Dental Care Associates of Spokane Valley

Breath Treatment: This treatment is necessary for people with halitosis or offensive breath.  The majority of cases of bad breath come from inside the mouth and can be cured by restoring infected, decayed, or broken teeth, and/or through the regular use of mouth rinses.  Some odor may originate from the esophagus or stomach and may require more individualized treatment.

Cosmetic Dentistry: Any operation performed on teeth or other oral tissues to improve the appearance of the patient.

Dentin: The calcified tissue which forms the major part of a tooth.  Dentin provides the color for the tooth.  Dentin is covered by enamel over the crown of a tooth and covered by cementum over the roots and itself surrounds the pulp chamber and root canals.

Dentistry: The art and science of the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases of the teeth and adjacent tissues, and the restoration of missing teeth and oral structures.

Enamel: The pearly white hard (hardest substance in human body) calcified substance that covers the crown of a tooth.

Floss: Floss is the thread, string, or tape used to mechanically remove plaque from between teeth (some say up to 40% of tooth surface) which the toothbrush is unable to reach.

Fluoride: Fluoride is an inorganic chemical element (13^th most common element in the earth’s crust) naturally occurring in most foods and water supplies, as well as a natural component of tooth enamel and bone.  The body uses fluoride in two ways, systemically (ingested) and topically (gels, solutions, and pastes), and at optimal levels helps teeth to be more resistant to tooth decay.

Health: The state of dynamic equilibrium between the organism and its environment, which maintains the structural and functional characteristics of the organism within the normal limits for a particular form of life (race, genus, species) and the particular phases of its life cycle.

Holistic Health: A concept in medical practice upholding that all aspects of people’s needs, psychological, physical, and social, should be taken into account and seen as a whole.  As defined above, the holistic view on treatment is widely accepted in medicine.

Hypnosis: a mental state (state theory) or imaginative role-enactment (non-state theory) usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary instructions and suggestions.  Hypnotic suggestions may be delivered by a hypnotist in the presence of the subject, or may be self-administered (“self-suggestion” or “autosuggestion”).  The use of hypnotism for therapeutic purposes is referred to as “hypnotherapy.”

Mineral: An organic chemical compound found in nature, especially one that is solid.

Mouth Rinse: Any oral rinse used to kill bacteria, freshen breath, chemically treat oral tissues, or any combination of these functions.

Nutrition: The sum of the processes concerned in the growth, maintenance, and repair of the living body, as a whole, or of its constituent parts.

Oral Cancer Screening: Looking for cancer in the mouth before a person shows any symptoms.  When your dentist examines your mouth at your routine checkup appointments, he/she is also screening you for oral cancer.  This process only takes about 90 seconds and consists of a visual examination for any presence of cancer.  Visit your dentist every 6 months for regular checkups.

Preventive Dentistry: Any activity that seeks to prevent oral disease, prolong the life of teeth, and promote the health of all oral tissues.

Pulp Cavity: The space within the central part of a tooth which contains the dental pulp (nerves and blood vessels) and comprises the pulp chamber and root canal for each root.

Relaxation: A quick release of tension, a return to equilibrium.

Sedation Dentistry: The use of pharmacological agents to calm and relax a patient prior to and during a dental appointment.  The pharmacological agents usually belong to a class of drugs called sedatives, which exert their action by depressing the central nervous system, specifically those areas concerned with conscious awareness.

Supplements: Anything added to.  When considering oral health, it is either an oral addition of vitamins or minerals taken systemically or topically.  It may also include more frequent tasks such as additional brushing, flossing, etc.

Teeth Whitening: The process of making teeth whiter.  Methods include in-office professional whitening systems (i.e., ZOOM) as well as custom-made plastic trays which deliver bleach solutions to teeth at home.  Bleaching is most safe when delivery is overseen by a dentist.

Tongue Scraper: A device used to provide oral health to the tongue by scraping to remove bacteria and plaque from the taste buds on the rough upper surface of the tongue.

Toothbrush: A preferably soft-bristled brush with rounded edges (best if ADA recommended) that is used to mechanically remove plaque and bacteria from the surfaces of the tooth which it contacts.  Certain brushing techniques (i.e., Bass technique) are most effective.

Vitamins: Any of a group of organic compounds present in variable, minute quantities in natural foodstuffs, required for normal growth and maintenance of life of animals (including man) which, as a rule, are unable to synthesize those compounds.

Wellness: “Wellness is a multidimensional state of being describing the existence of positive health in an individual as exemplified by quality of life and a sense of well-being.”  Charles B. Corbin of Arizona State University.