At Dental Health Center
of Holmdel, we evaluate dental health as it relates to your mouth, teeth and gums,
as well as your overall health and well being.
We are dedicated to treat your dental health with the goal of producing happy, healthy smiles while promoting good health and preventing disease.
The primary components of Preventive Dentistry at Dental Health Center of Holmdel are:
Air Abrasion Pit and Fissure Cleaning
Clinical Exam and Full Pocket Charting for Periodontal Disease
Dental Cleaning for Bright Smiles
VELscope Oral Cancer Screening
At Dental Health Center of Holmdel, we evaluate not your dental health as it relates to your teeth and gums, but also as it relates to your overall health and well being.
One of our dentists, Laura Bridges or Rosanna Santini, will spend time with you to complete a thorough evaluation of your health record. Mindful of your medical history, the dentists can specifically diagnose dental and other health issues and develop an accurate plan of treatment to benefit you.
Our patients tell us all the time that it is the level of expertise, complemented by the thoughtful time and care that our dentists dedicate to each and every patient that make us so unique.
We have over 20 years of proven success in managing our patient’s dental health as well as handling the utmost critical and difficult treatments that some patients require.
We are dedicated to treat your dental health with the goal of producing happy, healthy smiles while promoting overall good health and preventing disease.
#end care for whole patient#
The top surfaces of your teeth - where the chewing takes place - aren't smooth or flat. They are criss-crossed with tiny hills and valleys - pits and fissures. These are places where plaque can build up out of reach from your toothbrush and dental floss. Some pits and fissures are so minute that not even a single bristle from a toothbrush can reach in enough to clean them out.
Dental Health Center of Holmdel’s commitment to the highest level of patient care, comfort and healing is evidenced by its expert application of the Air Abrasion for removing decay from pits and fissures. The dentists utilize this cutting edge technology to spray away decay without heat, vibration or whining of the drill.
Microscopically fine powder is carried to the tooth by a stream of air, gently spraying away decay. This is all accomplished without physically touching your tooth. In simplest terms, imagine a precise miniature sandblaster.
Dentists can detect heart and other health problems during a dental exam – sometimes dentist are the first to discover patients with heart disease and subsequently save lives! There are many connections between ailments of the oral cavity, (for instance a sore, painful jaw, or gum disease) and heart problems/disease.
Dental Health Center of Holmdel estimates that they save close to 30 lives per year through the detection of high blood pressure during dental exams.
Gum Disease and Heart Attacks
Recent research suggests that if you have gum disease you may be at higher risk for heart attacks. How can this occur? Bacteria in your infected gums can dislodge, enter your bloodstream, attach to blood vessels and increase clot formation. This increased clot formation decreases the blood flow to the heart, increasing chances of a heart attack and aggravating high blood pressure (Hypertension Disease). There is no permanent cure for this disease.
Consequently, patients have been able to improve their overall health and decrease blood pressure medications (which cause side effects with implications on your dental health) by eliminating tooth and/or gum infections.
At Dental Health Center of Holmdel, the dentists conduct a thorough dental exam and periodontal charting to provide a graphic description of the conditions of your mouth, including caries (i.e., decay), restorations, missing or malposed teeth, clinical attachment levels, furcation (root) involvement, mobility, pocket depths, bleeding sites, and other deviations from normal. We also look for other conditions including erosion, abrasion, developmental anomalies and use of prostheses.
Excellent oral health is important to your overall well being. At Dental Health Center of Holmdel, we are dedicated to promoting preventive dentistry and patient education for positive oral hygiene. Professional cleanings and thorough examinations allow us to maintain the health of your teeth, identify and treat possible problems and stop periodontal disease.
DHC’s dental hygienists will gently thoroughly clean your teeth including the performance of scaling (removal of calcified irritants under the gums to reduce inflammation and infection) and dental prophylaxis (removal of plaque and cleaning the teeth to prevent cavities).
Dental Health Center of Holmdel’s dental hygienists are dedicated to providing you with education essential to maintaining the best health of your teeth and smile.
