General dentistry services in Pinellas Park
Whether you’re new to the area or simply want to upgrade your dental care, you may wonder how to choose the right general dentist for you. Your decision may depend upon many factors, such as convenience, environment and cost. Remember that the most important thing you can do for your and your family’s oral care is to get regular dental care to keep your smile healthy and bright.
What Does a General Dentist Do?
General dentistry services include everything you expect when you go to the dentist. A professional at a dentist's general practice takes the lead in your complete oral care. This includes primary preventive care such as teeth cleaning, as well as responsive care like filling cavities. These services help you maintain optimum oral health by preventing and/or addressing threats to healthy teeth and gums.
What Are the Main General Dentistry Services?
Without routine dental care, plaque and bacteria can build up. This threatens the health of your gums and teeth. Lack of oral hygiene has many negative effects, ranging from pain to tooth loss. However, with regular dentist visits, you can easily avoid disease and maintain a healthy smile.
What Services Does a General Dentist Provide?
A general dental office typically treats patients of all ages. Rather than specializing in one particular treatment or a specific age group, general dentistry services encompass full-circle care. In addition to preventive care and oral-product information, we provide our patients with the following services:
- Tooth repair and replacement. This includes filling cavities, chip repair, removal of teeth if needed and replacement options.
- Crowns: We custom-fit metal, ceramic and porcelain crowns to protect damaged or cracked teeth.
- Porcelain crowns: For teeth that are visible when you smile, porcelain crowns provide the best color match to your natural teeth.
- Dental bonding: To repair cracked or chipped teeth, your dentist applies a resin bonding material that matches your natural tooth color.
- Dental bridges: We custom-fit dental bridges to fill gaps due to missing teeth.
- Fillings: We clean out any cavities to eliminate decay and then fill them with metal or composite filling material.
- Composite fillings: A material colored to match your teeth, it bonds to strengthen and protect.
- Porcelain fillings: For cavities in the front of the mouth, stain-resistant porcelain fillings that match your tooth color help to preserve the beauty of your smile
How Often Should You Visit Your General Dental Office?
For routine maintenance and preventive care, you should see your dentist every six months. Depending on your age and dental health, you may need to see us more often.
What Does a General Dentist Near Me Cost?
The cost of dental care depends upon a number of variables. Pease contact our office to get more specific information.
What to Expect When You Schedule a Teeth Cleaning
Teeth cleaning helps maintain your oral health. First, the hygienist checks your mouth for any signs of inflammation or problem areas. If necessary, the dentist will take a look to confirm it's okay to proceed.
The cleaning itself consists of scaling your teeth to remove plaque and tartar, if present. The hygienist uses a hand-held scraping tool specially designed for this purpose. Next, the dental hygienist uses an electric toothbrush with gritty toothpaste to deep clean your teeth.
The next step is flossing. This gets in between your teeth to clean hard-to-reach places that you may have missed at home. Flossing also removes any grit that may be left over from the previous step. Finally, the hygienist may wrap up your cleaning session with a fluoride treatment to protect your teeth until your next cleaning.
How Much Time Does a Dental Appointment Take?
The length of each appointment depends upon the work you need. It ranges from between 30 minutes for a recheck, to several hours for more complicated dental procedures. Most general visits last about an hour. Check with us in advance for more specifics.
Do You Need to Prepare for a General Family Dentistry Appointment?
It's always a good idea to call the office ahead of time to confirm your appointment. We will also send you a reminder when your appointment time nears.
Brush and floss your teeth to prepare for your appointment. Please arrive at our office on time. That way, we can stay on schedule. If this is your first visit, please have your information available when you come in. Medical history, a list of medications you are taking, insurance coverage, and contact information are all items we may ask for. If you feel anxious at your appointment, please let us know so we can ease your concerns.
