Your Initial examination will have four parts.  The first part will be a discussion with you about your oral health as it relates to you as a person.  Are you happy with your smile?  Can you chew comfortably foods that you want to enjoy?  Does the clean, healthy appearance of your smile enhance your position socially and/or in business?  How does the health of your mouth relate to your overall health--your heart and circulatory health?  Will you enjoy eating well as a senior citizen or will you have suffered loss of teeth, bone, facial beauty and proportion?  Can we think about what you want to be experiencing...in the future?

The rest of the exam is based upon the answers to the above questions.  We will compare the present state of your mouth to a model of health and decide what you want for you.  With state of the art painless technology we can evaluate the health of your teeth.  Laser decay diagnosis and digital and panoramic radiology will give us a great look at the health of your teeth.

A healthy chewing system is composed of healthy teeth, bones, jaw joints and strong muscles of mastication.  The function of these systems is evaluated with the most current technology.  Doppler, MRI, CT and functionally generated bite records can all be used to evaluate the health of your mouth.  While all of these tests are seldom used for one patient, we can use all of this modern technology to evaluate your mouth if this is in the scope of your needs.

Education, discovery, and participation are the most critical elements of maintaining a healthy mouth.  The support systems of your mouth, the bone and gum tissue that hold in your teeth should be evaluated.  It is our responsibility to teach you to keep your mouth at the highest level of health that you choose.  Our dental hygienist, Kathy, is devoted to keeping you in touch with your personal level of effectiveness.  If a superior level of gum health is your goal, we will do everything in our power to help you develop the skills to maintain the highest level of personal dental hygiene.  Your active participation in the management of your own health can help you enjoy a lifetime of comfort with a great looking smile.