GENERAL DENTISTRY

Maintain the health and cleanliness of your teeth and gums

skipped dental checkups Dentist treating patient teeth with assistant

GENERAL DENTISTRY CARE IN CHICAGO

Regular check-ins and cleanings are essential to your general oral hygiene and dental health. Not only do regular dental cleanings at Modern Smiles give your teeth a deep, professional clean to reach the spots you might miss in your daily dental hygiene routine, but they also allow our expert practitioners to detect and treat any problems you may be experiencing with your dental health, such as periodontal disease, cavities or tooth decay.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ROUTINE DENTAL CARE

TEETH CLEANING

Your smile is one of the first things people notice about you, so having a bright, healthy smile can help you make a great first impression! Not only that, but regular cleanings can help you maintain the health and cleanliness of your teeth and gums. Regular brushing and flossing at home are essential, but they’re not enough on their own to ensure your oral hygiene stays in tip-top shape. Professional teeth cleanings dig deep and clean tartar and plaque from the surface of your teeth, leaving them shiny, smooth and healthy.

Our team at Modern Smiles takes great care to provide patients with expert and compassionate care throughout your cleaning process. This process also involves a regular exam to look for any serious problems that might need to be addressed during your cleaning. Teeth cleaning and exams are an integral part of general dentistry, and can help prevent future dental issues.

WHAT IS PERIODONTAL DISEASE?

Periodontal disease is a progressive oral condition that affects the health of your gums and occasionally your teeth. This disease begins as a build-up of bacteria in your mouth and can become more serious in stages if left untreated. Have you ever noticed that your gums bleed a little when you brush or floss? This could be an early symptom of gingivitis. Bacteria in the plaque on your teeth usually rests around the gum line and create a low level of infection where your gums meet your teeth. This infection causes an inflammatory response in the gum tissue making it more susceptible to irritation and bleeding. Gingivitis is a common condition that precedes periodontal disease. Bacteria build up in plaque on your teeth and, if left alone, can begin to create plaque-filled pockets in your gums where the bacteria thrive and continue to deplete your dental health, even causing teeth and gums to erode until teeth become loose and fall out.

The good news – when gingivitis is caught early it is easily managed and even reversible. Usually the first line of treatment for gingivitis is to adhere to an oral hygiene routine of brushing twice a day and flossing every day. Regular routine dental visits are vital in keeping the plaque under control. These minor adjustments to your home care regimen will require dedication on your part, and they will also reduce the plaque and bacteria on your teeth and gums and begin to reverse the early stages of gum disease.

  • Bleeding gums

  • Persistent bad breath

  • Loose adult teeth

  • Pain while chewing

  • Sensitivity in the teeth

  • Receding of the gums

Luckily, periodontal disease can be avoided by consistently practicing good oral hygiene and making sure to come in for regular cleanings with your Modern Smiles provider. If you think you may have periodontal disease, contact Modern Smiles to discuss treatment options including deep cleaning, medication or surgery.

WHAT ARE DENTAL FILLINGS?

Fillings replace decayed portions of your teeth and return them to their normal appearance and function. Because fillings seal your teeth, they can also prevent further decay in the remaining portion of your teeth and restore the strength of teeth weakened by loss of tooth enamel.

Your Modern Smiles provider may recommend a filling due to any number of problems, but the most common reasons include cavities, cracked or chipped teeth and teeth grinding. These conditions wear on your tooth’s enamel, risking infection and other potential complications.

Modern Smiles uses safe and strong white fillings, meaning the material perfectly matches the shade of your teeth and feels completely natural, too. Our team is also experienced in replacing silver metal fillings, which contain up to 50% mercury and wear down over time, potentially damaging the surrounding teeth.

WHAT ARE EXTRACTIONS?

Having a tooth pulled is sometimes required to remove broken or decayed teeth, and our highly qualified team at Modern Smiles is experienced in providing personalized, compassionate care to make the process of extraction as comfortable and painless as possible.

In an extraction procedure, an experienced dentist at Modern Smiles loosens the broken or infected tooth with a small instrument and lifts it out with dental forceps. With the use of modern anesthetics, you won’t feel a thing during the procedure aside from a bit of pressure.

Because losing a tooth can lead to other oral health complications, our team at Modern Smiles will explore any and all treatment options before deciding if an extraction is right for you.

For more information about Modern Smiles’s General Dentistry services, contact us at (312) 500-7080 or use our easy online form to request your appointment today.

COMMON REASONS FOR TOOTH EXTRACTIONS:

  • Severely broken teeth as a result of trauma

  • Tooth decay

  • Risk of infection, from an unsuccessful root canal or procedures such as chemotherapy or an organ transplant

  • Advanced periodontal disease

  • Crowded or extra teeth

  • Lack of room for wisdom teeth

MAKE YOUR DENTAL HEALTH A PRIORITY

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WITH MODERN SMILES