Teeth Cleaning, Dental X-Rays
Undergoing regular dental checkups and x-rays ranks as a vitally important part of maintaining the best oral health possible. While brushing and flossing at home helps to lower your risk of tooth decay and gum disease, receiving a cleaning from our professional dental hygienist will remove plaque and tartar from along the gum line where they can cause inflammation that leads to chronic gum disease and decay. We recommend that patients follow the (ADA) guidelines, and schedule a dental checkup at least once every six months. However, Dr. Cherrington may recommend checkups more frequently depending on the current state of a patient’s oral health.
Once tooth decay and gum disease begin to attack your oral health, long-term problems can begin to develop that could require expensive and potentially uncomfortable dental procedures to treat. At Rimrock Dental of Redmond, we use digital x-rays to gain a complete understanding of your oral health at the beginning of a visit so we can identify and treat any potential problems early on before any future complications can develop.
Brushing and Flossing
In addition to regular teeth cleanings from a dental office, brushing and flossing rank as the two most effective daily habits for lowering your risk of developing tooth decay and gum disease. Brushing helps to remove plaque – a sticky biofilm of bacteria and food particles – from the surface of your teeth, while flossing removes bacteria that has built up between teeth and along the gum line.
The ADA recommends spending at least two minutes brushing, once in the morning and again in the evening.
Patients should also floss for at least two minutes a day, preferably before brushing in the evening prior to bed. Dr. Cherrington and his team instruct their patients in the best practices and techniques for maintaining their oral health at home. Dr. Cherrington can offer detailed advice about the best techniques for brushing and flossing in order to maintain and improve the health of your smile.
Fluoride Treatments
Fluoride helps to prevent tooth decay by making teeth more resilient to the effects of harmful bacteria and sugars found in the mouth. Fluoride also helps to speed up the process of remineralization and disrupts the production of plaque acids.
Tooth Sealants
For younger patients tooth sealants help stop food particles and plaque from collecting in the hard-to-clean grooves of their teeth that often get missed during regular brushing and flossing. To prevent buildup, Dr. Cherrington applies a durable sealant that effectively “seals” these areas of a patient’s teeth, thereby protecting the tooth enamel from plaque and decay.
Dr. Cherrington can apply sealants in just a few minutes during one office visit. Sealants are incredibly durable, and will often last several years before a reapplication is required.
