages. But a general dentist can help you avoid those problems in the first place. Regular cleanings and exams are your safest measures to take when it comes to your oral health. You only need two dental exams each year to experience the benefits of preventative care.

2. Increased Home Maintenance

When you visit a local dentist office, the dentist can offer tips to improve your home care routines. They can recommend specific toothpastes and brushes for your unique oral care needs. You may be doing a good job with your home oral care routine, but it’s possible that you could do even better. You’ll never know the home treatments available to you for maximum oral health if you never visit the dentist. Once they clean your teeth, they can tell you how to keep your teeth clean and safe.

3. Cavity Treatment

Many people have cavities without even realizing it. It’s best to have them treated when they are small. You’ll experience less discomfort and disruption in your life if you go to the dentist regularly. A general dentist will take care of cavities quickly and easily. During the dental exam, the dentist might discover cavities that you didn’t know you had. It’s important that you allow the dentist to check your mouth thoroughly for signs of gum disease as well. Early treatment is always the best.

Contact a local dentist office today to schedule dental exams. Make sure your children get the dental checkups they need as well. The entire family should have clean, healthy mouths. You’ll enjoy all the smiling faces with healthy teeth in your home.

Tooth extractions can be a slightly uncomfortable and necessary experience at a local cosmetic dentist office. Even if you brush and floss your teeth regularly, your dentist might find that an extraction is needed to maximize your health. Teeth removal can occur for a variety of reasons. You may not always be able to control the reasons behind the removal. Extractions don’t always cause pain. In fact, modern dentistry has removed most of the pain and discomfort associated with extractions.

Visit a local dentist if you think you might need an extraction. An examination of your teeth might reveal the need for an extraction for the following reasons.

1. Decay

The most common cause for an extraction is decay. Some cavities are so bad that they can’t be filled or saved any other way. The entire tooth must come out for the health of the rest of the mouth. Some people are more susceptible to tooth decay than others. It may not be enough to brush and floss. Regular dental visits can help you keep your mouth healthy, but you might also find out that your teeth need to be removed due to decay.

2. Crowding

Crowding is a common problem when children get their adult teeth. Some of the baby teeth might stubbornly prevent the adult teeth from growing in correctly. Teeth removal would be necessary in this case to ensure the future health of the child’s mouth. The adult teeth must grow in correctly so that the child develops a strong, straight smile. Once the adult tooth grows in after the baby tooth is extracted, braces may become necessary. If the dentist suspects the child’s teeth are crowding, then a removal might be required.

3. Damage

A cosmetic dentist can only do so much to repair damaged teeth. Tooth extractions often occur for people who suffered damage to their teeth. Injuries from sports, fights, car accidents, and other incidents can make extraction necessary. Damaged teeth often need to be removed from the gums. They can cause additional damage and infections if they aren’t promptly removed. Tooth extractions can help the rest of your teeth avoid further damage.

If you suspect you need teeth removal, contact a local cosmetic dentist today. The office can help you create an appointment that fits your needs and your schedule. Don’t delay with your need for a tooth to be extracted. It’s much better to have these teeth taken care of as soon as possible.

If you were to put your toothbrush bristles under a high-powered microscope, what you would see might give you nightmares: millions of bacteria, busily crawling up and down your toothbrush bristles, consuming proteins that came from your mouth, and still clinging to the bristles even after you’ve rinsed them with water.

Rinsing your toothbrush after brushing removes some of those ferociously hungry bacteria, but not all. The American Dental Association says that bacterial infestations develop on toothbrushes within a month of daily use. The ADA also states that unless a toothbrush is sterilized before being packaged, it’s going to come with bacteria – free of charge!

Germs and Frayed Bristles: the Demise of a Toothbrush

Our staff recommends that you toss your old toothbrush in the trash and purchase a new one every three months. Children tend to bite on their toothbrushes, which makes the bristles degrade and fray faster. Chances are kids may need to have their toothbrushes changed more frequently.

Where Do They Hide?

Bacteria are tenacious little germs that head for those concealed areas between toothbrush bristles. They are highly adaptable and exist in every type of extreme environment. Some people actually go so far as to put their toothbrush in a microwave for a few seconds to kill germs, but this doesn’t always work either. In fact, you may only end up with a toothbrush that’s as bendable and still covered with germs.

Feed a Cold, Starve a Fever, and Get Rid of Your Toothbrush

When you have a head cold, your mouth is teeming with bacteria gleefully roaming around, and gobbling mucus and dead skin cells. If you brush your teeth while suffering a sinus condition, the brush will act like a magnet for ravenous bacteria. Use your old toothbrush while you are sick, but as soon as you feel better, throw it away and get a new one. Otherwise you could possibly re-infect yourself with the same cold germs!

