Vista Ridge Family Dentistry is a comprehensive family dental practice, which means we strive to provide families with all the dental services they want and need. Our in-house services allow us to create treatment plans customized to each patient. General dentistry provides some of the most essential types of treatment that we offer in our Cedar Park, TX office.
Preventative dental care is a part of general dentistry. This means that services like extractions or emergency dental treatments can prevent the need for more complex care down the road. Our general dental treatments maintain oral health and prevent future dental problems.
Why Visit the Dentist Regularly?
When you visit our office for a routine appointment, we can provide personalized care for preventive dental services:
- Routine cleanings and exams: Visiting our office helps support good dental hygiene. We provide exams to keep track of your oral health and cleanings to help prevent tooth and gum infections.
- Fluoride treatments: After dental cleanings, we can apply a fluoride varnish to each tooth. Fluoride helps remineralize the tooth enamel.
- Dental sealants: We apply these thin, protective coatings to the molars after routine cleanings. Our office recommends sealants for children to help protect their molars from cavities.
- Halitosis treatment: We can diagnose and treat bad breath by examining the mouth for signs of gum disease, cavities, or oral infections. We may often recommend professional dental cleanings to remove plaque buildup, which can contribute to bad breath. In addition, we may provide tips on how to clean your mouth effectively at home.
- Oral cancer screenings: At regular check-ups, we examine the mouth, throat, and neck for sores or lumps. This is the first step to help identify oral cancer.
Routine dental treatment every six months keeps the teeth and gums healthy. Regular dental visits can stop common dental health problems like cavities and gum disease.
General Dentistry in Cedar Park, TX
Preventive dental care is an excellent investment that patients from all different dental backgrounds can utilize to maintain optimal oral health. Our preventive services include:
Emergency Dentistry
We offer emergency dental treatment for patients who need immediate dental care. Emergency dental services can treat problems like toothaches, lost or broken dental restorations, and knocked-out permanent teeth. We can advise you on how to care for your teeth or gums before you get to our office.
Pediatric Dentist
Our dental office provides pediatric dentistry services for children and teenagers. We aim to create a comfortable environment for all patients when they visit us, particularly younger patients, as they may have anxiety about visiting the dentist. Our kid-friendly amenities and compassionate dental team help children feel more comfortable when they visit us for dental care.
Sedation Dentistry
Our sedation dentistry options help patients feel comfortable and relaxed throughout their dental care. Under sedation, patients do not feel any pain or discomfort. We provide nitrous oxide, IV sedation, and oral conscious sedation to patients with various oral health needs. Sedation can benefit patients with anxiety or dental fear or help patients who require more lengthy treatments.
Sleep Apnea
We provide sleep apnea treatment to help patients get a good night’s sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common type of sleep apnea that occurs when soft tissues collapse, blocking the airway. A nightguard can help patients with mild to moderate OSA who experience pauses in breathing during the night. This oral appliance keeps the airway open.
Root Canals: Preserving Your Natural Teeth
Root canal treatments are never a favorite dental service among patients. However, they can be crucial for restoring your smile and preventing more invasive and costly procedures. We provide gentle and efficient root canal treatments that will have you smiling big again in no time.
There’s no way for patients to know whether they need a root canal on their own. Visiting an experienced dentist to examine your teeth and gums is essential. Here are a few symptoms that can indicate that a root canal may be necessary:
- Severe tooth pain
- Sudden tooth sensitivity
- Change in tooth color
- Swollen or tender gums
- A loose tooth
Are Root Canals Painful?
Root canals have a bad reputation for being very uncomfortable and painful dental procedures because they used to be much more painful than they are now. Fortunately, advancements in dental technology now allow root canal treatments to be more similar to receiving a dental filling from the patient’s perspective.
Suppose restorative dental treatments tend to cause you anxiety, or you want your root canal treatment to fly by. In that case, our office also provides several choices for dental sedation.
We perform root canals when harmful bacteria can access the inside of a tooth through untreated dental trauma or tooth decay and cause an infection. When this happens, the only way to treat the infection is by creating a small hole in the top of the tooth and clearing out the infected tissue.
However, if the infection is left untreated, it can spread to other parts of the mouth and body and cause serious consequences, so seeking treatment as soon as possible is essential.
Dental Fillings
We provide dental fillings in our Cedar Park, TX office to fix teeth that have cavities, which are small holes caused by decay. During the procedure, we remove the decayed part of the tooth and fill the space with composite resin. Fillings restore the tooth’s shape, strength, and function. Dental fillings also prevent further decay and can relieve tooth pain caused by cavities.
Tooth Extractions
We may need to remove teeth for various reasons, from excessive damage to stubborn baby teeth that prevent an adult tooth from growing properly. Our team performs gentle, comfortable tooth extractions. Before extractions, we can assess how teeth affect oral health. We can plan the extraction if needed to prevent further tooth loss, damage, or infection.
Why Preventative Care is Essential
Preventative dental care is the main way to keep your smile healthy. This form of care focuses on preventing oral health problems instead of trying to treat them after they’ve already started. It has to be taken seriously both at home and in regular visits to our dentist office.
At home, brush your teeth at least twice daily and floss at least once daily. This removes plaque, bacteria, and debris, preventing buildup that can progress into tartar and oral health problems. You have to do this between dental visits because cleaning your teeth just at the dentist office doesn’t keep them clean. You have to keep up with things to avoid dental problems.
However, you can’t just take care of your teeth at home, either. There are areas that a typical toothbrush and dental floss can’t reach. We use specialized dental tools that are made to fit into these more difficult areas.
Without regular cleanings, plaque and tartar build in areas you can’t reach with your toothbrush. Even if you do everything right at home, you can still be at risk for tooth decay and gum disease because those areas aren’t getting clean.
The dental exam is another essential part of visiting the dentist regularly. Conditions like oral cancer have very subtle warning signs that you may not notice on your own. We have training to look for small indicators that certain oral health issues aren’t developing. Our office also has diagnostic tools like x-rays that can see things in areas the naked eye can’t. Catching problems in their early stages makes them easier to treat and less expensive to pay for.
Your General Dentistry Appointment: What to Expect
You should visit the dentist at least twice yearly for regular dental cleaning and exams. One of our dental hygienists will start the appointment. We’ll do a cursory exam of your mouth, check vital signs, and discuss your medical and dental history to see if anything has changed since your last appointment.
Usually, we’ll then perform X-rays. An X-ray is a diagnostic tool that allows us to see the inner workings of your mouth. They’re good for catching cavities or other issues we may not be able to detect with our eyes alone.
Then, we use specialized dental tools to scrape plaque and tartar off your teeth. We will reach areas near the gumline and other hard-to-reach areas that your toothbrush and floss can’t always reach.
When we finish that portion, we’ll polish the teeth with a special high-powered toothbrush. We use a gritty toothpaste that eliminates plaque and tartar buildup. It also reduces surface stains and gives your teeth a smooth and clean feeling after leaving the dentist’s office. We perform professional flossing to ensure there’s no bacteria or debris between your teeth.
Once the hygienist is finished, the dentist comes in to perform an exam. We do a thorough dental exam in our Cedar Park, TX office. Our team will examine your mouth, tongue, teeth, and throat to see if there’s anything irregular. We’ll review your charts and diagnostic results and discuss any possible concerns with the hygienist. If we notice something, we can order more testing, provide patient education, give referrals, and schedule future review appointments.
Schedule a Dental Consultation
Do you need a Cedar Park dentist? Call Vista Ridge Family Dentistry for routine dental care today at 512-866-9654. Feel free to schedule a dental appointment online. Please let us know your questions or concerns about your oral health. We’re here to help.