What's the value of your smile? Your professional team at Page Family Dentistry in Providence believe it's priceless because your oral 
health impacts every aspect of your life. Dr. Lawrence Page and Dr. Marc Page offer several preventive dental services which keep teeth and gums vibrant and which detect health issues before they cause substantial damage. Your smile, after all, is one of your most important personal assets.
Tooth scaling and cleaning, cornerstones of care
It's the six-month check-up and cleaning at Page Family Dentistry in Providence. Your dentist asks all his patients to come in routinely for a complete visual inspection of teeth, gums, and other oral tissues, to receive digital X-rays when scheduled and to get a thorough cleaning to remove plaque and tartar.
Plaque and tartar contain bacteria which secrete highly corrosive acids on and between teeth. Cavities result, as well as systemically harmful gum disease. Hygienic cleanings, combined with daily brushing and flossing at home, minimize plaque and tartar, freshen breath and reduce dental staining from tobacco and darkly colored dietary choices.
In addition, your hygienist performs an important service called periodontal probing and charting. This simple and painless measure of the pockets, or spaces, between your teeth and gums indicates how healthy your gums really are. Mild gingivitis and more advanced gums of gum disease can be treated, and periodontal probing tracks your gum health status and progress.
The oral examination
Dr. Page performs many valuable services within the routine oral examination. He checks for:
- Cavities
- Gum disease
- Deteriorating restorations such as fillings and crowns
- Oral cancer (a visual inspection of the lips, tongue, gums, and other tissues of the mouth and back of the throat)
- Bite and alignment
- Jaw joint dysfunction (TMJ/TMD)
He will formulate your care plan to include any needed restorations and to address continuing care, such as orthodontia or cosmetic services. For children, the dentist likes to use sealants on the back most molars.
These easily applied coatings reduce the incidence of tooth decay in children. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta says that children who do not have their teeth sealed have three times the amount of decay than kids who have received these simple and cost effective services.
A continuing relationship...
At Page Family Dentistry our goal is know each patient well and to understand his or her oral health needs. Preventive care, combined with the finest in restorative and cosmetic services, helps keeps smiles strong and bright for patients of every age and walk of life.
For any questions you have about our preventive care, and to arrange your six-month examination and cleaning, please call our office in Providence, RI, at (401) 421-9350.