Preventative Care Keeps You Smiling

Prophylactic Cleanings

We recommend that you plan a preventative cleaning at least every six months. During this visit, our dental hygienist will remove any tartar buildup that your toothbrush and floss left behind. This will help ensure that your gums stay healthy ー preventing gum disease, tooth decay, and infection.

We can also give you personalized, useful tips and tricks for cleaning those hard-to-reach areas of your mouth that you may be missing. Or we can recommend a way to combat dry mouth symptoms, if this is something that you’re struggling with.

Dental Exams

During your bi-annual visit, our New Jersey dentist will examine your mouth and look for areas of decay, broken or cracked teeth, excessive wear, and signs of a tooth abscess. We also typically examine your neck, thyroid glands, and lymph nodes, as well as the hard and soft tissues of your mouth, looking for any abnormalities and signs of oral cancer. These areas include your cheeks, the roof and floor of your mouth, and your tongue.

By examining your mouth, teeth, and gums on a regular basis, we can catch potential problems early and stop them before they get worse and more complicated to treat.

Digital X-Rays

Dental x-rays are important because they show us things that we can’t see when we physically look inside your mouth. They also help us to provide a better diagnosis and treatment option. Taking x-rays of your teeth is something that we typically do at least once a year during your regular checkups.

With digital images, we can check for abscessed or impacted teeth, which otherwise aren’t visible. We can also evaluate the bone levels surrounding your tooth roots. Bone loss is a sign of periodontal (gum) disease which should be addressed appropriately to prevent tooth loss, and heart disease, amongst other problems.

Areas of decay that are hard to see with the naked eye ー like between your teeth or under the gumline and around dental restorations. But we can see them on an X-ray. We can also determine more accurately how deep a cavity is before we start to treat your tooth.

When we see decay, bone loss, or an abscessed tooth on an x-ray, we can go ahead and intervene with a milder treatment before the situation gets worse. Otherwise, you could end up losing teeth due to a progressing issue that you didn’t even know you had.

Periodontal Therapy

Periodontal therapy is how we treat active gum disease (periodontitis). By getting this condition under control, we can prevent further bone loss, periodontal abscesses, and the risk of you losing your teeth. During this treatment, our dental hygienist will use a water scaler to remove the tartar buildup from underneath the gumline. We can also numb those teeth to ensure you’re as comfortable as possible, which is helpful if you usually have sensitive teeth.

Sports Mouthguards

If you or your child play a contact sport like football, soccer, or even something like softball, then we suggest wearing a mouthguard to protect your teeth. We can make a custom fitted appliance that will stay in place better and protect you more than any product you can find over the counter.

Bruxism Mouthguards

Bruxism, or tooth grinding, can cause your teeth to wear, chip, break, and be sensitive. It can also cause ear and TMJ pain, as well as headaches. To prevent you from grinding your teeth, you can wear a custom mouthguard at night that will move your jaw into a relaxed position, and protect your teeth.

Dental Checkups in Jersey City

Dr. Woo and our friendly team are ready to help take care of all of your dental needs and prevent you from requiring otherwise avoidable dental treatments. Give us a call today to schedule your next appointment.