Preventative Dental Care

What is Professional Preventive Dentistry?

Preventive dentistry is very simple and involves regular visits to our dental practice so we can monitor your dental health closely. We can quickly detect any changes from one appointment to the next when we can see you regularly and provide appropriate treatment.

A dental prophylaxis is a process where we clean your teeth professionally. It is an extremely important procedure for maintaining good oral health and most people love that super clean feeling afterward, not to mention beautifully fresh breath.

Our preventive dental care treatments include:

• Comprehensive dental examinations
• Dental hygiene – professional teeth cleaning
• Scaling or root planing – deep teeth cleaning

An Affordable Approach to Dental Care

Preventive dentistry isn’t difficult or time-consuming and is very cost-effective.

Preventive dental care costs can vary depending on the provider and the services received, varying from $20 to $500.

Dental insurance will almost certainly cover the cost of dental exams and teeth cleanings, and other  preventive and diagnostic treatments such as dental x-rays and fluoride treatments. It can be far more costly only to visit the dentist when you feel something is wrong.

Treatment will most likely be more complex by this stage, so you will need to spend longer time in the dental chair, and you could be in discomfort or pain. Regularly seeing a dentist helps reduce the risk of requiring emergency dental care.

Why is Regular Preventive Dentistry Important?

You probably visit your healthcare provider regularly for checkups, knowing this is the best way to maintain good overall health, and it is the same situation for dental health.

When you care for your mouth properly, it helps to avoid serious dental problems and ultimately reduces your dental bills while you enjoy the confidence of knowing your mouth always looks its best. Your dental health is intimately connected to overall health; looking after your teeth and gums helps protect your general health and could help reduce medical bills.

The mouth is home to hundreds of different strains of bacteria. Luckily, most are harmless, but some cause dental disease, including tooth decay and gum disease. These are found in dental plaque, a sticky biofilm that builds up over your teeth and gums.

Most bacteria are regularly removed when you brush and floss when you have a good preventive dental routine. However, even if you have an excellent daily routine, some dental plaque will remain, which will harden into tartar (calculus).

This hard crusty substance can only be removed by dental professionals using special hand tools. The bacteria in dental plaque and calculus produce a weak acid that can weaken teeth, eventually causing cavities. These bacteria also greatly increase the risk of gum disease.

What is Gum Disease, and Why is it So Harmful?

The bacteria in dental plaque produce toxins that infect and inflame the gums, causing gum disease.

Gum disease (periodontal disease) is especially concerning because it weakens the gums and is a major cause of tooth loss. More adults lose teeth to gum disease than to cavities or dental trauma, and the risk increases with age.

According to the CDC, 47.2% of adults aged over 30 have some form of gum disease. Just over 70% of adults aged over 65 have periodontal disease. Periodontal disease destroys the gums around teeth and other supporting structures, including bone and periodontal ligaments that help hold teeth securely in their sockets. As these structures are destroyed, teeth gradually loosen and may fall out or need removing.

The Connection Between Gum Disease and General Health

The toxins produced by harmful bacteria that cause gum disease gradually destroy the gums.

As the gums become more fragile, they start to bleed easily. These open wounds allow harmful bacteria to pass easily from the mouth directly into the bloodstream and travel freely around the body. Once in the body, these bacteria can cause new sites of inflammation.

Clinical studies have linked their presence to serious health concerns, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dementia, rheumatoid arthritis, and some cancers. People with existing health problems may find these worsen if they develop gum disease.

 Preventive Dentistry at Home

While good professional dentistry will help maintain optimal oral health, you need to follow a good oral care routine at home.

Twice daily brushing and flossing every day are essential to remove dental plaque that is continually building up over your tooth surfaces.

Dental plaque begins to form just a few minutes after brushing, so it is essential to ensure you have a good oral care regime. Typically, it takes ten minutes or less each day to clean your teeth thoroughly.

What if I Haven’t Seen a Dentist for Years?

We know not everyone finds it easy to visit a dentist regularly, sometimes because of deep-seated fears or anxieties. If this sounds familiar, we can help you and warmly welcome people who might feel anxious or embarrassed initially.

We never judge and treat everyone with the respect and compassion they deserve. We firmly believe good dentistry should never feel scary or painful and enjoy building long-term relationships with our patients built on mutual trust.

If it has been a while since you last visited a dentist because of dental anxiety, please let us know, and we will go out of our way to help you feel at ease during your visit. There are many ways we can help ensure dental appointments are more relaxing and comfortable.

Once you begin following a good preventive dental care routine, you will gain and maintain optimal oral health quite easily, so when you come to visit us in the future, you will generally only need a quick checkup and dental cleaning, and you will be good to go for another six months.