Oral Exams

At the office of Aspire Dental, we emphasize taking a proactive approach as the best way to maintain a healthy, beautiful smile. By coming to our office as recommended for checkup visits and routine care, we can help you and every member of your family prevent the onset and progression of many oral health problems. As skilled and experienced providers of care, we offer a comprehensive range of preventive services, including examinations, professional teeth cleanings, and oral cancer screenings, along with patient education on hygiene, diet, and healthy practices.

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What Happens at the First Checkup Visit?

Your first visit to our office establishes your oral health baseline and provides essential information on your
dental interests and needs. We begin by carefully reviewing your medical and dental histories and taking special
note of all of your dental concerns, as well as any symptoms that you may be experiencing. This initial conversation
is followed by a thorough clinical examination, including an oral cancer screening,
periodontal evaluation, and an analysis of your occlusion (bite).
To perform a comprehensive oral exam, we'll recommend and take diagnostic films as needed. As we take a close look
at your smile, we'll examine your teeth, the supporting bone and soft tissues, and the surrounding areas of the
mouth, head, and neck. We'll make a note of any signs of clenching or grinding your teeth and assess your TMJ
(temporomandibular joint) function. A comprehensive oral exam can also reveal the consequences that certain
dietary choices, eating disorders, medications, harmful habits, and inadequate oral hygiene practices may have on
your smile.

We want every patient to enjoy the benefits of a healthy and beautiful smile. At the office of Aspire Dental, you
can rest assured that your oral exam is performed with the utmost care and that every member of our team is
sensitive to your needs. Based on your oral exam findings and what we see on your diagnostic films, we'll outline
what further treatment, if any, may be needed and discuss all your options in care.

A Healthy Smile is Vital to Your Overall Well-Being

At the office of Aspire Dental, we recognize that a healthy smile is more than just an attractive asset; it is
also essential to one's overall well-being. Harmful conditions affecting your teeth, gums, jaws, and structures in
and around the oral cavity can impact your overall well-being. As we perform an oral exam and check for the
development of common dental conditions such as tooth decay or gum disease and screen for oral cancer, we also take note of any signs of problematic health issues that may have originated
elsewhere in the body.

Today, researchers are establishing more and more links between poor oral health and systemic disease. Mounting evidence supports the idea that dental disease contributes to a range of health issues, including the following conditions:

  • Digestive disorders

  • Respiratory Problems

  • Cardiovascular Disease

  • Stroke

  • Diabetes

  • Alzheimer's Disease

The reverse is also true. Just as oral health problems can be linked to systemic illnesses, diseases in the body can likewise produce oral health issues. According to statistics, more than 90% of all systemic diseases (conditions affecting organs and systems in the body) can manifest signs and symptoms in the oral cavity. Experiencing dry mouth, bad breath, gum problems, ulcerations, or other oral lesions may be indicative of an underlying medical condition.

The Importance of Routine Checkups and Professional Dental Cleanings

Enjoying a smile that looks good and functions at its best is not something you can take for granted. To maintain optimal oral health and a vibrant smile requires an effective dental hygiene regimen, a nutritious diet, routine checkups, professional cleanings, and a comprehensive program of preventive care.

Remember, it's important not to hold off seeing the dentist until you're in terrible pain or think there's something wrong. By scheduling a routine appointment for a comprehensive dental checkup and professional cleaning, we can help you keep your smile looking and functioning at its very best.

Our office encourages patients to come in twice a year for routine checkups and professional cleanings. In this way, we can monitor your oral health, reduce your risk of dental disease, and detect any issues early in their onset when they are typically the simplest to treat.

While maintaining a healthy smile depends upon keeping your teeth and gums clean at home, even for the best "brushers" and "flossers," it's difficult to reach every nook and cranny between the teeth and gums. For this reason, we emphasize the importance of professional teeth cleanings. In this way, our hygienist can thoroughly remove any accumulated plaque and tartar from between the teeth and gums, including areas that you may have missed. Since dental plaque harbors the bacteria that are responsible for cavities and gum disease, its removal prevents these disease processes from occurring. Following a dental cleaning and polishing to remove any superficial stains from your teeth, your mouth will feel fresh and clean.

