Preventive Dentistry

If you're like many people, you might think brushing and flossing regularly means it’s okay to skip routine dental visits. Or, maybe it's been longer than you'd like to admit since your last appointment, and you're worried about what the dentist might find.

At Gaslight Village Family Dentistry, Dr. Joshua Wansten, we recommend exams and cleanings every six months for most patients. Even if you practice excellent oral hygiene, dental checkups in East Grand Rapids offer benefits that you can’t achieve with brushing and flossing alone. 

Thorough Dental Evaluation

Your first visit is a thorough 90-minute evaluation where our skilled hygienist carefully gathers the information needed to understand your oral health situation.

• Complete digital x-rays
• Photos of your teeth
• Oral health and bite evaluation
• Medical history review and current medications
• Discussion of your dental goals and concerns

Dr. Wansten then reviews the findings and discusses treatment recommendations if needed. If you have more complex needs, we’ll book a separate follow-up consultation, giving you plenty of time to explore your options and ask questions.

Dr. Wansten believes that informed patients make the best decisions about their oral health. Using technology like 3-D digital scanning, digital x-rays, and intraoral cameras, he makes even complex dental issues easy to understand.

If you have concerns we need to address, we don’t dictate what you need. We take a collaborative approach where you're an active partner in your dental care. You'll feel comfortable throughout treatment because you understand exactly what's happening and why.

Professional Teeth Cleaning Process

Because our exams are so thorough, we typically schedule a follow-up appointment for a teeth cleaning. We want to make sure we have plenty of time to devote to your initial hygiene appointment, which will include the following steps:

• Removing plaque and tartar above and below the gum line
• Polishing to smooth tooth surfaces and remove surface stains
• Thorough flossing to clear debris from between teeth
• Gum health evaluation and personalized home care recommendations

If your hygienist discovers signs of gum disease, we’ll recommend prompt treatment to prevent it from progressing.

If you’ve skipped a few or many checkups, we never judge. Whether it’s time for your routine six-month cleaning or you haven't seen a dentist in East Grand Rapids for years, we focus on moving forward with solutions and not looking back.

Please call Gaslight Village Family Dentistry at (616) 454-8228 to schedule your dental exam and cleaning with Dr. Wansten and our caring team. 

We are pleased to serve East Grand Rapids and all surrounding communities, including