Feel free to ask our team more about toothbrush hygiene and other helpful tips. We are always glad to help you out!

Our staff relies on digital X-rays to help us diagnose oral conditions and process images at incredibly high speeds. You can also view digital X-rays in real time while we examine your mouth with an intraoral camera and upload the images to a software program. A chair side computer monitor lets you see these images as we refine areas of concern to ensure an accurate diagnosis.

But are dental X-rays safe?

Yes! They emit 80 percent less radiation than exposure-type X-rays and provide detailed images to improve diagnosis and treatment. We can now detect dental problems in their earliest stages without subjecting you to unnecessary radiation. The amount of radiation released by digital X-rays is “negligible,” which means the amount is so small, that it can be safely disregarded.

Safe enough for children and pregnant women, digital X-rays detect microscopic pitting in tooth enamel and other abnormalities in the oral tissues that might have remained undetected with traditional X-rays. When our doctors and staff discover dental caries in their earliest stages, we can initiate treatment measures that will effectively prevent cavity development, tooth decay, and potential tooth loss.

Patient appointment lengths are shortened with digital X-rays as well, because images are immediately viewable and do not require the exposure time associated with old-style X-rays.

How Digital X-Rays Differ from Traditional X-Rays

Instead of using cardboard-contained film, we insert a small sensing device about the size of a pen in your mouth and engage the digital X-ray machine by manually manipulating control buttons. Within seconds, images appear on the monitor that can later be stored in your file or sent to another doctor for further examination.

The increased resolutions afforded by digital X-rays means that patients are able to understand the seriousness of their dental issues better, and are more inclined to follow through with procedures recommended by our team.

Safer, Better and Faster

For detection of cancerous tumors in their early states, digital X-ray technology offers vast improvements over film X-rays because of its cutting-edge image processing capability. Early detection of oral cancer and dental caries is the best way to prevent any type of oral health problem from exceeding the treatable stage.

A cosmetic dentist can make a big impact on the quality of your life.  Have you ever considered improving your smile?  Everyday you look at your self in the mirror; do you take the time to consider how having a perfect, beautiful smile could affect your life?

Well, thankfully modern dentistry has many options available to recreate your smile! It is always a good idea to discuss ways to make you happy with your smile with your dental provider during your bi annual cleanings and exams.

Whatever the problem is that you wish to have treated, technology and the newest dental procedures have a solution for you.

Each of the following treatments can help with color, alignment, damage and shape:

  1. Veneers are thin outer coverings that are shaped and colored in the way in which you and the dentist decide.  A portion of your existing teeth is removed to make space for the new outer ‘shell’.  Veneers can be done on many teeth at once.
  2. Crowns cover the entire tooth.  The tooth is prepared prior to cementing on a permanent ‘cap’ or crown.  Decay or damage is removed before the new crown is inserted.  Crowns are custom designed.  Color, shape and size can all be chosen prior to the crown being created.
  3. Invisalign  / Orthodontics – We all know what braces are.  But did you know that there are clear ‘trays’ that are placed over your teeth and do the same thing as braces?  Invisalign moves your teeth into the proper position with a series of clear ‘aligners’.  Over time and by switching aligners your teeth are moved into perfect position.  Braces can also be used to do this and are available in with clear brackets as well as the familiar silver.
  4. Dental Implants – These are the most permanent, highest quality way to restore missing teeth.  A titanium screw in inserted into your bone.  Once the bone adheres to the screw a crown is placed over the top of the screw.  The crown is made to match the color and shape of your existing teeth.
  5. Bridges and partials – An inexpensive and quick way to replace missing teeth is with a bridge or partial.  Bridges attach to opposing teeth and can be permanently placed.   Bridges can span the distance of several teeth and therefore replace several missing teeth in a row.    Partials are removable dentures that can be used to replace one or more teeth.
  6. Stained or discolored teeth / Whitening – One of the easiest ways to help your smile is to have your teeth whitened.  There are many different options available depending on your specific needs and desires.

There are many other smile makeover options.  Modern dentistry with the high tech equipment make for pleasant, pain free visits.  Take time to ask your dentist what can be done to enhance your smile.

Whichever treatment you decide to have performed, you will be very happy and everyone will know it because you will be flashing your wonderful smile!

Uptown Charlotte Dentistry & Orthodontics

Specializing in Invisalign, Composite Bonding, Veneers and Crowns.

We do our best to make it easy for you to get the beautiful smile you deserve! Our office accepts nearly all major insurance plans. Even though dental insurance is a private arrangement between you and your company, we will file your claim, handle all the paperwork, and help you get maximum insurance benefits.

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