Preventative
Dr. Daly and his team are committed to doing everything to prevent you from suffering from any degree of dental decay or damage and helping you to retain a healthy, natural smile for as long as possible. One of the ways in which they will do this is through the preventive dental services that they offer.
What is preventive dentistry?
Preventive dentistry refers to the practice of regular dental check-ups and specific treatments that are designed to help keep your teeth and mouth healthy and functioning as they should. Preventive dentistry will benefit anyone who has at least some of their own teeth. However, people without any natural teeth remaining can also benefit since conditions such as mouth cancer and denture stomatitis can be diagnosed during regular preventive dentistry treatments and treatment can be started promptly, hopefully before the issue becomes serious.
Preventive dentistry services
Exactly what is involved in preventive dental care can vary between dental practices. However, typical preventative care strategies offered to patients include:
- Education on the tools and techniques to effectively brush and floss your teeth.
- Information about the importance of using fluoride products.
- Regular dental check-ups, which gives us an opportunity to monitor the health of your teeth. These usually take place at least once every six months.
- Dental cleans. These are professional-grade cleans that reach those places that brushing at home just can’t.
- X-rays to monitor the health and condition of your teeth below the gum line.
- Advice on lifestyle choices that can affect the health of your teeth, including smoking, drinking alcohol, managing stress and maintaining a nutritionally-balanced diet.
Why is preventive dentistry important?
Preventive dentistry should form an important part of your overall dental care for several reasons. First and foremost, preventive dentistry is designed to keep your teeth and mouth as healthy as possible. While most people think that this purely means taking steps to stop dental decay from occurring and damaging your teeth, it also includes stopping another debilitating oral health condition – periodontal disease.
In many ways, periodontal disease is even worse than dental decay. This is because the effects can be further reaching than simply toothache or even tooth loss. Periodontal disease is an inflammatory condition that occurs when plaque that accumulates on the teeth spreads to the soft tissue of the gums. The bacteria within the plaque then irritates the soft tissue, causing it to become swollen, sore and infected. If periodontal disease isn’t treated quickly, it can cause irreversible damage to the health of your mouth and the viability of your teeth. The gums may recede, and the jaw bone may lose density, making it impossible to support your teeth. However, it doesn’t end there. Patients who suffer from periodontal disease have been shown to be more likely to suffer from chronic general health conditions including high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes.
As well as protecting the health of your teeth and body, preventive dentistry can also help you to maintain an attractive smile. The appearance of our teeth is a major concern for many people, who feel that an unsightly smile may hold them back professionally or in their personal life. Feeling unhappy with the way your teeth look can also cause low confidence and poor self-esteem. However, when you opt into preventive dentistry services, by keeping your smile healthy you can avoid ugly staining, damage and dark spots of decay.
By ensuring that you attend your preventive dentistry appointments, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of suffering from dental health problems. As a result, you can also reduce the amount of time you will need to spend on the dental chair undergoing invasive and potentially expensive dental treatments.
To enquire about the preventative care services that we can offer, or to arrange your appointment with our dental team, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
Request Appointment
Please fill in the form and submit to request your appointment. After we have received your request, we will contact you to confirm dates and hours.