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General Dentistry Dallas, TX

At East Quarter Dental, we value the oral health of our patients. While there are many ways to take care of your smile at home, nothing quite compares to coming into our Dallas dental office for teeth cleaning every six months. Many patients have questions regarding why this is necessary.

If you keep up with brushing and flossing at home, isn’t only coming in every once in a while enough? There are many aspects of in-office teeth cleaning with a dental hygienist who goes above and beyond to keep your mouth in good health. We also provide comprehensive dental services for our patients in Dallas, Texas.

General Dentistry

Learn About Teeth Cleaning

Obtaining teeth cleaning will ensure you don’t have to spend as much time at our office in the long run. During a teeth cleaning, your dental hygienist will remove any leftover plaque that your at-home oral hygiene routine may have left behind.

No matter how well you take care of your teeth at home, plaque can be pesky and hard to remove without a professional dental touch. If plaque is left unattended for too long, it can result in tartar, cavities, or dental disease. We want to make sure you successfully avoid this! Coming in for teeth cleaning twice per year will help prevent it.

So, what is tartar? When plaque is left on your teeth for too long, it will harden into tartar. This will become a perfect place for oral bacteria to hide, turning sugars in the food you eat into acid. These acids can eventually lead to cavities and gum disease.

The tools used during teeth cleaning can successfully remove any tartar you may have. If it has been a while since you have visited a dentist, the chances of having some tartar in your mouth will be higher. Luckily, this is nothing to worry about as long as it is removed.

Preparing for Your Visit

To prepare for your visit to our Dallas dental office, we recommend you keep up with your routine oral hygiene practices at home. If you brush and floss immediately before coming into your appointment, it will be easier for your dental hygienist to focus on the more serious aspects of the cleaning.

During a teeth cleaning appointment, your Dallas dental hygienist will give you an apron to protect your clothes from stains caused by any substances used. The appointment will involve scraping any lingering tartar from your teeth and polishing them.

When your teeth are polished, it will become more difficult for plaque to build up on them in the future. Then, your hygienist will thoroughly brush and floss your teeth in addition to giving you a fluoride treatment if you desire one.

A fluoride treatment will protect your teeth from cavities for months to come. The fluoride will be brushed onto your teeth, and you will wait thirty minutes to let it set in before brushing it off. During these thirty minutes, you should not eat or drink anything, as it may disrupt the process of the fluoride.

Dental Fillings

Our downtown Dallas dental practice offers dental fillings as part of our restorative service for cavities and oral infections. In addition to this, they are also used to repair broken or cracked teeth that have been damaged by excessive wear. If you have never had this type of treatment before, do not worry! It is simple and will leave your teeth as good as new and ready for everyday use once again.

Learn About Dental Fillings

Fillings are needed due to tooth decay, which can eventually lead to cavities. These issues are formed by bacteria in your mouth that cause acids to attack the enamel of one or more of your teeth. These acids will eventually create holes, or cavities, in your teeth.

Cavities can range in size and even lead to the destruction of an entire tooth if not treated correctly and in good time. Exposing your teeth to acid often, especially with certain types of foods or drinks, can increase the likelihood of cavities, which will result in requiring dental fillings.

A filling is needed after your dentist performs a root canal, in which they remove any infected pulp from the root of your tooth. There are a few primary steps involved in this process. Your downtown Dallas dentist will begin by numbing the area surrounding your affected teeth with a local anesthetic.

This will ensure that you feel no pain or discomfort during the procedure. Next, a drill will be used to remove the decayed portion of your tooth. The area will then be examined to make sure all the decay or infected pulp has been effectively removed from your tooth. If all is determined to be well, your dentist will move forward with the filling.

The filling process will begin with the tooth’s root being cleaned out of all leftover bacteria and dried. If the infection happens to have reached close to the root of the tooth, your dentist will place a liner in the root to protect the nerve. This liner will generally be made of a composite resin or another protective material.

Once the tooth has been prepared, the filling will be placed. Many types of materials can be used, including composite and amalgam fillings. Composite fillings are more popular because they are tooth-colored, look natural, and blend in with your surrounding teeth. Most patients choose to go the composite route for these reasons.

You may be wondering what life will be like after getting a filling. At first, you may experience some unusual sensations in your tooth, but this is normal and will fade over time. Some examples of feelings patients have are sensitivity to cold foods, sweet foods, or air.

You should not experience pain, and if you do, it is possible that your filling is too tall. If this is the case, it can be easily fixed by your downtown Dallas dentist. If you are having pain or discomfort after two weeks, while uncommon, there are a few possibilities:

  • A different material may need to be used.
  • A liner may need to be added.
  • A desensitizing agent may need to be added.
  • The filling may be too deep.

All of these are quick fixes and can be easily resolved by your dentist. If you are having issues following your filling, it is best to contact our office promptly to have it looked into and repaired.

If you take proper care of your newly-filled tooth or teeth, they can return to their natural look and function. Fillings are also able to aid in protecting against future cavities and disease.

We recommend taking care of your filled teeth just as you would care for your natural teeth: with plenty of brushing, flossing, and bi-yearly trips to see us for hygiene appointments and dental checkups!

Dental fillings will aid in enabling you to smile with confidence again, and our downtown Dallas dental team cannot wait to assist in this process. Call us at (469) 943-1400 if you think you may require a filling or have any questions!