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Preventive dentistry in Austin is essential for protecting your oral health. With routine appointments from Dr. Morren at your Westlake dentist , you can protect yourself from cavities, gum disease, oral cancer, and so much more. Don’t be a stranger, reach out to see how we can help your smile today!
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Fluoride treatments use a fluoride-rich liquid that’s painted onto your teeth and then is rinsed away after a few minutes. This helps strengthen and remineralize the teeth, reducing your risk of cavities. While it’s usually recommended for kids, it can also be helpful for adults who have a high risk of tooth decay.
Dental sealants use a liquid resin to coat your rear teeth. This layer of liquid resin is activated with UV light to create a durable, impermeable barrier that stops bacteria and acid from contacting the teeth, preventing cavities for up to 10 years.
Periodontal care is concerned with fighting back against gum (periodontal) disease. The most common treatment for this is scaling & root planing or “deep cleaning.” This treatment takes two separate appointments. One half of your mouth is cleaned at a time. Dr. Morren will use special tools to remove bacteria, plaque, and tartar from between your gums and teeth, and to smooth out the roots of the tooth to mitigate the risk of future infections. In addition to antibiotics, this is often enough to resolve the issue and ensure that the progression of gum disease is reversed or halted.
Digital X-rays empower Dr. Morren to get instant insights into your oral health, and these x-rays offer better clarity, faster results, and lower overall radiation exposure compared to film-based x-rays, making them a better overall choice.
At every routine teeth cleaning and oral exam at your dentist in Austin, Dr. Morren provides patients with a comprehensive oral cancer screening. Using advanced tools and intraoral cameras, Dr. Morren will look for any signs of cancer like lesions, strange bumps, discolored patches of tissue, and more. Even if you have a low risk for oral cancer, this helps provide you with peace of mind and ensures your mouth is 100% healthy. We proudly serve all the patients and in surrounding areas such as Steiner Ranch.
While the most important aspect of a good oral hygiene routine is to ensure that you’re adequately brushing and flossing every day, the order you do it in can make a difference. You should brush your teeth with a soft-bristle toothbrush and gently brush your teeth in a circular motion.
Use fluoride toothpaste and remember to brush your tongue. You should be brushing for at least two minutes twice a day and flossing once a day. Ideally, you should floss before you brush. This removes food particles and plaque that get stuck between the teeth and cannot be removed simply by brushing.
By removing these food particles before you brush, you ensure that nothing gets left behind. When you floss after you brush, this spreads food and bacteria into your mouth that will linger around until the next time you brush, which can lead to cavities and gum disease.
An oral cancer screening is an exam that looks for abnormalities in the mouth that could indicate the presence of oral cancer. If an abnormal lump is detected, we can take a biopsy and send it out for testing.
This is done as a part of your routine checkup and ensures that we detect these signs early enough to do something about it. Without these screenings, patients could develop oral cancer and go on living like normal without having any idea that something is wrong.
Early detection and prevention are key to maintaining good oral and overall health. With prompt treatment, oral cancer can be reversible in the early stages.
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X-rays can reveal issues with the teeth or gums that are not necessarily visible to the eyes. While oral and physical exams can be useful, they don’t tell us everything. When a patient presents with symptoms and no identifiable cause, we can turn to x-rays to show if there is tooth decay, an infection, impacted wisdom teeth, bone loss, and so much more.
We also routinely take x-rays once a year to get a full picture of your oral health and ensure there aren’t any problems being overlooked. During consultations for certain dental procedures, x-rays may be necessary to ensure you have sufficient bone or gum tissue and that you don’t have any cavities or gum disease.
The best way to prevent periodontal disease is to maintain a proper and consistent oral hygiene routine throughout your life. This means brushing for the recommended duration and frequency of two minutes, twice a day, as well as flossing at least once a day.
The ADA recommends that you visit the dentist for a checkup and cleaning every 6 months, but if you have certain health conditions like diabetes or Dry Mouth, it may be necessary to go sooner because of the lack of saliva in your mouth.
You should also avoid smoking and consuming a diet high in acidity and sugar which can increase your risk of developing gum disease. Diabetics should develop a lifestyle that maintains healthy blood sugar levels. Drinking plenty of water will keep you hydrated and prevent Dry Mouth.
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