Dr. Ravi Doctor likes to take a proactive approach when it comes to dental care. Rather than just reacting to problems and fixing them as they occur, he works to prevent them from popping up in the first place, saving our patients the time and stress of having to deal with cavities and gum disease. Below, you’ll find multiple services that are all designed to save you from future headaches, and they’ll also help you save on your dental care in the long-run as well! To schedule you or your child’s next visit for preventive dentistry in Arlington, contact us today.
Dental Checkups and Dental Cleanings
If you want a healthy smile that never develops any problems, there are two things you definitely need to do: brush and floss every day and get a professional checkup and cleaning at least once every six months. At these routine appointments, Dr. Doctor will perform an exam that will enable him to find and treat any decay or damage as early as possible, plus one of our hygienists will use special tools to remove harmful tartar deposits from your mouth that you aren’t able to tackle at home.
Oral Cancer Screening
Regularly visiting a dentist is not only essential for your oral health, but it can help you protect your overall health as well. Dr. Doctor performs thorough oral cancer screenings at every checkup, keeping an eye out for suspicious sores, growths, or discolored patches of tissue you might easily miss. Early detection and treatment are vital to beating this disease, and by coming to see him regularly, he can make sure it never affects you or a loved one.
Fluoride Treatment
A stable lattice structure of the tooth’s enamel can lose the integrity of the lattice structure, becoming weaker and prone to cavities. Fluoride treatments make it possible for the substance to bind with the enamel, not only strengthening it but also protecting the teeth from future tooth decay.
Toothbrush Abrasion
Tooth breakage in a particular pattern can be often confused with toothbrush abrasion. When the gums begin to recess, the bone is lost around tooth roots. When a heavy biting force is used, forces can cause wedge-like pieces to break off from the roots, causing a further recession.
DIAGNOdent Laser Cavity Screening
DIAGNOdent is a revolutionary new way for your dentist to find even the smallest areas of tooth decay and cavities. By using the advanced DIAGNOdent technology, we are able to treat small cavities and areas of tooth decay before they become larger issues requiring multiple procedures. DIAGNOdent is a quick, comfortable process that helps you and your doctor keep your smile healthy and happy for a lifetime.
How does DIAGNOdent work?
DIAGNOdent uses a precise laser scanning system to scan over all of your teeth while sending out an audio signal and registering a digital read-out. By measuring the fluorescence within each tooth's structure, your dentist can identify where there may be cavities developing in the small spaces between, on, and around your teeth.
DIAGNOdent is comfortable and takes only a few short minutes to scan your entire mouth for cavities and decay. Detecting tooth decay as early as possible helps eliminate the number of costly treatments that you may need down the line and helps treat small problems before they become serious dental cases.
Not all cavities are noticeable without the help of the advanced DIAGNOdent laser screening.
Most tooth decay begins in the tiny cracks and grooves of your tooth's surface. By the time the cavities are noticed, it's often because there is a much larger problem, and the cavity itself was never seen or felt by the patient.
With the widespread use of fluoride, many of these cavities never make it to the tooth's surface, and instead, begin eating away at the tooth from the inside out. The DIAGNOdent laser helps locate these small areas of decay.
Nightguards for Bruxism
When you wake up in the morning, does your jaw or head always hurt? Do your teeth look worn down, flat, or even brittle? These are all signs that point to nighttime teeth grinding, otherwise known as bruxism. About 1 in 3 people suffer from this problem, which can lead to broken teeth and a strained jaw if left alone. To help patients rest easy, Dr. Doctor can prescribe them a nightguard to wear to bed, which will place a plastic barrier between the teeth so they’re unable to press together during sleep.
TMJ Therapy
Do you frequently experience jaw pain, headaches, earaches, or soreness in your neck and shoulders, and you can never figure out why? All of these problems and more can actually have a common cause: temporomandibular joint disorder, or TMD.
The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is the set of hinges that connects your lower jaw to the rest of your head, and it can sometimes develop strain, arthritis, and dysfunction due to injury or a misaligned bite. Fortunately, Dr. Doctor cannot only diagnose these kinds of problems but treat them as well. He can rebalance the bite and provide custom oral appliances to stop longstanding pain and improve jaw function at the same time.
Fluoride Treatment
A stable lattice structure of the tooth’s enamel can lose the integrity of the lattice structure, becoming weaker and prone to cavities. Fluoride treatments make it possible for the substance to bind with the enamel, not only strengthening it but also protecting the teeth from future tooth decay.
Toothbrush Abrasion
Tooth breakage in a particular pattern can be often confused with toothbrush abrasion. When the gums begin to recess, the bone is lost around tooth roots. When a heavy biting force is used, forces can cause wedge-like pieces to break off from the roots, causing a further recession.
