Another highly important part of all of our comprehensive dental exams is completing an oral cancer screening. General dentistry in Crossville depends on not only keeping your teeth healthy but also being mindful of other oral health issues such as oral cancer that might negatively impact you and your body. We check your entire mouth (both inside and out), head, and neck for any signs of irregularities or discoloration that could be cause for concern. 

Our doctor and team members are trained to conduct visual/manual screenings and use state-of-the-art technology such as OralID to spot anything that looks suspicious. The good news is that all of these things combined give us an advantage over this disease. The earlier your dentist or hygienist can spot oral cancer, the better chances we have of treating it and helping you stay healthy. If you have questions about your risks for oral cancer or would like a screening, please contact us today to schedule a comprehensive examination.

We have to say that today’s dental x-rays have immensely improved over the years. They allow your dentist a more in-depth look at your oral health, above and beyond what’s visible to the naked eye. You and Dr. Hooie get a much clearer picture or perspective about what’s occurring inside your teeth or below your gum line and how it’s affecting your oral health. Forget about the old days when you had to wait for your x-rays to be developed and be exposed to heightened levels of radiation. Today’s digital x-rays are used to provide more comprehensive general dentistry in Crossville where your files are stored in a computer and easily accessible for our reference. Our digital, panoramic, and CBCT imaging provide so many benefits that include:

• Elevated ease and comfort for all ages of patients
• Clear, more precise photos and images 
• The ability to zoom in and out to get a clearer picture of your oral health
• A greatly reduced exposure to x-rays
• Without film and chemical developers it’s safer for the environment

We rely on these images to help us create a clear path for fixing anything about your oral health that could be damaging to your teeth. They help us, help you!

You can’t talk about dental hygiene in Cumberland County and not talk about bacteria. Unfortunately, they like to live in our mouths in the plaque that can buildup on our teeth. One way to beat this bacteria is to keep up with your visits to Hooie Dental for your hygiene visits. It’s part of experiencing the very best of what general dentistry in Crossville has to offer with our talented team of dental health professionals. They know all of the ways to remove bacteria from your teeth before they can do more damage such as leading to unwanted decay and cavities. 

Since we love technology at Hooie Dental, we’ve equipped our hygienists with innovative ultrasonic cleaners that are safe, gentle, and highly effective. The tool uses innovative sound waves to easily remove even the most stubborn tartar buildup that can occur both above and below your gum line. You’ll notice your dental hygiene in Cumberland County is more comfortable for you and your busy schedule.

It’s safe to say that without your gums, you wouldn’t have a smile. That’s because they must remain healthy and intact for a lifetime to securely hold your teeth in place. However, sometimes no matter how much we brush and floss, our gums can be prone to bouts with disease. 

Unfortunately, gum or periodontal disease is something we’ll tell you never to ignore when you’re seeing us for help with dental hygiene in Cumberland County. When your gums become infected, it can lead to unwanted:

• Recession or movement in your gum line
• Bleeding and sensitivity
• Tooth loss
• Negative effects elsewhere in your body

If we do find signs of gum disease, please don’t worry. We have a variety of treatments available that are effective and efficient at treating periodontal problems. We can rely on high-tech laser therapy and antibiotic solutions such as Actisite® and Arestin®. Have faith in knowing that we can help get you and your gums healthy again so you’re ready to share your smile with the world.

Sometimes it’s easy to go about our daily routine and not really pay much attention to our teeth, especially if you’re a regular at Hooie Dental for checkups and general dentistry in Crossville. As we eat, drink, and speak our way through the day it’s easy for your smile to lose some of the protective minerals that help keep your teeth fighting and biting strong. Kids are especially prone to tooth damage (and eventual cavities). Couple that with forgetting to brush and floss, and your tooth enamel could take a hit. 

One way we help to strengthen and fortify your smile is with fluoride treatments, designed to reverse damage and remineralize your tooth enamel. Fluoride is amazing at helping to prevent tooth decay by giving your smile added resistance to acid attacks courtesy of the bacteria that like to hang out in our mouth. Believe it or not, fluoride can even help to reduce decay. In most cases of kids ages six and under, fluoride can help with the healthy development of their permanent teeth. We recommend fluoride treatments for both kids and adults when you visit us for your dental hygiene in Cumberland County.

