General DentistryWashington, DC

At Washington Center for Dentistry, our team helps patients with a variety of general dentistry options. Specializing in calming dental anxiety from each visit and ensuring you feel positive about each session, the team of expert dentists in Washington, DC has years of experience performing treatments that can improve your oral health. Please schedule an appointment at our Washington, DC dental office to help protect you and your family’s oral health.

Dental Cleanings

Dental cleanings use professional-grade equipment to not only clean the surface of the teeth but also to go where normal toothbrushes can’t—below the gum line. It is below the gum line where infections can develop, which can lead to a whole host of issues and conditions. When the highly acclaimed dentists at Washington Center for Dentistry perform dental cleanings, they aren’t just doing it to leave patients with whiter, better-looking teeth. Even though a more dazzling smile is obviously a result, dental cleanings help keep a patient’s mouth and entire body healthier in the long run.

Benefits Of Dental Cleanings

Of course, our patients want the whitest, brightest, most dazzling smiles possible, but our dental cleanings go beyond that. In fact, they go beneath that—beneath the gum line to where at-home toothbrushes just can’t reach. Our dental cleanings:

  • Clean below the gum line where our toothbrush can’t reach to get the bacteria that can turn into problem-causing infections.
  • Preserve and keep teeth longer by preventing tooth decay and cavities.
  • Prevent mouth plaque from migrating throughout the vascular system.
  • Prevent stains from building up on the enamel.
  • Maintain lighter, whiter, younger-looking teeth.

Dental Examinations

With dental examinations, the talented dentists of Washington Center for Dentistry will conduct thorough assessments of a patient’s mouth in order to address any issues or concerns. These exams are also instrumental in observing any issues that could be of concern in the long run. Utilizing the latest, safest technology, the dentists will look over every aspect of a patient’s mouth to develop an appropriate course of treatment. Regular dental examinations have been shown to maintain teeth for longer, save money on dental treatments over a lifetime, and maintain better oral and body health.

Gateway To Great Health

They say the eyes are the window to the soul. But did you know the mouth is a window to the body’s well-being? In fact, the state of your oral health is linked to your overall health and provides important clues. Adverse conditions in your mouth can affect the health of your entire body.

Any time there is an infection in the mouth, it does not just stay there, according to the American Dental Association. It can travel through your bloodstream, affecting your organs and your immune system. Our doctors and their clinical team take seriously research that the health of the mouth and the health of the body—are connected!

Not only is gum disease the number one cause of tooth loss in the United States, but it is linked to a higher risk for other serious health problems.

Oral Health Linked To Heart Disease

  • Poor oral health and cardiovascular conditions are often found together.
  • The relationship between gum disease and heart disease can happen when small amounts of bacteria enter your bloodstream while you’re chewing.
  • The “bad bacteria” from the infection can lodge inside blood vessels and cause dangerous blockages.
  • Fragments of gum disease bacteria have been found in the blood vessels of people with heart disease.
  • Studies have found that the aggressive treatment of gum disease can reduce the incidence of heart disease.

Oral Health Linked To Diabetes

  • The strongest of all relationships between the mouth and the body may well be the connection between gum disease and diabetes.
  • Inflammation in the mouth appears to weaken the body’s ability to control blood sugar levels.
  • People with diabetes have trouble processing sugar because of a lack of insulin—the hormone that converts sugar into energy.
  • Gum disease does additional harm because the inflammation lowers the body’s ability to use insulin.
  • To further complicate things, diabetes, and gum disease work off each other. The high blood sugar from diabetes can make it difficult to fight off infection, which includes infections of the gums.
  • Therefore, controlling gum disease makes it easier to control diabetes.

Oral Health Linked To Pregnancy

  • The fluctuating hormones in pregnancy often cause gum infections in pregnant women.
  • Physicians and dentists try to encourage women who are pregnant to pay close attention to their oral health since gum disease or inflammation in the mouth can possibly trigger a chemical that induces early labor.
  • Studies show that pregnant women who develop gum disease between 21 and 24 weeks are more likely to give birth before week 37.
  • Other studies have found a relationship between gum disease, pre-term birth, and low birth weight.

Dental Hygiene

Dental hygiene is not just a cleaning, but it is a clinical appointment. Since teeth are a part of the body, it’s no coincidence that their health affects the rest of the body. In fact, in dentistry, dental hygiene is the most important appointment since it also involves oral cancer screening and helps spot budding problems when they are small—before they cause more serious, costlier treatment. 

Patients are amazed at the 12-Point Dental Hygiene Service that the dentists of Washington Center for Dentistry offer. The thorough exam is more than just tooth cleaning but involves total review and care, which keeps teeth healthier for longer.

What Are the Benefits?

  • Regular hygiene patients spend 50 to 75% less on dental treatment over a lifetime – because most problems are prevented or caught early and need less treatment.
  • Regular hygiene patients have healthier gums and bones.
  • Regular hygiene patients keep their teeth longer.
  • Regular hygiene patients know that dental problems often have no symptoms.
  • Regular hygiene patients know that a mouth feeling okay doesn’t guarantee a mouth free of problems.
  • Regular hygiene patients have lighter, younger teeth – with fewer stains that build up on the enamel.

Tooth Sealants

Tooth sealants are a highly effective preventive dental treatment that works to protect your teeth from decay. At Washington Center for Dentistry, we provide tooth sealants as a simple, non-invasive method to protect your teeth, particularly the molars and premolars, from the harmful effects of plaque and acids.

A dental sealant is a thin, protective coating made from plastic or other dental materials. This coating is applied to the chewing surfaces of your back teeth where the most decay occurs. These surfaces have grooves – “fissures” – that make them vulnerable to decay as they can collect food particles and bacteria and are harder to clean. The sealant works by effectively “sealing out” plaque and food, thus minimizing the risk of cavities.

The application process of dental sealants is quick and non-invasive. After thoroughly cleaning and drying your tooth, a gel is applied to roughen the tooth surface to allow for better adhesion. The gel is then rinsed off and the tooth dried again. The sealant is then painted onto the tooth enamel, where it bonds directly to the tooth and is hardened with a special curing light.

Bite Analysis

Both the upper and lower arches of teeth come into contact with each other during daily activities, such as when eating, resting, and sleeping. The relationship between the arches is known as occlusion. If the teeth aren’t in proper balance, a patient can experience tenderness and pain, and the teeth’s mobility can be affected. 

When any of these issues arise, the dentists at Washington Center for Dentistry can perform bite analysis with advanced technology, where the teeth’s stability is measured, along with the timing and level of force exerted by individual teeth. From the analysis, the dentists can determine which steps to take to fix current problems and prevent future issues.

What Is Occlusion?

Occlusion is a dental term that describes the way in which our teeth touch together when they are closed. You can think of teeth as the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, where each tooth’s distinctive shape allows it to fit with the others. When there are no occlusion issues, the teeth, jaw, and muscles will all work together in perfect harmony, and there will be no discomfort, disease, or trauma issues. However, just like how each person is unique, so is each person’s occlusion. Therefore, the dentist will determine what is normal occlusion for that particular patient. 

A dentist will use bite analysis to determine whether or not a bad bite, or malocclusion, exists. If it does, a correction is needed to maintain the mouth’s proper balance and health.

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