It seems that all aspects of dentistry, whether it’s cosmetic or medical, are on the rise at the minute. People are putting more and more money, and time, into their appearance, and a perfect smile is a huge part of this. Still, while many people are investing in long-term cosmetic procedures, such as veneers, many forget about the first step of dental care: preventative dentistry.
Preventative dentistry works on the principle of taking the time and care to invest in your teeth and oral hygiene, and identify potential problems before they arise. This can mean a number of different things, such as daily flossing, regular check ups, and controlling dietary effects. In this post, we run through some of the main aspects of preventative dentistry, and how important they can be to your overall oral health.
- Daily flossing:
There is no hiding the fact that many of us do not remember, or have the patience required, to floss daily. Although we might tell the dentist that we do. Still, flossing is integral to clean out the small spaces between the teeth, and to prevent food and debris getting stuck in there.
A key aspect of preventative dentistry, failing to floss can lead to a number of problems, such as gum disease from bacterial build up.
- Regular check ups:
Possibly the best way to practice preventative dentistry is to ensure that you are keeping up with regular trips to the dentist, for check ups and deep cleans. Visiting a qualified dentist can allow them to recognise conditions that you may not be able to spot at home, such as Periodontal Disease. This disease is a buildup of plaque, directly caused by poor dental hygiene. Treatment will require the work of a trained dentist, such as those at https://www.centennialperio.com .
- Control dietary factors, such as drinking coffee and smoking:
On top of cleaning, the main factor that can affect our teeth is actually our diet and other lifestyle choices. Many things, such as smoking, drinking coffee, drinking acidic drinks, eating citrus fruits, and consuming large amounts of sugar can affect the colour, and overall health of our teeth. It is therefore unsurprising that a large aspect of preventative dentistry involves avoiding these things to prevent any damage from occurring.
- Routine X-rays:
Another aspect of oral health that people can tend to forget about is the health of the tooth root and the bone surrounding the teeth. Many people associate oral X-rays with braces, or being used to identify impacted wisdom teeth, but routine X-rays can be a great way to check for developing cavities and other problems with the root of the tooth.
If you are looking at how to take more care of your teeth, or appearance in general, then preventative dentistry can be a great and simple place to start. It focuses on things that many of us do regularly, such as brushing teeth twice a day and attending regular check ups, but if followed carefully it can remove the need for future dental work and health conditions, as well as saving you a lot of money.
