Many people know that they should get regular dental consultations. The consultations are necessary even for those who don’t have dental diseases. Below are some of the preventive dentistry measures you may benefit from during your regular dental consultations.
Disease Screening
During your dental examination, the dentist will examine your mouth to look for signs of diseases. Both oral diseases and diseases in other parts of the body may have symptoms in your mouth. For example:
- Inflammations and infections of the mouth may point to heart diseases.
- Frequent gum diseases may point to diabetes.
- Loose and missing teeth may point to osteoporosis.
If the dentist suspects other diseases, they may order for further tests or refer you to other medical specialists to get the tests. The tests give you a chance to detect diseases in their infancy so that you can
take appropriate measures to prevent full-blown diseases.
Advice and Education
Good oral hygiene is the key to great oral health. The advice may be right, but it is an oversimplification, and you need further details to keep your mouth healthy. The dentist will discuss with you these details so that you can avoid dental diseases.
For example, the dentist will advise you on:
- The foods that can trigger dental ailments
- The best dental products (such as toothbrushes) for you
- How you should brush and floss each day and for how long
- How to handle oral emergencies
You also get the opportunity to ask your dentist questions about your oral care. You can confirm whether the brush-for-two-minutes advice your neighbor gave you has scientific backing or not.
Dental Sealing
Dental sealant is an artificial material, a type of plastic, which the dentist applies on the surfaces of your teeth. The sealant strengthens and protects your teeth from bacteria and acids to prevent dental decay. You don’t have to have dental ailments to get dental sealants; the dentist will advise you to seal your teeth if they think you have a high risk of dental decay.
You have a high risk of dental decay if:
- You have grooves and pits on your teeth
- You have cavity-prone teeth
- Your permanent molars have just erupted
Anything that increases your risk of dental decay increases your need for dental sealants. Your dentist will discuss with you further risks of dental decay to help you decide whether to get dental sealants.
Scaling and Polishing
You reduce your risk of dental problems if you brush and floss every day, but you reduce the risk even further if you get regular professional dental cleanings. When the dentist scales and polishes your teeth,
they get rid of plaque deposits that harbor bacteria and can lead to tooth decay. You need scaling and polishing if:
- Your teeth show signs of decay
- You have not had scaling and polishing for several months
- Your teeth show signs of plaque buildup
You may also get root planning, a form of scaling that reaches deeper surfaces of your teeth that scaling may not touch. The process may be uncomfortable, but the dentist can usually apply something to your teeth to desensitize and numb them.
Fluoride Treatment
Lastly, you may also get fluoride treatment during your dental examination. Fluoride is a natural mineral that strengthens the teeth and prevents cavities. The fluoride treatment may be in the form of:
- A gel
- A varnish
- Foam
- A rinse
The dentist may advise you to get a fluoride treatment if you don’t get enough fluoride in your diet. For example, you may not get adequate fluoride if you don’t drink enough water, don’t eat fish, and don’t use
fluoridated toothpaste.
Hopefully, the above preventive measures will help you avoid dental diseases. Contact Dr. Jerry F. Maymi & Associates for these and other forms of preventive dentistry. We can also help you get rid of any dental ailments that have already struck your teeth.