PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY
Preventive Dental Checkups
The best way to understand preventive dentistry is to use the car maintenance analogy. If you get your car’s oil changed every 3,000 miles, your car will tend to run well. Chances are, you’ll save a ton of money on expensive, reactive maintenance that would be required if you didn’t keep up with your oil changes. In fact, it’s a well documented fact reactive maintenance is six times more expensive than preventive maintenance. That means for every $1.00 you spend in preventive maintenance, you save $6.00 on reactive maintenance!
The same basic concept applies to your teeth. For patients in Brandon, Pearl, Madison, Flowood, Ridgeland, and Vicksburg, we recommend you come to Big River Dental every six months for your teeth cleaning. That’s the preventive maintenance necessary for your oral health. That’s why we have a preventive care philosophy. Preventive dental care can save you time, money, effort, and pain in the long run.
We also offer the necessary restorative dentistry services to renew smiles at Big River Dental, but we prefer to help patients maintain their oral health with preventive care.
Oral Hygiene & Professional Teeth Cleaning
The first step in any successful oral health plan is excellent oral hygiene every day. That means you’re going to need to brush and floss your teeth every day. We get the chance to see you twice a year. The other 363 days, your dental care is up to you. That’s why regular teeth cleanings and optimal at-home care are both essential to maintain healthy smiles. If you live in the areas of Brandon, Pearl, Madison, Flowood, Ridgeland, or Vicksburg, we’re conveniently located just off the intersection of Highway 20 and Highway 18 in Brandon. We’re located across from the Brandon Home Depot and Bob Boyte Honda.
During your twice-a-year teeth cleanings, our team takes special care to remove the bacteria, plaque, and tartar from every tooth surface, even those impossible to reach with regular brushing and flossing alone. Starting from a young age, we also provide lessons in the best home hygiene practices.
We take the time to demonstrate good flossing and brushing, answer questions, and make recommendations for changes to improve oral health. For those patients struggling with periodontal disease or frequent tooth decay, we may recommend more frequent cleanings at our practice, and we may also offer prescription strength toothpastes and other professional grade products to improve your smile’s health between visits.
Children's Dental Care
We love to help patients of all ages, but we especially enjoy caring for children. Developing teeth need special care, and we’re happy to offer dental sealants and fluoride treatments to protect children’s smiles.
We also take the time to show little ones how to brush and floss at home, and we’ll always congratulate them on taking such good care of their smiles.
Nightguards for Bruxism
Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night because you heard a strange grinding noise or because your teeth hurt as you clenched them together? You may be experiencing bruxism, the unconscious grinding or clenching of teeth. This behavior has no specific cause, but it is often linked to increased stress. Those patients who experience stress-related bruxism may benefit from some behavioral changes and other methods for relieving stress, but for those whose bruxism is constant and unrelated to any specific behaviors, treating this condition is more difficult. We offer custom nightguards to protect teeth as you rest.
Sportsguards
Most patients think of kids when they consider athletic mouth guards, but patients of all ages who engage in sports activities where contact with other players or a hard surface is possible should protect their smiles by wearing one. No one would hesitate to include a mouth guard as part of the protective equipment for a football game. That’s why the American Dental Association and the American Academy of Sports Medicine also recommend wearing sports guards while cycling, playing basketball, football, or just about any sport. Ask about comfortable, custom athletic mouth guards at your next appointment.
Treatment of Gum Disease
Gum disease is one of the most common oral health issues in the US. Some estimates report that nearly 80% of adults over the age of 30 suffer from either gingivitis or periodontitis. Gingivitis is a mild form of gum disease. Comparatively, periodontitis is moderate to severe gum disease. When plaque and bacteria build up around the gum line, the tissue becomes irritated. Left untreated, this mild irritation develops into more severe infection or inflammation. Eventually, the tissue that connects teeth to gums begins to break down, leaving teeth vulnerable to shifting and even falling out. We offer a number of treatments to restore oral health. Starting with more frequent professional cleanings advancing to scaling, root planing, and topical antibiotics therapy.
Oral Cancer Screening
Oral cancer claims one life every hour in the United States. Sadly, nearly half of patients with oral cancer don’t live more than five years after their initial diagnosis. According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, the best way to prevent deaths from oral cancer is to receive a diagnosis and begin treatment in earlier stages. That’s why our team provides oral cancer screenings as part of every six month preventive dentistry checkup.
Digital Radiography
X-rays have been the reliable, effective way of discovering and treating oral health concerns below the surface of teeth and gums for decades. But the high levels of radiation exposure and hazardous chemicals needed to develop those images made X-rays unsafe for patients and dental practitioners alike. Luckily, digital radiography has removed these concerns. Digital X-rays expose patients to 90% less radiation, and there is no need to develop the images. We simply send them directly to a nearby computer for immediate viewing. Better yet, these images are better quality, higher definition, and allow us to rotate, zoom in and out, color code, and more in order to help patients better understand their oral health and any recommended treatments.
