Preventive Dental Care Helps You Maintain a Healthy Smile
As the old saying goes…“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
One of the top actions you can take to avoid problems with your teeth and gums is to establish and maintain a regular schedule of teeth cleanings and exams.
Your mouth does a lot of work and is exposed to all sorts of stresses and destructive factors. When large periods of time go by without a professional cleaning then serious decay issues and gum disease is more likely to set in. Besides being a preventive measure, seeing your dentist once every six months allows us to catch any potential problems very early on so we can use more conservative treatment methods like dental fillings. This avoids more costly and extensive repairs down the line if the condition is allowed to develop. This is also an opportunity to conduct an oral cancer screening which is very important in keeping you cancer-free.
Not keeping your teeth clean is not like forgetting to clean your house, where the worst thing might be that the dust piles a bit higher. What happens is that plaque builds up in your teeth. It starts off as a soft film but this hardens over time, creating spaces for infection to enter. Plus, as the plaque layer grows it produces more and more acid from the bacteria that are present. This acid eats away at and destroys the enamel on your teeth-resulting in further decay and disintegration. The bi-annual cleaning can scrape away that hardened plaque, keeping those destructive forces in check.
Sure, we can fix all sorts of serious dental problems, we certainly have all the modern “bells and whistles” to fully restore your teeth. BUT, we would be much happier to see you go years, if not decades, without needing extensive dental work because a dental check-up and cleaning had been done like clockwork every six-months.
The secret to long-lasting, healthy teeth can largely be found by following these points:
- Brushing your teeth twice a day, done correctly of course
- Daily flossing
- Having your teeth professionally cleaned every six-moths
- A full dental exam, with x-rays, each six-months
As a note: in the past it was quite normal to be concerned about unnecessary exposure to x-rays, even lower emission dental x-rays. While caution and restraint is still advised, the good news is that we use a high-tech, digital x-ray that emits 90% less radiation than the older machines. Not only is this healthier for you but it has the added bonus of being digital. This means that we are able to rapidly exam the teeth, display the images on a high-def screen and show you exactly what the issues are and how we recommend treating them.
We have additional digital camera equipment that allows us a clear view of your teeth that was not previously possible, plus allowing us to display those images for you. This has made an enormous difference in our ability to spot problems very early on and to let patients see first-hand what the issues are.
You Will Love Our Oral Hygiene Team-and that Sparkling, Fresh Feeling!
We know that making your bi-annual visit as fun, comfortable and pleasant as possible is important in keeping you coming back on schedule. It maybe “only a cleaning” to some but to us it is our opportunity to keep you on track for great oral health and hygiene. We have designed our new spaces for the utmost in comfort and ease which, along with our focus on gentle, caring attention, makes our routine cleanings anything but routine!
