Long-term Healthy Smiles
Preventative Dentistry
Our goal with preventative dentistry is to keep your mouth, your smile, and your overall health in optimum condition. Preventing and fighting decay is sort of like taking care of your car (that is, assuming you like your car and take good care of it!). However, unlike a car, your natural teeth can last your entire lifetime with proper at-home and in-office care.
- Exams & Cleanings
- Oral Cancer Screenings
- Digital X-Rays, 3D Scans, & Laser Diagnostics
- Sealants
- Fluoride Treatments
- At-home Care Advice
- Gum Disease Prevention/Treatment
Hygiene Services
Our hygiene team is very skilled and gentle when it comes to effective cleanings! Every step of the way, we will ensure that you are comfortable. If dental anxiety is a concern for you, please visit our Sedation Dentistry page for more info.
In addition to a thorough in-office cleaning, our team can demonstrate good brushing and flossing techniques and give you other personalized recommendations, such as special toothpastes and rinses. Nutritional counseling is available, as needed. When necessary, in-office treatments such as topical fluoride applications and anti-bacterial treatments are used. If your teeth are susceptible to tooth decay, we can apply a dental sealant. This is a practically invisible layer of plastic resin that is placed on the top (chewing) surfaces of the back teeth. It’s a painless procedure that fills in the natural pits and folds of the tooth, making them much more resistant to bacterial damage.
Tooth decay is not inevitable. With regular in-office cleanings and great at-home care, it can be prevented. If you have a history of many cavities and gum disease, we can work with you to get you back on track.
Preventing Gum Disease
Periodontal disease starts in your mouth, but it has been linked to more serious conditions of overall health, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and preterm births.
Research points to two plausible mechanisms for how gum disease is related to these serious medical conditions:
1) Moderate to severe gum disease increases inflammation throughout the body, which is a characteristic of all chronic inflammatory diseases.
2) The same bacterial strains that are commonly found in periodontal pockets surrounding diseased teeth have been found in blood vessel plaques of people with cardiovascular disease.
Therefore, reducing inflammation in your mouth may reduce inflammation in your body.
Find out more about our treatments for gum disease on our Restorative Dentistry Page.
Tips & Advice
We invite you to visit our article page, which features many useful topics on gum disease prevention and at-home care.
High-Tech Dentistry & Diagnostics
We are committed to staying at the forefront of dental research and technology. At our office, we use some of the most high-tech equipment available in the dental field. This allows us to provide you with the best screening services and treatment procedures, while continuing to be focused on your comfort.
1. Cone Beam CT Imaging
The Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) is a technology that provides Dr. Yaremko and our team with the ability to visualize the intricate structures inside your mouth, such as root canals, nerves, and sinuses – within the jaw and in 3D. It’s incredibly precise and very safe, with as little as one-hundredth the radiation exposure of a standard medical scan.
Using a rotating imaging device that moves around your head, the CBCT scanner records between 150 and 600 different X-ray views in under a minute. The information is then processed to create a virtual model of the area X-rayed. When it’s done, the model appears like a 3D image on a computer screen and can be rotated from side to side or up and down, examined in greater or less detail, and manipulated in any number of ways.
The CBCT scan is invaluable in many areas of dentistry, including dental bone evaluations, dental implants, oral surgery treatment of tumors or impacted tumors, complex root canals, and more.
2. Intraoral Camera
One of the best ways we partner with you in your oral healthcare is to help you understand your examination, diagnosis, and treatment. That’s part of our commitment to you to reduce anxiety and raise your level of comfort in the office. The intraoral camera helps us accomplish these patient-education goals.
This small, handheld video camera is about the same size as a dental mirror and takes actual pictures of your teeth with up to 25 times magnification. We project them onto a screen to review with you. We can also use it to give you a video tour of your entire mouth so that you can see things such as plaque deposits, decay, worn teeth, and broken or missing fillings. We are able to display, pause, and zoom in during our video exam of the problem area so that you can see it for yourself — all in color and crystal clear.
3. Laser Decay Diagnosis
In addition to using X-rays and fine picks to identify cavities, we also can use a laser scanner to detect tooth decay that is not yet visible through other conventional methods. Early detection means less tooth structure loss and results in stronger teeth and less time spent in our dental chair. In the long run, this also saves you money.
Using this noninvasive technology, we scan your teeth with a small handheld laser device. Healthy tooth structure reflects light, or “fluoresces,” differently than decayed tooth structure. Healthy teeth will have little-to-no fluorescence while teeth with decay display with a higher level of fluorescence. And the higher the fluorescence, the more advanced the tooth decay. Once we complete the scan, the fluorescence readings are converted into a digital numeric output. With early detection, we can reduce the size of the fillings and potentially more extensive treatments in the future.
4. Ultrasonic Teeth Cleaning
To clean the dental plaque and the build-up of tartar above and below your gum line, we use an ultrasonic scaler at our office. Studies show that a thorough ultrasonic cleaning takes about one-third less time than hand scaling, which means less treatment time potentially and also requires less force than a hand scaler.
The ultrasonic scaler’s electromagnetic forces in the unit’s handheld “wand” causes its tiny tip to vibrate rapidly. These vibrations, which occur at a rate faster than the speed of sound, effectively blast away plaque, tartar, and stains from the tooth surfaces. A small stream of water and/or antibacterial mouthwash emerges from the tip of the scaler and is used to cool the tip and flush away any debris from the area being treated. Sometimes we use the ultrasonic scaler first, and then we scale any stubborn areas by hand.
A topical anesthetic may be applied, a local anesthetic can be administered, or conscious sedation can be used if desired depending on your comfort level and sensitivity of your teeth and gums.
An intraoral camera enables us to make you more of an active partner in your dental treatment. We’d be happy to demonstrate the advantages of our intraoral camera at your next visit!
We are committed to providing you with the highest level of comfort during exams. Utilizing the latest advancements in technology, such as our laser scanner, assists us in that goal.
Schedule Your Appointment Today
Ready to experience dental care without fear? Schedule your appointment with Dr. Yaremko and discover a new level of comfort in dentistry. With over 30 years of expertise in easing dental anxiety and providing the most advanced treatments in restorative and reconstructive care, Dr. Yaremko is committed to providing you excellent results in a stress-free environment. Contact us now to take the first step towards your healthiest smile.