Preventative Care in Tulsa
At Tulsa Dental Center, you’ll find a team committed to helping you improve your smile, dental function, and confidence. With a full range of services designed to meet your specific needs, we can address your current dental concerns as well as help prevent future oral health issues.
We love our community and are proud to provide excellence in dentistry!
Phone
Office Location
4824 S Union Ave,
Tulsa, OK 74107
Sealants
Dental sealants are an excellent solution offering additional protection for your teeth. These thin resin coatings are applied to the grooves of the permanent back teeth- your molars and premolars.
Because it is difficult to brush into the deep grooves of these teeth, they’re susceptible to decay. Sealants are applied to protect these teeth and help prevent cavities. Generally, dental sealants are clear or white, but some sealants can have a slight tint.
Sealants are a great option because once applied, they can offer years of protection and prevention.
Preventative Hygiene Therapy
Tulsa Dental Center’s hygiene therapists work alongside our team of dentists, providing expert care to every patient.
Your dentist will carefully examine the condition of your gums and teeth, keeping track of any changes over time.
Equally important to caring for your teeth is looking after the support structure for your teeth. Our preventative hygiene team provides treatments specifically designed to improve your periodontal condition and protect your teeth.
We also equip you with tips to boost your at-home cleaning practices.
Laser Periodontal Therapy
Designed to assist in treating gum disease, laser periodontal therapy is a revolutionary treatment. Gum disease requiring treatment typically affects adults in their 30-40s but can affect younger patients as well. Poor oral hygiene, certain medications, smoking, or chronic illness all play a part in contributing to gum disease.
Traditionally, scaling and root planing processes are used to treat gum disease. These treatments clean the root and tooth surface, effectively removing plaque, tartar, and bacteria. Another option, flap surgery, cuts back the gum tissue to allow for deep cleaning. Flap surgery is much more invasive than other options.
With periodontal laser therapy, a specialized dental laser is used to access and remove inflamed gum tissues from the root. Plaque and calculus build-up from below the gum line are targeted, and any rough areas that could attract bacteria are smoothed out. As the root and gums begin to heal, regeneration occurs.
Periodontal laser therapy requires no general anesthesia and is incredibly effective at targeting and treating specific areas of the mouth. It is a significantly less invasive option than surgery, with shorter healing and recovery times, as well.
Periodontal Examinations and Treatment
Periodontal examinations focus specifically on your gums, jawbone, and teeth. These exams allow our team to thoroughly understand your complete oral health, equipping us to offer the most effective treatment for your specific and unique situation.
A periodontal examination gives you a picture of your current oral health, whether you have a history of gum disease or not. By understanding your current state of health, our team is able to more easily track and treat any issues that may develop over time.
During a periodontal examination, you can expect the team at Tulsa Dental Center to review:
- Your gums’ physical appearance
- Dental pockets – the space between your gums and teeth, which indicate the level of gum disease in your mouth
- Areas of swelling, tenderness, or pain
- Levels of decay or infection
- Tooth recession
- Tooth mobility
Based on the results of the examination, we will discuss with you any available treatments that may help improve your current oral health.
Oral Cancer Screenings
An oral cancer screening is a quick examination that involves your dentist looking at the inside of your mouth, checking tissues, cheeks, throat, gums, the roof of the mouth, and neck.
Oral cancer screenings should be performed regularly, which is why it’s so important patients maintain regular, routine dental appointments.
Dental Cone Beam CT Imaging
When regular facial x-rays are inadequate for a specific situation, dental cone beam computed tomography can be used. This specialist type of x-ray equipment produces 3D images of bone, nerve pathways, and soft tissues, all in a single CT scan.
Capable of determining and evaluating diseases of the face, jaw, sinuses, dentition, nasal cavity, and face, cone-beam CT imaging allows for a high-precision level of treatment planning. This imaging option is also useful in surgical planning, dental implant placement, measuring jaw tumors, reconstructive surgery, and much more.
If you are interested in this precise form of imaging, contact our team to proactively discuss this. Otherwise, cone beam CT scans are typically ordered by our dental professionals on behalf of clients, following a consultation.
Intra Oral Cameras
Tulsa Dental Center uses innovative, cutting-edge equipment to make sure patients receive the highest level of care available.
We use intraoral cameras throughout the clinic to take clear pictures of your mouth. These pictures can be displayed on a screen for you and our team to see.
Intraoral cameras are a valuable tool in monitoring your oral health, as the images, they produce give us a documented record of your mouth.
Because our team can quickly refer back to these images, changes in your gums, teeth, and tissues over time are easy to observe. Not only that, these images contribute to better patient understanding, as they enable all patients to see any new or existing issues up close and personal.
Dental Night Guards
At Tulsa Dental Center, we provide dental night guards, bite splits, or occlusal guards to any patients who clench or grind their teeth in their sleep.
This clenching or grinding is known as bruxism, and many people aren’t aware that they are doing this. Bruxism may present itself in the form of jaw stiffness or painful teeth in the mornings or as a buzzing or ringing sound in the ears.
A dental night guard helps prevent teeth clenching, which can reduce some of the pain associated with bruxism. If untreated, bruxism can cause the teeth to chip or be worn down from grinding.
This damage can become so severe over time, it can require crowns or fillings to repair.
In the case of bruxism, the need for these restorative procedures can be greatly reduced by the use of a dental night guard. If your teeth grinding or clenching is causing you pain or discomfort, or you’re concerned it might, we can help determine if you have bruxism and if a dental night guard could be a helpful option for you.
If you’d like to learn more about preventative care, please speak with your dentist at your next appointment or call our friendly team for more information.
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Business Hours
Monday | 8AM - 5PM |
Tuesday | 8AM - 5PM |
Wednesday | 8AM - 5PM |
Thursday | 8AM - 5PM |
Friday | Closed |
Saturday | Closed |
Sunday | Closed |