Cleaning & Hygiene
Regular teeth cleanings are essential to help get your smile on the right track. We’ll do everything we can to make sure your smile stays healthy and strong, while keeping an eye out for any potential problem areas. For the majority of patients, we recommend scheduling routine visits every six months so your dental hygienist can clean away any plaque, bacteria, or minor stains that may have built up since your previous visit.
Keeping up with your at-home oral hygiene is just as important as attending professional cleanings, and is the best way to ensure your teeth and gums stay healthy. Be sure to brush your teeth at least twice every day for two minutes, using a fluoride-rich toothpaste and soft-bristled toothbrush. Also, it’s important to floss at least once every day, ideally before going to bed, in order to get rid of food particles, plaque, and bacteria that brushing can’t get rid of all on its own.
Digital X-Rays
Digital x-rays are fast, comfortable, and above all, safe. Crisp, high-resolution images give us the ability to make more accurate diagnoses while exposing you to just a fraction of the radiation employed by traditional film x-rays. Generally, most patients can expect to receive one or two full sets of x-rays annually, but it’s possible that additional imaging will be recommended if you’ve experienced a dental emergency in Pasadena, or you have a potential oral health issue.
Fluoride Treatments
Fluoride treatments are simple, non-invasive, and are great at keeping dental decay from occurring. After your cleaning, we’ll apply a varnish or gel that is rich in fluoride to your teeth, then rinse it away after a few minutes. Fluoride strengthens your enamel by kickstarting a process called “remineralization,” which works by attracting minerals like calcium and phosphates to your teeth, helping to restore the hardness of your enamel and increase your smile’s resistance to acids.
Dental Sealants
Dental sealants are often recommended for children, who are at a higher risk for tooth decay, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t a great option for patients of all ages who want to protect their teeth from cavities. The application of dental sealants is a very straight-forward procedure, beginning with the application of a dental resin to the molars. Located in the back of the mouth, molars are filled with grooves and uneven surfaces where plaque and bacteria can hide and flourish. The resin is then cured with a UV light to help it harden, creating a powerful barrier between your teeth and the foods, drinks, acid, and bacteria that lead to decay. And the best part? Dental sealants can last for years!
Periodontal Care
Gum disease is more common than you may expect, and if left untreated, patients struggling with it can risk developing additional problems, up to and including the loss of their teeth. The first stage of gum disease is called gingivitis, and is the only stage that can be reversed with deep cleanings and good at-home hygiene. If you have gingivitis, staying on top of your regular cleanings, checkups, and at-home care will help you to regain control over your oral health before it becomes irreversible.
More advanced stages of periodontitis require more advanced and frequent treatment. We usually recommend scheduling deep cleaning sessions every three to four months, depending on your unique needs. Although the effects of more advanced periodontitis are irreversible, deep cleanings, scaling, and root planing can stop gum disease in its tracks and help preserve your oral wellbeing.
Oral Cancer Screenings
As a part of every preventive care visit, we’ll perform an oral cancer screening. Catching oral cancer early on gives us a better chance at stopping it before it spreads, and can even save your life.
During your exam, Dr. Pacheco will examine your gums, tongue, and the rest of your mouth, looking for abnormalities like lesions, lumps, and discolorations. If we discover anything out of the ordinary, we will send you to a specialist for a comprehensive analysis. Although oral cancer is relatively rare, it’s important to be diligent about your oral hygiene routine, and to regularly visit our office in Pasadena for cleanings and checkups so we can identify any potential problems before they become major issues.
Night Guards
Bruxism, or unconscious teeth grinding and clenching is a common issue faced by many patients. As this behavior tends to happen at night while patients are asleep, night guards are a great solution for Bruxism. Night guards can be made from a variety of materials depending on the severity of your case, and work by creating a barrier between your teeth that protects them from damage caused by clenching and grinding.
If you need a night guard, Dr. Pacheco will take impressions or digital scans of your teeth and gums to craft a custom mold that will then be sent to the lab, where your night guard will be made to your exact specifications and measurements. Night guards ease tension in your jaw in order to alleviate the painful headaches and other uncomfortable or damaging side effects of clenching and grinding, so you can get more restful sleep and keep your smile healthy.
Sport Guards
Like night guards, sports mouth guards are worn over the teeth, but are designed specifically to protect your grin from oral trauma common in patients who play high-impact sports. A custom-fitted sports guard can help protect you from dental injuries caused by collisions to the mouth, face, or head. If you’re an athlete who plays football, basketball, baseball, soccer, rugby, hockey, gymnastics, mountain biking, or other activities that put you at risk for injury due to falling, body contact, or flying objects, a sports guard is essential for protecting your smile. Tailored to fit your own unique smile, custom-fitted sports guards are comfortable, and durable, so you can keep playing the sports you love.
