General Dentistry
General Dentist in Shakopee, MN
Most people understand the importance of going to the dentist. However, not everyone knows what a dentist does or is responsible for in their practice. Many specialists oversee specific areas of oral health, but the general dentist is perhaps the most vital healthcare professional in maintaining your teeth.
What Is General Dentistry?
General dentistry is the practice of evaluating, diagnosing, treating, and preventing tooth and gum disorders through proper hygiene and diagnostic medicine. As a result, general dentistry is uniquely suited to the prevention of disease and decay. Consequently, general dentists emphasize cleanliness and hygiene education more than oral health practitioners in more specialized areas.
It would be best to visit the dentist at least once every six months. However, if you are experiencing any oral health concerns or have undergone orthodontic treatment at any point, you should make more frequent visits to the dentist. Your dentist may also set a schedule of visits during the year for you to follow. By sticking to this regimen of regular dental visits while maintaining oral hygiene at home, you can ensure that your teeth and gums remain healthy.
So why should you visit a general dentist so often? Even if you brush and floss your teeth regularly, it’s difficult to find all the areas of your mouth where bacteria can hide and grow. These problem spots typically lead to decay and cavities, which may appear out of nowhere to someone who keeps up with their oral hygiene. General dentists are trained to recognize these hard-to-reach places, and they are equipped with the tools and techniques necessary to clean them properly.
In addition, general dentists can recognize the early warning signs of an oral health issue that untrained eyes might miss. Early detection is the key to preventing problems that require extensive treatment. A thorough dental cleaning is preferable to root canal therapy or an extraction.
What Are the Services Provided by General Dentistry?
A wide variety of health conditions can potentially affect your teeth and gums. Because of this, general dentistry offers a variety of treatments that are both preventative and restorative.
Root Canal Therapy
When bacteria is left untreated, it can produce an acidic byproduct that slowly eats away at the enamel of your teeth. If this process continues for too long, the bacteria will eventually wear a hole through the enamel down to the root of your teeth, where nerves and blood vessels are located. This hole, or cavity, will cause pain and discomfort as the bacteria begin attacking your nerves and causing an infection to take hold in the soft tissue.
A root canal involves using tools to go into the cavity and remove the root. This procedure prevents the infection and bacteria from spreading to other teeth through your gums. Once the root is removed, the dentist rinses out the inside of the tooth with a disinfectant to kill any bacteria before filling the hole with a special tooth-colored composite material.
Extractions
When a patient is experiencing an oral health issue, the best case scenario is to resolve it without the need to lose any teeth. However, some problems become too extensive to save a tooth, and that is when the dentist must remove it by performing an extraction.
There are two kinds of dental extractions. The first is where the dentist gently loosens the tooth before pulling it out of the gums using tools. The second kind involves making a surgical incision in the gums to remove the tooth at the root.
Dentures
Sometimes, a patient ends up losing several teeth in a row. To replace them and maintain their smile and ability to eat, a dentist may recommend the application of dentures.
Dentures are prosthetic appliances designed to replace most or all of the teeth in a row. They are typically made of false teeth attached to a structure that mimics gum tissue. Dentures can be bonded to gums by a dental adhesive or by locking in place via a series of metal implants that have been surgically inserted into a patient’s jawbone.
The Cost Of General Dentistry
The cost of general dentistry varies depending on what dental procedures or services the dentist performs, how many teeth are affected, and how extensive any procedures need to be. In addition, general dentistry is a necessary service for the health of your teeth and gums, so insurance plans will at least partially cover the cost of non-cosmetic procedures.
Provide the Best Possible Care For Your Smile
The importance of general dentistry cannot be overstated. Dr. Ben Kuhr and the Kuhr Dental team in Shakopee, MN have dedicated themselves to exceptional dental care for you and your whole family. We emphasize maintaining dental wellness, using the latest technology, and providing a clean and comfortable environment for everyone in our office.
Contact us if you want more information or schedule an appointment with our team.