The television advertisements advise you to see your dentist twice a year, but does this fit everybody?

That answer is a definite "No" The notion of "twice a year" is a statistical average and relates to the number and severity of the patient's medical and dental problems. As a patient, you want to be treated personally and individually and not as a statistical average. As with other medical problems, visits to your dentist are based on the particular dental condition of each individual and also takes into account the amount and type of previous dental care you have received.

There are many patients that need to be seen by a dentist more frequently than twice a year. The more restorative care that you have, the more difficult it is to diagnose recurrent problems in their early stages. Someone with extensive crown and bridges may need to be seen at least twice a year and possibly three times per year. If you have a history of periodontal disease, it is recommended that you be seen at least three or four times per year.

Patients with a history of diabetes or heart disease should be seen more frequently than twice a year. Recent research has indicated that patients with advanced lung problems such as emphysema, COPD, lung tumors, chronic bronchitis or recurrent pneumonia) should be under greater control and therefore be examined by a dentist more often than twice a year.

It is frustrating to see an entire profession that seems to devote itself to telling the public about how white their teeth should be. Whether it is an infomercial or a toothpaste manufacturer or another advertisement on TV, we are all lead to believe that if your teeth are whiter, they are better. Magazines, newspapers, and even dental journals inundate us with the "white revolution".

We are told; "White is sexy", "White is youthful", "White is appealing", "White is career-building", "White is a sales enhancer", "White is right!" NO! NO! The concept of "White Teeth" and the products of whitening are marketing phenomena. The cosmetic companies that manufacture and distribute these "white" products offer no advice, no service, and usually do not have products that decrease your chances of losing those "whiter" teeth. Nor do they mention the negative side effects that can occur as a result of too much or improper use of whitening agents.

There is nothing wrong about wanting to have white teeth. We believe, however, that before you undertake the expense and time involved in achieving and maintaining that white smile, you need to get the treatment necessary to make your teeth healthy. In other words, if you liken it to an automobile, you wouldn't paint your car white before repairing the dings and dents in your mouth, would you? Dental cleaning is not to be confused with a compound and polish that a car undergoes, but it makes the most sense that the focus needs to be on the smooth and healthy foundation before proceeding with the improving the appearance. We want to emphasize the total oral heath care approach that must to precede any cosmetic care.

We believe that a dental "cleaning" or routine dental maintenance visit should include a complete dental "physical". Most ordinary routine dental examinations referred to as "cleanings," do not include a complete exam by a well-trained, skilled hygienist and a thorough review of individual findings by the dentist. They usually do not include a complete physical or health evaluation that takes into consideration of the relationship of your overall medical and dental histories. Your annual or semi-annual dental "cleaning" exam should include, in addition to the soft tissue in your mouth, a thorough examination of your head and neck and hard tissue of the jawbone and a check up of all the previous dental work needs to be included. Once these have been completed, the dental "cleaning" can be performed if it is appropriate. Any newly discovered dental conditions can be immediately followed up with a treatment plan for any corrective procedures as well as a scheduled recall visit to follow up the progress. The examination also includes the dentist's recommendations about your home care procedures and equipment.

We recommend that you start a program of routine dental visits and we would love to help you achieve your dental goals for complete health. As a new patient, the initial dental evaluation includes a thorough examination and mapping of your mouth that details a plan for the next required steps and a recall visit schedule that is appropriate to your individual circumstances. At The Dentists Collaborative, we believe that we can offer you the most complete dental physical examination that allows us to work together to control and maintain your oral health. Only with a healthy mouth, we can start to talk about how to enhance your smile and add to your confidence.

We also recommend that an adult patient have at least one fluoride treatment per year. There is plenty of clinical evidence that shows that fluoride has a great deal of benefit in preventing recurrent decay under aging fillings and

Decay along tooth roots that become exposed with age and the recession of the gum tissue.

