General Dentistry
Committed to providing excellent oral healthcare, Tate Family Dentistry serves patients of all ages throughout Southlake, Keller, and neighboring communities. Our practice believes that achieving and enjoying optimal oral health begins in childhood and carries into adulthood when patients commit to receiving routine checkups, preventive care, and restorations as necessary. Our dentists offer a variety of preventive and general dentistry treatments to help patients of all ages enjoy a lifetime of good health.
Cleanings and Checkups
Committing to receiving regular checkups and cleanings is the first step to developing a foundation of good oral health. Professional cleanings involve removing substances that accumulate along the gum line and teeth (plaque and tartar). Once plaque hardens into tartar, it cannot be brushed or flossed away. It must be gently scraped away with professional handheld tools. Moreover, cleanings are an opportune time for our team to evaluate the health of gums by measuring periodontal pockets. This is done to determine if gum disease is present.
Like cleanings, receiving checkups are a necessity. A dental checkup is incredibly comprehensive. Our dentists will use diagnostic imaging and conduct a physical examination to evaluate the health of the entire oral cavity. Checkups can reveal more than just tooth decay; in fact, a checkup can reveal destructive conditions like periodontal disease and oral cancer. The health of bones, soft tissue, and all a tooth’s structure including its roots is examined.
Preventative Treatments
Tate Family Dentistry offers preventive treatments to help strengthen teeth and prevent the development of dental caries. Patients – especially children – benefit from fluoride treatments, which help replenish lost minerals in tooth enamel. These treatments are applied to the teeth in a flavored foam or varnish and are non-invasive.
Another preventive treatment that helps ward off tooth decay is the application of a dental sealant. This treatment fills in the fissures of the biting surface of a tooth with a decay-resistant material to prevent cavities.
For those who engage in high-injury hobbies or physical activities, we provide custom mouth guards to protect soft and hard oral tissues. Custom made, these oral appliances are worn during physical activity to prevent facial trauma.
Emergency Dental Care
Our dentists provide emergency services to patients in our community. Whether a patient has developed a painful toothache or has endured facial trauma, our staff will work quickly to make room in our schedule for your treatment.
Contact our skilled team today to schedule your next dental checkup and professional cleaning.
Common Questions
Routine visits with your dentist help to keep your smile healthy and beautiful. If you wait until you have a problem to go to the dentist, your oral health will suffer. Semi-annual dental exams and cleanings help to keep your smile clean and eliminate plaque and tartar build-up that develops even if you brush and floss daily. When your dentist monitors your teeth and gums for signs of decay or disease every six months, any problematic issues can be identified and treated early with the highest levels of success.
Check with the dentist to see if there are any unique circumstances that apply to your case, but most patients should be brushing twice a day and flossing at least daily, preferably before bed. You should also touch base with a dental professional to make sure that you are using the proper technique. If not, you won’t remove as much plaque and bacteria as possible with your oral hygiene habits.
We understand that dental emergencies, like broken teeth or severe toothaches, can be stressful situations, and we want to help you take care of your issue as soon as possible. Call our office to schedule an appointment. We’ll do our best to make sure that you are seen that day. Even if you’re experiencing an urgent issue after business hours, our on-call staff member can get back to you to give you guidance about managing the situation until we can see you.
Patients should have their teeth cleaned at least every six months. Those who tend to accumulate plaque and tartar more quickly may want to consider getting cleanings at shorter intervals, like three or four months. A dental hygienist can use specialized tools to clean your teeth, as well as approaching them from different angles, which are difficult for you to reach to clean thoroughly yourself. Routine dental cleanings are essential to maintaining your oral health.