Teeth Cleanings and Exams in Bastrop, TX

Picture a favorite celebrity whose smile you admire. Some serious cosmetic dentistry may have enhanced those beautiful teeth, but at the heart of it, their attractive smile is a testament to a faithful relationship with their dentist. That's why the team at CS Family Dentistry is dedicated to ensuring you receive the best possible care. This starts with regular exams and cleanings for our friends and neighbors in Bastrop and the nearby communities of Utley, Clearview, Camp Swift, Alum Creek, Wyldwood, & Upton.

A cornerstone of your regular check-up appointments is when we clean your teeth to head off tooth decay problems. Your hygienist uses specially designed tools to access all parts of your teeth to remove plaque and tartar. Their considerable experience and training aid our dental professionals in uncovering and eliminating the build-up you can miss while brushing and flossing at home.

Digital and Panoramic X-rays and Exams

Along with your dental cleaning, your routine exam may also include digital and panoramic X-rays to help us further diagnose dental issues that we need to confirm by looking deep inside your teeth. Digital X-rays allow Dr. Smith to quickly and easily view the images taken and compare them with previous X-rays. In addition, because they're stored digitally, these images are easy on the environment and available whenever we need them.

Panoramic X-rays provide us with an even more extensive view of your mouth, not just your teeth, but also your gums, jawbone, and even into your neck, to uncover other oral health issues. This type of image gives our team a blown-up view of all structures in one image.

These tools all combine with your regular dental examination to detect minor issues before they get big and to diagnose more significant issues with precision. Other uses for digital and panoramic X-rays are to help place dental implants and dental bridges and plan orthodontic treatments and dentures

Another challenge many of our patients in Bastrop deal with is periodontal or gum disease. In its various forms, gum disease is an insidious threat to your oral health because it can progress without you noticing. Gum disease is rarely painful in the initial stages but may cause considerable damage before discovery. But Dr. Smith and his team can discover and address any issues with your gums during routine care.

You've heard of gingivitis, which is the early stages of gum disease. We treat this during your thorough cleaning and work with you to improve your at-home care routine. For many patients, these efforts are sufficient to not only treat gingivitis but to reverse its effects altogether.

Periodontitis is the more advanced form of gum disease. Dr. Smith will likely recommend a deep-cleaning procedure called scaling and root planing to help address the impacts of periodontitis. We will ensure your comfort and that your gums are numbed during this treatment. Then, the scaling process removes tartar above and below the gum line, reaching into the gum pockets where bacteria may gather. After scaling, your hygienist will use the planing tools to help smooth out your gums and lessen those bacteria growth problem areas. We may also recommend antibiotic therapy to help fight any renewed bacterial incursion in some cases.

Preventive Dentistry May Include Flouride and Varnish

Fluoride is a mineral that enriches our teeth and can help prevent tooth decay. Flouride targets and bolsters tooth enamel and is widely available in dental health products like toothpaste and mouth rinses. The benefits of fluoride treatments include:

• Remineralilzing tooth enamel
• Stopping minor tooth decay
• Blocking bacterial growth on teeth

We usually recommend fluoride for children with growing teeth who may have more challenges than most adults. However, we may consider these treatments in cases where they can be helpful, even if you're a little older.

We also often recommend dental varnish to keep teeth strong and healthy. This sealant is an advanced plastic that we apply in a thin coating mostly to the chewing surfaces of your teeth. This material fills in the rough spots and grooves where bacteria love to congregate. It also acts as a barrier to decay and cavity growth.

These sealants are safe and effective, wearing away slowly over time. Dr. Smith may decide to reapply dental varnish and sealants as needed.

At CS Family Dentistry, we are proud to provide routine care with numerous preventive treatments that help maintain your family's bright and healthy smiles. But if you live in Bastrop, Utley, Clearview, Camp Swift, Alum Creek, Wyldwood, or Upton and you've held off on your check-ups, now is an excellent time to get back on track and help ensure a beautiful smile for years to come.