As a dental patient you need to be knowledgeable about what to expect at your regular dental recall visits as part of a proper dental routine. It is important to understand that oral disease is discovered early because it is usually easiest to treat and is less costly than if it is discovered in its more advanced stages. The best time for the dentist and a hygienist to reevaluate your complete oral environment is during the routine dental recall visit. It is our practice and belief that the dental recall exam take at least one hour to perform Any less time might mean sacrificing necessary diagnostic exams and procedures that we believe are necessary for proper dental care.

You should expect a complete oral and head and neck exam including testing your neck muscles for tenderness and strain. A look at your jawbones and joints (tempromandibular) for pain and swelling is important. The hygienist will look at facial symmetry for any unusual swellings or growths that are readily visible. We will take a look at your medical history and ask you if there have been any changes in you health status since your last visit. Have you changed or increased your medication? Have you developed any allergies in the past year? All of these are relevant to your oral health. In certain circumstance, your health history could effect the dental treatment that is selected for you.

Let's enter the mouth now. First, we do an overall visual survey of the soft tissues of the mouth including your throat, hard and soft palate, cheeks, tongue, mouth floor, lips and gum tissue around all remaining teeth or implants.

We look for the normal movement and flexibility of your tongue, lips, and cheeks. We also look for changes in the tissue color such as red color indicating any swelling or infection, purple/bluish color that indicates allergies or infection, white lesions may indicate irritations or even pre-cancer conditions. Although most color changes in the oral cavity are due to irritation or infection, in some cases lesions are more serious and require a biopsy. We also look for changes in the character of the tissue such as wetness, firmness, textures, or damage that may indicate a problem. As you can see, a complete oral physical exam of your soft tissue is a very important part of your recall visit.

Human saliva is a wonderful fluid is a complex mixture of blood proteins and food processing and bacterial controlling chemicals. It acts as a fantastic lubricant and our body needs and utilizes this fluid. Saliva is also a good indicator of disease when you know what to look for. Our mouth produces about 1.5 litters of saliva each day and we swallow almost 1200 times per day. As we age our saliva flow is reduced and this lack of salivary fluid affects your teeth and gums. Smoking also causes a reduction of saliva and therefore smokers get worse gum infections and dental decay than non-smokers.

After the soft tissue survey, we look at the pocket depth of the gum tissue. If you have now or previously had gum disease the pockets that surround the tooth may have become deeper. This increase in depth is usually due to gum infection; (periodontal disease) causing swelling of the gum and the loss of bone that supports the tooth. Therefore, the deeper the gum pockets, the greater the bone loss to the tooth. If unchecked this bone loss will proceed and with out proper periodontal care you will lose the infected tooth or teeth. Our concern is usually for pockets that are 4mm or greater or when the gum tissue surrounding the tooth is swollen, red, bleeds easily and is too painful to probe. This almost always indicates that further dental care is needed.

Your Teeth
We now take a look at your teeth. We check for small cracks, broken fillings, open margins created by aging fillings and crowns, smooth spots on the surface indicating excessive ware, chips and fractures. We examine the position and relationship of all of your teeth including bite, overcrowded, spacing and obtrusive angles of the teeth. We look for signs of food impacting between the teeth and color changes to the surface of the teeth, as well as excessive plaque and tarter.

You can see that a proper recall visit encompasses a great deal of time for a thorough examination. This exam is the dental equivalent of a medical physical exam. Science and research have shown that oral disease plays significant role in the initiation and exacerbation of many systemic medical diseases. Therefore the inclusion of a complete oral exam is mandatory for both good dental health and most likely for your medical health.

After we have completed all of the above steps now we can proceed to "clean" you teeth. This procedure should include the use of both ultrasonic instruments as well as had scaling instruments. Most research has shown that during a normal cleaning, visit. Proper use of hand instruments would require more than tow hours to compel full dentition. During the cleaning procedure, the hygienist is looking for other signs of disease that could involve the teeth and gums. After the ultrasonic and hand debridement, we polish your teeth and place a fluid compound on your teeth.