What is preventive dentistry?
Preventive dentistry is a routine dental check-up for preventing and detecting dental diseases or deviations and, by dental measures, supporting means to directly or indirectly affect the damaged teeth and mouth. This is essential to taking care of your oral health.
Preventive dentistry is generally classified into:
Primary prevention: using strategies and agents to prevent disease onset, reverse disease progression, or halt disease progression. For example, use a topical fluoride gel to avoid tooth decay.
Secondary prevention: any action that stops the progression of the disease in its early stages and prevents complications. Use of demineralized, e.g., in early severe lesions.
Tertiary prevention: use of measures necessary to replace lost tissues and restore function to the patient to the extent that physical abilities and mental attitudes are fixed.
What is a Preventive dentistry
Preventive oral care strategies for children and adults include several home and office care activities, including:
Oral hygiene at home:
Brushing and flossing at least twice a day (or after each meal) is the most crucial preventive technique for removing dental plaque, a film-like coating that forms on your teeth. Plaque, if not removed, can harden into tartar, a complex, sticky substance containing acid-producing bacteria that cause tooth decay and gum disease.
Using fluoride:
Fluoride strengthens teeth and keeps them free of cavities. Fluoride treatments are available at dental offices, and dentists recommend that patients use fluoride toothpaste and mouthwash at home. Fluoridation of public water supplies is one of the ten most significant public health achievements of the twentieth century.
Diet:
A healthy diet is essential for oral health Foods rich in sugars and carbohydrates feed the bacteria that cause dental plaque. In contrast, a diet lacking calcium increases the chance of developing gum (periodontal) disease and function attenuation.
Regular dental checkups:
Since most oral conditions are not painful at first, you may only know about dental problems once they cause significant damage if you don’t visit your dentist regularly. Schedule regular dental checkups every six months for best results, more often if you are at higher risk of dental disease. Your dentist should also perform oral cancer screening to look for signs of abnormal tissue. Examination of oral growth and development (including caries development) should be part of the dental evaluation, especially for children.
Teeth cleaning and screening:
Every six months, a dental cleaning (prophylaxis) is recommended to remove plaque and tooth stains that you cannot pull on your own and check for signs of decay.
X-ray:
Dentists can use X-rays to detect signs of oral problems that are invisible to the naked eye, such as cavities between teeth and problems below the gum line.
Mouth guards:
Who can wear mouthguards during sports activities to protect against broken teeth, especially custom mouthguards prescribed by your dentist for a better fit? Teeth grinding, which can wear down teeth and contribute to mandibular temporomandibular joint disorders, is also treated with a mouth guard.
Correct teeth:
A bad bite can make it difficult to eat and speak, and crooked teeth are difficult to clean. Correcting a sour taste with orthodontics, which may include braces or clear braces (invisible braces), such as Invisalign, reduces the likelihood of dental problems in the future.
Sealant:
Sealants are thin composite coatings applied to the chewing surfaces of the back of your child’s permanent teeth to protect them from decay.
Avoid smoking and drinking alcohol:
Smoking, chewing tobacco, and drinking alcohol can harm oral health. Smoking causes gum disease, tooth loss, and even oral cancer, in addition to dry mouth, tooth discoloration, and plaque buildup.
Oral health management:
For chronic dental diseases, consistent oral care is essential to prevent or reverse their harm.
Patient education is essential:
Patients who understand the consequences of poor oral health are more likely to seek preventive dental treatments from their dentist. Instilling good oral hygiene habits helps ensure good oral health for life.
Importance of caries risk assessment
Your dentist can design a prevention program based on your caries risk profile.
Assessment of caries risk, including observation of the patient’s clinical appearance, considers the following factors:
- The amount of severe damage that exists
- Fluoride poisoning
- Speed of saliva flow
- Diet
- Drugs are used. Certain medications can contribute to tooth decay because they contain a lot of sugar or reduce saliva flow.
- Age. Each age group has its risks – children, adolescents, adults, and seniors.
- Income, education, and attitudes towards oral health According to research, people with low income or lower education and achievement are more likely to have severe and untreated tooth decay.
- Clinical variables such as the number of restored or lost teeth
Other prophylactic dental substances
Amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) as a dental treatment can assist in restoring the essential mineral balance of calcium and phosphate – the natural building blocks of teeth, in the mouth. When applied to tooth surfaces, ACP strengthens enamel before and after bleaching. It can protect dentin after professional oral cleaning and during orthodontic treatment, thus reducing hypersensitivity to dentin. ACP is currently used in professional whitening toothpaste and sealants in dental offices.
Many dentists also recommend xylitol, a natural sweetener derived from birch trees that have been shown in clinical studies to reduce cavities and aid in preventing tooth decay and gum disease.
In cooking, baking, and beverages, xylitol can be used as a sugar substitute. It is also found in toothpaste, mouthwash, chewing gum, and candy.
Why is preventive dentistry important?
The goals of preventive dental procedures are:
Dentists can monitor the condition of teeth and gums
People often believe daily brushing and flossing is enough to give their teeth the desired shine. This cannot be true.
Just as important as brushing is for oral hygiene, patients should see a dentist who can thoroughly examine and identify any developing conditions.
Saving money
Most people avoid going to the dentist because they want to save money. Dental appointments can be expensive. However, they are less costly than the patient developing an avoidable condition. Consider how much it will cost to have your teeth pulled and replaced.
Dentists offer advice on the best oral hygiene practices
A trip to the store to buy oral hygiene products can be stressful. Knowing what to choose from thousands of products ranging from toothbrushes to toothpaste with many ingredients can take time and effort. It gets worse when every product claims to provide the best results.
A preventive dental visit will provide the patient with a specialist who will talk to them about medically approved dental care products. Furthermore, they always provide more information, such as the proper technique to clean your teeth and mouth and the diet to follow.
The patient regains social life.
Lousy breath, distorted smiles, and brown teeth can all impact a person’s social life. People with these conditions often have low self-esteem, leading to depression.
Going to the dentist is sometimes all it takes to solve this problem. In a short time, patients will no longer have body image problems caused by oral health problems.
A visit can identify life-threatening illnesses.
Poor oral health can lead to life-threatening conditions like heart attack and stroke. Preventive dental exams can aid in the early detection of diseases such as oral cancer, which are treatable if caught early.
The most significant regret people have when they receive a bleak diagnosis of a situation they could have handled easily had they seen a specialist sooner.
Premier Dental
Premier dentistry specializes in preventative, cosmetic, restorative, and implant dentistry in Stanly County and the surrounding area.
Phone: (704) 982-5516
Adress: 1122 North 6th St.Albemarle, NC 28001
FB: premierdental.offical
