Hygiene
General dentistry for every age, in the same chairs
Cleanings, exams, x-rays and periodontal screening for children and adults, with fluoride and sealants for the ones still building their permanent teeth. Meridian's Copperstone Dental sees the whole family.
Chapter 01
What a routine visit actually covers
A checkup at Copperstone is never just a cleaning. Dr. Matthew Tuft or Dr. Hunter Brittain examines the teeth and gums, digital x-rays check what the eye can't reach between teeth and under the gumline, and a periodontal screening measures the gum pockets that tell you whether the gums are still healthy or starting to pull away from the bone.
Fluoride treatment and sealants round out the visit for patients who need them. A sealant is a thin coating painted onto the chewing surface of a back tooth, where the deep grooves are hardest to brush clean and cavities start the earliest. None of it is optional add-on work. It's the visit.
A hygienist at Copperstone Dental examining a young patient's teeth during a routine cleaning
When a check-up turns into restorative work
The screening is where a small problem gets caught before it becomes a bigger one. A cavity found at the exam stage is usually a filling. Left alone, the same cavity can reach the nerve and become a root canal, or weaken the tooth enough that it needs a crown.
That's why the exam and the restorative side of the practice sit together instead of being split across two offices. If Dr. Tuft or Dr. Brittain finds something at the cleaning, the filling, crown or bridge that fixes it happens here, with the same team that already knows the tooth. See /services/dental-fillings and /services/crowns-bridges-veneers for what each of those looks like once it's needed.
Chapter 03
Every age in one practice
Alessandra Foos brought her sons, ages 6 and 2 and a half, in for an exam and cleaning, and hygienist Fabi handled both of them, gently enough that even the 2 and a half year old let her clean his teeth. Dr. Brittain examined both boys and answered every question Foos had.
That's the practical case for one family dentist rather than a pediatric office and an adult office: the same hygienists and the same two doctors see a 2 year old's first cleaning and a parent's crown consult, so nobody in the house needs a second dentist.
What it costs before you sit down
New patients can start with the $79 adult new patient special, which covers a real exam rather than a stripped-down version of one. Anyone dealing with a specific toothache can come in for the $10 toothache exam, a limited exam plus two x-ray images, priced to make it easy to find out what's actually wrong before deciding on treatment.
New patient paperwork and what the first visit covers is laid out on /new-patients. Insurance and payment options, including the in-office discount plan for patients without coverage, are on /financing.
Copperstone Dental: Most major dental insurance billed directly. In-office discount plan for patients without insurance. Call (208) 218-0329.