Grand Rapids Dentist | Preventative Dentistry
Our offers patients both traditional and advanced procedures for maintaining healthy teeth and gums — and their overall health — throughout their lifetimes. Our dental procedures are performed by dentist Katie Burggraaf DDS — right in our Grand Rapids dental office.
Today’s advanced dental techniques used by our experienced Grand Rapids dentist, provide you with different options for enhancing your smile. Preventative dentistry covers several routine dental services, such as exams, gum disease treatments, cleanings, fillings, sealants and oral cancer screenings.
Click below to learn more about our Preventative Dental Services:
- Cleanings
- Gum Disease (Periodontal) Treatments
- Fillings
- Examinations
- Oral Cancer Screenings
- Sealants
At the Grand Rapids MI dental office of Katie Burggraaf DDS, our primary goal is simple: to prevent your need for extensive restorative or cosmetic dental procedures. Through regular maintenance, our Grand Rapids family dentist can help you prevent poor oral health due to decay and disease — problems that can negatively affect your overall health and well-being.
Maintaining good oral hygiene remains one of the most important things you can do for your teeth and gums. Healthy teeth and gums help you to not only look and feel good, but they allow you to eat and speak properly. Our caring and professional staff stresses daily preventative care — such as proper brushing and flossing — to prevent more serious problems from developing. Between regular visits to our full-service Grand Rapids dental office, there are simple steps you can take to greatly decrease your risk of developing tooth decay, gum disease and other dental or medical problems.
- Brush thoroughly twice a day and floss daily
- Eat a balanced diet and limit snacks between meals
- Use dental products that contain fluoride, including toothpaste
- Rinse with a fluoride mouth rinse if your dentist advises you to
- Make sure that children under 12 drink fluoridated water
- Visit your dentist regularly for professional cleanings and exams
- Replace your toothbrush every 3-4 months
Preventative Dental Services
Professional Cleanings
The best way to prevent excessive plaque buildup is to schedule a professional cleaning with a Grand Rapids dentist or dental hygienist every six months. Plaque that is left untreated can lead to unhealthy gums and tooth decay. A routine dental cleaning lasts about one hour and will usually include scaling and polishing.
Our professional cleanings will help you to preserve your teeth and gums. While having a cavity filled may seem uncomfortable, compared to root canal therapy or tooth extractions, it is much less painful. If you have not scheduled your next professional cleaning, contact us today and avoid the cost and discomfort of extensive dental restorations.
KB Family Dentistry is now offering Guided Biofilm Therapy® (GBT) at all dental hygiene visits!
Gum Disease Treatments (Periodontal)
The gums, ligaments and bone around the teeth form the foundation for your teeth. These structures as a whole are also called the periodontium. When the periodontium is not healthy, it jeopardizes the teeth just as a bad foundation would threaten the stability of a house.
Some signs of an unhealthy periodontium include gums that are red and bleed easily, persistent bad breath, gums that are pulled away from the tooth, loose teeth and changes in the position or bite of the teeth. Any of these may be a sign of a problem. With proper gum treatments, however, it may be possible to return gum tissue to a healthy state. If gum disease is not treated at the first sign of a problem and becomes too severe, it may need to be treated through surgery or extraction.
Material Fillings
Dental fillings restore teeth damaged by decay back to their normal shape and function, and are a vital aspect of your overall oral health.
If you have a tooth that requires a filling, our knowledgeable Grand Rapids dentist will remove the decayed material, clean the affected area and then fill the cavity with a filling material. This filling will help to prevent further decay by closing off any cracks or spaces where bacteria can enter and cause harm to the tooth.
Comprehensive Examinations
In order to maintain a healthy smile, it is important that our Grand Rapids dentist performs comprehensive examinations of your overall oral health. Using advanced dental technology, such as digital x-rays, we can effectively monitor the condition of your teeth and identify early signs of decay.
Comprehensive exams allow our professional staff to assess the condition of your gums and their position along your teeth. Early detection of periodontal disease can save your smile. Our knowledgeable staff will work with you to develop an examination schedule that matches your oral health requirements.
Oral Cancer Screenings
In America, oral cancer kills more people each year than skin and cervical cancer combined. At our Grand Rapids dental practice, we perform oral cancer screenings utilizing visual inspection and manual palpation. In addition, we have the latest technology in oral cancer detection.
Our oral cancer screening system helps your Grand Rapids dentist visualize abnormalities in the mucosal tissues of your lips, mouth and upper throat. An oral cancer screening examination will allow your dentist to more accurately assess your overall oral health.
To ensure that your mouth is as healthy as possible, request an oral cancer exam during your next visit to the dentist or contact us for more information.
Sealants
Sealants are used as a preventative measure to help fill in narrow grooves in a tooth that cannot be adequately cleaned by brushing. In many individuals, the tooth’s structure may contain several fine grooves or pits, which can accumulate plaque.
This is usually not caused by brushing improperly or infrequently, but simply because these fine grooves or pits may be too narrow to allow even one bristle inside for cleaning. Unfortunately, if not taken care of properly, these tiny grooves will develop into cavities over time. To prevent this, our professional dentist may brush a coating onto the tooth or teeth to seal the grooves and pits, making it possible to brush off all the plaque and keep your teeth healthy and free from decay.
To learn more about Grand Rapids preventative dentist Katie Burggraaf DDS or to request an appointment, please contact us here or call our office directly at 616.241.2659.