Improve the Health of Your Teeth with Hygiene

At Black Canyon Dental we care about helping you keep your natural teeth healthy as long as possible. We help you accomplish this with our hygiene staff that is highly trained to help with all levels of health for your teeth. From helping prevent gum disease to providing periodontal treatments, you can work with us to have your dental needs taken care of all in one location.

Our hygienists help your teeth stay healthy with:

Desensitizing teeth

Fluoride treatments

Scaling and Root Planing

What does a healthy mouth look like?

A normal, healthy mouth has healthy gums and bone to anchor your teeth firmly in place.

Good oral hygiene at home is essential to keeping your natural teeth healthy. Brush, clean between your teeth, eat a balanced diet, and schedule regular dental visits for a lifetime of healthy smiles.

Our dental hygienists can help you with:

Dental Cleaning: This is a regular part of oral hygiene and involves the removal of dental plaque from teeth with the intention of preventing cavities (dental caries), gingivitis, and periodontal disease.
Desensitizing: We use desensitizing (Silver Diamine), which is a topical medicament (drug) used to treat and prevent dental caries (cavities) and relieve dentinal hypersensitivity.
Fluoride Treatments: A highly concentrated form of fluoride which is applied to the tooth’s surface, by a dentist, dental hygienist or other health care professional, as a type of topical fluoride therapy.
Application of Arestin

Why are my gums bleeding?

The Importance of Fighting Plaque

By fighting plaque you can keep your teeth for a lifetime. Today, in fact, older adults are keeping their natural teeth longer because of scientific developments and an emphasis on preventative dentistry. Good oral hygiene requires an understanding of plaque. Plaque is a sticky, colorless layer of bacteria. When you eat carbohydrates (foods made of sugar or starch) you feed this plaque, which in turn produces acids that attack tooth enamel, cause cavities and develop a hard substance called calculus (tartar). Uninterrupted, the acid attacks can result in tooth decay and gum disease (also known as periodontal disease). If left untreated, gum disease can cause loss of teeth and bone.

Patient Education: How to Fight Plaque

At any age, you can begin the fight with plaque and keep your teeth and gums healthy. It’s really quite easy. Simply:

Brush your teeth twice a day with a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste to remove food particles and plaque from the tooth surfaces. While you’re at it, brush the top surface of your tongue to eliminate bad breath and bacteria buildup.
Clean between your teeth daily with floss. Decay-causing bacteria can linger between teeth where toothbrush bristles can’t reach. Flossing removes plaque and food particles from between the teeth and under the gum line.
Eat a balanced diet and limit between-meal snacks. If a snack is needed, nutritious foods such as raw vegetables, plain yogurt, cheese or a piece of fruit should be chosen.
Schedule regular check-ups. Visit the doctor regularly (every six months) for professional cleanings and oral exams.
Ask the doctor about dental sealants, a protective resin coating that can be applied to the chewing surfaces of the back teeth where decay often starts.
Wear mouth protection such as a mouth guard when you play contact sports or extreme sports.

How do I prevent periodontal or gum disease?

When you have gingivitis or periodontitis, your gums recede and can even destroy the bone and periodontal ligament so that your teeth may become loose and need to be extracted.

You can prevent periodontal or gum disease by taking good care of your teeth every day and having regular dental checkups.

Preventing Gum Disease

Gum disease (also called periodontal disease) is an infection of the tissues that support your teeth. It is a major cause of tooth loss in adults. Because gum disease is usually painless, you may not know you have it. Your dental hygienist will routinely measure the depth of the shallow v-shaped crevice (called a sulcus) between your tooth and gums to identify whether you have gum disease. Gum disease is caused by plaque, a sticky film of bacteria that constantly forms on the teeth. These bacteria create toxins that can damage the gums. Periodontal disease attacks just below the gum line in the sulcus (pocket) where the bacteria causes the attachment of the tooth and its supporting tissues to break down. Generally, the more severe the disease, the greater the depth of the pocket.

Periodontal disease is classified according to the severity of the disease. The two major stages are gingivitis and periodontitis. In the early stage of gum disease, called gingivitis, the gums become red, swollen and bleed easily. At this stage, the disease is still reversible and can usually be eliminated by daily brushing and flossing. In the more advanced stages of gum disease, called periodontitis, the gums and bone that support the teeth become seriously damaged. The teeth can become loose, fall out, or have to be removed by a dentist.

Some factors increase the risk of developing periodontal disease:

Tobacco smoking or chewing
Systemic diseases such as diabetes
Some types of medication such as steroids, some types of anti-epilepsy drugs, cancer therapy drugs, some calcium channel blockers and oral contraceptives
Bridges that no longer fit properly
Crooked teeth
Fillings that have become defective

What should I do if I have periodontal problems?

At Black Canyon Dental we can help you with regular cleanings as well as periodontal treatments so you won’t have to visit two different doctors. We can help you increase the chances of keeping your natural teeth with scaling and root planing, a deep cleaning treatment to help prevent periodontal diseases. We offer laser periodontal therapy as well as localized injectible antibiotic treatment.

How can laser gum treatment help me?

The Benefits of Laser Bacterial Reduction Also Known As Laser Gum Treatment

Laser Bacterial Reduction (LBR) is a fast, easy procedure that is done prior to any cleaning. This procedure is 100% pain free and takes 5-10 minutes. The purpose of performing a LBR treatment is to reduce the amount of bacteria within the pockets around the teeth. This procedure can be done on any patient, regardless of age or medical condition.

We recommend taking advantage of this service for the following reasons:

To reduce or eliminate the risk of bacteremias: During all cleanings, bacteria within the mouth is introduced into the bloodstream. Bacteria introduced into the bloodstream may then harbor in or around weakened areas such as artificial joints and damaged heart valves. Should proper precautions not be taken with such patients, bacteremias can cause extensive medical complications. Bacterial reduction can significantly help prevent such occurrences for any patient with artificial joints, heart valve damage, and systemic diseases that compromise the immune system (cancer, diabetes, etc).
To prevent cross contamination: During the cleaning process or periodontal probing, instruments are used repeatedly through all of the pockets around the teeth. This increases the risk of taking bacteria from an infected pocket and spreading it into otherwise healthy pockets. By performing bacterial reduction prior to such procedures, the risk of cross contamination is significantly reduced.
Overall Bacteria Reduction: Laser bacterial reduction will help reduce many strains of bacteria that are associated with gum disease (periodontal disease and gingivitis) as well as bacteria associated with bad breath. The procedure will aid in controlling the gum disease process and prevent attachment loss.