General Dentistry
General dentistry is the starting point for many visits to Layer Dental. Explore care for children, regular cleanings, fillings, sealants, tooth extractions, and dental emergencies.
Care that starts with understanding.
Children and family visits
Children’s dentistry brings together examinations, cleaning, and conversations about developing home-care habits. The appointment is an opportunity for parents and children to ask questions.
Routine care and treatment needs
Cleanings, fillings, and sealants serve different purposes. Your examination helps guide the conversation about which services may be appropriate.
When something changes
Contact the practice about a new concern, a damaged tooth, or a restoration that needs attention. Ask the team how to arrange an assessment; an online request is not a confirmed appointment.
Find the care you need.
Dentistry for Children
Our goal with children is to help them have a great first experience with routine dental care. We all know somebody who had a tough time at the dentist as a kid and who still struggles with it as an adult. We want to change that. We recommend having your child seen when the first tooth starts to come in. The first few visits are what we call "fun visits" where we get a quick look at the teeth & can talk with parents about particular concerns including potential problems that may not be so obvious.
Teeth Cleanings
During a dental cleaning your teeth are cleaned of plaque, calculus, and any debris. We review home care habits and make suggestions for improvement. Most people need only what we call adult prophylaxis. What we might call a "regular cleaning" in everyday talk. Others have periodontitis or "gum disease" where adult prophylaxis is not enough to get teeth clean (or keep them there). In this case, scaling and root planning is needed. After that, periodontal maintenance is performed every 3-4 months as directed by the amount of buildup, inflammation, and state of remission of the disease. If you are new to our practice you'll get a full examination first in order to fully diagnose your gum health before the cleaning appointment is scheduled.
Dental Emergencies
Got a toothache? Broken tooth? Something weird that's hard to put into words? We can help. We'll evaluate it, diagnose it, talk about the options, and then decide together the best way to correct it. Occasionally we encounter stuff that's super odd & we can't diagnose it fully at our office. That's where our wonderful dental specialties can be a tremendous help. If we can handle it while you're in the office for the emergency visit we will. And we'll follow-up with you afterward to make sure it's healing correctly. We want you to leave your emergency visit with hope and peace of mind.
Tooth Extractions
The thought of a tooth extraction can be fearful to say the least. We'll diagnose the problem, discuss the options as well as what to expect afterward. We'll make your extraction appointment as comfortable and pain-free as possible. And we'll follow-up with you afterward to assure a normal, trouble-free healing process after it's all done. For our in-office procedures we offer effective local anesthesia for extractions. Talk to us about your anxiety and we'll help you effectively manage it. For those cases where we can't do the procedure in our office we'll connect you with a wonderful specialist who can handle the procedure safely.
Dental Sealants
A dental sealant is a thin, protective coating applied to the grooves and fissures of the teeth in areas where we think a cavity is likely to develop were it to be left alone. Most sealants are placed on back teeth although some front teeth get them. It is important that only susceptible teeth get sealants. The process is quick, painless, and highly effective at preventing cavities.
Dental Fillings
Cavities occur when the bacteria in our mouths are allowed to sit on one area of a tooth for too long. They start to eat away at the enamel and dentin of the tooth until a hole (or "cavity") is created. The technical term is "dental caries" or a "carious lesion." Cavities affect us. When they're small they usually don't cause symptoms but large cavities can cause pain that can be severe. A filling is the remedy for a cavity. The decayed part of the tooth is removed and a tooth-like material is used to fill in the part of the tooth that was lost. Today, most dental fillings are painless, quick, and predictable (meaning the tooth quickly returns to feeling normal after the procedure is done). But some cavities are larger and fillings for those teeth take longer to place. And those teeth will likely have some mild symptoms afterward as part of their normal recovery process we we'll follow-up with you afterward. Unless requested, all of our filling materials are tooth-colored.
Make room for questions
Talk with us about changes you have noticed, questions about home care, or concerns about an appointment. We explain findings and discuss the next steps with you.
