While daily oral hygiene habits are essential to good oral health, professional dental cleanings at our office ensure your teeth are treated to a deeper level of cleaning. We recommend for most of our patients to have a checkup at least every six months. In addition to a thorough cleaning and polishing of your teeth, these regular visits help us detect and prevent the onset of tooth decay and periodontal (gum) disease. During your visit, we’ll check the health of your mouth, teeth, gums, cheeks, and tongue. We’ll also check old fillings and restorations, as these can wear away over time from constant chewing, grinding, or clenching.

If you are predisposed to oral diseases, you may need to visit our office more often than every six months. Factors at play in these diseases include age, pregnancy, tobacco use, medical conditions (such as diabetes, dry mouth, or HIV infection), along with how well you take care of your teeth on a daily basis.

Make sure your teeth get the professional attention they deserve – If you’re overdue for your next cleaning, check with our office to schedule an appointment!

Thanks for the question. Your first visit typically includes an x-ray that allows us to view the structure of the jaw, the position of any teeth that have not yet erupted, malformed roots, and tooth decay.

The initial visit also involves getting your medical history. When you share your medical history with us, be sure to provide complete, up-to-date information on your health. Please let us know if you have experienced recent hospitalization or surgery, or if you have recently been ill. Also tell us the names, doses, and frequency of any medications you are taking — whether prescription or over-the-counter products — and the name of your physician. Please also let us know about any changes in your health or medications. This information will us select the most safe and effective method of treatment path for you.

Have any more questions about your first visit? Please give us a call!

We know one of the great ways to improve your confidence is to improve your smile. And that begins with a visit to our office. Has your child visited Drs. Gerald Weaver, Michael Stratton, or Robert Weaver, in the past six months for his or her regular check-up? We invite you to give us a call to book your appointment!

See you soon!

Avoid tough meats, hard breads and raw vegetables such as carrots and celery. Before long, you’ll be able to bite a cucumber again. But you’ll need to protect your orthodontic appliances when you eat for as long as you’re wearing braces.

Foods you should avoid include:

• Chewy foods: bagels, hard rolls, licorice
• Crunchy foods: popcorn, ice, chips
• Sticky foods: caramels, gum
• Hard foods: nuts, candy
• Foods you have to bite into: corn on the cob, apples, carrots

Also, chewing on hard things (for example, pens, pencils or fingernails) can damage the braces. Damaged braces will cause treatment to take longer.

If you have any questions on which foods you should be avoiding and why, we invite you to give us a call or ask our staff during your next visit.

One word nobody wants to hear when they visit the dentist is Cavity!  That’s right, the dreaded cavity; but what exactly is a cavity and how do you get one?  A cavity is a hole that develops in a tooth when the tooth begins to decay.  It’s important to get a cavity filled as soon as it’s detected so that it does not grow bigger.

So, what causes a cavity?  A cavity is caused by plaque, a sticky substance that forms on the tooth as a result of germ and bacteria build-up.  Plaque is acidic and as it clings to your teeth the acids eat away the outside of the tooth (also called the enamel) and a hole is formed.

Yes, cavities can be repaired by your dentist, but here are a few simple steps you can take to prevent cavities:

• Brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste at least twice daily
• Gently brush your gums to keep them healthy (when choosing a toothbrush it is recommended to use soft bristles)
• Floss your teeth at least once a day to remove plaque and food that may be caught between the teeth where your toothbrush can’t reach
• Limit the amount of soda and sugary treats you eat/drink
• Be sure to visit your dentist every six months for a teeth cleaning and check-up

Spring is in the air! As you probably know, you can always connect with us on our Facebook page, but we invite you to please contact our office with any updates to phone numbers and addresses, so that we may be able to reach you.

We also encourage you to call us and let us know if you have any new phone numbers or if your contact information has changed!

Thank you! Have a great week!

Visiting our office regularly will not only help keep your teeth and mouth healthy, but will also help keep the rest of your body healthy. The fact is, every hour of every day in the U.S., someone dies of oral cancer, which is the sixth-most common diagnosed form of the disease. The five-year survival rate is only 50 percent, and oral cancer is one of the few cancers whose survival rate has not improved. Since April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month, we would like to take this opportunity to remind all of our patients about the importance of maintaining good oral hygiene.

We are trained to diagnose, treat, and prevent oral health problems. Please let us now if you have any questions about your oral health during your next appointment. Take care of your teeth!

Dental sealants work by providing a protective shield over the tiny grooves and depressions found on the chewing surfaces of teeth. While brushing and flossing is still essential even if your child has a sealant, this coating will help vulnerable areas from tooth decay by “sealing out” plaque and food.

If we think a sealant would be a good option for your child, a simple office visit is all it takes. One of our friendly dental hygienists or assistants will thoroughly clean your child’s teeth before applying the white or clear liquid-plastic material to the tooth’s surface. Sealants can protect teeth from decay for up to ten years, but they need to be checked for chipping or wearing at your child’s regular checkups with our team.

Our team wants to know: Will you be wearing your green this Saturday?  Whether Irish or not, millions of people around the world celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with toasts, parades and “the wearing of the green.” Here are some fun facts about St. Patty’s Day we know you will enjoy:

• St. Patrick’s Day is observed on March 17th because that is the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It is also a worldwide celebration of Irish culture and history.

• The name “lephrechaun” has several origins. It could be from the Irish Gaelic word “leipreachan,” which means “a kind of aqueous sprite.” Or, it could be from “leath bhrogan,” which simply means “shoemaker.”

• Some American towns have Irish names. They include: Shamrock Lakes, Indiana; Shamrock, Oklahoma; Shamrock, Texas; Dublin, California and Dublin, Ohio and Mount Gay-Shamrock, West Virginia

• Despite what you may have heard, St. Patrick never banished snakes from Ireland. In fact, no snakes exist or ever existed in Ireland. Ireland is surrounded by icy ocean waters, much too cold to allow snakes to migrate from Britain or anywhere else.

• St. Patrick’s Day was first celebrated in America in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1737. Approximately 34 million Americans claim Irish ancestry. That’s almost nine times the population of Ireland, which has 4.1 million people.

If you have something special planned for St. Patrick’s Day, let us know by posting a comment on our Facebook page.