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Our Houston Office is focused on Gentle Cleanings

Pockets measuring 4, 5, 6 millimeters and deeper are cause for concern and require immediate attention. The deeper the pocket, the greater the extent plaque and bacteria collects, and infection from the gum disease develops.

X-rays are taken as needed to look for cavities between the teeth and for deeper gum disease, impacted teeth, cancer, and other problems.

If gum or teeth problems are found, many of which never cause any pain, we will discuss a few plans of treatment with you until you find the one that suits your needs.

If no Gum Disease is found, a Regular Professional Cleaning (Prophy) or if heavier plaque or tartar are found, a Full Mouth Debridement (FMD), may be required.

If Gum Disease is found, a Scaling and Root Planing may be called for to remove the hardened plaque and (calculus or “tartar”).

The teeth are then polished to remove the soft, sticky plaque and stains above the gum line.

An oral exam is performed on established patients to determine any changes in dental and health status since the previous visit.

To keep your gums healthy, based on how much gum disease you have and how fast and thick you build plaque and calculas, you need a Regular Oral Hygiene Recare Visit every 3-6 months by outhygienist.

WHY PROFESSIONAL CLEANINGS (PROPHIES)?

Even if you brush and floss well every day, some food particles and plaque will be left on the roots and at and under the gum line in certain area of your mouth. When the calcium and other minerals naturally occurring in your saliva adhere to the remaining food and plaque, calculas (tartar) forms, some above the gum line and some below.

Calculas is very hard and sharp and sticks very strongly to the root surfaces of the teeth. It contains bacteria and acid, which cause gum disease, usually without any pain.

In fact, you can have quite serious gum disease without even knowing it. You might think, “so what”. Gum disease is the number one reason why adults loose teeth. It slowly erodes the bone until the teeth are loose and have to be removed.

The very best, simplest, and least expensive way to prevent gum disease and, thereby to keep your teeth for a lifetime, is by getting regular Professional Cleanings from our hygienist. She removes the missed plaque and hard calculas that you cannot remove no matter how well you brush and floss.

WHY ARE GENTLE CLEANINGS SO IMPORTANT?

Gentle Cleanings are very important! If our hygienist can remove your plaque and calculas without you feeling a thing, you will want to come back for regular Professional Cleanings every few months. Then your mouth will remain healthier, and you will have lower dental bills.

We do everything we can to make your Professional Cleanings wonderful, from our hygienist’s gentle touch, to thoroughly explaining your needs and what she is doing. We include anesthesia when necessary, relaxing nitrous oxide gas, and music earphones.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD PROFESSIONAL CLEANINGS BE SCHEDULED?

Because each person forms tartar at different speeds and at different thicknesses, we need to see your mouth to know what is appropriate.
Typically, Professional Cleanings are scheduled for every six months.

WHEN SHOULD PROFESSIONAL CLEANINGS BEGIN?

In general, it is recommended that children begin receiving Professional Cleanings then they are as young as two or three years old. By beginning at an early age, we have time to create positive experiences for your child to set the stage for a lifetime of quality dental care.

Healthy Gums are generally pink, firm, and anchor the teeth firmly in place. They don’t bleed and are attached to the teeth at the roots tightly. To keep your gums healthy, you need a Regular Professional Cleaning every 6 months or so by out hygienist, more often if you form tartar faster or thicker.

Bacteria: Our mouths are full of bacteria, which love to live and multiply in warm, dark, moist areas of our mouths, like in the biting grooves of the teeth, between teeth, and in the gum cuff between the gum and tooth.

Plaque: Colonies of these bacteria eat any remaining food left on your teeth and gums in the areas mentioned above and put out their waste products on your teeth and gums. Their waste is sulfuric acid, the same caustic acid that is in your car’s battery, which slowly burns holes in the teeth causing cavities or “decay” or burns the gums causing gum disease. This mixture of bacteria in colonies, remaining food, and the acid waste form a sticky, colorless “plaque” on the teeth.

Tartar (”Calculas”): Calcium from your saliva attaches to and hardens the plaque that is not cleaned from your teeth and gums to form calculas or “tartar”. The tartar harbors bacteria, acid, and is very rough, thereby gouging and infecting the gums.

Inflammation: Inflammation, redness, bloodiness, and swelling of the gums as a result of plaque and tartar is called Gingivitis. If left untreated, it can advance to periodontitis, which is an inflammation around the tooth that affects eats away at and ultimately destroys the bony support of the roots of the teeth.

Gums Pull Away From Tooth: In Periodontitis, gums pull away from the teeth and form “pockets” that are infected. Plaque and tartar spread and grow below the gum line and break down the bone and connective tissue.

Gingivitis is an early stage of gum disease, which develops as bacteria, acid waste, toxins, enzymes, and other plaque byproducts burn and irritate the gums, making them red, tender, swollen and likely to bleed easily.

Gingivitis generally can be stopped with proper oral hygiene on your part at home and minor treatment from our hygienist, depending on the severity and the amount of plaque and tartar present.

For minor cases only a Simple Professional Dental Cleaning (Prophy) is required, where the hard tartar is removed from the roots. Because our hygienist is thorough, but has a very light touch, a Simple Professional Dental Cleaning is absolutely gentle.

Some of the deposits are removed with a vibrating instrument and some by hand instruments. The main goal is GENTLENESS. Relaxing nitrous oxide gas, topical anesthesia, and/or music earphones can be used to make for a wonderful dental experience.

Then the plaque and stains are removed by polishing the teeth and roots with a rotating cup with tooth polish or by blowing off the teeth with a special spraying instrument.

