PREVENTIVE CARE AND DENTAL HYGIENE

Preventive Care

Preventive dental care is crucial to keeping your teeth healthy throughout your life. Good oral health can also impact your general health as oral bacteria and gum disease can contribute to heart diseases and other conditions. Preventive dental care helps maintain good oral health. It’s a combination of regular dental check-ups along with developing good habits like brushing and flossing.

Services may include:

  • Regular oral exams.
  • Routine teeth cleaning.
  • Routine X-rays
  • Fluoride treatments to prevent cavities.

Dental Hygiene

Developing healthy dental habits can help reduce cavities and gum disease. Regular hygiene has many benefits such as healthier gums and teeth, decreased risk of losing teeth, and decreased need for dental treatments and procedures

  • It is important to brush your teeth at least 2 times a day to help remove plaque and food particles. It is recommended that you brush your teeth for at least 2 minutes.
  • Floss daily to get food that’s stuck between teeth before it turns to plaque.
  • Use a mouthwash to rinse out food particles after flossing.
  • Clean your tongue regularly by using a toothbrush or a tongue scraper.
  • Don’t smoke or use tobacco products.
  • If you grind your teeth at night, you may need a nighttime mouth guard.

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Dental Prophylaxis

A prophylaxis or prophy is a regularly scheduled dental cleaning to help you maintain optimal oral hygiene. Despite careful brushing or flossing, plaque may build up in hard to reach places. When the plaque on teeth isn’t properly removed, it hardens and turns into tartar. By having these regularly scheduled cleanings, you can maintain excellent dental health and hygiene.

It is recommended that each person have their teeth professionally cleaned every 6 months. More frequent cleaning and examination may be necessary. Routine dental exam is recommended at least once a year. This may include dental X-rays

Oral Cancer Exam

This involves an Intraoral and extraoral exam to rule out any potential pathology. This includes a visual examination of the mouth, and then feeling the tissue of the mouth and throat to check for abnormalities.

To reduce the risk of oral cancer:

  • Avoid smoking and tobacco.
  • Drink alcohol in moderation.
  • Eat a healthy, balanced diet.
  • Avoid UV rays, and wear sunscreen on your face and lips as well as the rest of your skin.