Midtowne Smiles
You should be seeing your dentist every six months to have your teeth professionally cleaned and your entire smile, including your gums and your teeth, examined. This can help to identify oral diseases in their earliest stages when they can be treated most easily.
You should be having semi-annual exams and cleanings at your dentist’s office. Here’s what to expect from those services:
Dr. Burton will examine your teeth and gums thoroughly to identify any signs of oral diseases, such as cavities or periodontal disease.
We take x-rays once a year to look at the interior structures of your smile.
We use Velscope technology to detect symptoms of early-stage oral cancer.
You can be the most diligent brusher and flosser around, but it still may not be enough to keep your smile completely clean. A dental hygienist can access the parts of your smile that are hard for you to reach on your own and eliminate plaque and tartar from those areas.
About General Dental Care
Some patients may benefit from other preventive care, such as sealants or fluoride treatments, to protect or strengthen the teeth. Dr. Burton will discuss the benefits of these interventions with you so that you can make an informed choice about your treatment.
The Oral Cancer Foundation estimates that close to 53,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral or oropharyngeal cancer every year. At more than 9500 deaths every year, the disease claims one life every hour. The death rate for oral cancer is higher than that of cancers that we hear about frequently, such as cervical cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, laryngeal cancer, cancer of the testes, and many others.
The best way to protect yourself from oral cancer is to undergo an annual oral cancer screening. The detection of this disease in its early stages constitutes an essential facet of prevention and is the key to survival. It is precise with this goal in mind that Dr. Burton has started VELscope® Oral Cancer Screening in addition to the oral cancer exam during his regular dental checkup.
The FDA-approved VELscope® uses Fluorescence Visualization (FV) in an exciting new way and helps to help detect oral cancer in its earliest stages. Essentially, the VELscope® is a blue excitation lamp, which highlights precancerous and cancerous cell changes. The VELscope® examination by Dr. Burton is a painless and non-invasive procedure that takes two to three minutes.
If symptoms are noted, Dr. Burton will recommend a biopsy to fully ascertain the findings and let you know the future course of action. If there is no cause for doubt, you can schedule another examination next year.
In order to keep your smile as healthy as possible between dental appointments, you should be brushing and flossing as directed. Keep in mind the following tips:
You deserve the best possible treatment and care when you visit us. We have installed powerful protection for you with the VistaClear™ Centralized Waterline Treatment System. The system provides filtered procedural water directly to dental operatories— eliminating the need for bottle systems and storage tanks!
The system’s micron-level filtration, built-in backflow prevention, and patented waterline cleaning method protect dental equipment and ensures that you benefit from the purest water during your procedures. Water from Vistaclear™ is safer from bacterial contamination that can creep into city water supplies.