Dental Hygiene

While at our dentist’s Missoula office, we make sure that you receive the highest level of service and ensure that our dental work is of the highest quality. To ensure that you maintain great oral health, this level of quality needs to extend into your personal oral hygiene routine. We can help you establish a dental hygiene routine that will keep your teeth healthy and white. If you have any questions about your current hygiene plan please ask us.

As a general rule, a healthy mouth with few fillings or crowns and no gum disease should visit our hygienist every six months for a cleaning. If you are fighting gum disease, recession, have unusually heavy buildup of calculus (tartar), are moderate to high risk for cavities or have significant dental work we want to protect, we will likely recommend more frequent cleanings. The increased frequency prevents harmful bacteria from reaching high levels. The frequency of hygiene visits and the quality of home care are the biggest factors for a healthy mouth and a life with minimal dentistry. Our goal at Bitterroot Dental is to help you have the least amount of dentistry possible over your life.

As the leading laser dental office in Missoula, Bitterroot Dental has incorporated lasers into our hygiene as well. Our licensed hygienist has special training in laser use and is certified to operate the lasers. The lasers use low light levels to kill baceria that hide in the gum tissue or the bottom of the pocket around a tooth, where regular cleaning instruments cannot go. Lasers also have a stimulatory effect on the growth of healthy cells to repair damage caused by periodontal disease.

Using a combination of lasers and conventional cleaning techniques with hand instruments and ultrasonic scalers, we are able to eliminate significantly more harmful bacteria than is possible without using a laser. Lasers simply make your mouth healthier and save you money, time and the necessity of painful dental procedures. You will always have the choice to decline laser use at hygiene appointments.
Your teeth are not the only important part of your mouth. Your gums and bone are essential to oral hygiene as well. We can provide periodontal cleanings and treatment, or refer you to one of our recommended specialists. Please let us know if you have any questions.

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