As the knowledgeable team you trust for advanced, yet compassionate general dentistry in Crossville, you must know that protecting your teeth and preventing future dental dilemmas is what we do best. One of the many services we offer beyond basic dental hygiene in Cumberland County is custom mouthguards for both kids and adults. 

Sports Mouthguards – You love your little one and take care of their smile, so don’t worry about wrecking your dental or orthodontic investment every time they take the field or hit the court. We take safety one step further than the traditional boil-and-bite mouthguards you find with the sporting goods. By carefully crafting and customizing your sports mouthguard for a more precise fit, you can feel assured that their smile will remain safe and free from harm. 

Nightguards – Do you grind your teeth at night? Maybe you do and don’t even know it! It’s called bruxism and it has the potential to cause severe damage to your teeth. The harm is evident when we see evidence of signs, cracking, or wear in your teeth. Like our sports mouthguards, can custom create a nightguard that’s comfortable enough to wear nightly and prevent harmful clenching and grinding.

At Hooie Dental, we go out of our way to make sure every patient feels valued, and more importantly, comfortable during your visit with us. However, we also know that no matter how much reassurance and compassionate care we can provide there are some patients who have severe anxiety about visiting the dentist or completing treatments. Sometimes a person’s fear of the dentist can run so deep, they avoid general dentistry in Crossville altogether, forever. We don’t believe anyone should have to live life like that and to help, we offer patients the option of dental anesthesia. You can choose these safe, effective anesthesia options such as:

Oral sedation – We find oral sedation effective for our patients because you arrive at the office already relaxed and feeling good thanks to a prescription medication you take prior to your appointment. Oral sedation is extremely effective, but it does require you to have someone bring you and take you home from your appointment.

Nitrous oxide – This is probably the most common or well-known form of dental sedation. Nitrous oxide or laughing gas is easily administered using a mask and normal in and out breaths. Everyone from children to older adult patients can benefit from this form of sedation because it’s mild and easily reversed when your procedure is complete. You’ll feel no after-effects and can drive yourself home. 

The Wand® – Are you afraid of needles and shots? You’re going to love The Wand. It’s an alternative to novocaine shots or local anesthesia that you have to see to believe. It’s truly remarkable, life-changing technology for patients with dental anxiety.

Beyond being your friendly home for general dentistry in Crossville and dental hygiene in Cumberland County, did you know that you can talk to Dr. Hooie about how you’re sleeping too? It might seem odd at first to go to your dentist for a sleeping issue, but they actually know more about how your head and neck work, aside from what’s going on in your mouth. In this case, we’re actually concerned about snoring and something called sleep apnea. It happens when your airway is obstructed and you’re depriving yourself of oxygen throughout the night while sleeping — and you might not even know it.

Sleep apnea symptoms can appear in the form of:

• Headaches and migraines
• Extreme drowsiness or tired feeling all day
• Depression and anxiety
• Irritability
• Mood swings
• Weight gain

Dr. Hooie has advanced training and technology that allows him to work one-on-one with you to figure out what type of treatment could be beneficial. We can often create a customized oral appliance that’s designed to open up or unblock your airway for a better, more restful night’s sleep for you and your bed partner.

Experiencing the onset of any kind of medical emergency is not something any of us want to go through. However, we all know that no matter how hard we try to avoid it, life happens and sometimes it’s in the form of a dental emergency. Part of bringing big city care with a hometown heart to our style of general dentistry in Crossville, means always being there for you during times like these — isn’t that what family and friends are supposed to do?

When you or someone in your family is in pain with a dental emergency, it’s no time to wait around for it to get better. You need a team like ours at Hooie Dental who’s dedicated to providing comfortable, affordable dental care in every situation — especially emergencies. Call us right away when something goes wrong with your smile so we can get you the assistance you need as soon as we can.