Supportive Care

Charting: Health of Gums and Supporting Bone
Prior to talking with you, our team will spend time gathering needed information about your dental care needs. It is important for us to have a good baseline of information so we can track your successes. If you are periodontally healthy, that is where we want you to stay. Once diagnosed with periodontal disease, dealing with its effects in your mouth and teeth will be a continual battle throughout your lifetime. Monitoring will be done with thorough documentation whether you are periodontally healthy or in need of periodontal treatment.

Regular Preventive Care or Professional Dental Cleaning Appointments
This appointment is performed by a registered dental hygienist. In our practice, you will see the same hygienist at each cleaning visit so that you can develop a relationship. The hygienist will remove plaque (soft deposits), tartar or calculus (hard deposits), and stain from your teeth. The evaluation of the gum tissue, including probing pockets and recording their depths for future reference will also be accomplished. After the cleaning, the hygienist will polish your teeth to a beautiful shine.

Additionally, you will have all of your questions answered about your home-care procedures and products. If you have trouble choosing the right toothbrush or flossing effectively, your hygienist can help. Should you develop gum disease, which is extremely common, our hygienist will provide counsel and treatment to control the condition.

Fluoride Treatment
Fluoride is a mineral that is found naturally in many things we eat or drink. It is nature’s way of helping prevent cavities, and it plays an important role in helping to keep your teeth for a lifetime. Professional (in-office) fluoride treatments make teeth stronger and even reverse damage from decay in the outer layers of enamel on the smooth surfaces of the teeth. Additional home fluoride treatments assist in this process. In the lifelong fight against cavities, Drs. Wright, Luckenbaugh, and Townsend believe that both adults and children benefit from in-office treatment and from home fluorides.

The benefits of fluoride include:
● Strengthening teeth
● Remineralizing weakened areas on teeth
● Desensitizing
● Expanding some antimicrobial effects
● Increasing salivary action
● Enhancing the rate of natural remineralization

Home care or Co-therapy
It will be important for you to work with the dental hygienist so that you can achieve the healthiest mouth possible. This will mean working together through home-care or co-therapy to keep your teeth for your lifetime. It is a commitment from you, the patient, to do your best at home and a commitment from your hygienist to provide the best treatment possible during your hygiene appointments.