Checkup and cleaning visits also represent an opportunity to educate patients in the best oral hygiene homecare methods and routines to maintain a healthy smile. As your trusted partner in care, we'll carefully explain and demonstrate the proper techniques for brushing, flossing, and other healthy oral care practices.

Even though proper dental care is essential at every stage of life, it's especially important for children to establish a strong foundation for a lifetime of oral health. With routine checkups, preventive treatment, and age-appropriate education in the best methods for taking care of their teeth, we can help your little ones protect their smiles from dental disease. We also monitor your children's dental and jaw development as they grow; keeping a close watch to determine if any orthodontic intervention will be needed to align their smiles.

Our goal is to help you and every member of your family establish healthy practices that will last a lifetime. At the office of Aspire Dental, we're proud of the reputation we've established for providing skilled and compassionate care. We work hard to make every visit to our office a positive experience while building long-standing relationships with our patients and achieving outstanding treatment outcomes.

Quicker with minimal exposure to x-ray radiation

Images can be viewed immediately after acquisition

Images can be electronically shared

Digital radiographs do not require any developing chemicals, create less waste, and are safer for the environment

Images are immediately stored in the patient's electronic file, where they can be easily viewed on a screen, shared, or printed out.

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What Do Dental X-Rays Show?

Although we perform a thorough visual inspection of every aspect of your smile, the only way to see the deeper
structures of the teeth, as well as the surrounding tissues and bone, is with dental x-rays
or radiographs. Diagnostic x-rays not only reveal the presence of dental disease, but they
also provide valuable information on the development, health, and integrity of teeth and orofacial structures.

Thanks to advances in technology, x-rays have entered the digital age. Instead of using traditional film-based methods, which involved long-exposure times and developing solutions, digital x-ray images can now be acquired, stored, and managed via digital sensors and integrated software programs.

Digital radiography offers several benefits to the patient, including the following:

Quicker with minimal exposure to x-ray radiation

Images can be viewed immediately after acquisition

Images can be electronically shared

Digital radiographs do not require any developing chemicals, create less waste, and are safer for the environment

Digital radiographs do not require any developing chemicals, create less waste, and are safer for the environment

Images are immediately stored in the patient's electronic file, where they can be easily viewed on a screen, shared, or printed out.

What Are the Different Types of Dental X-Rays?

The type of diagnostic images our office will recommend depends on the nature of your visit and your oral healthcare needs.

Here's a list of some of the most common diagnostic films and the value of these images:

Periapical x-ray - This small film is typically taken of an individual tooth and provides a view of the entire tooth from the top of the crown to the tip of the root and bone adjacent to it.

Bitewing x-ray - This small film captures detailed views of the crowns of the premolars or molars and is typically used to check for dental decay.

Full Mouth Series - This set of x-rays consists of bitewing and periapical views of all the teeth.

Panoramic Film (panorex) - This film provides a 2D panoramic view of all the teeth and the left and right sides of the jaw. It offers a view of erupted teeth, developing teeth, impacted teeth, and allows an assessment of the health and integrity of the jawbone.

Cephalometric Film - This film provides a profile view of the face and jaws and is often used by orthodontists to assess a patient's skeletal facial and jaw growth.

Today, it's also possible to capture detailed three-dimensional images for diagnostic purposes, treatment planning,
and the delivery of care. By using Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) your dentist can acquire,
analyze, and reconstruct 3D images of a patient's teeth, jaws, and surrounding anatomy. This technology is often
employed for diagnosis, surgical planning, treatment, and the accurate placement of dental
implants.

Some of the most notable innovations in care include the following:

Smaller and streamlined bracket metal bracket design

Clear, cosmetic brackets

Self-ligating braces

Lingual Braces

Clear Aligners

3-D Imaging with CBCT

Digital Impressions

Intraoral Scanners and 3-D Planning Software

Temporary Anchorage Devices (TADs

Accelerated Orthodontics

Orthodontic Treatment With Clear Aligners

Since their arrival on the scene over two decades ago, clear aligners have revolutionized the delivery of orthodontic care. Continuing to soar in popularity, this innovative method of care offers many patients a more discreet, comfortable, and convenient solution for improving the alignment of their smiles.

Treatment that’s virtually invisible to the outside world

Custom-made to the exact specifications of a patient’s smile, clear aligners are designed to gently and incrementally move the teeth into their correct positions. As patients swap out one aligner for the next one in the prescribed series, they’re able to witness progressive improvements in their smiles. Best of all, with treatment that is virtually invisible to the outside world, no one but the patient knows they are undergoing orthodontic care.

