General & Preventive Dental Care

Dental Anxiety & Fear

Many patients experience anxiety and fear at the thought of visiting the dentist. Our caring team of dental professionals at the office of Cross Pointe Dental are dedicated to helping reduce your anxiety, relieve your fears, and provide your treatments in a relaxing environment. Your comfort and care are at the heart of our practice, and we make your well-being our top priority. We offer several solutions, including nitrous oxide conscious sedation, to help you feel at ease when you visit our practice. To learn more about how we can relieve dental anxiety and fear in Evansville, Indiana, and to make your appointment with Dr. Bradley Bath, please call us at 812-476-6064.

If you feel anxious or afraid while visiting the dentist, the first thing you should do is talk to our dentist. he cares about you, and will take extra precautions during your visits to ensure your comfort. When you speak with Dr. Bradley Bath, you can agree on a signal, so that when you begin to feel anxious or distressed in the chair he can quickly stop treatment to relieve your anxiety.

There are several solutions to help reduce your anxiety. Depending on your needs, we may suggest:

Bringing a portable music player – music can drown out any fear-producing noises, and can help you relax while in the chair.
Use a spray in your throat – throat sprays can help control your gag reflex, keeping you more comfortable during your treatment
Bring a small mirror with you – sometimes being able to see what is happening can relieve your anxiety.

If necessary, Dr. Bradley Bath can also provide a nitrous oxide treatment. Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, can help you relax during your treatment. When you receive nitrous oxide, our dentist will fit you with a face mask, and you will inhale a gas. This is a conscious sedation treatment, so you should not fall asleep, though you may feel drowsy or experience a “floating” sensation. The sedative will wear off after the mask is removed, and you should be able to drive yourself home safely after a few minutes.

For more information on how we can relieve dental anxiety and fear, including our nitrous oxide treatments, and to make your appointment with our dentist, please contact our office today.

Dental Exams & Cleanings

Dental cleanings and exams are two of the most basic yet important preventive treatments we provide at our office. Each time you visit our dental practice for a checkup, we will provide a professional teeth cleaning and dental exam to help your smile stay healthy. During your cleaning and exam, our dental team will:

Clean your teeth by removing any plaque or tartar (also called dental calculus), which can lead to tooth decay and periodontal disease
Floss and polish your teeth for a healthy, bright smile
Examine your smile for signs of any damaging dental conditions or diseases

We may utilize dental X-rays to further evaluate your smile and make certain that you receive the dental care you need. Regular dental cleanings and exams are essential in maintaining good oral health, preventing cavities and gum disease, and making sure that any damaging conditions are treated as early as possible.

We recommend that you visit us every six months for a routine dental cleaning and exam. We may suggest more frequent visits if needed, and we also encourage you to contact us if you suffer from a dental emergency, pain or injury. To schedule your next appointment, we invite you to contact us today. We look forward to caring for your smile!

Dental Sealants

A sealant is a preventive dental treatment that our dentist may recommend to protect patients’ teeth from decay. A dental sealant is made of a clear or tooth-colored resin material, which is painted onto the chewing surface of teeth. By blocking out the bacteria and food debris that lead to tooth decay, the sealant prevents decay and cavities. The dental sealant forms a smooth coating over the natural pits and grooves of the tooth surface, which also makes it easier to effectively clean teeth with normal brushing.

Dental sealants are most often recommended for children. They are frequently recommended for the permanent molars as soon as they come in, usually between the ages of 6 and 12 years. We may also recommend dental sealants for adult patients whose teeth are prone to decay or have not been restored or suffered from decay in the past. We can apply dental sealants in just one short, comfortable visit to our practice.

Sealants can be a powerful tool in preventing decay and keeping your smile healthy. To learn more about dental sealants and how our team can keep your smile in good health, we welcome you to call or visit our office today.

Digital X-Rays

Digital X-rays are one of the advanced diagnostic tools we use to provide you with the best possible care. Digital radiography has changed the way we take dental X-rays by making the process faster, more comfortable and more convenient than ever before. Digital X-rays use a digital sensor to take images of your teeth, unlike traditional X-rays that use film. Digital X-rays use significantly less radiation than conventional film X-rays and require the use of no chemicals for developing the images. Our dentist can then instantly view the high-quality images on monitors right in the treatment room to provide you with efficient, accurate diagnoses and care. Our team is able to use digital radiography to identify and diagnose several types of dental problems, such as:

Decay in between teeth
Developmental abnormalities
Improper tooth root positioning
Cysts and abscesses
Fractures in existing fillings
Tumors
Infection in the tooth nerves
Bone loss

Digital dental X-rays are used to plan many kinds of dental treatment, such as oral surgery procedures, root canal treatment, dental implants, orthodontics and more. To learn more about digital radiography and how we use X-rays at our office, we welcome you to call or visit us soon.

Fluoride Treatments

Fluoride is a mineral that is naturally found in water and many foods. While you receive a certain amount of fluoride from your diet and from using toothpaste with fluoride, we may recommend fluoride treatment to further strengthen your teeth and prevent cavities.

