Preventative dentistry is today’s modern approach to dental wellness. It is all about maintaining good oral healthcare habits to ward off more severe problems in the future. Prevention will significantly reduce the risk of the issues such as cavities, gum disease, loss of tooth enamel, and periodontitis.
Today, let us talk about preventative dentistry and its main goal and discover if this treatment field can also help you with your dental concerns.
What is Preventative Dentistry?
Preventative dentistry follows good oral hygiene practices to keep your teeth healthy throughout your entire life. Its main goal is to keep people’s teeth and gums healthy and avoid oral problems such as gum disease, cavities, enamel wear, tears, etc.
Maintaining proper oral health is good for your teeth, gums, jaws, and overall health. Dentists recommend brushing and flossing techniques and routine dental examinations as measures part of preventative dentistry.
Common Preventative Dentistry Services
Preventative dentistry services include the following:
- Regular Oral Check-ups – this service is usually done every middle of the year. It lets dentists evaluate the health of your mouth and look for any signs of cavities, gum disease, infection, oral cancer, and other dental health problems. Your dentist may also take X-rays to detect invisible issues to the naked eye.
- Routine X-rays – also known as radiographs, routine dental x-rays are your teeth images that dentists use to evaluate oral health. This preventative dentistry service is used with low radiation levels to capture images of the interior of your teeth and gums. These x-rays can help your dentist to identify problems like cavities, tooth decay, and impacted teeth.
- Teeth Cleaning – this service utilizes special tools to remove deposits of sticky plaque and hard tartar from your teeth’s surfaces above your gums. These cleanings are essential for preventing gum disease and even for treating very mild forms of the condition known as gingivitis.
- Oral Prophylaxis – this cleaning procedure, part of preventative dentistry, is performed to clean the teeth thoroughly. An essential dental treatment, oral prophylaxis halts the progression of periodontal disease and gingivitis.
- Fissure Sealants – involve white or clear composite resin, similar to a white tooth filling. These sealants provide a barrier against bacteria that can cause plaque. They are designed to prevent tooth decay and cavities.
- Enameloplasty – this preventative dentistry service deals with tooth enamel found in the thin outer layer of the tooth shaved down to be reshaped or contoured. Patients may want to alter the size or shape of their enamel for cosmetic reasons. Their reason could be misaligned teeth, bulging teeth, or longer canines.
- Fluoride Application – this varnishing service is safe and used by dentists and doctors worldwide to help prevent tooth decay in children. Only a tiny amount is used, and hardly any fluoride is swallowed. It is quickly applied and hardened. Afterward, it is brushed and rinsed off after 4-12 hours.
- Space Maintainers – commonly known as ‘spacers,’ are typically used for kids who already have lost some baby teeth but haven’t grown permanent teeth yet for a while now. These maintainers hold space for the appropriate adult teeth to grow in. They also prevent adjacent baby teeth from moving into the open space.
- Serial Extraction – this planned extraction of particular deciduous and permanent teeth involves an orderly sequence. It has a predetermined pattern that helps guide the erupting permanent teeth into a more favorable position.
Benefits of Preventative Dentistry
Preventative dentistry helps lower the risk of gum disease, potential tooth decay, or severe dental problems from a young age. It helps you and your family adopt a good dental care routine, including flossing, brushing twice daily, and others.
These preventative dentistry services will help:
- Prevent the formation of cavities and dental decay
- Keep teeth and gums healthy
- Avoid gum disease
- Reduce the likelihood of teeth misalignment
- Prevent teeth from crowding
Other Specifics of Preventative Dentistry
Teeth Cleaning
Regular teeth cleanings as part of preventative dentistry can help you avoid serious and costly oral health issues when combined with at-home care. Regular teeth cleanings can also improve your overall health. Dental professionals provide the preventive care you and your family need to experience the vast array of benefits of excellent oral health.
Fluoride Treatment
Fluoride strengthens teeth against bacteria that cause decay. Although fluoride is present in most tap water, many foods, and other everyday sources, a fluoride treatment at the dentist’s office can help to protect your teeth more effectively. Dentists often provide fluoride treatments to pediatric and adult patients to promote excellent oral health.
Dental Sealants
Preventing cavities and tooth decay is an essential part of our oral health. However, as important as brushing and flossing are, they are not sufficient on their own to keep your smile healthy. Children are particularly prone to dental problems. Adding a dental sealant as an extra layer of protection against decay is a service offered in preventative dentistry.
Snoring Treatment
Snoring loud enough to disturb you or those around you may indicate a more serious health condition. Snoring treatments are available for patients worried that their snoring may negatively affect their sleep and overall health. Contact your trusted practitioner today to learn how snoring treatment can help improve your quality of life.
Sleep Apnea Treatment
Even daily activities become more challenging when you suffer from sleep apnea. The condition can affect your health in the long run if left untreated. Many treatments for sleep apnea can improve your sleep and protect your health and well-being. According to experts, sleep apnea patients treated with preventative dentistry experienced decreased depression from 73% to 4%.
Bruxism Treatment
In extreme cases, bruxism, or teeth grinding, can cause severe jaw pain, headaches, and tooth loss. Experts can reduce the effects of bruxism without surgery with a custom-made occlusal splint. Children and adults alike can benefit from bruxism treatment. Research estimates that 10% of adults and 15% of children grind their teeth at night.
TMJ Treatment
Millions of Americans suffer from temporomandibular joint or TMJ disorder. Dental specialists direct you to the best preventative dentistry treatments since this condition can have debilitating effects. Schedule a consultation with your trusted dentist to learn about your treatment options for TMJ disorder symptoms, such as jaw pain, tenderness, or discomfort.
Oral Cancer Screening
Oral cancer screening involves visual and tactile examinations of your oral cavity, including your lips, gums, cheek lining, tongue, and the floor and roof of your mouth. Dental experts are always concerned about your overall wellness and your healthy teeth. Early detection and prevention is the best way to beat oral cancer, so you must schedule regular preventative dentistry appointments.
The Bottomline
Prevent any further dental damage with services under preventative dentistry. Consult your dentist or healthcare provider to discover the most suitable one for you.
Are you interested in experiencing a service or two under preventative dentistry? Our amazing friends at Couture Dentistry can help you today.
