General Dentistry - Columbia, South Carolina
An Apple A Day...
...KEEPS THE DENTIST AWAY. THINK OF PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY AS YOUR DAILY APPLE. LETTING US SEE YOUR TEETH EVERY SIX MONTHS IS A GREAT STEP TOWARD LASTING ORAL HEALTH.
COMPREHENSIVE EXAMS
We like to do comprehensive exams every three-to-five years. A comprehensive exam is one in which we assess your total oral health. We perform x-rays, grab real-time images with our intraoral cameras, evaluate the condition of any current restorations like fillings, bridges, dentures, or implants. We screen for oral cancer using visual and manual methods, and we create a treatment plan just for you.
ORAL CANCER SCREENINGS
Oral Cancer is much more common that you probably realize. In fact, while risk factors like smoking and drinking do increase the odds of oral cancer, anyone can be at risk. All adults should be screened for it regularly. Dr. Swick performs oral cancer checks with a special method in which he checks your mouth, neck, throat, and face visually and by touch.
HYGIENE
Did you know that we actually use sound waves to deep clean your teeth and gums? The machines that do that are called ultrasonic and magnetoscritive scalers. These give you the deepest possible clean. We recommend deep cleanings every six months for everyone.
GUM DISEASE THERAPY
Gum disease (periodontitis) is serious business. Did you know there are links between gum disease and heart attack or stroke? We offer a number of different options for treating periodontitis including scaling and root planing, which are very deep cleaning methods; laser treatment; and the antibiotic Arestin. If you have gum disease, Dr. Swick will help you decide which option is right for you.
FLUORIDE TREATMENTS
Fluoride is one of the best tools to keep mouths healthy for life. We offer fluoride to children at every single visit, and to adults when we think it would help. Sometimes, fluoride treatments may be used to combat gum disease. Fluoride restores minerals to your tooth enamel that help to make your teeth stronger and harder. When your enamel is strong, it better resists decay.
MOUTHGUARDS
Did you know that grinding teeth or clenching the jaw at night can cause premature wear in adult teeth and can contribute to TMD symptoms? So if you or someone you love grinds or clenches, a pattern dentists refer to as bruxism, come on in to see us. We make custom-fitted mouthguards to wear overnight. And if there are athletes in your family, sports mouthguards can help prevent injury to the jaw, broken teeth, and even concussions!
ANESTHESIA
For bigger procedures and for folks who have serious anxiety around visiting the dentist, we offer two types of sedation. 1) Oral sedation is a prescription pill that you take about an hour before your treatment. You’ll need someone to drive you here and home afterward. 2) Nitrous Oxide, sometimes also called laughing gas, is convenient because you may drive yourself to and from your appointment. You inhale a mixture of Nitrous Oxide and Oxygen during the procedure. People come out of this kind of sedation quickly, and are usually back to 100% function within five minutes.
SLEEP APNEA
Sleep apnea is a condition whose symptoms include snoring and fatigue. Most sleep apnea patients even stop breathing as they sleep. These symptoms arise from natural obstruction in the airway, and can often be helped by using a mouthguard to reposition the jaw for restful sleep. For patients who suffer from sleep apnea, we may create a Silent Nite appliance which is a custom-fitted guard that holds your jaw at the best angle to keep you breathing and sleeping well.
TMD/TMJ
The Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) is the one between your lower and upper jaws. TMD is the disorder of this joint. Some people have pain, headaches, and inflammation from their jaw being out of whack. There are a number of sources of this inflammation: Sometimes it is physical – the pads between the jaws slip and create bone-on-bone rubbing. Sometimes it is muscular – a result of a poor bite. In order to treat TMD and relieve symptoms, we use bite splints. That means we create custom-fitted plastic devices that keep your jaw in a relaxed position, which may relieve symptoms of TMD.
TECHNOLOGY
Since it’s the future, we have implemented a number of advanced treatment aids. Among these are computerized treatment rooms which allow us to both collaborate and communicate with you about your goals, needs, and plans; Guru patient education software that helps you learn about the treatments we recommend and make informed decisions; intraoral cameras which let us show you color, digital images of the inside of your mouth – you see what we see; and a soft-tissue laser, which allows us to perform fast, painless treatments of the lips and gums.