General Dentistry in Charlotte, NC
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Regularly seeing your dentist is a significant part of maintaining healthy teeth and gums. Most dental practices focused on general dentistry are concerned with preventing conditions that can adversely affect oral health and providing treatments when necessary. Here’s everything you should know about general dentistry before scheduling an appointment at our Charlotte, NC, dental practice.
What Does a General Dentist Do?
General dentistry is concerned with identifying, diagnosing, preventing, and treating various disorders and diseases of the teeth, gums, and maxillofacial region. So, a general dentist primarily works to improve the hygiene and health of your mouth. Unlike specialists who focus on specific areas of oral health, a general dental office offers several different areas of service, some of which include:
- Preventive dentistry
- Cosmetic dentistry
- Restorative dentistry
Due to the wide range of treatments and procedures that general dentists can perform, they are one of the most commonly visited healthcare professionals. It would be best to visit a dentist at least twice yearly, once every six months, for preventive services.
Why Visit a General Dentist?
The primary reason to see a dentist regularly is to ensure that you don’t develop an adverse oral health condition that progresses to the point of requiring a complex procedure. General dentists perform thorough exams to evaluate problem areas and treat them. In combination with brushing and flossing as part of at-home care, regular bi-annual visits to the dentist will keep your teeth, gums, soft tissues, and jaw as healthy as possible.
General Dentistry Services
There is a wide variety of services that a general dentist can provide, such as:
- Regular Dental Visits: The most common service dentists provide are oral exams, typically performed once or twice a year. However, your dentist may recommend more frequent visits if you have a history of oral health problems or have recently undergone cosmetic or restorative procedures.
- Pediatric Dentistry: While pediatric dentistry is a specialization, general dentists can perform pediatric services such as exams, cleanings, and restorations.
- Tooth Extractions: If conditions in your mouth progress to where your teeth become too damaged to save, general dentists can perform extractions. An extraction is the removal of one or more teeth in order to preserve the health of the rest of your mouth and relieve pain.
- Root Canal Therapy: General dentists can perform a procedure known as root canal therapy which treats infections or other issues involving the nerve of your tooth. The pulp is a layer of soft tissue inside a tooth that houses the nerve endings and blood vessels. Infections arise when this layer has become so damaged from either an untreated large cavity or a fracture that it eventually dies. Because tooth infections originate in your jaw bone, they can quickly spread to the rest of your mouth and other body parts if they are not treated promptly. Root canal therapy involves removing the infected pulp and cleaning and disinfecting the inside of a tooth. The hollowed tooth is then filled with a dental sealant to help preserve it and prevent bacteria from entering the canal. Despite this procedure’s intimidating reputation, root canal treatment is a routine service not much different from filling a cavity, and it has been used to save millions of teeth.
- Dentures/Partial Dentures: Finally, when multiple teeth need to be extracted and/or replaced, your dentist can make you a set of dentures or partial dentures. These are fully-removable appliances that have replacement teeth that look completely natural. Depending on your condition, you could receive partial dentures, which only replace a few teeth in a row, or complete dentures, which replace all of a patient’s natural teeth.
General Dentistry Cost
The cost of general dentistry varies depending on the reason for your visit to the dentist’s office. However, because general dental services are among some of the most fundamental oral health practices a patient can undergo, they are some of the most affordable. In addition, virtually all insurance plans will at least partially cover the cost of most general dental procedures that aren’t considered cosmetic.
Schedule an Appointment, and Let Us Care for Your Oral Health
Dr. Carli Warden, DDS, and the team at Luminous Dental are committed to education, not just for their continued practice but also for their patients. We take the time to explain each treatment option and process to ensure you are completely comfortable. . Luminous Dental also utilizes the latest in dental technology to achieve optimal results.
If you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.