Family Dentistry in Harrisonburg
Welcome to Rocktown Family Dental Care, your trusted family dental clinic in Harrisonburg, VA, led by Dr. Joan Anderson. Our practice provides comprehensive dental care for patients of all ages in a warm, friendly, and supportive environment. We aim to help you and your family achieve and maintain happy, healthy smiles for a lifetime.
Benefits of Choosing a Family Dentist in Harrisonburg
Developing a long-lasting relationship with a family dentist can benefit you in many ways. One is convenience; you have a dental home to turn to for all your needs, so you always know who to call if there’s a problem.
Because we take time to get to know you and understand your family’s oral health history, we can tailor treatment to their unique needs. Your children also benefit because we develop trust and provide a comfortable environment for them as they grow.
Children’s Dental Care
A family dentist offers the same services as a general dentist but welcomes all ages, including children. At Rocktown Family Dental Care, we treat all children, from infants to teens.
Excellent oral health is especially crucial for young, developing smiles. Our team emphasizes helping children have a positive experience so they develop a healthy attitude about caring for their teeth.
We provide our young patients with age-appropriate dental services such as regular checkups, cleanings, sealants, and fluoride treatments. We also welcome children with special needs with sensitive, compassionate care.
We Embrace Your Unique Dental Journey
Dr. Anderson understands that not everyone has a perfectly healthy mouth. She knows you may experience poor oral health and hesitate to take the first step toward a healthier smile.
Rocktown Family Dental Care offers a safe, friendly, and caring environment where you can openly share your concerns and be met with kindness and respect. Our compassionate Harrisonburg dental team loves helping people and will support you through every step of your unique dental journey to a healthier, more confident smile.
Family Dentistry in Harrisonburg, VA
Rocktown Family Dental Care offers comprehensive dentistry and all the services your family members need to achieve healthy lifelong smiles.
- Dental exams — Regular dental checkups allow us to assess your oral health, identify potential issues, and recommend appropriate treatments.
- Teeth cleanings — Your toothbrush can't do it all, and professional cleanings remove plaque and tartar buildup to help guard against gum disease and tooth decay.
- Tooth-colored fillings — Mercury-free composite resin fillings match your natural tooth color and restore the function of decayed teeth.
- Composite bonding — This cosmetic procedure uses tooth-colored resin material to restore chipped, cracked, or discolored teeth and improve their appearance.
- Dental crowns and bridges — Our natural-looking custom-made tooth restorations replace missing teeth and restore damaged teeth for improved function and appearance.
- Emergency dental treatment — We provide prompt treatment for urgent dental issues, such as severe toothaches, broken teeth, and lost fillings, to relieve pain and restore your smile.
- Root canal treatment — By removing the inflamed or infected dental pulp, we can relieve your toothache and save the tooth from extraction.
- Tooth extractions — When a tooth is damaged or decayed beyond repair, we provide comfortable, stress-free tooth removal to protect your smile.
Call to Schedule Your Next Dental Checkup
Dr. Joan Anderson and her team love welcoming new patients to our family-friendly dental office in Harrisonburg, VA. If it’s time to schedule your next dental exam and teeth cleaning, please call us to schedule a convenient appointment.
Meet Our Doctor:
Dr. Joan Anderson
Dr. Joan Anderson is the skilled and dedicated owner and dentist of Rocktown Family Dental Care. As the sole owner and dentist of the practice, Dr. Anderson is responsible for all treatment planning for patients, supervising staff members, and providing patient care. She prides herself on being a good employer, creating a dental home that people want to be a part of, and mentoring her employees to succeed even if their career plans take them elsewhere.
Having graduated from dental school in 2008, Dr. Anderson practiced in Georgia and South Carolina ...
Frequently Asked Questions
If you're not experiencing any dental concerns, a routine teeth cleaning and exam typically takes an hour.
What to Expect During a Teeth Cleaning
Brushing your teeth twice daily and flossing once is the best way to eliminate cavity-causing plaque buildup. During your teeth cleaning in Harrisonburg, your hygienist will remove the excess plaque and bacteria buildup from your teeth that you might've missed during brushing and flossing at home.
What to Expect During Your Dental Exam
Regular exams with your trusted Harrisonburg dentist, Dr. Anderson, will help you protect your smile because she can detect common dental concerns before they become more significant problems. Tooth decay, gum disease, and restoration wear or breakdown can be hard to spot on your own, especially because they don't cause much pain to begin with.
Dr. Anderson can make you aware of problems early on when they're less complicated and costly to treat.
If you're managing a condition like gum disease, you may need a deeper cleaning, called scaling and root planing, to help you manage your condition. Dr. Anderson may recommend additional teeth cleanings throughout the year to help you maintain your dental health and keep gum disease controlled.
If you have questions about teeth cleaning in Harrisonburg, VA, or need to schedule your next appointment, please get in touch with your Rocktown Family Dental Care team.
Baby teeth, also known as primary teeth, typically start coming out around the age of 6 or 7. However, your child's dental development is unique, and they may lose their baby teeth earlier or later than the average timeline.