The use of digital x rays (computer generated images) requires less radiation than that of conventional film x rays and eliminates the use of environmentally damaging solutions. The images of your teeth are immediately broadcast on a video monitor in the treatment room, thereby providing for faster and safer images. Digital x rays also produce more vibrant, detailed images, resulting in more accurate diagnosis.
With a more accurate diagnosis, DHC’s dentists can determine and execute the best possible plan of treatment for its patients.
Most people clench or grind their teeth – which can be deleterious to their teeth. Teeth grinding (bruxism) and clenching may happen at any time, but it often happens while you are sleeping. Stress is one possible cause, but often the reason is not known.
Symptoms of Teeth Grinding can be:
At Dental Health Center of Holmdel, we custom make and fit occlusal guards to your mouth and teeth. An occlusal guard will fit over either all your upper or lower teeth and is worn at the times when you're most likely to grind your teeth.
An occlusal guard will prevent muscles from contracting 100%. Usually, after several weeks of wearing the occlusal guard, headaches and other pains will dissipate.
Sealants are an intermediate preventive step in delaying or preventing tooth decay on pit and fissure areas of the back teeth. While sealants are by no means a cure-all in preventing all forms of tooth decay, they are helpful to patients – particularly children – in controlling decay in certain areas of the mouth.
Sealants are a clear, acrylic-like material that helps shield out decay-causing bacteria from the chewing surfaces of the back teeth. It is recommended that sealants be applied to your child’s primary (baby) molars by the age of three or four years. Once the six-year molars (the first permanent back teeth) appear, it is best to apply sealants as soon as possible. As your child’s most cavity-prone years continue until the mid-teens, the premolars should also be sealed as they appear.
Athletes (or anyone) engaging in vigorous sports activities that could harm the facial region should wear a mouth guard.
Each year, thousands of preventable injuries and even permanent disfigurement occur because mouth guards are not worn. They help prevent injury to the mouth area, especially to the teeth, lips, cheeks and tongue. Mouth guards also protect against head and neck injuries by cushioning blows that might otherwise cause concussions or lead to jaw fractures.
At Dental Health Center of Holmdel, we firmly believe in the use of mouth guards to preserve your smile, health and safety while participating in sports activities.
We custom make mouth guards which can yield the best results over ready-made and mouth formed protectors. How do we do this?
The exceptionally good fit, comfort and quality of custom made mouth guards allows for athletes to easily retain them in their mouths without interference of speech or breathing.
Exercise is an important way we
maintain a healthy lifestyle. If you participate in any sport that carries a
risk of injury, you should wear a mouth guard. These sports might include
football, hockey, basketball,volleyball, baseball, soccer and lacrosse.
Wear a mouth guard to minimize the potential of serious harm
to your head, face or mouth.
Oral Cancer is three times more prevalent than Cervical Cancer. Approximately 8,000 people die of oral cancer each year. This is primarily due to the fact that oral cancer is typically not detected until the deadly cancer is in its late stages.
Unlike many other forms of cancer, the incidence of oral cancer in the United States has increased over the years. Traditionally, tobacco and alcohol use have been known as main risk factors for oral cancer. However, it has been recently proved that certain strains of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), has been strongly associated with oral cancer. Oral cancer that is detected in its early stages has a 5-year survival rate around 90%, conversely, when detected in its later stage, the survival rate is around 20%. Oral cancer has typically affected people over the age of 40 but there is a growing number of younger people being diagnosed with this deadly disease.
In about three minutes using the VELscope technology, we can immediately observe fluorescence signatures to distinguish between normal and abnormal tissue, including precancerous and cancerous growths, which may not be detected under the typical white light examinations. This procedure is pain free, takes only one to two minutes and does not involve distasteful rinses or dyes as in other systems.
The VELscope exam is a smart precaution in the early detection and treatment of cancer. This test is just as imperative as annual mammograms, Pap smears, colonoscopies and prostate exams.
Dental Health Center of Holmdel is committed to continuously elevating the level of preventive care for its patients. DHC is currently one of very few dental offices providing the VELscope oral cancer exam.
The VELscope oral cancer screening is administered to all new patients to Dental Health Center of Holmdel and is both optional and recommended for all our existing patients.