Now that orthodontic care has entered the age of aligners, more patients are deciding it’s time to straighten their smiles.

By transforming smiles with minimal interference to daily activities, clear aligners allow patients to enjoy eating all of their favorite foods and engage in recreational activities without the fear of breaking their orthodontic appliances or sharp poking wires. Moreover, as the aligners are completely removable, there’s no need to struggle to brush and floss in between orthodontic brackets and wires.

While clear aligner therapy is a solution for every type of malocclusion, orthodontic treatment with this innovative method of care offers an excellent option for many image-conscious teens and adults.

At the office of Aspire Dental, we maintain a position at the forefront of advances in care to provide patients with the highest quality services. Whether you are a candidate for treatment with clear aligners, or another method of orthodontic care, we’ll help you achieve a well-aligned and attractive smile.

Orthodontic treatment for children

While some children require early intervention or an initial phase of care, most youngsters begin orthodontic treatment between the ages of 9 and 14. At this time, they are generally in the mid to late mixed dentition stage. This means they have a mix of permanent front teeth, permanent molars, and some baby teeth.

The benefit of placing braces at this stage is that the orthodontist can improve the alignment of permanent front teeth, guide the incoming new adult teeth into position, and utilize the child’s growth and development to the best advantage.

Braces are generally worn for one to three years with an average treatment time of two years. If a child requires a space maintainer, habit control therapy, or exhibits significant jaw disharmony, treatment may begin earlier.

After orthodontic appliances are removed retainers are worn for a period of time to stabilize and maintain the results.

For adults seeking orthodontic care

With the wide variety of orthodontic treatment options available to adults, the process of wearing braces is more convenient, more comfortable, more efficient, and much less conspicuous than ever before. Bulky metal braces are truly a thing of the past. The latest generations of metal appliances are substantially smaller and less unsightly than their predecessors. Moreover, an adult interested in orthodontic care can select braces that are hardly visible at all. Today’s tooth-colored ceramic braces, lingual braces, or removable clear aligners can all effectively deliver treatment to achieve successful and pleasing outcomes of care.

For adults seeking orthodontic care, it’s essential to keep in mind that achieving a successful outcome relies on healthy teeth and supporting bone. Adults seeking treatment sometimes exhibit the damaging consequences of uncorrected bites and poorly aligned teeth. Because their teeth are so jumbled and hard to clean, they may have extensive dental decay, display signs of gum disease, exhibit bone loss, or even had extractions. They may also suffer from worn-down teeth or TMJ joint dysfunction.

While it’s critical to address outstanding dental issues before the start of orthodontic care, it’s also important to continue maintaining the health of the teeth and surrounding tissues both during and following treatment.

Although adult orthodontics requires an investment of time and resources, the payoff is well worth it. The value of a healthy and attractive smile is priceless. Thanks to modern orthodontics, having teeth that look good and function well is something that can be enjoyed at any age.

Maintaining A Beautiful Smile

Everyone who has worn orthodontic appliances can attest that the day their braces or appliances are removed is a happy and gratifying time. Achieving a beautiful, well-aligned, and functional smile is the ultimate reward for having made a commitment to orthodontic care.

Almost every individual who has undergone orthodontic care will need to wear some type of retainer for a prescribed period of time. Retainers help to protect the teeth from relapse.

One of the reasons retainers are needed is because the teeth have a tendency to move back towards their original positions. The delicate fibers connecting the teeth to the jawbones have elastic memory. Once orthodontic appliances are removed, these fibers want to rebound to their natural positions and move the teeth out of their new alignment. Wearing retainers allow these fibers to reorganize in their new positions and to reset their memory.

Retainers are also extremely important because the teeth are part of a complex masticatory system and subject to forces that cannot always be predicted or controlled. Even after orthodontic treatment, any number of things such as tongue or lips postures, unfavorable growth of the jaws, oral habits, and periodontal problems can disrupt teeth alignment.

Remember, the benefits of orthodontic treatment can last a lifetime. Committing to wearing retainers is the best way to preserve your smile and to keep your teeth as straight and beautiful as the day your braces were removed.

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