Oral Exams in Midtown
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At the office of Dental Life, we emphasize taking a proactive approach as the best way to maintain a healthy, beautiful smile. By coming to our office as recommended for checkup visits and routine care, we can help you and every member of your family prevent the onset and progression of many oral health problems. As skilled and experienced providers of care, we offer a comprehensive range of preventive services, including examinations, professional teeth cleanings, and oral cancer screenings, along with patient education on hygiene, diet, and healthy practices.
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What Happens at the First Checkup Visit?
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Your first visit to our office establishes your oral health baseline and provides essential information on your dental interests and needs. We begin by carefully reviewing your medical and dental histories and taking special note of all of your dental concerns, as well as any symptoms that you may be experiencing. This initial conversation is followed by a thorough clinical examination, including an oral cancer screening, periodontal evaluation, and an analysis of your occlusion (bite). To perform a comprehensive oral exam, we'll recommend and take diagnostic films as needed. As we take a close look at your smile, we'll examine your teeth, the supporting bone and soft tissues, and the surrounding areas of the mouth, head, and neck. We'll make a note of any signs of clenching or grinding your teeth and assess your TMJ (temporomandibular joint) function. A comprehensive oral exam can also reveal the consequences that certain dietary choices, eating disorders, medications, harmful habits, and inadequate oral hygiene practices may have on your smile.
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We want every patient to enjoy the benefits of a healthy and beautiful smile. At the office of Dental Life, you can rest assured that your oral exam is performed with the utmost care and that every member of our team is sensitive to your needs. Based on your oral exam findings and what we see on your diagnostic films, we'll outline what further treatment, if any, may be needed and discuss all your options in care.
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A Healthy Smile is Vital to Your Overall
Well-Being
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At the office of Dental Life, we recognize that a healthy smile is more
than just an attractive asset; it is also essential to one's overall
well-being. Harmful conditions affecting your teeth, gums, jaws, and
structures in and around the oral cavity can impact your overall
well-being. As we perform an oral exam and check for the development
of common dental conditions such as tooth decay or gum disease and
screen for oral cancer, we also take note of any signs of problematic
health issues that may have originated elsewhere in the body.
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Today, researchers are establishing more and more links between poor oral health and systemic disease. Mounting evidence supports the idea that dental disease contributes to a range of health issues, including the following conditions:
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Digestive disorders
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Respiratory Problems
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Cardiovascular Disease
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Stroke
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Diabetes
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Alzheimer's Disease
The reverse is also true. Just as oral health problems can be linked to systemic illnesses, diseases in the body can likewise produce oral health issues. According to statistics, more than 90% of all systemic diseases (conditions affecting organs and systems in the body) can manifest signs and symptoms in the oral cavity. Experiencing dry mouth, bad breath, gum problems, ulcerations, or other oral lesions may be indicative of an underlying medical condition.
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The Importance of Routine Checkups and
Professional Dental Cleanings
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Enjoying a smile that looks good and functions at its best is not
something you can take for granted. To maintain optimal oral
health and a vibrant smile requires an effective dental hygiene
regimen, a nutritious diet, routine checkups, professional
cleanings, and a comprehensive program of preventive care.
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Remember, it's important not to hold off seeing the dentist until you're in terrible pain or think there's something wrong. By scheduling a routine appointment for a comprehensive dental checkup and professional cleaning, we can help you keep your smile looking and functioning at its very best.
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Our office encourages patients to come in twice a year for routine checkups and professional cleanings. In this way, we can monitor your oral health, reduce your risk of dental disease, and detect any issues early in their onset when they are typically the simplest to treat.
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While maintaining a healthy smile depends upon keeping your teeth and gums clean at home, even for the best "brushers" and "flossers," it's difficult to reach every nook and cranny between the teeth and gums. For this reason, we emphasize the importance of professional teeth cleanings. In this way, our hygienist can thoroughly remove any accumulated plaque and tartar from between the teeth and gums, including areas that you may have missed. Since dental plaque harbors the bacteria that are responsible for cavities and gum disease, its removal prevents these disease processes from occurring. Following a dental cleaning and polishing to remove any superficial stains from your teeth, your mouth will feel fresh and clean.
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Checkup and cleaning visits also represent an opportunity to educate patients in the best oral hygiene homecare methods and routines to maintain a healthy smile. As your trusted partner in care, we'll carefully explain and demonstrate the proper techniques for brushing, flossing, and other healthy oral care practices.
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Even though proper dental care is essential at every stage of life, it's especially important for children to establish a strong foundation for a lifetime of oral health. With routine checkups, preventive treatment, and age-appropriate education in the best methods for taking care of their teeth, we can help your little ones protect their smiles from dental disease. We also monitor your children's dental and jaw development as they grow; keeping a close watch to determine if any orthodontic intervention will be needed to align their smiles.
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Our goal is to help you and every member of your family establish healthy practices that will last a lifetime. At the office of Dental Life, we're proud of the reputation we've established for providing skilled and compassionate care. We work hard to make every visit to our office a positive experience while building long-standing relationships with our patients and achieving outstanding treatment outcomes.
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What Do Dental X-Rays Show?
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Although we perform a thorough visual inspection of every aspect of your smile, the only way to see the deeper structures of the teeth, as well as the surrounding tissues and bone, is with dental x-rays or radiographs. Diagnostic x-rays not only reveal the presence of dental disease, but they also provide valuable information on the development, health, and integrity of teeth and orofacial structures.
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Thanks to advances in technology, x-rays have entered the digital age. Instead of using traditional film-based methods, which involved long-exposure times and developing solutions, digital x-ray images can now be acquired, stored, and managed via digital sensors and integrated software programs.
