How Safe are Digital Dental X-Rays?

How Safe are Digital Dental X-Rays?

Dental x-rays have long been integral to preventive and diagnostic dental care. Today’s modern technology provides safer and more detailed images of the teeth and surrounding structures using digital dental x-rays. The question many of our patients have is, how safe are digital x-rays?

What Are Digital Dental X-Rays?

Digital radiography utilizes cutting-edge technology to capture dental x-rays. At Hebron Family Dentistry, we use sensors and phosphor plates instead of traditional x-ray film to take and store high-quality digital images. We can view and enlarge these images on a computer screen, allowing us to detect potential problems and address them before they progress.

Why Do Dentists Take Digital X-Rays?

Digital dental radiographic records, or digital x-rays, are essential preventative and diagnostic tools that provide us with valuable information not visible during visual dental exams. They detect hidden abnormalities, allowing us to create effective treatment plans for long-term oral health. Early diagnosis and treatment of dental conditions can prevent the need for costly and involved procedures down the road.

What Conditions Do Digital Dental X-Rays Reveal?

Digital x-rays reveal a wealth of information, including decay and cavities between teeth, infections, cysts, abscesses, bone loss, abnormalities of the jawbone, problems inside a tooth or below the gum, cancerous and noncancerous tumors, poor tooth and root positions, to name a few.

How Often Do You Require Digital X-Rays?

The frequency of digital x-rays depends on your dental history, unique needs, oral hygiene practices, age, and risk of developing dental disease. Most patients require a series of digital x-rays during their initial visits to our office and once or twice a year to detect any new dental problems. If, however, you experience pain or have symptoms of a problem, you may need additional x-rays to outline a prompt and targeted treatment plan.

How Safe Are Digital Dental X-Rays?

Digital x-rays are far safer than traditional ones. They reduce your exposure to radiation by about 90 percent as compared to the already low exposure of conventional x-ray equipment. Moreover, we take all the necessary precautions for added protection, including taking x-rays only when indicated and using lead shields to protect your body.

Digital Dental X-Rays Near Me

Visit Hebron Family Dentistry in Hebron, KY, to learn more about our cutting-edge x-ray technology for precise and comfortable dental care. We invite you to schedule your routine dental exam and cleaning to maintain long-term healthy smiles. Call us and schedule your appointment today!

How Can Food Choices Affect My Oral Health?

How Can Food Choices Affect My Oral Health?

The foods you consume not only affect your overall health but can directly impact the health of your teeth and gums. We, at Hebron Family Dentistry, encourage you to be mindful of what you put in your mouth to ensure you enjoy long-term healthy smiles.

How Does Your Diet Affect Your Oral Health?

Consuming a nutritious diet plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy smile. Lacking essential nutrients can leave the tissues of your mouth weak and vulnerable to infection, resulting in periodontal (gum) disease, a leading cause of adult tooth loss. Studies show that periodontal disease progresses faster and tends to be more severe in people with poor nutrition.

What Are Mouth-Healthy Food Choices?

Make sure you consume a nutritious diet, rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and low or no-fat dairy products. If you’re craving a snack, choose a healthy option, such as raw vegetables, fresh fruit, cheese, or nuts, rather than processed or sugary foods. Don’t forget to drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and to prevent a dry mouth.

What Are Foods Choices You Should Limit?

Sugary treats and sweetened fruit drinks are harmful to your oral health. Plaque-causing bacteria feast on sugars, producing acids that erode your tooth enamel, resulting in tooth decay and cavities. Carbonated drinks are also harmful because they contain sugar and are acidic, which hastens the development of tooth decay and cavities. Even diet sodas are detrimental to your teeth because of the acids they contain.

We recommend limiting sticky foods, which cling to your teeth and are hard to clean off. The same applies to starchy foods, such as potato chips or white bread, because saliva breaks them into sugar, resulting in a pasty, sticky substance that lingers in your teeth’s crevices, elevating your risk of developing tooth decay or gum disease. Hard or crunchy foods can also pose a threat to your oral health. They can chip, crack, or even break your teeth, allowing the bacteria to enter the inner layers, resulting in a host of dental problems.

Healthy Oral Care Habits for Healthy Smiles

Make sure to brush your teeth no less than twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and floss daily. Remember to visit Hebron Family Dentistry for your twice-a-year dental exams and cleanings to ensure your smile stays bright, healthy, and free of disease.

Quality Dental Near Me

Contact Hebron Family Dentistry in Hebron, KY, to learn more about the preventive dentistry services we offer to safeguard your oral health. We are all about ensuring our valued patients maintain bright, clean, and healthy smiles. Call us and schedule your appointment today!

How Can Dental Veneers Transform My Smile?

How Can Dental Veneers Transform My Smile?

If you are in search of a cosmetic dentistry solution to transform your smile, you’ve come to the right place. Your trusted team at Hebron Family Dentistry is proud to offer dental veneers to instantly correct teeth imperfections, with stunning, long-lasting results. Learn more about why veneers are such a sought-after aesthetic procedure at our Hebron, KY office.

What Are Dental Veneers and How Do They Help Transform Your Smile?

Dental veneers are wafer-thin, translucent porcelain shells designed to correct the shape, size, and spacing of teeth and improve their appearance. They provide resilience and strength comparable to natural tooth enamel and deliver dramatic results without the need for complex dental procedures.

Dental veneers offer a conservative cosmetic dentistry solution to improve the appearance of your smile without the extensive tooth shaping that restorations such as crowns require while providing a more aesthetic alternative. They offer incredible results when used to whiten stained and discolored teeth, or correct gapped, worn, chipped, broken, crooked, or misshapen teeth. They also repair teeth worn due to grinding, a condition known as bruxism. Veneers primarily serve a cosmetic purpose. However, in some cases, they are the choice solutions for correcting dental problems such as uneven bites.

Dental ceramic (porcelain) mimics the light-reflecting properties of your natural tooth enamel. We carefully match your custom-made restorations to the color and shade of the surrounding teeth, so they blend in seamlessly with your smile. With a skilled and experienced cosmetic dentist such as Dr. Watson, you can expect beautiful and incredibly natural-looking results.

What Is the Veneers Procedure?

We will remove a thin layer of tooth enamel to make room for your veneers then make impressions of your teeth that our dental laboratory will use to manufacture your restorations. We will place temporary veneers to protect your prepared teeth while waiting for your permanent ones. During a follow-up appointment, we will bond your veneers to your tooth surfaces, instantly delivering your perfect smile!

Caring for Your Dental Veneers

Make sure to brush and floss regularly. Avoid habits that can damage or chip your veneers, including nail-biting, eating hard foods, and using your teeth as tools. Don’t forget to visit Hebron Family Dentistry twice a year for your routine dental exams and cleanings to maintain healthy teeth, gums, and restorations.

Quality Dental Veneers Near Me

Contact Hebron Family Dentistry in Hebron, KY, to learn more about dental veneers and how they can transform your smile. We look forward to helping you look, feel, and smile your best. Call us and schedule your appointment today!