General Dentistry
Restorative Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentistry
Uptown Dental treats your entire family! Your first visit to Uptown Dental is all about you!
It will include:
- Review of your Medical/Dental forms
- Examination of the Digital X-rays
- Examine Existing Restorations
- Gum Disease Evaluation
- Oral Cancer Screening
The American Dental Association recommends visiting your dentist every six months for a regular checkup and routine dental cleanings to keep your teeth and gums healthy.
Preventive Care
- Preventative Cleanings/Oral Examinations
- Oral Cancer Screening/Velscope
- Deep Cleanings (Scaling and Root Planing)
Dental X-Rays
Dr. Lenz at Uptown Dental strives to provide preventive dental care to minimize pain, cost and invasive treatments. X-rays are an important preventive and diagnostic tool used at Uptown Dental. With all the dental technology available today, you may be wondering why dental x-rays are still necessary. Following are just a few reasons. X-rays help:
- Reveal cavities or abnormalities that aren't visible to Dr. Lenz during his standard oral examination (between and inside teeth)
- Discover signs of periodontal and other oral health diseases in the early stages when they are easier to treat
- Track tooth and jaw development and identify any issues with alignment in growing children and young adults
- Expose any issues with previous restorations and determine if additional treatment is needed
Dental x-rays are taken at every new patient's first visit to Uptown Dental and are updated each year during one of your regular checkups. X-rays are covered by many insurance carriers on an annual basis.
Gum Disease Evaluations
We all know we're supposed to take care of our teeth, but many people often forget that healthy gums are just as important. Gum disease, or periodontal disease, is the leading cause of tooth loss and is incurable once it occurs.
Gum disease is caused by a buildup of plaque or tartar on the teeth that, without proper treatment, can cause loss of teeth, gum tissue and bone. It has also been linked with other serious, chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease.
Gum disease can be prevented by practicing good oral healthcare (brushing twice per day and flossing once per day) and visiting Uptown Dental for regular cleanings and gum disease evaluations. And even after a diagnosis, gum disease is treatable with proper and routine periodontal maintenance to keep the condition from worsening.
Dr. Lenz performs gum disease evaluations to catch any signs of disease early on when it is easier to treat. The process involves measuring the space around each tooth for any recession of the gum tissue as well as any signs of inflammation or loosening teeth. We offer gum disease evaluations to each new patient at Uptown Dental and continue to perform additional exams on an annual basis to ensure optimal oral health.
If your gums feel tender or swollen and/or are red and bleed easily, you may already be experiencing symptoms of gum disease. Please call our office or schedule an appointment and request a gum disease evaluation.
Oral Cancer Screenings
It's the word that seems to be everywhere these days and one that no one likes to hear - cancer. Though it doesn't seem to be going anywhere, medical professionals continue to develop new ways to detect it, defend against it and beat it. The dentist's office is no exception.
Oral cancer can occur in the mouth, back of the throat, lips, salivary glands, tonsils, esophagus, tongue and soft tissues. An oral cancer screening is a precautionary oral, head and neck exam performed by a dentist to identify mouth cancer early and hopefully reduce the severity of treatment needed to fight it. The best part? It takes less than 5 minutes and can be completed without ever leaving the dentist chair.
To complete your exam, Dr. Lenz will perform inspections and palpitations of your face, oral cavity, mouth floor, lips, cheeks, tongue, tonsils, neck and nose, looking and feeling for any abnormalities that might indicate a problem.
Most of the exam only requires a few standard tools - overhead lighting, a mirror and a tongue depressor. Some dentists use a few other specialized tools, including Dr. Lenz at Uptown Dental. VELscope is an oral cancer screening system designed to block reflected blue light and enhance the contrast between abnormal and normal tissue. This tool helps Dr. Lenz identify abnormalities and improves the accuracy of your oral health examination.
It is important to note that oral cancer screenings are precautionary, not diagnostic. If Dr. Lenz does find a sign or symptom of oral cancer, he may refer you for further testing to fully investigate the issue.
Oral cancer screenings are performed at every patient's first visit and are repeated once per year as part of your regular checkup.