If there is more plaque and tartar, and more time and work is needed, a Full Mouth Debridement (FMD) is then performed, which is just a more vigorous and longer form of a Dental Cleaning. It, too, is GENTLE.

When the necessary treatment is provided by our hygienist, and you continue with good oral hygiene at home, your gums can return to a healthy state.

If you have been treated for gingivitis, you need a Regular Professional Cleaning every 6 months or so by out hygienist, more often if you form tartar faster or thicker.

Periodontitis is a moderate to severe stage of gum disease, which develops when the tooth’s bone tissue starts to deteriorate. Periodontitis occurs when plaque acid byproducts destroy the tissues that anchor your teeth in the bone.

The gums deteriorate and begin detaching themselves from the teeth forming gum pockets, which allows more plaque and bacteria to collect bellow the gum line. This causes the bone supporting the teeth to be destroyed and shrink. The roots of the teeth become susceptible to decay. Generally, you notice an increase in sensitivity to hot and cold and to touch on the roots of the teeth.

Periodontitis generally can be stopped with proper oral hygiene on your part at home and more rigorous treatment from our hygienist, depending on the severity and the amount of plaque and tartar present.

Scaling and root planing (SRP) is usually the first treatment begun for periodontitis. It is a non-surgical VERY GENTLE treatment of the roots and gums to remove the tartar, bacteria, and rough root surfaces of the teeth. The teeth and gums are profoundly anesthetized so the treatment is absolutely comfortable.

Relaxing nitrous oxide gas and/or music earphone can be added for an even more enjoyable dental experience.

SRP is usually followed with hygiene instructions for home and nutritional counseling. For more severe cases of periodontitis, gum surgery by Dr. Bridger or a referral for gum surgery by a periodontist (gum surgeon) may be necessary

When the necessary treatment is provided by our hygienist and you continue with good oral hygiene at home, your gums can return to a healthy state.

If you have been treated for Periodontitis, to keep your gums healthy, you need Regular Periodontal Maintenance every 3 or 4 months by our hygienist.

Scaling removes the plaque, tartar, and hard crusty calculas deposits from the surfaces of the roots, which are loaded with bacteria. When the deposits are below the gum line, the scaling must be done down there. LOCAL ANESTHESIA, RELAXING NITROUS OXIDE GAS, AND / OR MUSIC EARPHONES are used to make the dental experience Absolutely Gentle.

After scaling, the tooth roots need to be Root Planed to smooth the rough pitted surfaces, which have little holes to harbor the deposits and bacteria. The root surfaces are made smooth so deposits and bacteria cannot attach. The red, bloody, swollen, and inflamed soft-tissue linings inside the gum pockets around the roots are gently curetted out.

The soft tissue linings inside the gum pockets will heal with new firm, pink, and healthy gum tissue and will re-attach themselves to a smooth tooth surface at lower levels on the roots, eliminating the deep gum pockets that allowed the deposits and bacteria to accumulate.

Dr. Bridger or our hygienist may also recommend medications to help control infection, pain, or to encourage healing.

SRP is usually followed with hygiene instructions for home and nutritional counseling. For more severe cases of periodontitis, gum surgery by Dr. Bridger or a referral for gum surgery by a periodontist (gum surgeon) may be necessary

When the necessary treatment is provided by our hygienist and you continue with good oral hygiene at home, your gums can return to a healthy state.

If you have been treated for Periodontitis, to keep your gums healthy, you need Regular Periodontal Maintenance every 3 or 4 months by our hygienist.

It is possible that if you have periodontal disease, you may be at risk for cardiovascular disease, and vice versa. Since both diseases share some of the same bacteria, the relationship between heart disease and periodontal (gum) disease has been well established by medical researchers and in medical clinics.

For a long time we have known that bacteria may affect the heart. While more research is needed to confirm how periodontal bacteria may affect your heart, one possibility is that periodontal bacteria enter the blood through inflamed gums and cause small blood clots that contribute to clogged arteries.

Another possibility is that the inflammation caused by periodontal disease contributes to the build up of fatty deposits inside heart arteries.

Now evidence is mounting that suggests people with periodontal disease, a bacterial infection, may be more at risk for heart disease and have nearly twice the risk of having a fatal heart attack, than patients without periodontal disease.

One out of every 5 Americans has one or more types of heart disease. If you are at risk of periodontal disease, see us soon for a periodontal evaluation, because healthy gums may lead to a healthier body.

Step 1: Place the tooth brush bristles along the gum line at a 45 degree angle. Gently brush using a circular motion along the outer and inner tooth surfaces.

Step 2: Brush each tooth individually. Tilt the brush vertically behind the front teeth. Using the front half of the brush, use the same circular motion.

Step 3: Place the brush against the biting surface of the teeth and use a gentle back-and-forth motion.

Step 4: Brush your tongue to remove odor-producing bacteria.

Step 1: Break off about 18 inches of floss and wind some of it around your middle finger (3 turns). This finger will take up the floss as it becomes dirty. Shorten the length between the two fingers to 6 inches and wind some floss (1 turn) around the opposite middle finger. Hold the floss tightly between your thumbs and index fingers.

Step 2: Guide the floss between your teeth using a gentle rubbing motion. When the floss reaches the gum line, curve it into a C-shape against one tooth. Gently slide it into the space between the gum and the tooth. Hold the floss tightly against the tooth as you gently rub the side of the tooth with an up and down motion. Before retrieving it, clean the adjacent tooth surface.

Step 3: As you finish cleaning each contact, wind the dirty floss once around the first middle finger and slide more new length of floss to proceed to the next contact.

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