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Digital radiography offers several benefits to the patient, including the following:
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Quicker with minimal exposure to x-ray radiation
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Images can be viewed immediately after acquisition
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Images can be electronically shared
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Digital radiographs do not require any developing chemicals, create less waste, and are safer for the environment
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Images are immediately stored in the patient's electronic file, where they can be easily viewed on a screen, shared, or printed out.
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What Are the Different Types of Dental X-Rays?
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The type of diagnostic images our office will recommend depends
on the nature of your visit and your oral healthcare needs.
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Here's a list of some of the most common diagnostic films and the
value of these images:
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Periapical x-ray - This small film is typically taken of an individual tooth and provides a view of the entire tooth from the top of the crown to the tip of the root and bone adjacent to it.
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Bitewing x-ray - This small film captures detailed views of the crowns of the premolars or molars and is typically used to check for dental decay.
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Full Mouth Series - This set of x-rays consists of bitewing and periapical views of all the teeth.
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Panoramic Film (panorex) - This film provides a 2D panoramic view of all the teeth and the left and right sides of the jaw. It offers a view of erupted teeth, developing teeth, impacted teeth, and allows an assessment of the health and integrity of the jawbone.
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Cephalometric Film - This film provides a profile view of the face and jaws and is often used by orthodontists to assess a patient's skeletal facial and jaw growth.​
Today, it's also possible to capture detailed three-dimensional images for diagnostic purposes, treatment planning, and the delivery of care. By using Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) your dentist can acquire, analyze, and reconstruct 3D images of a patient's teeth, jaws, and surrounding anatomy. This technology is often employed for diagnosis, surgical planning, treatment, and the accurate placement of dental implants.
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What is cosmetic dentistry?Cosmetic dentistry offers solutions to improve the look of teeth that are stained, discolored, chipped, worn down, misshapen, a little gapped, or misaligned. It combines the art and science of dentistry to transform a less-than-perfect smile into one that looks naturally beautiful while at the same time enhancing overall facial aesthetics.
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What's the quickest way to improve the look of my smile?The great thing about cosmetic dentistry is that it offers multiple solutions to quickly improve the look of one’s smile. It all depends on your specific dental needs and cosmetic smile goals. While procedures such as teeth-whitening, tooth-colored fillings, and dental bonding typically provide dramatic improvements in just a single visit, others such as dental veneers only take a couple of visits.
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What's the best way to improve the look of dull, drab, or discolored teeth?A teeth whitening procedure as provided by our office is often the simplest, quickest, and most effective way to significantly lighten and brighten your smile.
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How can dental veneers improve the look of my smile?Porcelain veneers are capable of concealing a range of imperfections, dramatically improving the look of teeth that are misshapen, have minor chips, enamel defects, or stains. They also provide an excellent solution for closing small gaps as well as addressing other minor alignment issues. While teeth whitening procedures can effectively treat many cases of dental stains or discolorations to produce cosmetically pleasing results, darker stains, as well as specific issues involving the size, shape, and alignment of the teeth, are better addressed with porcelain veneers.
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What type of cosmetic restoration is possible for a back tooth?How a back tooth is repaired and restored depends on the extent of the cavity or damage it has sustained. In many cases, a tooth-colored filling is often sufficient to restore the form and function of a back tooth. However, when a significant amount of tooth structure is damaged, or the tooth has had a root canal, it’s often necessary to fabricate a full coverage crown. In this way, the remaining tooth structure is protected from further damage while full function and a natural-looking smile is restored.
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Does a tooth that is chipped require a crown?Whether or not a chipped or fractured tooth requires a dental crown depends on the extent of the damage. Some minor chips can be addressed with a dental bonding procedure or a veneer. When a significant amount of tooth structure is lost, rebuilding the form and function of the involved tooth may require a full coverage crown.
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What is the most cosmetic solution for replacing missing teeth?While conventional dental bridges and dentures offer effective and satisfying ways to rebuild a complete and attractive smile, dental implants represent the most advanced solutions for replacing missing teeth. With dental implants, our office can replace a single tooth or multiple ones to give you a smile that feels, looks, and functions like a natural one. Dental implants behave in much the same way as the root of an actual tooth, providing stable, secure, and long-lasting results of care.
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How long does teeth whitening last?How long your teeth whitening lasts depends on your lifestyle. Eating, drinking, and smoking habits can have a big impact on maintaining your result. Our office will inform you which food, beverages, or habits can stain your newly whitened smile. As needed, we’ll also help you maintain a white and vibrant smile with a periodic, safe, and effective touch-up whitening procedure.
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How much do cosmetic dental procedures cost?At the office of Dental Life, we want every patient to enjoy the benefits of a beautiful and healthy smile. We strive to make dental care affordable and accessible. Improving the look of your smile is a worthwhile investment, and we always try to optimize any dental insurance benefits to cover your work. However, it’s essential to keep in mind that cosmetic dental procedures may not be covered by your plan. You can count on our office to explain every cosmetic option available to address your needs and the fees involved. To help you begin care without any additional stress or delay, we can discuss different payment options and financing plans.
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Why choose the office of Dental Life?Although achieving aesthetically pleasing and long-lasting results of care requires knowledge, experience, and technical proficiency, it also calls for a professional with an artistic eye and awareness of facial aesthetics. At the office of Dental Life, we successfully combine the art and science of dentistry to create smiles that are as beautiful as they are healthy. From performing professional teeth whitening procedures, fabricating custom dental veneers or crowns to rebuilding complete and beautiful smiles with dental implants and much more, we’re well equipped to transform less-than-perfect smiles into ones that look good and feel great.