When left untreated, tooth decay can cause severe damage to your teeth, sometimes to the point where extractions and extensive restorative treatment is needed before you can regain your oral health and smile. When you visit our office, our skilled prosthodontist can perform a caries risk assessment to determine your risk level for tooth decay and develop a treatment plan to help you prevent decay from developing.

Tooth decay, also known as dental caries, is the most common infectious disease in humans. A caries risk assessment is designed to check for dental decay and diseases on a number of levels, and includes a wide variety of tools and detection methods. During your caries risk assessment, our prosthodontist will carefully examine your entire mouth, test the bacterial balance in your mouth and interview you about any risk factors, such as your diet and oral hygiene.

There are several strategies that our prosthodontist may recommend depending on your risk level. These include:

• Fluoride treatments
• Modifying your home care routine
• Changing your diet
• Dental sealants

Remember, the best way to treat dental caries is to prevent them from developing. We strongly recommend that you maintain a good oral hygiene routine at home and that you visit our office regularly for professional preventive care.

Call our office today if you have any questions about dental caries risk assessments or wish to schedule an appointment with our prosthodontist.