At Rocktown Family Dental Care, we encourage you not to worry if your child doesn’t follow the "typical" schedule! We are always here to help and provide guidance if you have concerns or questions.
In What Order Do Baby Teeth Come Out?
Baby teeth play the crucial role of holding space for permanent teeth. As adult teeth develop in the gums, baby tooth roots start to dissolve and fall out painlessly. This process allows permanent teeth to erupt properly and establish a healthy, functional bite.
"First In, First Out"
The order in which baby teeth are lost generally follows the order in which they first appeared. Usually, the two bottom front teeth (lower central incisors) are the first to be lost, followed by the two top front teeth (upper central incisors) and so on. Again, remember this is a general pattern, and your child’s experience may differ.
Space Maintainers for Early Tooth Loss
Sometimes, a baby tooth is lost prematurely due to decay or trauma. In this case, Dr. Anderson may recommend a space maintainer to prevent neighboring teeth from shifting and moving into the space meant for the permanent tooth.
Have Questions about Your Child’s Dental Health?
When you bring your little one to our Harrisonburg, VA, dental office for their six-month checkups, Dr. Anderson will monitor their dental development and answer your questions. Please call Rocktown Family Dental Care today to schedule your child’s next appointment.
We are also pleased to serve Harrisonburg City and Rockingham County, including Broadway, Bridgewater, Dayton, Timberville, Penn Laird, Elkton, McGaheysville, Grottoes, and surrounding communities.
Dr. Anderson recommends scheduling your child’s first dental checkup with us within six months of getting their first tooth or by their first birthday.
As a parent, you may wonder why your little one needs to see the dentist when they hardly have teeth! It’s a valid concern and one we hear a lot. There are a couple of important reasons that we are happy to share with you.
Why Age One Dental Visits Are Important
Early dental visits are crucial for instilling a positive attitude about oral health care in your child. We make these appointments a fun, engaging, and educational experience to get your little one excited about taking care of their teeth. We aim for them to leave us with a big happy smile, looking forward to their next visit.
Of course, we also monitor the development of their baby teeth and educate you on the importance of caring for them. Baby teeth matter because they help your child learn to speak clearly, maintain proper spacing for permanent teeth, and aid in good nutrition by helping them learn to chew.
A Friendly, Safe Environment for Kids
Our dental care team has created a child-friendly environment that makes visits a fun and exciting adventure. We engage young children in the process and ease their fears to help them feel comfortable and secure with us. Our team is specially trained to work with children, using a "tell-show-do" approach to build trust and ensure they feel secure.
Ready to Schedule Your Child’s First Dental Visit?
Dr. Anderson and our friendly dental care team are excited to provide quality children’s dentistry in Harrisonburg, VA, and look forward to welcoming your child. Please contact Rocktown Family Dental Care to schedule an appointment.
We also serve Harrisonburg City and Rockingham County, including Broadway, Bridgewater, Dayton, Timberville, Penn Laird, Elkton, McGaheysville, Grottoes, and surrounding communities.
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Family Dentistry Technology
Digital X-Rays
Digital x-rays, also known as digital radiographs, use a small electronic sensor to capture and display images of your teeth on a computer monitor. At Rocktown Family Dental Center, we use digital x-rays to diagnose and treat dental problems such as tooth decay, gum disease, and other conditions we can't see with a routine dental exam.
We use digital x-rays because they offer so many benefits to our patients:
- Digital x-rays expose you to about 80 percent less radiation than film x-rays.
- Images produced by digital x-rays are much higher resolution than traditional film x-rays and allow for improved accuracy in diagnosis and treatment planning
- We can view digital x-rays almost immediately, which means less time spent waiting for results.
- Digital x-rays don't require chemicals or film processing, so they won't harm the environment.
- We use digital x-rays as an educational tool because we can zoom in and manipulate the images to give you a better view of the problem and help you understand why we recommend treatment.
Nitrous Oxide or "Laughing Gas"
Also called laughing gas, nitrous oxide is a safe, sweet-smelling gas we use to help you feel more relaxed and comfortable during dental procedures. Nitrous is mixed with oxygen, and you breathe in the mixture through a soft mask that covers your nose.
Nitrous enters your bloodstream as you inhale it and produces feelings of relaxation, comfort, and calm; however, you won’t go to sleep and will remain awake and able to talk to us.
One benefit of nitrous oxide is that its effects come on quickly and go away quickly. At the end of your procedure, we switch from the nitrous blend to pure oxygen, which you inhale for several minutes. The oxygen helps clear your head of groggy sensations so you can drive yourself home and go on with your day.
Rotary Endodontics
The idea of root canal treatment can be stressful, but here at Rocktown Family Dental Care, we use the latest technology and techniques to make the process comfortable and efficient. Rotary endodontics uses an electric handpiece to clean and shape the root canals of your teeth. The handpiece has a small, flexible tip that rotates at a high speed to efficiently remove infected tissue from the root canals.
Using rotary endodontic technology, our dentist can complete root canal treatment faster and with minimal discomfort. The handpiece operates at a consistent speed, so you will experience less noise and vibration than you would with the traditional manual method. This means greater comfort and less time in the chair.