Dental Exam
East Dundee, IL
Dental Exam provided by Dr. Gregory M. Neu, DDS
in East Dundee, IL at Neu Family Dental
 Prevention is a valuable tool in your health. We take preventive steps to keep ourselves safe every day, including watching what we eat, wearing seatbelts, helmets and more.
We understand that taking precautions can save us from future problems. There are also preventative steps you can take in your oral health that are equally as important.
At Neu Family Dental, we value your oral health and strive to provide our patients with the preventive care they need to stay healthy.
Your oral health plays a big role in your daily life and in your overall health. We use our mouths constantly, we use them to talk, breathe and to consume foods and drink.
We also use our mouths to express feelings both in words and body language. We want our mouths to stay healthy, and together, we can help you achieve that.
Professional Dental Cleaning
We ask that you have your teeth professionally cleaned by a licensed hygienist at least once a year, more if you suffer from gum disease. Your cleaning appointment generally includes the following steps:
Tracking and Measuring your Gum Pockets
Gum pockets are the space between your teeth and gum tissue. We rely on our gum tissue to support our teeth in place, so minimal separation is key.
Gum pockets deepen when disease is present.
Your dental cleaning begins with inspection of the gum tissue and measuring the depth of the gum pockets, anything greater than 3mm is an indication of trouble.
Each measurement is carefully recorded to see changes from the previous appointments.
Remove Plaque and Tartar
The hygienist then carefully removes any plaque or tartar, including calculus buildup, from the surface and between your teeth.
Plaque is a naturally created blend of saliva and food particles in your mouth, it is also a substance that bacteria can be found in.
If sugar is present in the food debris, now as a plaque film on your teeth, the bacteria happily thrives on consuming the sugars.
If plaque was allowed to remain in place, or worse dry into a hardened tartar, the bacteria continues to eat the sugars and then emit an acid that erodes the enamel and infects the gum tissue.
The hygienist uses this time to provide useful tips and education on oral hygiene.
Scaling and Root Planing
If your gum pockets exceeded 3mm, and we found gum disease to be present, we may suggest the added step of scaling and root planing. This is common in our adult patients.
Scaling is the process of removing tartar. We generally use two tools, an ultrasonic scaler and a hand scaler.
The ultrasonic scaler provides a directed stream of oxygenated water to help loosen and remove the calculus debris.
We then go over the area with a hand scaler to check that the material is gone.
Root planing is the next step, it is the smoothing of roots that can become crumpled from plaque. By smoothing the roots, we can invoke a healing response from your tissue and help prevent future problems.
Polishing
The final step in your dental cleaning is polishing your teeth to remove surface stains.
Extrinsic stains from the foods we consume can be lightened or removed.
We do this using a gritty toothpaste and a rotating brush. Intrinsic stains, meaning stains within the enamel, can't be removed from polishing.
Gum Disease
Gum disease is a common, but still dangerous, problem for your oral health.
Gum disease is the number one cause of tooth loss in adults. Infected gum tissue can't heal itself, we need to remove the source causing the infection and restore the health of your gum tissue.
Gum disease that is ignored can persist and increase in damage.
Dental Exam with Dr. Neu
We ask that you have your teeth and oral cavity examined by Dr. Neu at least once a year, more if needed.
Your dental exam is completed to look for issues or potential issues before they become bigger problems.
Your dental exam generally includes:
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Evaluation using a Probe: Using simply a probe, Dr. Neu will visually inspect your oral cavity. During this evaluation, we are looking for any indications of trouble, this may include visible cavities, changes in the texture or color of your soft tissue, lumps, bumps, or more.
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Evaluation of Digital X-rays: We may examine digital radiology images. Digital radiology or x-rays today are far more sophisticated. We are able to view and share large format images on a screen near your chair. These images are much more clear, detailed, and require a tiny fraction of the radiology to capture from past film imagery. Looking at your x-rays, we look for things that can not be seen with the naked eye, this may include decay, lumps, impacted teeth and more.
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Oral Cancer Check: We perform a quick oral cancer screening. Dentists catch more instances of oral cancer than any other person. We look for color changes, the development of bumps, and lumps. Finding any of these potential symptoms does not mean the patient has oral cancer, but we may ask to send a sample of tissue to a lab for a closer look.
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Consult: We take some time to talk and ask if you have any questions about your oral health. We want to counsel, provide education and assist you in being successful with your oral health. |
How Can Dental Health Impact Overall Health?
Your oral health plays a role in your overall health. If your body is fighting an infection in your mouth, it is less able to fight infections in other places.
Studies also show that bacteria from your mouth can be found in other areas of your body.
Additionally, the loss of teeth can impact your overall health.
Missing teeth causes changes to how you eat and what you eat. Eliminating foods from your diet because you can't chew them can be damaging to your health.
We can help your body stay in balance by having a healthy mouth.
Call to Schedule in East Dundee, IL Today!
Here at Neu Family Dental we look forward to helping you and your family have great and healthy smiles. If you are in the East Dundee area call (847) 230-9143 to schedule today!
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