Fluoride helps to strengthen your teeth and protect them from tooth decay. As you eat and drink throughout the day, bacteria, sugars and acids constantly attack and demineralize the enamel of your teeth. Fluoride works to remineralize tooth enamel, preventing tooth decay and cavities. In addition, fluoride can strengthen teeth as they develop to make sure they are strong and healthy. This makes fluoride very important for children as their teeth grow in.

Our dentist and team members may recommend professional fluoride treatment during your regular dental checkup. We may suggest further fluoride treatment if your teeth are prone to decay or if you are not receiving a sufficient amount of fluoride from other sources. Professional fluoride is available in the form of a gel, varnish or foam. Fluoride treatment is just one of the ways our team helps you keep your smile healthy for a lifetime. For more information about preventive dentistry and the benefits of fluoride, we welcome you to contact us today. We are eager to care for your smile!

Intraoral Cameras

An intraoral camera is a tool we use to get a closer look at different parts of your smile. The intraoral camera is a small, pen-shaped device that we can use to take high-quality color photos of your teeth and gums, as well as other areas of your mouth as needed. Because the intraoral camera is so small and easily maneuverable, we can use it to see angles in your mouth that we cannot easily view with the unaided eye. We may utilize the intraoral camera to better evaluate your oral health and diagnose dental problems like tooth decay and periodontal disease, as well as tooth damage like a cracked or chipped tooth. The intraoral camera is also useful in following up after a treatment has been completed.

In addition to helping our team get a better view of your smile, the images taken with the intraoral camera allow you, our patient, to gain a better understanding of your oral health and dental treatments. We can also send these photos to other dentists and specialists and can submit them to dental insurance companies as needed. To learn more about the uses and benefits of intraoral cameras, we invite you to call or visit our dentist and team soon.

Oral Cancer Screening

Oral cancer includes cancers of the lips, tongue, floor of the mouth, cheeks, throat (pharynx), sinuses, and hard and soft palate. While oral cancer can usually be successfully treated when detected early, most cases of oral cancer are not detected until they have progressed into a more serious, advanced stage that is much more difficult to treat. In fact, oral cancer may be life-threatening. At our office, we are dedicated to doing all we can to detect and treat oral cancers and other abnormalities at the earliest possible stage. During your routine dental cleanings and exams at our office, our dentist and team will perform an oral cancer screening to check for the signs of oral cancer.

The following are common symptoms of oral cancer:

A persistent sore throat or feeling that something is caught at the back of the throat
Unexplained bleeding in the mouth
A persistent or lasting sore on the face, neck or mouth that bleeds easily and does not heal within two weeks
Unexplained loss of feeling, pain or numbness in the face, neck or mouth
Ear pain
Lumps, bumps or rough spots on the gums, lips or other parts of the mouth
Red, white or speckled red-and-white patches in the mouth
Difficulty chewing, speaking or swallowing
A change in the way your teeth or dentures fit together

While our team will perform a screening for oral cancer to check for these and other symptoms, we encourage you to contact us if you notice any of these problems or if you experience any other type of dental pain. We are committed to helping you stay in good health.

Oral Hygiene

During your time at our office, our team works hard to improve your oral health. It is essential, however, that you continue taking care of your smile at home through consistent oral hygiene. Good dental hygiene includes a number of daily habits and practices that help to keep your smile healthy and bright. Our dentist and team recommend that you follow these basic steps to help your smile stay in optimal health:

Brush your teeth after each meal or at least twice a day. We encourage you to use a soft-bristled toothbrush and a toothpaste that includes fluoride.
Floss at least once every day. The most important time to floss is just before you go to sleep at night.
Eat a balanced diet. Limiting your intake of very sugary and acidic foods can help to prevent tooth decay.
Maintain your regular visits with our dentist every six months. During these visits, we will provide a professional teeth cleaning and a thorough dental exam to make certain we provide any needed preventive or restorative treatments.

When you visit our dentist and team, we will review your dental hygiene habits with you and offer needed information on any additional steps you can take to further improve your oral health. To learn more about dental hygiene and schedule your next appointment at our office, we welcome you to call or visit us today.

Digital Panoramic X-Rays

In order to provide you with the best possible care, it is essential for our dentist to accurately evaluate and diagnose your oral health. One of the state-of-the-art tools we use to do that is panoramic X-rays. While standard X-rays, called bitewing X-rays, provide us with a view of a few teeth and the supporting bone structure, panoramic X-rays allow us to view the full upper and lower dental arches — including all of the teeth, the upper and lower jawbones, and the surrounding facial structures. Using panoramic X-rays, our oral health professionals can:

Assess the need for orthodontics and evaluate the progress of treatment
Diagnose impacted wisdom teeth and other impacted teeth
Analyze the development of periodontal disease
Evaluate the TMJ (jaw joint) and diagnose a TMJ disorder
Detect oral cancer
Plan dental implant placement
Diagnose cavities (tooth decay) and other dental problems
Evaluate the extent of dental or facial trauma
Detect abscesses, cysts and tumors

Using the panoramic X-ray machine is fast and comfortable. The machine simply rotates around your head and provides our dentist with high-definition, nearly instantaneous images that we can then use to evaluate your oral health. We invite you to call or visit us today to learn more about panoramic X-rays.