Keeping your teeth healthy through preventive dentistry helps keep your smile bright and cavity-free. Seeing your dentist regularly is part of a good preventive routine, but diligent at-home care is vital.
Preventive Dentistry
Regular visits to the dentist help ensure that any problems you might have with your teeth are diagnosed before they become serious. Many issues, such as decay and gum disease, don’t have obvious symptoms until they’ve progressed to a point where they will be difficult to treat. Regular X-rays, digital photography, and a visual examination helps your dentist find inflammation in the gums and small cavities.
In addition to examinations, your dentist will supply fluoride treatments that can prevent cavities and even reverse decay in its earliest stages. Dental sealants also help protect your teeth. Though sealants are usually used on children when their molars first come in, they can also be used on teeth with particularly deep natural fissures.
Effective At-Home Care
The best way to deal with cavities is to prevent them. If you keep your teeth clean and your gums healthy, you’re much less likely to have long-term problems with your teeth. This starts with a healthy diet that avoids sugary and sticky foods that can promote decay. Sufficient calcium in the diet helps your teeth naturally repair decay in its earliest stages. Regular brushing and flossing keeps food particles from clinging to the teeth where they can encourage plaque to develop. Flossing removes particles from between the teeth where your brush doesn’t effectively reach.
Keep an eye out for any indications you might have problems developing. These can include:
- Bleeding when you brush
- Persistent bad breath
- Persistent bad taste in the mouth
- Red, shiny, or visibly swollen gums
You should see your dentist as soon as possible to have these symptoms evaluated, as they could indicate issues with tooth decay or gum disease. Your dentist can determine an appropriate course of treatment to ensure these problems don’t lead to a need for invasive surgery or tooth loss.
Contact us today at Kemp and Borovac Dentistry to schedule your next cleaning appointment!