Gentle Family Dentistry in Mount Pleasant
When you visit Craig Downer, DDS, PLC, we provide you and your loved ones with conservative dental care to protect your smiles. Our team recognizes the importance of having a trusted family dentist. We help you take away all the worrying about getting the necessary attention your family deserves.
We let you know your options so that you can make well-informed decisions. If you reside in Mount Pleasant or any of the surrounding communities, contact us today and book your appointment!
CALL US: (989) 773-7232 REQUEST APPOINTMENT
Our Dental Services
Having your whole family visit Dr. Downer allows him to serve your needs better. It helps him identify any potential issues due to lifestyle or genetics and be proactive about your treatment. This contributes to reducing or avoiding problems before they even start.
As a family practice, we offer a wide range of services to help you protect your smile from daily wear and tear. Our services include preventive, restorative, and cosmetic treatments to ensure we cover all your dental needs under one roof. These services include:
- Dental Cleanings & Exams
- Spectra™ for Cavity Detection
- Digital X-Rays
- Oral Cancer Screenings
- Dental Implant Restorations
- Invisalign® Clear Aligners
- Opalescence Teeth Whitening
How Dental Services Vary with Age
Your smile changes dramatically as you go through life. Our experienced team understands the varying needs of your family members of different ages. Thus, we work closely with you to tailor our services based on your specific needs at every stage. We work with patients starting from children at age two up to seniors facing the challenges of aging.
At our practice, we put great emphasis on patient education and make sure to educate you and your children on proper hygiene practices.
This is how our focus on dental care may change as the patient age differs:
Children: Your child’s smile needs careful monitoring. We regularly examine your child’s dental growth and jaw development to proactively detect any issues, such as tooth decay and misalignment. We provide cleanings, fluoride treatments, and dental sealants to promote your child's oral hygiene. Our team also helps little ones know how to take good care of their teeth to make sure their smiles stay healthy.
Teens: Teenage years are often the time for fixing alignment issues. Teaching teens to take responsibility for their smiles during these years can help them stay healthy. It also helps them develop the habit of following proper dental hygiene as they grow into adults. We provide mouthguards for bruxism, sportsguards, and Invisalign for responsible teens.
Adults: We work with adults to ensure that all of their needs are met. We provide a range of treatments including preventive, restorative, and cosmetic services to help you maintain your dental health.
Seniors: As you age, the risk of gum disease and tooth loss increases. For that, you need more accurate, continuous care. We strive to help seniors keep their smiles healthy and preserve as much of their natural teeth as possible.
How Oral Health Affects Your Overall Health
It is essential to recognize that oral health and overall wellness are interlinked. Research has found that oral disease increases the risk of overall health conditions such as diabetes, heart attack, stroke, and birth complications.
Dr. Downer builds treatment strategies for keeping your family in excellent health. He also makes sure to discuss prevention practices for you and your little ones.
The Importance of Preventive Dentistry
At the practice of Craig Downer, DDS, PLC, we believe that prevention is the most powerful form of dentistry. Avoiding problems and reducing the need for invasive treatments is key for optimal oral and overall health. Even if you follow a good, frequent hygiene routine at home, it alone is not enough. Food particles can still hide between your teeth, contributing to tooth decay or gum disease.
Routine Dental Cleanings
To keep your teeth healthy, we generally recommend you receive a professional dental cleaning twice a year. During an in-office cleaning, we use specialized tools to clean every corner of your teeth and gums and remove plaque and tartar to protect your smile. We also provide fluoride and sealants when needed.
Deep Dental Cleaning for Gum Disease
Gum disease is when the gums get inflamed from plaque and bacteria. It is the top cause of tooth loss since it can progress to affect the bones surrounding and supporting your teeth.
In the early stages of gum disease, we treat it using scaling and root planing, also known as deep cleaning. For severe gum disease cases that need more advanced treatment, we’ll refer you to a trusted periodontist to receive specialized care.
Routine Dental Exams
During a dental examination, in addition to x-rays, we use a noninvasive, handheld digital imaging instrument called Spectra. Spectra helps us detect decay in the gaps between your teeth and on the surfaces of enamel. We also perform oral cancer checks.
Achieve the Attractive Smile You Long for Through Cosmetic Dentistry
As much as cosmetic dentistry benefits your appearance, it also has many oral health benefits. Crooked teeth, overcrowding, and wide gaps can negatively affect your oral health and self-esteem. Our team provides you with comprehensive cosmetic dental procedures to help you achieve your smile goals.
Our top-rated services include:
Teeth Whitening
At our practice, we provide two whitening options to give you the flexibility of choice: Opalescence in-office whitening and take-home teeth whitening kits.
Opalescence Boost In-office whitening can safely whiten your teeth in one office visit. It will typically require three to four applications during a total period of one hour. After each application, the dentist will be able to determine your shade level and whether another application is necessary. If you still need more whitening and no sensitivity is reported, you may have additional sessions after three days following your initial procedure.
Opalescence Go Take-home allows you to whiten your teeth at your own pace in the comfort of your home. We provide you with a concentrated professional whitening gel along with a custom tray to spread the gel evenly across your smile. The gel comes in 4 different concentrations and three flavors.
Dental Veneers
Veneers are thin porcelain shells that cover the front surface of your teeth. They can alter your teeth, changing their size, color, or shape to allow you to design your smile and achieve the look you long for. Veneers are commonly used to fix cracked, damaged, or crooked teeth and to conceal gaps between teeth.
In cases where whitening was not effective, veneers are used to cover discolored teeth. If your enamel discoloration was a result of an injury or use of specific medication, whitening might not work for you. For your convenience, we offer both porcelain and composite veneers to match your preferences and budget.
Invisalign Clear Aligners
Invisalign aligners are clear braces used to straighten mild to moderate bite misalignment cases. They are custom-made to fit your smile snugly. Virtually invisible, Invisalign straightens your teeth discreetly. It is also removable, allowing you to brush your teeth thoroughly and eat anything you like without restrictions.
To achieve the required straightening results, you need to wear your aligner trays every day for 22 hours. Since it requires commitment, we offer Invisalign to adults and responsible teens.
Spectacular Dental Care for All Your Family Members
At the dental practice of Craig Downer, DDS, PLC, our skilled team has the experience and skill to meet all of your family’s needs. We are passionate about helping Mount Pleasant families get the care they deserve in a compassionate, relaxing environment.
Our friendly staff is looking forward to hearing from you. Contact us and make an appointment today.
CALL US: (989) 773-7232 REQUEST APPOINTMENT