Virtually Pain Free Dental Care

We know that many patients are apprehensive about receiving dental care. At Falmouth Dental Arts, we pride ourselves on our ability to make each patient as comfortable and relaxed as possible while receiving care.

First, at Falmouth Dental Arts we listen to your concerns. We then discuss different methods for making you as comfortable as possible. Together, we lay out a treatment plan that will meet your needs. We have several options:

1) Oral Sedation Dental Care Program – Many of Dr. Knock and Dr. Vocal’s patients prefer to relax through their dental care. Falmouth Dental Arts offers a Oral Sedation Care Program where qualified patients can just take a small pill and relax and in many cases have all of their dental needs taken care of in just one appointment. If this sounds right for you, just click here for more information.

2) Our Famous Virtually Painless Injection – Most of our patients at Falmouth Dental Arts never know they have received an injection. That’s because of Dr. Knock and Dr. Vocal’s famous virtually “Painless Injection” technique. A topical anesthetic is applied to the tissue with a swab. This anesthetic painlessly numbs the spot where the doctor will give you one of the most gentle injections.

3) Local Anesthetic For Pain Free Care – Injectable anesthetics given by Dr. Knock and Dr. Vocal, such as Lidocaine, prevent pain in a specific area of your mouth during treatment by blocking the nerves that sense or transmit pain and numbing mouth tissues.

They cause the temporary numbness often referred to as a “fat lip” feeling. Injectable anesthetics may be used in such procedures as filling cavities, preparing teeth for crowns or treating gum disease.

Bad Breath (halitosis) Can Be Treated At Falmouth Dental Arts

Dr. Knock and Dr. Vocal feel that while bad breath might be a symptom of some other disorder, it most likely stems from dental decay and periodontitis.
Periodontitis is a disease affecting gums and bone that support the teeth, and it results from inadequate tooth brushing and flossing. In this disease, the irritated gums pull away from the teeth and form pockets between the teeth and the gums. These pockets fill with bacteria and pus which give off a foul odor.

Patients with bad breath need a complete dental evaluation by Dr. Knock or Dr. Vocal. If gum disease and/or dental decay is diagnosed, it can be treated readily. The patient will no longer have an infection in his or her mouth, and he or she will no longer have the embarrassment of bad breath.

Please call our office at (207) 781-5900 if you have questions regarding halitosis.

Are Dental Implants Right for You?

Dental implants are a replacement or substitute tooth roots, used to replace natural tooth roots in areas of the mouth where teeth are missing. Dental implants have a lot of advantages in comparison to having dentures or bridges. Dentists indicate that when a patient has missing teeth, it’s important to have bone preservation. Dental implants allow this by being embedded in the bone, which will preserve the bone. Often, what occurs with missing teeth is the bone deteriorates. This creates some changes in a person’s facial appearance. The advantage of dental implants is since the dental implant will replace the natural tooth root it will be attached to the bone like a natural tooth.

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Have You Been Screened for Oral Cancer?

Oral cancer is the uncontrollable growth of cells that invade the oral cavity (mouth) and the oropharynx (part of the throat at the back of the mouth). Some of the risk factors for oral cancer include the following:

  • Tobacco Use: This accounts for most of the oral cancers. Cigarettes and all other forms of tobacco use may result in oral cancer.
  • Alcohol: People who drink alcohol are more likely to develop oral cancer more than people who don’t drink.
  • Sun exposure: Lip cancer is often caused by excessive sun exposure.

In the past, oral cancer was considered to have a low incidence of occurring. However, this is changing. Oral cancer is increasing. Over the past 30 years, oral cancer has increased in adults under 40 years old. Approximately, 35,000 people in the US were newly diagnosed with oral cancer in 2008 (Oral Cancer Foundation). In addition, oral cancer is diagnosed in about 100 new people each day.

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