Preventative Dentistry & How It Helps You
Preventative dentistry is a vital part of maintaining good oral health. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure, and most dental issues from a slight toothache to the most severe of gum diseases or tooth decay can usually be kept at bay with regular dental consultations and the right preventative measures in place. Check-ups, oral hygiene routines and a healthy lifestyle are all part and parcel of what makes preventative dentistry tick.
While there certainly seems to be a lot of areas covered under this particular branch of dentistry, its main premise is that if oral health is properly taken care of at home, future dental issues can either be intercepted early or prevented entirely- saving you time, money and the pain/discomfort dental disease brings. Your oral hygiene routine at home simply needs to be consistent practices such as daily flossing and brushing twice a day. This coupled with a professional cleaning and checkup every 6 months goes a long way, and maintaining this from childhood years to adult life can make a significant improvement to your oral health.
Helps notice decay before it worsens
Preventative dentistry helps you take proactive measures and set a dental condition straight in its initial stages. Even after daily brushing and flossing, you’ll still be able to notice slight plaque buildup on your teeth in areas that your toothbrush can’t reach. This accumulation can eventually erode at your tooth, leading to cavities if left neglected without professional cleaning. This bacterial infection can also spread to neighboring teeth and increase your risk of gum disease. Coming in for a professional cleaning and polishing your teeth every 6 months is part of preventative treatment for this. Not only will your mouth be cleaned of any plaque and tartar that escaped your home oral hygiene routine, but we’ll also be able to remove any surface stains that have accumulated on your teeth.
Uncovers problematic habits
More often than not, our patients tend to suffer from detrimental habitual behaviors without knowing it. Teeth grinding is one such common issue. Usually a product of stress, chronic teeth clenching and grinding can also happen when a person is sleeping, resulting in the wear of tear of your teeth. If you suffer from this habit, there’ll be visible signs that our dentist will spot during your dental consultations. Other symptoms associated with teeth grinding also include pain that radiates to the jaws and neck, leaving you feeling quite sore when you talk or chew food. By following visible signs, our dentist can guide you on what treatment plan to follow. There’s usually mouthguards you can wear at night to prevent your teeth from being worn down. Worn down teeth not only have sharp, jagged edges, but eventually expose your tooth’s inner tissue, leading to painful sensitivity and toothaches.
Improves overall health
Your oral health and overall wellbeing are quite closely linked. Some of the closely-linked conditions with dental health are diabetes, respiratory diseases, heart diseases, and even cancer. In certain cases, conditions that affect your mouth (as severe as oral cancer) can possibly be life-threatening if not caught in early stages. Through preventative dentistry, we’re able to monitor potentially deadly changes in the tissues of your mouth over the course of your regular checkups and recommend you to a specialist if needed.
Helps improve lifestyle habits
Preventative dentistry also gives special focus to your food habits and dietary lifestyle. It’s well known that consuming sugary or highly acidic foods and beverages erode at the protective outer layer of your teeth. Sugary foods tend to latch on in the deep grooves of your teeth, making it difficult to clean off at home with your toothbrush. This will require professional cleaning services to effectively remove. We offer childrens dental at Purity Dental to make sure your childrens teeth are strengthened effectively against decay too when they come in for their checkups.
Treats bad breath
Another common problem that arises when you have a poor oral hygiene routine and habits is bad breath. Bad breath is a common symptom of many underlying dental conditions, such as tooth decay, accumulation of plaque or even gum disease. A condition known as dry mouth, in which saliva is extremely lacking in the mouth, can also give way to bad odours. With preventative dentistry, you’ll be able to root out these conditions in early stages, and also be recommended treatment plans if you suffer from dry mouth.
Sealants & Fluoride Treatment
Sealants are a popular preventative dentistry treatment. These are plastic coverings that are placed on the top of your teeth (over the grooves) that you use for chewing, which is more often the teeth at the back of the mouth. It prevents food particles from settling into those grooves at the back and hardening into potential tooth decay. Applying sealants won’t take much of your time. Your dentist will simply make sure the surfaces of your teeth are clean before placing the sealants, and will then use UV-light to harden it for more protection.
Fluoride treatment is also offered since it’s a great way of strengthening teeth and helping fight off any bacterial action. We may even suggest using fluoride toothpaste as part of your oral hygiene routine at home for added measure.
By taking the time to break preventative dentistry down into its components, it’s quite evident how it can be utilized to avoid painful & costly complications with your smile. So, if you’re behind on your next checkup, make sure to schedule it in ASAP with Purity Dental!
